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OPC Unified Architecture Data Access Client communication protocol


Protocol specification
Basic concepts
Initiation of communication
Communication line configuration
Protocol configuration on the communication line
Protocol configuration on the communication station
I/O tag configuration
Browser dialog window
Literature
Changes and modifications
Document revisions


Protocol specification



The OPC UA protocol is other generation of OPC standard, which provides the cohesive, secure and reliable platform-independent framework for access to the real time data. The main difference in comparison with the previous versions is that the interprocess communication uses TCP/IP communication instead of COM/DCOM technology. This protocol supports two methods of data encoding (binary and XML). The existing OPC client implementation supports only binary encoding.


Basic concepts



Endpoint: a physical address on a network, which allows the client to access to one or more of the services provided by the server.


Session: it is an abstract connection of OPC UA server and a client on OSI application layer.


Monitored item: an entity on OPC UA server that is defined by the client. It is used for monitoring the values.


Subscription: an object on OPC UA server that is defined by the client. It returns the notifications about change of monitored items.


Initiation of communication



When initialing the communication, the client changes the messages with the server. In binary encoding, "Hello Message" is the first message sent from the client to server. The message defines the size of receiving and sending buffers and maximum size of messages that may be swapped during TCP communication between client and server. It also defines URL address of endpoint. The server will send "Acknowledge message", in which it will confirm the suggested parameters or modify them according to its limits.


The client will send next message "OpenSecureChannel message" . It helps to establish the communication channel to swap data. In this message, the client and server will agree what type of encrypting mode will be used (either "sign and encrypt" or "decrypt" only). OPCUA client in D2000 System supports only decrypted mode.


After establishing the communication channel, the client can send the message to create a session, "CreateSession Message". It is the connection on OSI application layer. After the server confirms the request, the session must be activated by message "ActivateSession Message". In this message, the client will agree the algorithm for signing and encoding with the server but only if the modes have been defined when establishing the communication channel.


After activating the session, all types of messages that are intended for object management in the address space of OPC UA server can be swapped. In this step the client creates a   subscription with the parameters set on the communication station level for all stations within the communication line.
The monitored items should be then inserted to these subscriptions. They correspond with the instances of I/O tags, which contain the parameters defined in the address dialog window.


From this moment, the server informs the client about the changes on the monitored objects by "Publish message" in the periodic intervals (that have been set in the parameters of subscription). If the monitored objects have not been changed, the server will send "Publish message" once in (Max KeepAlive Count * Publishing Interval) seconds. The message informs the client that the subscription is still active. A similar check mechanism is also on the client side - it will send "Publish message" once every (Max KeepAlive Count * Publishing Interval). If the client does not send the acknowledgement "Publish message" within (LifeTime Count * Publishing Interval), the subscription will expire on the server side.


Communication line configuration



Communication line category: OPC UA Client
Host address: OPC UA server address. You may set the name according to UNC convention (e.g. "\\server" or "server", DNS names (e.g. "domain.com", "example.company.com") or IP address ("196.54.23.113").
TCP port: TCP port of OPC UA server (e.g. 4840).
EndpointUrl: Endpoint address (e.g. opc.tcp://localhost:4840)
Encoding type: Type of encoding that is used at dat exchange (currently only Binary encoding is supported).


Protocol configuration on the communication line



Parameter nameMeaningUnitDefault value
Session NameSession text identifier. Session identifier should be a unique within the client instance, making it possible to search problems faster in the client or server logs.StringKom process
Requested Channel LifetimeThe channel must be reopened before this time limit elapses. If the time is exceeded, the channel will be closed and unable to change data.hh:mm:ss01:00:00
Requested Session TimeoutAny message should be changed between client and server before this time limit elapses. If it is not sent, the sources within the session that are kept on the server are released. The primary work of this parameter is to remove the sessions that became inactive because of some unexpected reason.mm:ss01:00
Authentication TypeType of autentication used with OPC UA server. Supported types are:Anonymous / UsernameAnonymous
Token User NameUser name used in authentication if Authentication type = Username.  
Token PasswordPassword used in authentication if Authentication type = Username.  
Debug ModeIt changes the number of information about the communication. We recommend to enable the mode Extended/Full only when detecting the problems and debugging the communication.Normal/Extended/FullNormal
Debug ThreadsParameter defines the thread(s) that will send the debug info about the communication.Receiving/Sending/Others treads/All threadsAll threads


Protocol configuration on the communication station



The parameters on the level of communication station correspond with the setting of one subscription. It means the one communication station is equivalent to one instance of subscription within session.


Full nameDescriptionUnitDefault value
Requested Publishing Interval

Defines the time interval for server to send the information about the change of monitored items within the instance subscription by "Publish message".
Note: The OPC UA server can change the value, e.g. Bernecker-Rainer always returned a value of at least 50 ms, although the requested interval was smaller.

mi:ss.mss00:05.000
Requested LifeTime Count

If the client does not send the request for data till the time defined by (Requested LifeTime Count*Requested Publishing Interval), the subscription expires. The value should be minimally 3 times higher than the "Requested Max KeepAlive Count".
Note: The OPC UA server can change the value, e.g. Bernecker-Rainer always returned a maximum of 600, although the requested value was greater.

Number1000
Requested Max KeepAlive Count

If the objects of subscription are not changed, the server will send keep-alive message after elapsing the time (Max Notifications Per Publish * Requested Publishing Interval). The client will confirm this message when it sends a new request for data.
Note: The OPC UA server can change the value, e.g. Bernecker-Rainer has always returned a maximum of 200, although the requested value was greater.

Number5
Max Notifications Per PublishParameter defines the maximum number of notifications about the object change, which the server can send in one "Publish message". Zero indicates that the number of notifications is unlimited.Number0
Publishing EnabledParameter enables/disables the publishing within the subscription.YES/NO0
PriorityIt defines a relative priority of one subscription. If server should send more notifications, the subscription with higher priority is preferred.0-2550
Samples Queue SizeThis parameter enables to create the object queue with the defined length on OPC UA server's side for each monitored item in subscription.Number0


I/O tag configuration



I/O tag configuration dialog window is used for setting the monitored objects.


Object address setting


NameMeaningUnitDefault value
IDThe identifier in text format, which is, in dependence on ID type, converted to the required native type.String 
ID typeEnumerated types of identifiers. They help to access to the the objects in  OPC UA address space.
Numeric-1B ID: Identifier limited to 1-byte value (0-255)
Numeric-2B ID: Identifier limited to 2-byte value (0-65535)
Numeric-4B ID: 4-byte identifier
String: Text identifier
Guid -16B ID: 16-byte (128-bit) number that is usually divided into four parts. For example 3F2504E0-4F89-11D3-9A0C-0305E82C3301.
ByteString: Identifier that is represented as a sequence of bytes.
Numeric-1B ID / Numeric-2B ID/ Numeric-4B ID/String/Guid -16B ID/ByteStringUndefined
Namespace Numerical identifier of name space of OPC UA server. Each OPC UA server can have N name spaces. However, the object identifier must be unique in one name space.Numeric 
Variable typeValue type of objects that can be processed by OPC UA client. Variable type should be used only if I/O tag is intended for writing. As regards the reading of the object value, the information about type is sent together with the value.Undefined / Boolean / Byte / SByte / Integer16 / Unsigned16 / Integer32 / Unsigned32 / Integer64 / Unsigned64 / Float / Double / String / UTC Time / Boolean array / Byte array / SByte array / Integer16 array / Unsigned16 array / Integer32 array / Unsigned32 array / Integer64 array / Unsigned64 array / Float array / Double array / String array / UTC Time arrayUndefined
Array indexIf the object value is represented as a value array (Boolean array / Byte array / SByte array / Integer16 array / Unsigned16 array / Integer32 array / Unsigned32 array / Integer64 array / Unsigned64 array / Float array / Double array / String array / UTC Time array), the parameter defines its range or value of a particular item.
A text representation of array index may be in several formats:
  • Separate integer, e.g. "6" - when you want to obtain only one value from the array.
  • Two integers separated by a colon, e.g. "6:7", - if you want to obtain the range of values.
  • The expression separated by comma in case of multidimensional array, e.g. "6,7" - when you want to obtain the particular value of the item on 2D array. If you want to define the range, you should use the expression separated by semi-colon, e.g. "6:8,7:10".
String 
Write onlyIt sets if I/O tag is a part of subscription. Its value will be sent periodically from the server in "Publish message".Unchecked/checkedUnchecked
Expanded Node IDIf it is checked, it enables to address the ExpandedNodeId. Unlike the classic identifier in the OPC UA address space, ExpandedNodeId is supplemented by NameSpace URI and Server index.Unchecked/checkedUnchecked
NamespaceUriText identifier of name space of OPC UA server that is used instead of the numerical representation of namespace.String 
ServerIndexNumerical identifier that address the server number when using the  ExpandedNodeID identifier.Numeric0


Settings of other parameters


NameMeaningUnitDefault value
Sampling typeParameter defines a sampling frequency of monitored  object. When using "Publishing rate", the frequency is equivalent to time Requested Publishing Interval, which is set on the communication station level.
"Practical fastest rate" sets the sampling frequency on the maximum value.
"Custom rate" enables to specify the custom sampling interval, which may be defined in "Sampling Time".
Publishing rate/Practical fastest rate/Custom ratePublishing rate
Sampling timeParameter allows you to set the custom sampling frequency if "Sampling type" is "Custom rate".ss.ms0.0
DeadBand typeDeadband is a band in which the change of value does not cause Data Change Notification, which is the part of Publish Message. When using "None", this band is ignored. Otherwise, there is used the relative or absolute value ("Percent"/"Absolute") from "DeadBand value".None/Absolute/PercentNone
DeadBand valueParameter defines the custom value of deadband if you chose the relative/absolute value ("Percent"/"Absolute"). 0.0
Trigger typeParameter specifies the condition which causes Data Change Notification. When using "Status", only the status change is reported. Change of value and time stamp is ignored. When using "Status,Value", the change of time stamp is ignored. "Status,Value,Timestamp" ensures the reporting in all options, i.e. when changing the status, value or time stamp.Status/Status,Value/Status,Value,TimestampStatus,Value,Timestamp


Browser dialog window



This dialog window is intended for browsing and inserting the OPC UA objects into the address parameter of I/O tag. The upper part contains the tree structure of address space. When clicking on the object, the lower part of window displays the direct descendents of the object.
Double click on one of the descendents transfers the address parameters of object to the address dialog window of I/O tag.

OPC UA browseing dialog window

Literature



OPC Foundation manuals are placed on http://www.opcfoundation.org/.


  • OPC UA Part 1 - Overview and Concepts 1.01 Specification
  • OPC UA Part 2 - Security Model 1.01 Specification
  • OPC UA Part 3 - Address Space Model 1.01 Specification
  • OPC UA Part 4 - Services 1.01 Specification
  • OPC UA Part 5 - Information Model 1.01 Specification
  • OPC UA Part 6 - Mappings 1.00 Specification
  • OPC UA Part 7 - Profiles 1.00 Specification
  • OPC UA Part 8 - Data Access 1.01 Specification


Changes and modifications



  • May 10, 2012 - creating the document


Document revisions



  • Ver. 1.0 – May 10, 2012


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