OPC Programmers' Connection - OLE for Process Control

2007-Dec-22

OPC and DCOM - free video training
OPC Training Institute (OPCTI) has published a free 6-part video on setting up DCOM for use with OPC. Titled "OPC & DCOM: 5 Things you need to know", the videos can be downloaded from Google Video.

2007-Dec-19

OPC vulnerabities a top SCADA security story?
Digital Bond has identified OPC vulnerabilities as one of the Top Ten SCADA Security Stories in 2007: "Lluis Mora and the team at Neutralbit sent 25 OPC server vulnerabilities to US-CERT in 2007. The affected vendors are slowly fixing these vulnerabilities which then are disclosed in vulnerability notes". Sadly, it turns out that just 3 of the 25 holes have been patched to date.

2007-Dec-14

OPC Compliance Tests - new pre-releases available
OPC Foundation has published new pre-release (evaluation) versions of most of the CTT modules, with various bug fixes. These downloads are available to OPC Foundation Corporate Members. A discussion has been set up on the OPC message board for reporting of any problems.

2007-Dec-12

Odd Lots
Catching up with some recent news items: -
The November 2007 issue of OPC Foundation's "OPConnect" newsletter is available, along with back issues.
Matrikon's Eric Murphy completed his overview of the DA 3.0 specification. A fine piece of work, though you'll still want the actual specification - OPC Foundation member or not. As Eric said in part 1, the OPC specs are (fortunately for all concerned) still readily and freely available.
Software Toolbox acquired the OPC business of long-time toolkit vendor Northern Dynamic, and plans to retain the brand.
ILS Technology has been making waves due to the OPC-UA support offered by its deviceWise technology, which is to be adopted by Softing.

2007-Dec-09

Software Toolbox OPC Extender
.NET: added information on Software Toolbox OPC Extender for Visual Studio, providing simple point-and-click configuration of OPC clients.

2007-Oct-29

New UA SDK beta 1.00.132
The OPC UA SDK has been updated. This release supports the core specification (parts 1 through 6), and also has support for parts 8, 9, 10 and 12. Key changes include ANSI C and C# implementations of the UA TCP protocol (including security), Local Discovery Server, Diagnostic Client and reduced dependence on IIS.
The UA SDK is available to Corporate Members of OPC Foundation.
Note: OPCconnect.com has an RSS feed to keep you automatically updated with changes to OPC downloads.

2007-Sep-27

Free Client download: NETxAutomation OPC Voyager
NETxAutomation.LAB OPC Voyager is a visualization solution for buildings and industrial plants. A free tester version is available, without time limitation. Our Free Clients page has links to this and many other OPC client downloads.

2007-Sep-25

OPC blog list updated
Our Links page has an updated listing of recommended OPC blogs. This includes the new blog of OPC Foundation President Tom Burke, plus the excellent Digital Bond security blog.

2007-Sep-25

Kepware OPC Training
Kepware now offers a range of OPC-related courses. Our Training page has links to Kepware and other OPC training providers.

2007-Sep-20

OPC Training Institute
OPC Training Institute is a new OPC training company, offering hands-on classes both face-to-face and online. See our Training page for links to other OPC training providers.

2007-Aug-14

Updated UA SDK beta - build 125
The OPC UA SDK for .NET has been updated. This version restores the ability to use an XML file to create an address space - see the full announcement. The UA SDK is available to Corporate Members of OPC Foundation, and a mailing list has now been set up for developers with an interest in proposed future changes to the API.
Note: OPCconnect.com has an RSS feed to keep you automatically updated with changes to OPC downloads.

2007-Aug-06

OPC Foundation newsletter - August 2007 issue
A new edition of OPC Foundation's "OPConnect" newsletter has been distributed by email, and published as a web page. The headline feature is a review of the recent UA Developers' Conference. Previous editions of the newsletter are also available.

2007-Jul-20

OPC UA bits and pieces
Several UA-related items from the past few days: -
Eric Murphy has a useful item on the value of the ServerType object within the UA Information Model.
OPC Foundation has announced the establishment of a Technical Advisory Council to guide, monitor and approve the technical deliverables of OPC UA.
The next S4 Conference on SCADA security is scheduled for January 23-24, 2008. One of the first papers to be booked has the ominous title of "OPC UA Exposed".

2007-Jul-12

Free download: Matrikon Operational Insight Lite
Matrikon Operational Insight Lite is a free tool with a number of advanced capabilities. It supports trending and process mimics based on real-time and archived OPC data (DA and HDA). See our Free Clients page for links to this and other OPC downloads.

2007-Jun-22

New UA SDK beta
The OPC UA SDK for .NET is available in a new beta version. Key changes include support for Events, Alarms, Conditions and Programs, as well as enhancements to the COM DA wrapper based on interop testing. The UA SDK is available to Corporate Members of OPC Foundation.
Note: OPCconnect.com has an RSS feed to keep you automatically updated with changes to OPC downloads.

2007-Jun-14

Pure Java OPC library continues to grow
Project Utgard, the pure Java library for OPC development, continues to improve. New version 0.1.8 supports IOPCServerList, and therefore allows enumeration of local and remote OPC servers. This release also fixes a problem with writing array values.
Utgard can now be considered a viable option for OPC DA client development, particularly with its provision of OPC client functionality on Linux, Mac OS and Solaris. Utgard is 100% open source.

2007-Jun-05

OPC webinar moved again
The OPC Foundation webinar, "The benefits of the new OPC Foundation Enhanced Certification Program", will now be on June 21. The first webinar, "What's the buzz with OPC Unified Architecture?", rermains on June 7. Follow the links for details and reservations.

2007-Jun-05

Compliance Tests Updated
OPC Foundation has updated most modules of its Compliance Test suite - available to Corporate Members of OPC Foundation. As well as bug fixes, there are changes for compatibility with Windows Vista. These new releases are the result of a beta test program which began in March.

2007-Jun-01

New dates for OPC Foundation webinars
OPC Foundation has announced two new webinars: -
"The benefits of the new OPC Foundation Enhanced Certification Program" and "What's the buzz with OPC Unified Architecture?".
Both webinars will now take place on June 7. Follow the links for details and reservations.

2007-May-30

ICONICS OPC DataSpy update
ICONICS has released a major update to its free DA and AE diagnostic client. Our Free Clients page has information on this and other useful downloads.

2007-May-25

OPC Foundation Bug Tracking System
Many OPC developers may be unaware that OPC Foundation operates its own bug tracking and reporting system at https://www.opcfoundation.org/mantis/. Before reporting a bug or a specification fault, it would be worth checking this site. Many of the current issues relate to different parts of the UA specification.

2007-May-25

Core Components SDK reinstated
The OPC Core Components SDK 3.00 is now available for download. The SDK includes the header files and IDL necessary to build an OPC application, and is available to both members and non-members of OPC Foundation. While other Core Components 3.00 downloads have been available for several months, the SDK had been omitted due to an oversight.
Why not subscribe to our RSS feed to be automatically updated with changes to OPC downloads?

2007-May-10

UA DevCon 2007 - time is running out!
OPC UA DevCon 2007 takes place in Scottsdale, AZ, June 25-28. This is an updated version of the excellent conference held in Munich, October 2006. As someone who attended that event, I would strongly encourage you to be at the 2007 DevCon. UA is a remarkable achievement, and its richness and complexity mean you'd be wise to use this opportunity to get up to speed as efficiently as possible. Details and registration on the OPC Foundation site.

2007-May-02

OPC Foundation newsletter - May 2007 issue
The 12th edition of OPC Foundation's "OPConnect" newsletter has been distributed by email, and published as a web page. Tom Burke, OPC Foundation president, looks at the future of OPC, plus there is information on the upcoming UA Developers' Conference. Previous editions of the newsletter are also available.

2007-Apr-29

RSS feed for OPC Foundation Downloads
Our new feed will keep you automatically updated with changes to OPC downloads. Point your reader at http://feeds.feedburner.com/opcdownloads.

2007-Apr-23

UA SDK updated
The OPC UA SDK for .NET is available in a new beta version. Key changes are inclusion of the wrapper for (COM) DA servers, improved help, and source code for sample client controls. The UA SDK is available to Corporate Members of OPC Foundation.

2007-Apr-19

OPC-UA leads to unity between EDDL and FDT
FDT and EDDL - the two competing standards for device definition and integration - have been brought together by the OPC Unified Architecture. At a meeting in March, it was agreed that the FDT Group would become a member of ECT (EDDL Cooperation Team) and work on defining a common OPC-UA Information Model for device descriptions. It had previously seemed likely that each group would define its own UA Information Model, even though they are both addressing the same basic problem. See the official announcement from Interkama for more information.

2007-Apr-17

Updated installers for OPC Core Components
Downloads for the OPC Core Components binaries have been upissued. The new versions fix problems with the installers and UAC (User Account Control) on Windows Vista - the binaries themselves are unchanged. See OPC Foundation downloads.

2007-Mar-29

OPC-UA article in Industrial Ethernet Book
The current issue of the online Industrial Ethernet Book has a useful feature on OPC-UA. The article, by John Weber of Software Toolbox, also looks briefly at some of the new features of Windows Vista. Our UA page has links to other relevant articles.

2007-Mar-29

Beta Compliance Tests Published
OPC Foundation has released beta versions of most Compliance Test modules. Amongst several fixes are changes for compatibility with Windows Vista. These beta releases are intended to allow problems to be found prior to the next full release in early May. They may not be used for generation of compliance reports and product certification. The Compliance Tests are available to Corporate Members of OPC Foundation.

2007-Mar-23

RSS feed for OPC Message Board
OPC Foundation has today announced that the Foundation's Message Board now has its own RSS feed. While an RSS feed can't thread messages in a way that a forum does, for many this will represent a very convenient way of keeping up with current debates in the OPC community. Subscribed.

2007-Mar-20

OPC server vulnerabilities/patches
The work of Neutralbit, presented at the recent S4 conference, has led to the announcement of 2 vulnerabilities in OPC servers, both of which are now patched. In each case, the fault relates to the server's failure to validate handles passed to it by a client. See US-CERT notes for NETxAutomation and Takebishi servers (via Digital Bond blog).

2007-Mar-12

OPC blog in Portuguese
Ronaldo Tomazeli Duarte of Smar has a new Portuguese language OPC blog. See our Links page for more OPC-related blogs.

2007-Mar-08

Further update to OPC redistributables
The OPC Core Components have been upissued to fix a bug in OPCEnum when using the IOPCServerList2 interface. The problem was introduced by the port to VS2005 - the correction is a one-line code change. In addition, the Core Components merge module now omits Microsoft's RPCRT4.DLL, which had been erroneously included in the previous version. See OPC Foundation downloads.

2007-Mar-06

OPC Foundation newsletter published
The eleventh edition of OPC Foundation's "OPConnect" newsletter has been distributed as an e-mail bulletin, and made available as a web page. Previous editions of the newsletter remain available.

2007-Mar-02

OPC UA DevCon 2007 announced
OPC Foundation will hold the third OPC Unified Architecture Developers' Conference in Scottsdale, AZ on June 25-28, 2007 - details, agenda and registration information. The first UA DevCon took place in Munich, Germany in October 2006 and was attended by more than 240 people.

2007-Feb-25

Understanding the OPC UA Information Model
At the heart of the OPC Unified Architecture is the UA Information Model. The Information Model is an elegant construction which allows for tremendous flexibility when presenting process data, while continuing to support the well understood models of existing OPC specifications. Anyone looking to become familiar with UA will want to take in the Information Model at a very early stage. Eric Murphy's most recent blog post, Thoughts on the OPC UA Information Model, offers a great introduction.

2007-Feb-16

Advosol OPC Security Analyzer updated
Advosol's OPC Security Analyzer is a free download designed to help configure and diagnose security settings for OPC DA servers. New version 3 includes additional diagnostics and explanations. See our Free Stuff pages for more free OPC downloads.

2007-Feb-14

Limited time access to OPC security presentation
Digital Bond is offering free online access to two of the presentations from the recent S4 conference on OPC security. One of these is "OPC Exposed: Denial of Service Attacks" by Ralph Langner of Langner Communications. The offer expires early next week (via Eric Murphy's OPC Exchange).

2007-Feb-10

Major updates to OPC redistributables, .NET API, sample code
OPC Foundation has updated a large number of its code samples and redistributables. Most significant are new proxy/stub builds and an update of the .NET API to .NET 2.0. Also affected are sample code for DA, HDA and XML-DA. All code samples are now built with Visual Studio 2005. See OPC Foundation downloads area for more information.

2007-Feb-06

UA specification updates
Part 10 of the OPC Unified Architecture specification, covering Programs, has been released by OPC Foundation. Also new is a revised draft of part 4 (Services) with new Discovery capabilities. Note that part 4 had already been released at 1.00 level. These documents are available only to corporate members of OPC Foundation.

2007-Feb-06

S4 Proceedings book now available
The proceedings of the recent S4 conference on SCADA security are now available in book form. Among the 11 papers contained in the book are 2 relating to security of OPC systems. The Digital Bond blog has full details and abstracts (PDF document).

2007-Feb-01

S4 - OPC security roundup
The Digital Bond blog has a post covering the second day of the recent S4 conference on SCADA security, including 2 papers on vulnerabilities in OPC server implementations. Although many servers were shown to be robust, a large minority demonstrated significant problems. Standout remark concerns the submission of "25 advisories to US-CERT and CERT/CC for processing". It's encouraging that the automation business is at last waking up to such issues - clearly there's much more to come.

2007-Jan-29

Matrikon announces "no-cost" OPC visualization and trending solution
In a move sure to increase its presence in the OPC tools space, Matrikon has announced Operational Insight Lite, a free visualization solution for real-time and historical data (OPC DA and HDA). Features include trending and full graphics editing, with a symbol library of over 3000 components. Operational Insight Lite is due for release in April, with a limited beta from mid February. See announcement.

2007-Jan-19

OPC blog update
Francophones may be interested in Michel Condemine's new opcfr blog. Michel is currently posting information on the background and history of OPC. See also our list of the best OPC-related blogs.

2007-Jan-13

OPC security in the spotlight (2)
The upcoming SCADA Security Scientific Symposium (S4) includes two papers on vulnerabilities in OPC implementations. The first, by Ralph Langner, focuses on Denial of Service attacks. The second paper is an in depth look at weaknesses in the actual OPC interface implementations. This paper is presented by Lluis Mora of Neutralbit. At the same time, Neutralbit will publish the results of a security study conducted on over 100 OPC servers.

2007-Jan-13

OPC security in the spotlight (1)
With security of automation systems coming under increasing scrutiny, the robustness of OPC applications is receiving more attention than ever before. Is this the first example of a remote code execution exploit arising from off-the-shelf OPC software? Credit to the vendor, ICONICS, for providing a timely hotfix. More links here.

2007-Jan-13

Open source Java OPC library supports async IO
Java: Project Utgard, the pure Java OPC library, has been updated to version 0.1.5. The primary enhancement is client-side support for async IO.

2007-Jan-09

Unified Architecture SDK beta
An OPC UA SDK for .NET is now available at beta level, to OPC Foundation corporate members. See our UA page for more information.

2007-Jan-08

Historical Access part of UA specification is released
Part 11 of the OPC Unified Architecture specification, covering Historical Access (formerly HDA), has been released by OPC Foundation. This document is available only to corporate members of OPC Foundation. Eric Murphy has posted more details on his OPC Exchange blog.

2007-Jan-08

OPC Foundation 2007 Technical Seminar Program
OPC Foundation will hold a series of seminars in 2007 targeted at end users and System Integrators. The proposed schedule includes Greenville, SC on February 21, Baton Rouge, LA in March, Detroit, MI in April, Philadelphia, PA in July, Toronto, ON in September and Denver, CO in October. Registration will be open from mid January.

2007-Jan-08

OPC-UA Workshops at ARC Forum
OPC Foundation will host two OPC-UA workshops at ARC Advisory Group's upcoming Forum, February 12-15, 2007 in Orlando, Florida. These will comprise a user workshop and a supplier workshop, both on the afternoon of Thursday February 15th.

Archive - 2007