Connecting vNode to a OPCUA Server: A Step-by-Step Guide

This guide explains how to establish a connection between vNode, a software platform, and an OPC UA Server for data extraction and monitoring various registers within the OPC UA Server.

Step 1: Create a New Module in vNode

• Module Selection: Use the OPCUAClient module.
• Purpose: This module allows for communication with the OPC UA Server, enabling data exchange.

By following these steps, you can effectively monitor and extract data from the OPC UA Server using vNode.

After creating our module, we will proceed to establish a communication channel to our OPC UA server. In this process, we will specify the following parameters:

1. **Endpoint**: The endpoint consists of the communication scheme and the address of the OPC UA server. Typically, the OPC.TCP scheme is used, followed by the server's IP address and port in the format `OPC.TCP://IP:PORT`. This format ensures that the OPC UA client can locate and connect to the OPC UA server correctly.

2. **Security Type**: Next, we will select the type of security used by the OPC UA server. There are two main options:
- **Sign**: This option ensures that the data sent between the client and server is digitally signed, guaranteeing the authenticity and integrity of the data.
- **Sign and Encrypt**: In addition to signing the data, this option also encrypts the transmitted data, providing an additional layer of confidentiality and protecting against data interception.

3. **Security Policy**: Then, we will choose the security policy that determines the encryption level and security techniques used. Common options include:
- **Basic128Rsa15**: Offers basic encryption with a 128-bit key and RSA-15 for authentication.
- **Basic256**: Provides a higher level of security with a 256-bit key.
- **Basic256Sha256**: Offers the highest level of security with a 256-bit key and the SHA-256 algorithm for authentication, ensuring both data integrity and confidentiality.

4. **Authentication**: If the OPC UA server has any form of security enabled, we will enable the authentication option. This involves activating authentication and providing the necessary credentials (username and password) to access the OPC UA server. This ensures that only authorized users can access the server and its data.

If the OPC UA server does not have any security enabled, we can leave all options at their default settings, simplifying the configuration process.

After creating our communication channel, we can navigate to the OPC Browser option within the OPCUA module. This feature allows us to explore the OPC UA client we set up in the previous step. The browser will display the various folders of our OPC UA server, enabling us to browse and select the desired data. Adding these data points to our data structure within vNode is straightforward—simply select the items from the OPC UA server folders and drag and drop them into our model, which will already have our data structure mapped in vNode.

After that, it's important to save the configuration. Then, navigate to the real-time section where you'll see our new data in real-time, reading from the OPC UA server.

Created By JF