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Wireless OPC - A short overview of wireless technologies in use today with OPC

Wireless monitoring of instrumentation sensors such as temperature, flow, pressure, voltage, current, levels, weight, speeds, revolutions and others is a common requirement in the control industry. The term 'wireless' is used for any system used to transfer of information over a distance without the use of electrical conductors or 'wires'. The distances involved may be short (a few meters) like with a television remote or long (thousands or millions of kilometers) for radio or satellite communications. Wireless OPC solutions exist to meet all needs.

OPC and the Wireless Network:

In order to extend OPC connectivity beyond a wired LAN, complementary technology that effectively supports DCOM-style interfaces across wider network connections is needed. All that is required to support such technology is a TCP/IP-capable layer, which extends OPC communications over wireless networks. For many applications there is little difference between communicating over a LAN verses a WLAN.

To read in detail this article by MAtrikonOPC please click 'Wireless OPC'

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Using OPC via DCOM with Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2

The major goal of Windows XP Service Pack 2 is to reduce common available scenarios for malicious attack on Windows XP. The Service Pack will reduce the effect of most common attacks in four ways:

1. Improvement in shielding Windows XP from the network

a. RPC and DCOM communication enhancements

b. Enhancements to the internal Windows firewall

2. Enhanced memory protection

3. Safer handling of e-mail

4. Internet Explorer security enhancements.

Most OPC Clients and Servers use DCOM to communicate over a network and thus will be impacted due to the changes in Service Pack 2. When Service Pack 2 is installed with its default configuration settings, OPC communication via DCOM will cease to work. This paper describes the settings necessary to restore OPC communication when using XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Continue Reading White Paper 'Using OPC via DCOM with Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2' by OPCFOundation

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Scada security presentation by InduSoft

A Technical guide on SCADA Security considerations. Please cLick 'Scada security presentation by InduSoft' to see the presentation.

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How do I communicate between my control systems?

Question:

We have a Data Highway+ network of Allen Bradley PLCs and have recently installed a Quantum DCS with Modbus TCP/IP. We would like to connect both systems together and display the data of both systems on an HMI. Is there a cheap and easy way to do this?

Answer by MatrikonOPC:

The short answer is: Yes, there is an easy way to do this. How? Using OPC the de facto standard for open data connectivity - an easy and inexpensive way to implement reliable bidirectional communications between your two control systems. The more detailed answer involves two pieces: OPC Servers to communicate with your specific controllers and an application that bi-directionally shares the data between them.

First, let’s look at getting the data to a common HMI: An OPC Server can provide you with access to all types of production data, regardless of whether the data comes from a real-time, historical, or alarm and event data source. Using the MatrikonOPC Universal Connectivity Server then, you can communicate to Allen Bradley PLCs and Quantum DCS, making their respective data available in a common OPC format that your HMI can display.

To share data directly between your two controllers requires that we establish bidirectional communication between both systems. The easiest way to do this is to use OPC Data Manager. OPC Data Manager is specifically designed to share real-time, historical, and Alarm & Events OPC data between two or more control systems in a secure and reliable manner. The interface is intuitive, making the mapping process quick and easy.

Please click here to get further details 'How do I communicate between my control systems?'

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