OPC-UA is really here? Yes.
The OPC-UA specification is finished and has been released. The wait was worth it - OPC-UA really does deliver on its promises: it is fast, secure, and efficient. Best of all, since your connections use TCP and not DCOM, remote connections are as easy and stable as local ones.
Is this a client or a server?
Both, really. Ignition OPC-UA is an OPC server in the classic sense: it has drivers, and you configure devices to communicate with PLCs. It also adds OPC-UA client functionality to Ignition, meaning you can use data from any OPC-UA server.
Is this a module or a server?
Both. Ignition by Inductive Automation is a web-based, industrial application server. It has many modules that do many different things. Ignition OPC-UA is a module for Ignition by Inductive Automation that is an OPC-UA server. It can serve as the communication layer for other Ignition modules, or it can act as a stand-alone OPC-UA server for 3rd party OPC-UA clients.
Wait, did you say free?
Yes, it is free. You have to activate it with a CD-Key, but you can generate one for free with a valid email-address. Click here to generate a CD-Key
How about drivers?
We currently have drivers for the Allen-Bradley family of PLCs. More drivers will be coming soon. With our robust hot-pluggable driver model, you can install and upgrade drivers on the fly. Ignition OPC-UA also features an open driver API. This means that you could write your own drivers for Ignition OPC-UA. Learn more at the developers section.
Can I run it on Windows and Linux?
Yes. Being written in 100% pure Java means that Ignition OPC-UA runs just as well on Linux as it does on Windows. In fact, any operating system that supports Java 6 will run Ignition OPC-UA.
Whose OPC-UA Stack are you using?
Our own. We were the first company to independently develop an OPC-UA stack from scratch and successfully test it at a major interoperability workshop. We know OPC-UA inside and out, and are very excited about being on the forefront of the future of industrial communication.
What about performance?
Our stack was built for speed. We use the binary-TCP encoding and transport model in OPC-UA which is very high-performance. Our multi-threaded device model uses advanced non-blocking I/O to ensure fast updates and to enable massive concurrent tag counts.
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