The operating principle of the OPC server in the SIMATIC NET software and of the OPC UA server is described below.

Information about the scope of functions of the OPC XML-DA server can be found in section SIMOTION IT.

OPC DA (Data Access) and OPC AE (Alarm & Events) with SIMATIC NET

Programming

• Synchronous and asynchronous reading and writing of variables
• Monitoring of variables using the OPC server with a signal to the client when a change occurs
• Transmission of alarms and events to client
• Use of batch operations, so a large volume of data can be processed in a short time

Interfaces

• Custom Interface (C++) for high OPC performance • Automation Interface (VB, Excel, Access, Delphi, etc.) for ease-of-use
• Graphics with OCX for configuring instead of programming

Bus systems

Communication over OPC for Industrial Ethernet/PROFINET and PROFIBUS is supported.

Operating systems

• For Windows 7 Professional/Ultimate 32/64 bit
• For Windows 8.1 Professional 64 bit

Requirements for communication via PROFIBUS

• PC/PG with CP 5622 PCI card and license for SOFTNET S7 communication software for PROFIBUS DP, or
• PG/Notebook with CP 5711 PCMCIA card and license for SOFTNET S7 communication software for PROFIBUS DP

OPC on PC and PG

The SOFTNET S7 communication software for PC/PG is available for PROFINET/Industrial Ethernet and PROFIBUS DP. It contains the S7 communication software, the S5-compatible communication functions and the functions for communication with SIMOTION.

For license, see selection and ordering data.

OPC UA server in SIMOTION runtime

The SIMOTION runtime software includes an OPC UA server in addition to the OPC XML-DA server. The OPC UA (Unified Architecture) is an extension of the OPC industrial standard. OPC UA is the latest OPC standard that has been designed to ensure secure, reliable multi-vendor, multi-platform communication. It therefore supports data exchange between different operating systems installed on devices of different brands.

• Standardized communication via the Internet and firewalls
  The OPC UA server integrated in SIMOTION utilizes a TCP-based, optimized, binary protocol to exchange data. In this case, data are transferred via the IANA-registered port 4840. HTTP and web service are also optionally supported. It is sufficient to enable port 4840 in order to transfer data.
• Service-oriented architecture
  OPC UA defines generic services based on the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) design paradigm. This architecture provides service providers with requests that can be edited and whose results are returned as responses. A WDSL for describing the services of the kind required for classic web services is no longer necessary. Generic services are already defined and standardized for OPC UA.
• Security concept
  To protect against unauthorized access, the data are encrypted using recognized Internet standards (SSL, TLS, AES). The security mechanisms belong to the standard and are mandatory for manufacturers.
• Scope of functions
  • Read and write variables (symbolic access)
  • Browse variables
  • Subscriptions
• Access to variables
  It is possible to access the following SIMOTION variables:
  • Device system variables
  • TO system variables
  • TO configuration variables
  • Drive parameters
  • Global user variables
  • Interface variables
  • I/O variables