The standard for manufacturer-independent communication in automation technology
OPC is used where sensors, controllers and controls of different manufacturers form an open, flexible network. Without OPC two devices require precise information about the communication possibilities of their counterpart in order to exchange data. Accordingly, extensions and replacements can prove difficult. With OPC it is sufficient to write an OPC-compliant driver once for each device. Ideally this is already provided by the manufacturer. An OPC driver can be integrated easily with minimal adaptation into control and monitoring systems of any size.
An OPC standard consists of different substandards, which can be implemented independent of each other for the respective application. Thus OPC can be used for:
Real-time data (monitoring)
Archiving of data
Alarm messages and
Transmission of commands
OPC specification
OPC DA (Data Access): Specification for the transmission of real-time values via OPC (DCOM-based)
OPC A/E (Alarms and Events): Specification for the transmission of alarms and events
OPC HDA (Historical Data Access): Specification for the transmission of historical values
OPC DX (Data eXchange): Specification for direct communication between OPC servers
OPC Command: Specification for the execution of commands
OPC XML DA: Specification for the XML-based transmission of real-time values
OPC UA (Unified Architecture): Specification which is to replace all previous specifications (OPC DA, OPC HDA, OPC A/E) independent of platform and DCOM
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