Industrial Engineer · phase 5 of 16
OPC UA
Platform-independent industrial communication standard for structured, secure data exchange between systems.
The Explain card
- Plain English
- OPC UA is a vendor neutral standard for moving structured data between industrial systems, with security built in. A server publishes its data as a browsable tree and clients read, write and subscribe.
- Example
- A PLC runs an OPC UA server. The MES, a historian and a dashboard all connect as clients and see the same tag names, types and units, without a driver written for that PLC.
- Why it matters
- It is how the controller layer talks to the IT layer without a custom protocol per brand. Certificates and encryption are part of it, which is the main reason it replaced the older OPC that depended on Windows networking.
- Hook
- The factory floor, published for the building upstairs.
Where it sits in the deck
Phase 5: PLC Industrial Communications
The protocols that let controllers, drives and operator panels talk, plus the addressing and description files that make them agree on what was said.
