Connectivity Framework Annex B: Assessment Template: OPC-UA
B. 6.3 Usage Viewpoint
B. 6.3.1 Architecture( Section 6.3.1)
B. 6.3.2 Technology
Options( Section 6.3.2)
B. 6.3.3 Applications( Section 6.3.3)
B. 6.3.4 Typical
Usage( Section 2.2)
B. 6.3.5 Operations( Section 2.3.8)
B. 6.3.6 Security( Section 2.3.5)
B. 6.3.7 Safety( Section 2.3.9)
B. 6.3.8 Gateways( Section 3.3)
Summarize the main concepts, and high-level architecture, and terminology. Describe the end-to-end information exchange path.
OPC-UA consists of multiple OPC-UA-Clients connected to a OPC-UA-Server. A OPC-UA- Server holds an address space, which is a collection of data objects organized in a linked graph.
Requests originate at a OPC-UA-Client and are sent to an OPC-Server; the OPC-Server processes the request, and sends a reply back to the OPC-UA-Client. Requests are addressed to a specific data object in the server’ s address space. Structured data is used for the request and reply.
A OPC-UA specification for publish and subscribe architectures is currently under development. List the choices to be made for using the connectivity technology in a system.
• Selection of SDK used to implement OPC-UA clients and servers supporting the desired variants( OPC-UA profiles).
• Selection of the underlying transport: OPC-UA Binary / TCP or XML / HTTP.
A general statement of the typical applications that rely on this connectivity technology and the reason for using the connectivity technology.
Industrial automation and process control applications. Client-server interactions between components such as devices or applications. Expose the address space of systems and devices to facilitate configuration, browsing and data access. What function or where in the system this technology is typically used? OPC-UA is deployed on devices to allow device configuration and data-access.
For existing brown field installations, OPC-UA is typically deployed at system boundaries to expose the system address space, support browsing, configuration, monitoring and service invocation. Newer devices and systems are building in OPC-UA. Can one monitor, manage, and dynamically replace elements of the connectivity function? OPC-UA discovery services are defined to allow dynamic discovery of components. What are the system security implications of this connectivity technology?
Security is provided at the transport level between each client and server. Clients are authenticated via name and password, PKI certificate, of WS-Security Tokens.
Each server enforces access control. Servers may support fine-grained access control to individual variable and operations. For systems that need it, are certifiable implementations available?
There are currently no safety-certified OPC-UA implementations.
List of gateways to core connectivity standards and other relevant connectivity technologies.
• An OPCUA-DDS gateway standard is under development by the OMG.
• An OPC-UA DDS profile is under development by the OPC Foundation.
• An OPC-UA gateway standard is under development by oneM2M
• OPC-UA clients can connect to OPC-UA servers via HTTP.
There are commercially-available gateways between OPC-UA and many industrial protocols such as Modbus, Profibus, Foundation fieldbus, etc.
IIC: PUB: G5: V1.0: PB: 20170228- 75-