COPA-DATA has successfully recertified its OPC UA server. The OPC Foundation confirms that the server meets the strict guidelines in terms of compliance, interoperability, and robustness.
As an early adopter, COPA-DATA recognized the importance of OPC Unified Architecture early on and developed and certified its own OPC UA server, implemented by the zenon OPC UA Process Gateway. The specification makes it possible to exchange data via a platform-independent, service-oriented architecture. OPC UA is used in traditional industry but also in pharmaceutical production. In the life sciences industry, it is being used increasingly and meanwhile has also entered the critical infrastructure domain, with it being used in the energy industry alongside their standard protocols.
As both the specification and the test procedures are constantly evolving, a certification is valid only for a limited time. It was thus necessary, to renew the certification to demonstrate compliance with the latest OPC Foundation specifications. Existing and newly added functionalities were subjected to a stricter and more mature test procedure.
Put through its paces
Mark Clemens, Product Manager Connectivity, oversaw the process on behalf of COPA-DATA together with the SCRUM team for connectivity topics. "The requirements of the OPC Foundation are very strict," says Clemens.
In principle, it is also possible to offer OPC UA solutions without a certification. In some markets, such as India, however, a certification is a prerequisite for participating in tenders. "This also offers the opportunity to set yourself apart from the competition by meeting the high-quality standards of the OPC Foundation and ensuring that the implementation complies with the specifications in terms of interoperability," says Clemens. The industry consortium publishes products supporting OPC UA, on its website. Barely 8 percent of the listed products have a valid certification.
Sophisticated procedure - exacting standards
The certification includes technical tests. These are supported by test software, which corporate members of the OPC foundation can access. The tool contains thousands of test cases that can be run automatically and must all be passed. Further testing takes place in one of the two worldwide test laboratories and takes an average of five days. Interoperability, long-term tests, resource consumption, documentation and usability are also checked here.
The OPC UA server from COPA-DATA has passed all tests. The adaption to a newer version of the OPC UA specification and the more mature test procedures, even further improve the OPC UA server implementation via the zenon OPC UA Process Gateway.
Lukas Punzenberger, Director Product Management (left), and Product Manager Connectivity, Mark Clemens, are delighted with the successful re-certification.
Here you can find out more about OPC Foundation.
In memoriam of our dear and respected colleague Hans Berende. As an experienced software developer he contributed significantly with great passion to the certification process of the OPC UA Server. We miss you.