Open Automation Software by Yokogawa is a set of software applications and tools that conform to the Open Process Automation*1 (OPA) Standard (O-PAS). This product portfolio consists of several software packages, which enable various components, such as the Advanced Computing Platform (ACP) and Distributed Control Node*2(DCN), to comply with O-PAS.
*1,*2 About OPA and DCN, please refer to "What is OPA?"
What is OPA?
OPA is an initiative to create a new generation of automation systems that can be used across many different industries, including today’s process and factory automation strategies.
OPA can be described as a Software Defined Control System; a cutting-edge industrial automation framework designed to revolutionize process control systems in various industries, such as oil and gas, petrochemicals, and manufacturing.
Unlike traditional proprietary solutions, OPA is built upon open standards, fostering interoperability, portability, flexibility, and scalability.
OPA systems require portability of configurations and applications, and a mechanism that allows components from different suppliers to interoperate with each other. To achieve this system requirement, industrial PCs, PLCs, and remote I/O components that operate in OPA systems must provide a mechanism that allows them to operate as a DCN, as well as products and services to manage the communication of OPC UA applications running on an upper platform in an integrated manner.
Two software packages provided by Open Automation Software, "OpreX Open Automation SI Kit" and "OpreX OPC UA Management Package," provide essential functions for building such OPA systems.
“OpreX Open Automation SI Kit" is a set of development tools that provides necessary functions for components intended to be run as DCNs in OPA systems.
“OpreX OPC UA Management Package" provides several services, which are useful for managing OPC UA applications running on OPA systems. By using these products, it is easy to make your own developed components compliant with OPA.
Подробно
OpreX Open Automation SI Kit
OpreX Open Automation SI Kit is a suite of software used for building an OPA system. It includes components to make open devices operate as O-PAS compliant “Compute and I/O” DCNs. Yokogawa’s function block library for engineering environments supports IEC61499, which is one of the selected engineering languages in O-PAS.
SI Kit for DCN
The components working in a DCN include an OPC UA server supporting the O-PAS information model, OPC UA A&C, GDS client function and Alias Name Service.
FB Library for IEC61499
FB Library for IEC61499 is a set of pre-defined function blocks, which have been developed based on the experience Yokogawa has accumulated through its DCS over the years. It enables improved engineering quality and reduced engineering time.
OpreX OPC UA Management Package
OpreX OPC UA Management Package is a software package that provides a set of functions to help manage and integrate field devices connected on an OPC UA network. It is primarily used when building an OPA system using OPC UA compliant devices.
The product consists of two applications, Global Discovery Server (GDS) and Alarm Parameter Storage Service (APS). The GDS provides the service to authenticate devices as OPC UA servers, and alias name resolution of I/O tags. The APS provides the service to store and restore alarm parameters in the OPC UA server.
The specific services provided by OPC UA Management Package are as follows.
Alias name resolution
This function allows any nodes in the system to be accessed by a specified alias name instead of a node ID. This function is called Alias Name Service (ANS).
ANS enables client applications to locate a device without the need to specify the address and node ID in the system. When making changes to the OPC UA server, such as replacing a device, it is no necessary to be aware of the address or node ID.
Communication authentication
This is an authentication function for devices realized by GDS. An OPC UA device with GDS client functionality makes an authentication request to GDS and obtains CA certification issued by GDS, allowing the device to access other devices within the domain.
It is possible to strengthen the security of the system in the OPC UA network.
Management of alarm parameter settings
This function backs up alarm setting values configured on the OPC UA server. In systems that support OPC UA A&C, alarm setting values are written to the endpoint device from a client application such as a Human Machine Interface (HMI) or configuration tool, and these settings are retained by the device itself. Because of this mechanism, these set values may be lost due to device failure, etc. Therefore, a backup function outside of the device is required.
APS enhances system continuity of operations by retaining alarm setting values external to the device and automatically restoring them when a device has an issue or is replaced.
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