Some more things happening on the OPC front the last little while.  I see Tom Burke revamped his blog.  It’s got a new RSS feed, more links to information on OPC UA and all the past postings from the previous blog.

The third installment of the OPC Security Whitepaper Series written by Byres Research, Digital Bond and BCIT.    I’ve posted before on Parts One and Two.   This final paper presents guidelines for hardening OPC hosts from a security point of view.    It seems to me the two biggest hurdles to getting systems more secure is: 1) educating users on what can be done and, 2) convincing them to do it.  Of course that is easier said than done.

Along with the very thorough hardening guidelines presented in the whitepaper, users can also look at different architectures or how product like OPC Tunneller fit into their overall security setup.

And last but not least, the MatrikonOPC Users Group seminar will be held in Houston, Texas on October 24th.   As with previous OPC User’s Groups the focus is on how OPC can be used to solve many of the common integration problems user’s face.   It’s also a chance for OPC users to mingle and find out how others are using OPC.   The format has changed a bit this year.  Rather than one big multi-day event, there it will be an intimate, one day, focused seminar held in various locations.  The means the seminars can be tailored to local wants and needs as well as saves participants traveling costs.

A reminder of the two final OPC Technical sessions happening in September and October.

The next OPC Seminar will be held on September 18, 2007 at the Summit Conference and Event Center located at 411 Sable Boulevard North in Aurora, CO.  The final session will be held on October 10, 2007 at the Holiday Inn Toronto-On King located at 370 King Street West in Toronto, ON

The seminars start with registration and continental breakfast at 8:00 AM and the program will begin at 8:30 AM. The seminar will cover all aspects of OPC Technology from OPC Servers to OPC Clients to OPC Best Practices.  As always, the seminars are free, but registration is required.  Great for end-users, system integrators, or those involved in automation projects, and are new to OPC.  

Also happening in October is the European Interoperability Workshop in Nürnberg.  This workshop will run from 1:00 PM on Monday, October 15th, 2007 through Noon on Friday, October 19th, 2007.  Interoperability testing is an essential part of the OPC Certification process, so don’t miss it.  You have a whole week to recover from Oktoberfest, so that’s no excuse for not making it to the IOP.

… until the perception of OPC quality improves.   The ‘flogging’ bit comes from a recent ControlGlobal article with the teaser line “There are people who would rather take a flogging than maintain an OPC installation.”   The piece talks about OPC and Modbus, and their role in Process Control.  It’s basically a push for Foundation Fieldbus HSE (High-Speed Ethernet), and has ‘disparaging remarks’ on OPC (some might say FUD) as a competing standard.

I’ll not get into a spitting match over the OPC comments.  I know not every OPC installation is free of problems, and have been personally involved with more than a few that were quite painful.   There are those that see OPC in an unfavorable light since it is difficult to separate issues with OPC, DCOM problems, items beyond the scope of the OPC specifications and problems with server quality (see my last post).   I’ve posting on this in the past, and don’t want to ‘flog a dead horse’, but let me highlight a few points.

No one ever said OPC was intended to replace every protocol known to man and solve all the world’s connectivity problems.  Neither was Modbus, Profibus, FF HSE, or any other protocol someone might be selling you. Any standard or specification, including OPC UA, can only cover so much.   OPC is dedicated to open connectivity for industrial automation.  That means a product from vendor A will be interoperable with a product from vendor B.   OPC can be plug-and-play but if it is not treated with the importance that its place in the system warrants, or if it is not used as designed it will cause problems.  Users have to be conscious of system requirements and architecture.  They also have to look at the software quality, engineering services expertise and product support of the OPC vendor.   The specification and the Certification process ensures the OPC products will be interoperable.  However, like any technology, OPC requires expertise to architect, implement, and support.

Think of it in terms of hardwiring IO terminals.  Boiled down it’s simply tightening a screw on a wire.   Even my four year old son can do that, but surprisingly no one has hired him yet, even though Alberta is starving for workers.      Of course, we know there is more to it. You needs an engineer to design the electrical system for any industrial application and a certified technician to do the final wiring. Like any large scale industrial application of technology not only do you need the right people doing the work, the project must follow best practices before, during, and after the technology is deployed.   Implementing software, even OPC, is no different.