OPC Server

The Bridge of Industrial Integration: What is an OPC Server?

Industrial automation environments are often a "Tower of Babel" consisting of PLCs, sensors, and software (SCADA, ERP, MES) from numerous manufacturers. Every device speaks its own proprietary language. An OPC Server (Open Platform Communications) acts as the universal translator, bridging the gap between hardware protocols and high-level applications.

1. How Does an OPC Server Work?

The OPC Server handles the "heavy lifting" of communication. It talks to field hardware (Siemens, Schneider, Rockwell, Omron, etc.) using their native protocols like Profinet or EtherNet/IP, then presents that data to the network in a standardized format.

Data Collection: The server continuously polls hardware for specific register values.
Normalization: It converts raw binary or hexadecimal data into standard types (Integers, Floats, Booleans).
Unified Distribution: Any "OPC Client" (such as a SCADA system) can pull data from this single source regardless of the original hardware brand.

2. Evolution: OPC Classic vs. OPC UA

The technology has shifted from a Windows-only dependency to a secure, platform-independent standard:

Feature	OPC Classic (DA, HDA)	OPC UA (Unified Architecture)
Technology	COM/DCOM (Microsoft based)	TCP/HTTP (Platform independent)
Platform	Windows Only	Windows, Linux, iOS, Embedded
Security	Relies on Windows Firewall	Built-in Encryption & Certificates
Connectivity	Hard to route across networks	Firewall-friendly & Internet-ready

3. Strategic Advantages

Brand Independence: Scale your factory without being locked into a single PLC manufacturer. Your high-level software remains unchanged even if hardware is swapped.
Centralized Access: Instead of managing dozens of individual driver connections in your SCADA, you manage one connection to the OPC Server.
Scalability: Effortlessly manage thousands of "tags" (data points) and serve them to multiple clients simultaneously.

4. Hubbox and the Modern OPC UA Edge

Traditionally, OPC Servers required expensive, bulky industrial PCs. Hubbox changes this by moving the OPC Server directly to the Edge.

Embedded OPC UA: Hubbox Connect devices can collect data from legacy PLCs and serve as an OPC UA Server themselves. This allows you to generate standardized data directly within the electrical panel without a dedicated PC.

Secure Tunneling: Access your Hubbox OPC UA data across the globe through a secure VPN tunnel.
Data Aggregation: Combine Modbus, S7, and FINS data into a single OPC UA address space.

When is an OPC Server Essential?

If your facility operates a multi-vendor environment and you need to feed consistent, real-time data into a Central SCADA, a Database (SQL/NoSQL), or an MES system, implementing an OPC UA Server is the industry-standard requirement.

For OPC UA server configuration and PLC driver lists: www.hubbox.io