IPFusion OPC

The IPFusion OPC integrated system provides interaction with OPC tags to IPFusion.

Definitions

OPC — Open Platform Communications. It is a platform independent standard for the exchange of data. For more information, see OPC Foundation.

Setup

See the Data Servers page for information on configuring driver communication.

Compatibility

The IPFusion OPC integrated system is compatible with the specification DA revision v3.0.

Prerequisites

Software Minimum Version
IPFusion — OPC 1.6
.NET Framework 4.7.2

Ports

These ports must be open in your network firewall for the integration to work.

Purpose Default Value Configurable
Dataserver 8081 Yes

Communication Configuration

Communication configuration is handled in Project Settings > OPC.

Data Server Configuration Settings

Server Address The IP Address or host name for the OPC Tag Database connection. This can often be local (127.0.0.1) or a central server.
Port The Port number for the OPC server connection.
Priority The failover Priority for this OPC server. The lowest Priority number is used first — the highest, last.
Connection retries before failover The number of attempts Runtime makes to connect to the OPC server before failing over to another.
Connection retry delay (ms) The time in milliseconds Runtime waits before retrying to connect to the OPC server.
Heartbeat interval (s) The time in seconds when Runtime checks the status of the server.
Note: Red X indicates an invalid or out of range value given for field.

Bitwise Configuration

Bitwise profiles can be created to define bit masks for integer values. These are used when only certain bits are required to determine status, but you may not want to determine or configure each integer value individually in a status table.

From the bitwise configuration, profiles can be added. Each profile can be labelled and have the individual bit positions labelled. E.g., if the bit at position 5 determines whether a door is locked or unlocked, it could be labelled as "Door Lock".

See the bitwise profile section for more information.

Assets

OPC Tag

Required Property Grid Fields

Command Tag The tag used to send commands.
Status Tag The tag used to receive a status.

View all properties

Supported States

Note: Multistate statuses are not supported for this system.
Fault An issue has been detected in a connected asset.
Masked The asset has been masked over its true state.
No Communication Communication has been lost with the driver or asset. This status can also occur if the communication configuration for the system or asset is invalid.
Note: This status is required in all status tables.
Normal The asset is online and in its default state.
String Status The asset contains a specific value.
  • Value — The string required to display the status.
Boolean Status The asset contains a specific value.
  • Value — The boolean required to display the status.
Integer Status The asset contains a specific value.
  • Value — The integer required to display the status.
Integer Range Status The asset contains a specific value.
  • Lower Threshold — The integer a value is required to be above to display the status.
  • Upper Threshold — The integer a value is required to be above to display the status.
Bitwise The asset integer value matches a configured bit mask.
  • Profile — The profile the bit mask is from.
  • Bit Mask — The specific bit mask to match.
Note: If the value provided by the OPC system does not match a status in the Status Table, the asset will go into a fault state.

See the Configure a Status Table page for more information on configuring status tables.

Supported Commands

Mask Mask the asset's true state.
Acknowledge Acknowledge an asset alarm.
Reset Resets the asset to its true hardware state.
Cancel Deselects all selected assets.
Integer Command Sets the asset to a specified integer value.
  • Value — The integer the asset will be set to.
String Command Sets the asset to a specified string value.
  • Value — The string the asset will be set to.
Boolean Command Sets the asset to a specified boolean value.
  • Value — The boolean the asset will be set to.

See the Command Tables page for more information on configuring command tables.

Troubleshooting

Tag Unexpectedly goes into No Communication Status

If you see that OPC tags are frequently or are stuck in a No Communication state, and there are no issues with the network, it may be an issue with the scan rate. If there are too many tags with too short of a scan rate, this can overload the network connection, causing tags to not be able to connect. Then scan rate of tags can be increased by:

  1. Open the OPC Tag Database Manager.
  2. Select a tag to update, and click Edit.
  3. Change the Scan Rate to a higher value.
  4. Click OK.

General

Logs from the driver and Runtime can be viewed in the Debug Tools client. These messages contain information which can provide further context for issues during initialization, or while actively running. This can help diagnose problems.