Bridging the Gap: Industrial Standards for Seamless System Interoperability
Michael Chu
Product Management | Product Marketing | Product Development | Program Management | Process Improvement
Last time I talked about the various types of systems that make up a production automation manufacturing flow. In order to properly function in a factory and produce effectively and efficiently, these systems need to communicate with each other.
When all of the components and systems come from a single vendor, this is relatively easy. However, as manufacturing becomes more software defined, customers expect that a system from vendor A can be used with another system from vendor B. We need a common open standard that everyone can use to make sure the components can work together seamlessly.
In this article, we are going to take a look at two of the industrial standards that are enabling this seamless interoperability: OPC UA and Margo.
OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA)
OPC UA stands for "Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture". This is a platform independent standard for data to be exchanged between machines, devices and systems in an industrial environment. It is formally part of the IEC 62541 standard as IEC 62541-5.
OPC UA was developed by the OPC Foundation. The OPC Foundation is made up of over 1000 members ranging from small system integrators to the world's largest automation and industrial suppliers. This means that the technologies and standards coming from that foundation have significant industry input, feedback and buy-in.
OPC UA uses a client-server model.
Devices can have their own native proprietary interfaces but still interoperate with other devices in an OPC UA environment through an OPC Server. The OPC Server translates between OPC UA and a device's native interface. This server can come from the device vendor themselves or a 3rd party can provide a server that is compatible with the device. In fact, 3rd party OPC Servers tend to offer broader support other than a single vendor's interfaces.
To interact with OPC Servers requires a corresponding OPC Client. Clients are usually an application which gets and processes data from OPC Servers using OPC UA. What the application does with this data varies depending on the use case. It could visualize the data for operators, make control decisions, etc.
OPC UA also allows communication to happen using a Publisher-Subscriber (PubSub) model. With traditional client-server interactions, a "standing" connection between the client and an server needs to be opened and maintained. With PubSub, clients can "subscribe", with a PubSub Broker, to receive certain types of data. Then, as servers have data to provider, they "publish" it to the broker which then distributes it to the listening clients.
In addition to removing the need for a resource consuming connection, the broker can provide historical access to past data as well as provide a certain amount of conditions and alarm filtering for subscribers.
All in all, OPC UA is an important industrial communication standard which makes it possible for machines, devices and systems from different vendors to effectively interoperate and exchange data in a deployed manufacturing flow.
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The Margo Initiative
Similar to the goals of OPC UA, The Margo Initiative is trying to improve interoperability in deployed manufacturing flows. Where it differs is that, while OPC UA is aiming to improve data exchange between machines, devices and systems, The Margo Initiative is aiming to define the mechanisms for interoperability between edge applications, edge devices and edge orchestration software.
Margo is in its early days with the details and architecture still being worked out. It is being driven by the Linux Foundation with a set of founding members that include some of the largest automation ecosystem providers globally, including ABB, Capgemini, Microsoft, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric and Siemens. You can see the work-in-progress Margo System Specification draft here.
The main components of the specification center around defining:
With all of the support Margo has garnered from major ecosystem giants, its impact on the manufacturing sector is sure to be profound, enabling greater innovation and operational efficiency across the board.
Are you using open standards in your deployed manufacturing flows? If so, which ones are enabling your factory?
Share your thoughts and experiences.
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