Do you need to log specific process data to a database or text file based on some predefined variable or condition? We typically refer to this concept as "conditional" or "condition-based" logging. It sounds simple enough but without a plan, it can be a tricky task to implement.
In this post, I'll introduce you to the considerations involved with conditional data logging and cover how OPC Data Logger can easily be set up to log data based on a variety of conditions without a lot of headaches.
Do you need to directly connect data points or variables in different equipment, processes, or software? This concept is commonly referred to as ‘point-to-point bridging,’ and the DataHub bridging capability allows multiple data sources to communicate with each other in real time.
In this second post of our “I Can Do That?” blog series, we’ll help users like you get the most out of your DataHub by understanding the bridging feature in detail and how this feature can often be combined with other features to accomplish some very powerful automation tasks.
OPC has been around as an industry standard since 1996. If you’ve been working in the space very long, you have probably heard all the different acronyms thrown around. If you’re new, well there are different specifications in the OPC software interoperability standards that are used to meet different information integration needs.
In this first post of our “I Can Do That?” blog series, I’ll explore examples of the connections between different OPC standards we hear about from users, ways to address them using OPC Gateway software, and use cases highlighting solutions we’ve seen other users implement successfully.
There are some nice, time-saving updates available in TOP Server V6.2. In case you happened to miss it, I did a high-level post shortly after the release giving you an overview of the four biggest features from V6.2 - click here to see that post.
A Register Number is a time-saving special OmniServer element that allows you to configure one item that is requesting the same type of memory or offset in a device instead of one item for each memory or offset location.
In this video blog, I show you how to get started using registers to more efficiently build an OmniServer protocol without having to manually create an item for every piece of data whenever possible.
There are several useful updates available with TOP Server V6.2. In case you missed it, I did a high-level post giving you an overview of the four biggest features from the V6.2 release - click here to see that post.
Do you have a multitude of non-standard devices with unique identifiers such as a Device IDs or Node IDs that must be sent as part of all protocol messages to communicate with each device? If so, you could certainly accomplish this by hard coding your Device/Node IDs as part of each message in your OmniServer protocol and simply have a separate protocol for each device.
But OmniServer has a better way: Topic Variables. In this sixth post in our “OmniServer Did You Know?” blog series, you'll learn how to use Topic Variables to create one flexible protocol that you can use across any number of devices using the same communication protocol.
The Wellsite Information Transfer Specification (WITS) is a communications format used for the transfer of a wide variety of oil & gas wellsite data from one computer system to another. This oil/gas industry standard is recognized by a number of companies internationally and is supported by many hardware devices and software applications used at well sites around the globe.
In this video blog, I show you how to get started using our TOP server software based communications driver for WITS Level 0 Active protocol to integrate data from your wellsite devices into AVEVA (formerly Wonderware) applications. You can install the software on your own computer and it will communicate with multiple devices via multiple serial ports and/or Ethernet convertors.
