This month we released a new version of the CTT which is publicly available here. Besides the Mantis fixes and other core testing improvements, this release provides initial testing of the OPC UA FX specifications. The OPC UA FX specifications are considered core OPC functionality. If you are working on UAFX prototypes we’d like to encourage you to download the tool and provide your feedback to the compliance team. It is important to remember that certification is required for OPC UA FX products.
OPC UA FX has ~140 Conformance Units for base OPC UA FX functionality, and another ~30 Conformance Units for network items. The figure illustrates the percentage of covered Conformance Units. Test scripts have been developed by Test development and now integrated into the CTT, additionally they have completed test case definition and are awaiting script development or they have completed definition and are waiting on review. These scripts are planned to be included in the next versions. We will continue this iterative process with each release of the CTT with a target of having between 90% and 95% of all OPC UA FX testing automated.
An important extension of the core functionality provided by OPC UA FX is the concept of a Descriptor file. A descriptor File is defined using AML. They are used to exchange information between engineering tools. They also are used to provide product descriptors for off-line engineering tools. Future testing is also being developed for the AML files, which will require an extension to the CTT. Once the extension is completed then testing can be created for another ~ 90 Conformance Units related to offline engineering.
This month the compliance audit team visited the Chinese Certification Test Lab in Beijing China. The auditing ensures a reliable, global quality expectation across all OPC Foundation certification test labs. This is important to ensure global interoperability with the growing OPC UA community in China. If you are interested in having a OPC UA product tested and certified in China, please contact OPC China or the Chinese Test Lab.
Paul & Alex