ASMD Standard
OPC Unified Architecture (UA) is the next generation of OPC. One of the most important improvements offered by the OPC UA is a powerful Address Space exposed by the server to reflect the Information Model (OPC UA IM) of the underlying process. The process information model is represented by nodes, attributes, and their mutual relationships. Therefore, this powerful concept allows us to present in UA not only raw process data but also complete information about the process state and process environment. The flexibility of OPC UA IM ensures that there is no existing or future system that is too complicated to be exposed via UA. Of course, such flexibility leads to complications during configuration, that’s why Address Space Model Designer (OPC UA ASMD) has been born.
Address Space Model Designer is a user-friendly tool supporting all aspects of the model designing process. Using the Address Space Model Designer has the following advantages: easy addition and deletion of nodes from the model structure, definition of nodes relationship and types, nodes filtering, helpful search and find utility, type declaration, etc.
This topic contains the following sections:
- UA Address Space Model Design tool
- Tightly coupled smart e-book on Unified Architecture
- OPC UA Software Development Kit.
Publication of process real-time and metadata as the consistent OPC Unified Architecture Address Space requires a prior model design. Address Space Model Designer Standard is software intended to help developers and engineers to design OPC Unified Architecture Information Models. The whole configuration can be prepared using a user-friendly Windows-based GUI. All nodes are presented on a tree and can be edited in the property window.
UA Model Designer Standard supports all aspects of the model designing process, e.g. : easy nodes management in the model structure, definition of nodes relationship and types, nodes filtering, helpful search and find utility, type declaration, etc. Using the Address Space Model Designer Standard has the following advantages:
- Easy addition and deletion of nodes from the model structure
- Definition of nodes relationship and types
- Nodes filtering
- Helpful search and find utility
- Type declaration
and more...
OPC Foundation has already released the UA Software Development Kit that is a collection of libraries, applications and source code that allow developers to build UA applications. Any developer who wants to create an OPC UA server of his own has to accomplish many tasks, but one of the most important is the preparation of a model. This could be a hard task; OPC Foundation UA SDK does not include any tool, which helps prepare such a model. The model must be made from scratch by editing the xml file. Thanks to the Address Space Model Designer, fully compliant with this SDK, the preparation of the xml file that defines the model is much easier.
- Creation, visualization and edition of the OPC UA Information Model that is compatible with the OPC Unified Architecture Address Space concept.
- The comprehensive smart e-book, the content of which is available online so it is continuously improved and always up to date
- The content smart positioning system allows providing context sensitive help.
- No XML file editing is required.
- No programming skills are required.
- Created for developers and engineers, for professionals and beginners.