SAE - Automation, s.r.o. ~ View topic - NeCST project

Within the scope of the Networked Control Systems Tolerant to faults project our software OpcDBGateway package was expanded about the new OPC Data Access Customer Interface Specification 3.0...

<img src="/images/necstlogo.jpg" align="left"> Our company cooperates with prominent European Universities and companies on the project NeCST (Networked Control Systems Tolerant to faults), which is funded by European Union. The aim of this project is to design methodology in area of the networked control systems with purpose to improve performance of the diagnostic system tolerant to fault. This will lead to an improvement in the intensive use of NeCS technologies for the reactivity, autonomy and monitoring of large scale systems. The systems under consideration in the framework of this project can be considered as a distributed network of nodes operating under highly decentralised control, but unified in accomplishing complex system-wide goals. More about NeCST project you can find here or at the official page of this project http://www.strep-necst.org/.

This project is split in to several parts - work packages. Each work package of the project is done by different group of partners. The objective of the package WP7 (SAE - Automation is coordinator of this package) is to develop a tool enabling to configure first of all the on the industrial ethernet and OPC standard based network in an optimised way. The global approach is to implement functions developed in the work package WP5 â€œcommunication design and managementâ€ in configuration tool for a professional software environment such as OpcDbGateway .

The configuration part of OpcDbGateway, which includes functionality of the configuring OPC tags, creating SoftPLC program for runtime, definition of tables for process databases and definition of alarms, have to be enhanced with the possibility to configure and optimize hardware structure of the network. As the part of the configurator is OPC client and so the configurator can be used not only for network configuring but adapted for network monitoring too.

The runtime of OpcDbGateway have to be enhanced with program modules for network performance monitoring, with the possibility to connect OPC servers under OPC DA.3.x. and with SNMP OPC server used for collecting data from network components.
OPC Data Access Custom Interface Specification 3.0
According to requirement of the WP7 and whole project, it was required to enhance the facilities of OpcDbGateway to possibility of connection OPC servers designed according to new OPC Data Access 3.0 specification. This specification dictates the standard interfaces for data access form various network and industrial devices.

More about new OPC Data Access 3.0 specification you can find here or at the official pages www.opcfoundation.org .

Demo version of the software with implemented interfaces from specification OPC Data Access 3.0 can be downloaded with our software package SAEAutom OPC Suite . It includes not only the mention OpcDbGateway software but also 30-days version of OPCAdapter (for monitoring OPC variables) and simulation OPC server.