OPC UA is the most capable OPC specification for interoperability between automation software products. It offers the unification of previous OPC "Classic" specifications, Data Encryption to RSA standards and Authentication based on the x509 Certificate standard. OPC UA also offers firewall friendliness, enabling communications to travel with-in the automation environment and across the enterprise, even through public network segments like the internet with a high degree of security and performance.
KEPServerEX delivers both an OPC UA Server and an optional OPC UA Client, in addition to its existing
OPC DA,
OPC AE and Vendor Specific Native Interfaces.The primary focus for this is to enable connectivity between OPC UA Servers and Client products such as HMI, SCADA, Historian, and MES solutions. The OPC Client enables the aggregation of data from third party OPC UA Servers, with other data KEPServerEX may be monitoring.
Tunneling, or the act of setting up a Tunnel between two computers enables the secure and reliable transfer of data between them. In the world of automation, where most interoperability is based on Microsoft COM and DCOM technology, the use of a Tunnel between two or more computers removes the need to rely on DCOM, thus enabling higher performance and deterministic failure modes.
The OPC UA Client Driver and the free OPC UA Server for
KEPServerEX provide an ideal OPC Tunneling solution. The OPC tunnel uses a Client/Server architecture to transfer data over an Intranet, Internet, or WAN and provide a secure tunnel through firewalls. This OPC tunneling solution is easy to use while being much more secure and maintainable than remote
OPC connectivity via DCOM. OPC UA (unlike DA) does not require a VPN connection for security, and completely eliminates DCOM configuration and the need to expose applications to unauthorized or anonymous users. An OPC tunneling solution provided through KEPServerEX complements existing OPC DA applications.End-users, integrators, and automation suppliers have a much friendlier solution for remote connectivity to OPC applications.
The Kepware OPC Tunneling solution can be used with Kepware products and third party OPC Clients and OPC Servers. KEPServerEX can act as a Gateway, converting existing OPC DA Servers to OPC UA Servers or enable OPC DA Clients to connect to OPC UA data sources. The Kepware OPC Tunnel solution is an ideal way to share information in real-time B2B applications for automation.
