OPC Client for EcoStruxure Building Operation

The OPC client for EcoStruxure Building Operation (EBO) allows customers to connect with any 3rd party OPC server (DA and UA) and display OPC item values in their EBO system.

For any new development, given the choice, OPC UA should be used. The only reason to use OPC DA now is if you are connecting to a legacy product that only supports OPC DA and cannot be replaced or upgraded.

The OPC client for EcoStruxure Building Operation (EBO) can automatically discover all OPC groups and items and save the time of manually creating the groups and browsing the OPC items.  See how - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUTZw6XjmJE

When the OPC client for EcoStruxure Building Operation detects that an OPC server is disconnected, it will mark all EWS server's items' quality as Uncertain or Offline, so that the EBO user will notice the disconnection.

The OPC client for EcoStruxure Building Operation will automatically try to reconnect with the OPC server once a minute until a successful connection. When the problem is resolved, the items’ quality will be changed to Good.

The OPC client for EcoStruxure Building Operation Configuration program can be used to browse for OPC servers (local and remote).

The OPC client for EcoStruxure Building Operation Configuration program can be used to browse for OPC DA and UA items. This lets you choose the items that will be displayed in the EBO.

The number of the OPC items you can share with your EBO system is virtually unlimited. The only limit is the amount of memory (RAM) in your computer.

OPC DA is based on the Microsoft's DCOM and had some significant limitations inherent to that technology. To get away from the limitations of DCOM, the OPC Foundation developed, and released, a new version of the OPC protocol called OPC UA.

Thanks to its new properties and well-designed architecture, the OPC UA protocol is rapidly gaining popularity among automation system vendors. OPC UA gateways are installed by a growing number of industrial enterprises across the globe.
The protocol is increasingly used to set up communication between components of industrial internet of things and smart city systems.

The security of technologies that are used by many automation system developers and have the potential to become ubiquitous among industrial facilities across the globe is one the highest-priority areas of research for Kaspersky Lab ICS CERT. This was our main reason to do an analysis of OPC UA.

The OPC client for EcoStruxure Building Operation supports standard OPC UA security by using certificates. Without a certificate the OPC client for EcoStruxure Building Operation will not be able to connect with the OPC UA servers.