Video Tutorial: Logging Process Data to SQL Server with OPC Data Logger

You can make more confident and informed decisions when you have accurate and relevant data to base those decisions on. Operational data is crucial because it enables you to track performance, quickly identify issues, and make decisions based on up-to-date information, resulting in enhanced efficiency and effectiveness.

And in the current times of AI, Big Data, IoT, and countless other hot topics, many of the long-standing technologies that power many industries are left out of the limelight. For some users, the likeliness of OPC and SQL databases are well known and have been the basis for many simplified data collection projects. For others, there are still new and growing requirements to digitize data and interconnect a variety of sources into an easily accessible and manageable location. With Software Toolbox’s large variety of solutions we help both big and small companies alike meet their needs.

In this video, you'll learn how simple it is to configure the OPC Data Logger for storing OPC data to an SQL database server, making sure your business is taking advantage of valuable insights from your different data sources and systems. We’ll demonstrate how to leverage the OPC Data Logger to seamlessly extract data from an OPC UA Server and efficiently store it within a SQL Database. This process is crucial for various industrial and automation applications where real-time data monitoring, historical analysis, and predictive maintenance are critical for operations.

In under 10 minutes, this video provides a step-by-step guide on utilizing Software Toolbox's OPC Data Logger to:

1. Create and Configure a Project: Initiate a new OPC Data Logger project
2. Establish OPC UA Connection: Create an OPC Collector object using OPC UA to a local TOP Server
3. Configure Logging Task: Define the subscription rate for the OPC items to be monitored
4. Tag Selection: Browse and select the desired tags from the connected TOP Server instance
5. Data Presentation: Determine the desired presentation type for organizing the collected data
6. Data Storage: Establish a data storage connection to a local SQL Server instance
7. Table Builder: Build a new SQL Table directly within OPC Data Logger
8. Validate and Save: Validate the entire configuration and save the project
9. Test Run: Utilize the Test Run feature to execute the configuration
10. Verify Data: Verify the logged values by inspecting the SQL Server database using SQL Server Management Studio

Don't forget to subscribe to our blog to find out about the latest updates for OPC Data Logger and for other how-to videos on using OPC Data Logger and other Software Toolbox solutions.

Ready to log your own OPC process data to SQL using OPC Data Logger? Download the free trial here.