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The Advosol Team

 

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OPC DA .NET Server Toolkit
OPC DA Server SDK for C# and VB.NET

The HDANS Server toolkit is discontinued but still supported.

 

OPC DA .NET Server Development Toolkit for C# and VB.NET

The OPC DA .NET Server Toolkit (DANSrv) has an OPC DA V2.05 and V3.0 compliant generic server and a .NET customization assembly (NSPlugin.dll).
No COM programming is required. The server customization for a particular application is done in the .NET customization assembly. Many VB.NET and C# samples are provided. Custom applications can be based on these sample applications or be wizard created. The wizard GUI offers choices for the needed customization functions and creates sample code for the selected features.

The DANSrv server toolkit is well suited to quickly implement simple servers or to create high performance OPC servers with ten thousands of items.

The NSPlugin.dll .NET customization assembly interface defines a small number of methods that are called from the generic server and a few callback methods that allow the customization assembly to call methods in the generic server, such as writing new item values into the cache.
The server development is nothing more than building this DLL with C# or VB.NET.
 
Embedded UA Server
The DANSrv Professional Edition can include the uaPLUS generic server DLL to allow parallel access from OPC DA and OPC UA clients.

A license of the uaPLUS server toolkit is required in addition to the DANSrv license.

OPC DA Server Toolkit with .Net customization assembly
The DANSrv OPC DA .NET server toolkit is offered in two editions:

Standard Edition
All basic features for OPC V2/V3 servers with a static item address space.

Professional Edition
Additional features increase the functionality and the performance.

  • The server may have a dynamic address space with items added when they are first accessed by a client.
  • The ConfigBuilder tool/class allow the items to be defined in an XML file.
  • The item refresh can be based on the current client usage and the client sampling rate definitions.
  • Item browsing can be selected to browse the cache or the device/database.
  • The client update handling is selectable for either optimization for frequent data changes or large number of items.
  • can be combined with uaPLUS for a DA / UA server.

Both editions support 32-bit and 64-bit operation. A version of the generic server is provided for each platform. The server customization .Net plug-in assembly built for ANY CPU works on both platforms.

 

The OPC DA .NET Server Features include:

  • OPC DA V2.05 and V3.0 compliant generic server
  • Can be extended with OPC Alarms & Events support
  • High performance and efficiency in large and small applications
  • Free-threaded design and hand-optimized .Net wrappers
  • Fully integrated into Visual Studio .NET.
  • Project Templates with Wizards for Visual Studio 2017,2019
    The wizards generate a C# or VB project with a sample server according the selections in the Wizard GUI. The generated project can be compiled and works as a fully functional OPC server.
  • Many VB and C# sample applications
  • The customization assembly can easily be debugged.
  • The supplied test clients allow the user to interactively test each OPC server function.
  • License with one time fee, no run-time licenses required.
  • Updates/Support subscription included for 90 days.

Additional Features of the Professional Edition Include:

  • Can be combined with the uaPLUS server toolkit for servers that can be accessed by Classic OPC DA and OPC UA clients.
  • ConfigBuilder tool and class.
    The server item address space is defined in an XML file. The XML file is created/edited interactively with the ConfigBuilder tool. It is also possible to import the definitions from a working OPC server and quickly clone this server.
    The ConfigBuilder class reads the XML file and configures the server accordingly.
  • Update optimization features that significantly increase performance.
    The standard configuration optimizes the server for a moderate number of items with frequent value changes. The server processing can be changed to a handling optimized for a large number of items with moderate frequency of value changes.
  • Can handle hundred thousands of items.
    The server is designed for handling a large item address space. Ten thousands of items can quickly be created and accessed, either in a complex tree structure or with a large number of items in a single branch.
  • Dynamic item address space handling and virtual item address space browsing.
    The dynamic item address space is useful in application such as e.g. an OPC server that front-ends a large database. It would not be efficient to add the huge number of database points as items to the server. Instead the virtual item address space browsing does browse directly the database and only items that are read/write accessed by clients are added to the server for efficient OPC compliant handling. Items not used any more can be removed.
  • Access Restrictions.
    Access to items can be restricted based on client credentials.

 

OPC Alarms & Event Option:

The OPC AE .NET Server Toolkit can be combined with this OPC DA .NET Server toolkit to make the server compliant with OPC DA2, OPC DA3 and OPC AE1.1.
OPC AE event sources can be DA server items or any other signal source.

 

Sample Servers

The following sample server customizations are provided as Visual Studio solutions with VB and C# source code:

  • Simple



  • SimpleNET7

  • SimpleUaNet7

This is a simple server with a few items, statically defined within the code.
A simulation thread increments the item values and updates the server cache.
Write calls write the item value into the simulation buffer, forcing the incrementing to continue from the written value.

With project for .NET7 and generic .NET7 main application code.

With project for .NET7  and generic .NET7 main application code.
Configuration files for DCOM registration and UA communication.
Works with the generic DANSrv server with UA combination capability.

Requires DLLs from the
uaPLUS Toolkit for operation.

  • Properties

  • PropertiesNet7

  • PropertiesUA



  • PropertiesUANet7 
This sample works as the 'Simple' sample and additionally defines and handles custom item properties.

With project for .NET7 and generic .NET7 main application code.

With the generic DANSrv server with UA combination capability.
Configuration files for DCOM registration and UA communication.
Requires DLLs from the uaPLUS Toolkit for operation.

With project for .NET7  and generic .NET7 main application code.
Configuration files for DCOM registration and UA communication.
Works with the generic DANSrv server with UA combination capability.

Requires DLLs from the 
uaPLUS Toolkit for operation.

  • Dynamic
This sample is very similar to the 'Properties' sample but implements a dynamic item address space.
At startup no items are defined in the generic server. All items are added dynamically when they are first accessed by a client. The browse mode is set to virtual and the client browse calls are handled in this sample. The return the items that could be added to the server cache.
For the client this handling is invisible. It appears identical to the 'Properties' sample.
Only in the DANSrv Professional Edition because the Standard Edition does not support virtual browsing.

  • ConfigBuilder
This sample loads the item configuration from the file CfgSample.xml and creates the defined items at startup.
The XML file can be modified with the ConfigBuilder application. The new configuration used when the server is restarted. No compilation is required.
The sample does embed the XML file to show this possibility. To use the embedded file the sample has to be modified to use the LoadEmbedded() method in place of LoadFromExeDir(). The method call is in the code as comment.
Only in the DANSrv Professional Edition because the Standard Edition does not support the ConfigBuilder.

  • 20kItems
This sample defines 20000 items at startup and updates the first 1000 items every 100ms.
It should give an impression of the performance and can be used as the base for a custom benchmark application.

  • TCPDevice

This sample uses a TCP socket on port 6500 for device communication. For tests a Device simulator console application is provided.
The IP address is initialized as localhost, allowing both applications to run on the same computer.
At startup the DeviceSimulator sends a line with item names and the server creates these items in it's address space. The DeviceSimulator then periodically increments the item values and sends lines with the values of all items. The server customization reads these lines and updates the server cache. Items written by a client are sent to the DeviceSimulator, which displays them.

 

Tools

The OPCDA.NET server toolkit provides tools for quick and simple server development and testing:

  • Visual Studio 2017/2019 project creation wizards
    The wizards creates a project with small sample code and server registration settings as defined in the user dialog. It also creates unique GUIDs for the server.
  • OPC DA V2 Test Client
    This is an easy to use client that is well suited to test the server for correct item handling.
  • OPC DA V3 Test Client 
    This client uses mainly OPC DA V3 functions and allows most OPC DA V3 features to be tested interactively.
  • Error Lookup
    OPC and related Windows error codes are explained.
  • ConfigBuilder
    The ConfigBuilder Tool creates and changes XML files with item configuration definitions.
    The XML configuration file can be used in the customization module to create the item address space of the server.
    This tool is available only in the Toolkit Professional Edition.

 

System Requirements:

  • Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2019/2022
  • 32-bit and 64-bit
  • .NET Framework 4.x or .NET6/7
  • Visual Studio 2019/2022, C# or Visual Basic
XML-DA Server Side Gateway
OPC XML DA Converter

OPC XML DA converter service that enables XML DA client to access OPC DA DCOM servers

The XML-DA Client to OPC-DA Server Gateway (XDAGW-SS) enables XML DA client applications to access OPC DA servers.
The XDAGW-SS Gateway offers a way to allow existing XML DA client applications access to the wide base of installed OPC DA servers.
The gateway is provided in version for IIS web services  and one for WCF. 
WCF offers more communications options but is useful only when both sides, client and server, are WCF based.

XDAGW-SS is compliance tested for XML-DA V1.0.1 and OPC-DA V2.05 and 3.0. If connected to an OPC-DA V3 server the OPC DA V3 features such as WriteVQT() are used, otherwise the server is accessed OPC-DA V2.05 compliant.

 

Configuration and Diagnostic Utility
The XDAGW-SS gateway configuration settings are defined in the AppSettings section of the web.config file.
The configuration utility displays the settings and changes can be made interactively instead of modifying the web.config file with a text editor.
The diagnostic features test the access to the OPC DA server and the XML DA gateway web service.
The .NET3 configuration is also in the web.config file and is modified with the WCF configuration utility.

 

Security
Web services don't provide a high level of security. Using HTTPS is the only option.
The gateway implements effective security measures. It can be configured to restrict the server access to an item subset. E.g. make some items read-only or allow only a subset of the items to be accessed.

The XDAGW-SS gateway is provided in a version for WCF that can be configured for secure communication.
In communication with WCF based XML DA servers, any WCF communication bindings can be used, including X.509 certificates

 

System Requirements

  • Windows 7, 8.x,10,11, Windows Server 2008,2012,2016,2019,2022
  • .NET 4.x
  • IIS with ASP.NET or WCF
XML-DA Client Side Gateway
OPC XML DA Converter

OPC DA converter server that enables OPC DA client to access XML DA servers.

The OPC-DA Client to XML-DA Server Gateway (XDAGW-CS) enables OPC DA client applications to access XML -DA servers.
The XML-DA Gateway offers a way to allow existing OPC DA client applications access to remote servers and to upgrade step-by-step to web services technology.
The gateway is provided in version for IIS web services  and one for WCF. 
WCF offers more communications options but is useful only when both sides, client and server, are WCF based.

XDAGW-CS is an OPC DA V2/V3 compliant server with a built-in XML-DA V1.01 compliant client.
It enables OPC DA clients to access devices with XML-DA servers.
The gateway creates XML-DA subscriptions for all items referenced by a client and updates its data cache periodically. The clients can read data quickly out of the cache.

 

Why use OPC XML-DA?
The main reason for using the gateway is to enable OPC DA clients to access remote servers.
OPC XML-DA provides the foundation for multi-platform interoperability because it is based on Web Services communication instead of the Windows specific DCOM. It simplifies sharing and exchange of data among the various levels of the plant hierarchy (low level devices and up to enterprise systems), and to a wider range of platforms.
XML DA is a rather simple specification that is easy to implement on all web services platforms. The functionality is restricted to functionality defined in the OPC DA specification. 
If access to Historical and Alarms&Events servers is required the COMtoUA Converter has to be used instead.

 

Security
Web services don't provide a high level of security. Using HTTPS is the only option.
The gateway implements effective security measures. It can be configured to restrict the server access to an item subset. E.g. make some items read-only or allow only a subset of the items to be accessed.

The XDAGW-SS gateway is provided in a version for .NET3 that can be configured for secure communication.
In communication with a .NET3 based XML DA server, any WCF communication bindings can be used, including X.509 certificates

 

System Requirements

  • Windows 7, 8.x,10,11, Windows Server 2008,2012,2016,2019,2022
  • .NET 4.x
  • IIS with ASP.NET or WCF
OPC HDA .NET Server Toolkit
OPC HDA .NET Wrapper for OPC HDA clients

 

The HDANSrv Toolkit is discontinued but still supported for customers with a subscription.

 

OPC HDA (Historian) .NET Server Development Toolkit for C# and VB.NET

The HDANSrv OPC Historian Server Toolkit enables users to implement OPC HDA compliant servers with C# or VB.NET.
The COM client interface and the wrapping to .NET data types is handled in the generic toolkit server component.
To make the toolkit easy to use and understand the server code is structured in three layers:
  • Generic OPC HDA COM server
    Handles the client COM interface and the .NET wrapping. The data is converted to/from .NET data types.
    There are no application specific features. The provided implementation doesn't require any application adaptations.
  • Base Customization .NET plug-in assembly
    Does the basic OPC HDA compliant request handling. The provided C# and VB.NET implementation handles most application requirements. Application specific adaptations may be necessary for optimized server performance.
  • Database Access .NET plug-in assembly.
    This layer handles the application specific database access and data processing supported by the server.
    The provided sample implementation handles a text file database.

The provided sample servers are tested with the OPC Foundation Compliance Test Tool for full OPC HDA 1.0 / 1.1 / 1.2 compliance.

Complete source code is available and the code is well structured and extensively documented. The custom server development can be as simple as adapting one database access method.
To achieve top performance it may be necessary to adapt the provided Base Customization .NET plug-in assembly implementation.

Standard Edition Server Toolkit Features

  • OPC HDA V1.0 / 1.1 / 1.2 compliant
  • Generic server as a local/remote COM server with a high performance .NET wrapper. Works in 32-bit and 64-bit mode with the same customization plug-in assembly. The server can be registered to run as a process or a Windows Service.
  • Application specific handling is in.NET Assemblies that can be coded with VB.Net,
  • C# or any .NET compiler. C# amd VB.NET source code of the base customization plug-in is provided with the Site license.
  • The documentation is supplied as a Windows help CHM file and as a Help3 component that integrates into the Visual Studio help system and offers context sensitive help.
  • Test client that allows the interactive execution of all OPC HDA defined functions.
  • Simple deployment.
  • The Standard Edition supports of all mandatory HDA features and the optional asynchronous read functions.
  • Developer license with one time fee, no run-time licenses required.
  • The license includes an Updates/Support subscription for 90 days.

Professional Edition Server Toolkit Features

  • All features of the Standard Edition
  • Additionally supports the optional OPC HDA Update, Playback and Annotations features.
  • Complete source code of the plug-in customization assemblies for the sample text file database server implementation in C# and VB .Net.
    The Company SIte license also includes the C++ source code of the generic server.

System Requirements

  • Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2019 or neweer   32 or 64bit
  • .NET Framework 4.7.2 or newer or .NET7    Visual Studio 2022, C# or Visual Basic

Server Development

The generic server converts all client call parameters to .Net types and calls the appropriate method in the customization plug-in. All application specific server handling can be implemented in C# or VB.Net, using only .Net data types.
The provided sample servers are used as the starting point for custom server development projects. Depending on the application requirements the server development can be as simple as adapting the database read methods.


OPC Standard Compliance
The provided sample server implementation is tested with the OPC Foundation Compliance Test Tool for compliance with the OPC HDA V1.0/1.1/1.2 specifications.

Test Client
All OPC HDA defined functions can be called interactively.
This test client is a .Net application, built with the OPCHDA.NET Client Component, which is available as a separate product.

Support/Consulting Services
For Advosol product customers product related support is included in the license for a 90 day period and service subscriptions are available to extend this period. More...
For support 
  • that goes beyond the product use support
  • is not directly related to a purchased product

Advosol offers its OPC and .NET knowhow in the form of support incidents. You can buy single incidents or 3-packs.
A support incident handles on specific question or issue and, if possible answers the question, resolves the issue or pinpoints the problem. A complex case may include multiple incidents. An incident could be e.g. an issue with a specific OPC server, a VB/C# coding question or a security related access problem.

Support/Consulting services are also offered on an hourly base.

For more complex support or consulting and programming services, please request a free quote.

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