Softing introduced a gateway for data connection of Siemens S7 PLCs to OPC UA clients and demonstrated the first OPC UA Publisher/Subscriber real-time stack.
Cogent Real-Time Systems announced that in full support of the OPC Foundation’s OPC UA initiatives, the next release of the Cogent DataHub will feature both OPC UA server and OPC UA client connectivity.
Softing introduces Gateway for data connection of Siemens S7 PLCs to OPC UA clients.
Softing’s dataFEED uaGate SI is a gateway to Siemens PLCs that provides OPC UA Server functionality and can be integrated into new or existing plants.
The OPC UA technology ensures easy access to IT systems such as ERP, MES and SCADA. The Gateway configuration is based on web interface and supports an easy and effortless symbol import directly from SIMATIC STEP 7 and TIA Portal projects.
According to Product Manager Vaclav Bouse from Softing, the dataFEED uaGate SI offers – besides its simple connectivity features – safety at the highest level. “Data encryption and user authentication meet the highest security requirements. Additionally, there are separate configuration rights on controller and IT levels, which is especially beneficial to OEMs and machine builders who do not want to disclose their proprietary controller configuration,” says Bouse.
Since the gateway is an all-hardware gateway, there is no need for software updates, operating system patches or PC maintenance. Once the device has been plugged-in and configured, it runs for years without failure.
More information is available on the Softing website.
Softing Demonstrates First OPC UA Publisher/Subscriber Real-Time Stack
As a leading OPC technology provider, Softing Industrial Automation is the first manufacturer to implement the brand-new Publisher/Subscriber extension of the OPC UA standard. This functionality allows using a standard Ethernet network for deterministic data exchange based on the emerging IEEE Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) standard.
For demonstration purposes the OPC UA Publisher/Subscriber real-time stack has been deployed to two Softing Industrial Ethernet gateways. The application communicates via TSN-enabled switches and a standard Ethernet network in a deterministic way, also if additional network load is added to the Ethernet infrastructure. The OPC UA Publisher/Subscriber functionality is based on a connectionless UDP secure multicast communication.
“The Softing OPC UA Publisher/Subscriber stack architecture is an ideal fit to the FPGA design, which is used for our OPC UA embedded solutions and builds the standard platform for our Industrial Ethernet implementations,“ explains the Softing OPC product manager Cristian Pogacean. “It follows the same design patterns of our successful Industrial Ethernet communication stacks like PROFINET, EtherNet/IP or EtherCAT and has proven to provide complete deterministic capabilities in combination with the TSN standard.”
In detail, the OPC UA Publisher/Subscriber application demonstrates a guarantee of service for controller-to-controller communication and the deterministic communication via an existing Ethernet-based infrastructure. At the same time control processes, streaming and data traffic run over one standard Ethernet network without affecting real-time data delivery or wasting bandwidth. Requirements of “Industrie 4.0”/Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) are better covered in this way. The Softing gateway architecture proves to be ideally suited as a platform for OPC UA implementations and Softing OPC UA customers can benefit from new functionality at a very early stage.
More information on the subject is available on the Softing website.
Cogent DataHub to Support OPC UA
Cogent Real-Time Systems is pleased to announce that in full support of the OPC Foundation’s OPC UA initiatives, the next release of the Cogent DataHub will feature both OPC UA server and OPC UA client connectivity. Cogent DataHub industrial middleware provides quick, reliable, and secure access to valuable information from industrial processes or embedded systems in thousands of installations worldwide. Coming in the first quarter of 2016, the new version of the Cogent DataHub will add fully-integrated, drop-in OPC UA server and client capability to any existing industrial system that uses OPC DA, OPC A&E, Modbus TCP, ODBC, DDE, or .NET programs, as well as the ability to connect in-plant systems to the Industrial IoT via the SkkyHub service. Developing this technology since its founding in 1995, Cogent Real-Time Systems Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Skkynet, a global leader in real-time cloud information systems and provider of the SkkyHub service.