OPC

Classic OPC is a client/server technology that enables clients (e.g. FlowChief) to communicate with devices from other manufacturers. An OPC server usually communicates in the proprietary protocol of the server (e.g. Modbus, RFC 1006) and enables a bidirectional communication with the OPC client (FlowChief) on the other side.

Highlights

Communication based on the specified interfaces DA (Data Access) and AE (Alert & Events) defined by the OPC foundation for capturing events and alerts.
Tried and tested by millions with a wide range of drivers for practically any device.

OPC Classic DA and AE Client
Details
OPC DA Client	Capturing of process values
OPC AE Client	Capturing of events and alerts
Addressing	Dependent on OPC server, symbolic or absolute
Value refresh	Event based - performance depending on protocol properties
Timestamp	Taken from OPC Server
FlowChief Frontend - configuration	DA: PV configuration in Plantexplorer or via Excel ImportExport (Configuration via Excel™ Workbook) AE: Optional self-learning. New sources and conditions from server will be created automatically in FlowChief.
Tag Browsing	Yes, browsing incl. Text- and Data type filter
Engineering Wizard	Yes, structures are taken on automatically
Meta data for the configuration (e.g.: units, labels)	Yes, if supported by the OPC server
Licensing
No license required	Free of cost at delivery