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Discontinued Products

Licensing

Licensing with the License Manager V4

License activation with the License Manager V4

Transfer runtime licenses (License Manager V4)

The runtime license enables the full functionality of a product on one computer. You cannot use the same license a second time.

If you like to transfer the runtime license from one PC to the other, then please send us your license key (format: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX) or a copy of your license sheet per e-mail to: support.automation@softing.com

The license key can be found on the delivery CD case or a separate license sheet.

The state of license will be reset by Softing.

Please delete the license file (.lic) for the product on your old PC. To do this, navigate to the license directory in the License Manager V4:Configuration -> Settings -> License path… -> Open License DirectoryDelete here the old license file.

After that you can activate your license once again on another computer.

The License Manager fails to detect the hardware dongle (blue USB dongle).

Note:
The hardlock driver blocks the access to the dongle when using Terminal Server or connecting through Remote Desktop! In these cases please use a software license key.

You can download the current Aladdin Hardlock driver from the website here:
https://sentinelcustomer.gemalto.com/sentineldownloads/

See application note: The License Manager fails to detect the hardware dongle (Aladdin Hardlock Key) license. Applications covered by the hardware key license indicate a demo version on startup of the computer.

This FAQ is only relevant if you are using an old blue USB dongle.

Dongle license is working for some time then the Software is running suddenly in Demo Mode

Dongle license is working for some time (>90 Minutes, usually some days / weeks). Then, suddenly the message “Software is running in Demo Mode” shows up.

Cause: energy-management of Windows shuts down USB-Ports to save energy.

Solution:
Control panel -> Device manager -> Universal Serial Bus controllers -> USB-Root-Hub(s).
In the tab “Power Management” switch off „Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”
Do that with all USB-Hubs.

Furthermore please update to the latest Easy Connect version and/or S7/S5 OPC Server version if any used.

OPC Classic Development Toolkits

Licensing Model of the OPC Classic Development Toolkits

The installation package of Softing's OPC Toolkit V4.4x may be downloaded and used freely by anyone. By default, the installer will install and set up the base demo package. This may be used for OPC application development. The base demo package contains a fully functional OPC Toolkit core (OTB.dll, OTBx64.dll), which will run in demo mode, unless a proper license is activated. The only limitation the demo mode contains is a 90 minutes run time limitation. After exceeding 90 minutes of runtime, the OPC Toolkit will stop working and a message box notifying the user will pop up.

The Toolkit contains 6 components and each of these components can be activated individually, by providing the proper license key:

OPC Server DA - Data Access Specification V1.0a, V2.05 and V3.0
OPC Server XML-DA - XML Data Access Specification V1.01
OPC Server AE - Alarms and Events Specification V1.10
OPC Client DA - Data Access Specification V1.0a, V2.05 and V3.0
OPC Client XML-DA - XML Data Access Specification V1.01
OPC Client AE - Alarms and Events Specification V1.10

There are 3 licensing models available for the Toolkit components mentioned above:

Run Time License
Binary License
Source Code License

Note: For each licensing model Softing provides a different key type and the key will not work for another licensing model.
Note: The licensing modes described above are completely independent of each other.
Note: It is not possible to use different licensing models at the same time. I. e. it is not possible to activate different components using different licensing models.

Run Time License:
A Run Time License cancels the 90 minutes limitation of the OPC Toolkit core, by means of Softing's License Manager (Softing's License Manager must be installed in order to be able to activate the components using this license model). This license may be required for the pre-production phases of development - e.g. load and endurance testing and for deployment. The OPC application that has been developed must be deployed together with the Softing's License Manager and a Runtime License key in order to use this licensing model. This type of license is bound to a specific PC and cannot be transferred to another PC.

Binary License:
Using the license model requires that the license key is provided by your OPC application. I. e. an activation method must be called in the OPC application, where the component that needs to be activated and the proper activation key are specified. This type of license is not bound to a specific PC and can be transferred to another PC.
Sample code in C# for DAClient:
// Activate your OPC Client license
Application.Instance.Activate(EnumFeature.DA_CLIENT, "XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX");

Source Code License:
Provides full source code of the OPC Toolkit and enables the user to compile his own activation free version of the OPC Toolkit Core. Activation of the Source Code License key must be done within the Softing License Manager. On activation the source code for the activated components/features will be installed/extracted on your machine. A detailed description of how to enable the source code license can be found in the Toolkit documentation under "Compiling the OPC Toolkit core" article.

Note: Updating an existing OPC development project with a patch will cause OTBcfg.h and OTB.cpp to be overwritten, so license activation will have to be done again.
Note: It is possible to activate several components at the same time. The code for the purchased components will be merged into an OPC Toolkit containing all the licensed features/functionalities. E.g. it is possible to have a Toolkit core that has Server DA, Server AE and Server XML-DA functionalities.

Error message: Could not load file or assembly "OpcRcw.Dx"

This error message is caused by missing or incorrectly installed OPC core components (OpcRcw is a class of the core components).
To solve the problem, please uninstall the OPC core components (if they are already installed) and then reinstall them.

The installer can be found in the /Retail/OPC folder on our installation DVDs or as a download on the website of the OPC Foundation under → Resources → Samples/Code → Classic → Core Components (https://opcfoundation.org/developer-tools/developer-kits-classic/core-components/).

The server developed using the OPC Toolkit is launched more than once

The server developed using the OPC Toolkit is launched more than once (e.g. by the Explorer and additionally by an OPC client).

This is a common DCOM problem. The OPC server is launched by different users (User / System). You can solve the problem by editing this server setting under Start / DCOM Settings. If the OPC Server is installed as a service, you can also edit the setting by selecting Control Panel → Services → Properties of the server → Launch the service as “This user.” In this case, the user has to be assigned a password.

Developed programs indicate “Demo Mode” although the OPC Toolkit has been activated

You need to enter the DesigntimeKey (Binary Key) in the source code (“Activate” method). Please have a look at one of the provided samples that demonstrate how to invoke this method.

I want to debug, but the debug DLLs (xxxd.dll) are missing

If you want to debug into the OPC Toolkit, you will need the debug DLLs (xxxd.dll), which are not included with the Toolkit:

Otbd.dll
Tbcvs20xxd.dll (for c++)
TBNxx.dll (for .NET, here without “d”)

Softing supplies only the release versions of the DLLs because the debug DLLs need to be created by the developers themselves. For this purpose, the Toolkit folder provides the appropriate projects, which you can open and compile in the desired version.
To debug, both DLLs used (API + core) need to be loaded into your project in the debug versions.

...\OPCToolbox\V42x\Windows\core\src\OTB\OTB_VS20xx.vcproj
Results in the otbd.dll. This is the OPC Toolbox core.

...\OPCToolbox\V42x\Windows\C++\src\OPCToolboxC++_VS20xx.vcproj
Results in the TBCVS20xxd.dll. This is the C++ API.

...\OPCToolbox\V42x\Windows\NET\src\OPCToolboxNET_VS20xx.vcproj
Results in the TBNxx.dll. This is the .Net API.

Please also have a look at the help topic “Installation → Compiling the OPC Toolbox Core” and read the FAQ “What settings do I need for debugging the OPC Toolkit?”

What settings do I need for debugging the OPC Toolkit?

You need to compile the OPC Toolkit yourself (see help topic “Installation -> Compiling the OPC Toolbox Core”).
For .NET:
- Uncomment the “otbud.dll” in the “OTBFunctions.cs” file.
- In the .NET project, check the “Enable unmanaged code debugging” check box.
- TBN and OTB both have to be debug versions.
For C++:
- In the Project Linker -> input -> specify the debug dll (otbd.dll).
- TBC and OTB have to have the same version (debug).
Open the process explorer and check whether the correct DLLs are loaded.

The installed OPC server is invisible to OPC clients

You have developed an OPC server and installed it on a different computer. Now OPC clients cannot see this OPC server.

The OPC core components have to be installed on the target computer, as well. Please open the task manager and check if the “OpcEnum.exe” process is running. If it isn't, you can download these components from www.opcfoundation.org and install them.
The OPC server has to be registered on the target machine:
MyServer.exe /regserver
Check whether the DCOM settings have been correctly configured. Please ask for our DCOM brochure or use our EasyConnect software that helps you avoid DCOM problems.
The OPC server has to be launched by the correct user.
If the OPC server is registered as a service, the user under whose account the OPC server is started as a service still has to be configured. (Control Panel -> Administration Tools -> Services -> MyServer -> Properties -> Log On tab. Here, change the settings from “Local System account” to “This account”, select the user and assign a password.)

Error code: “0x80004002 (E_NOINTERFACE)” when calling DaSession.write or DaSession.Read

The “0x80004002 (E_NOINTERFACE)” error code is output if DaSession.write or DaSession.Read is called.

Read / Write operations on a session are only possible if the OPC server you are using supports the OPC Specification DA3. The above error code indicates that your server might only support DA2. In this case, please use only Subscription.read / Subscription.write or Item.read / Item.write.

When starting .NET projects on 64-bit systems, an error message appears

When a project is started on a 64-bit system, an error message like the following is displayed:
Failed to load TBN40.dll.

This problem is caused by a project setting in VisualStudio (Project settings -> Build -> Platform Target). If it is set to “AnyCPU” on a 64-bit system, the 64-bit version will be loaded. This will lead to an error because the Toolkit only supports 32 bits. Please change the setting to “x86” and recompile the project. In addition, open the API project (c:\Program files\Softing\OPCToolbox\V43x\Windows\NET\src\OPCToolboxNET_VS20xx.csproj), check the setting and, if required, compile all the versions of the API DLLs (Batch Build).

Installers created in VisualStudio do not work as they should

The project runs without problems on the development computer, but does not work when installed on a different computer.

The installation of an OPC project generally requires 2 DLLs from the Toolkit (TBx.dll and OTBx.dll), see online help under “Installation -> Installation of the created OPC-Application.”
If an installation is generated in VisualStudio, VisualStudio automatically detects the dependence on the TBx.dll, but unfortunately does not detect the dependence on the OTBx.dll, which depends on the TBx.dll.
Therefore, this DLL has to be manually added to the installation project.

Project does not accept DesignTimeKey (Binary Key) any longer

The project runs without problems on the development computer, but fails to detect the license (shuts down automatically or runs only 90 minutes) when installed on a different computer.

Occurs after updates to the Toolbox (4.2x -> 4.3x as well 4.xx -> 4.4x). As the OTxx.dll is not detected automatically during generation, it has to be manually added to the installation. When the Toolkit is then updated, this DLL needs to be changed. Please check that all the DLLs of the installation use the correct versions of the two DLLs.

The Demo Client subscriptions can connect to a remote Server, but the OPC Client project cannot

An OPC Client application created with the Toolkit cannot connect subscriptions and items to an OPC server, but the Demo Client can connect and the cyclic data exchange works without any problems.

In the majority of cases, this problem is caused by the DCOM security settings. Preferably, they should be checked and corrected first. The subscriptions mechanism requires the server to create DCOM call-back connections in the client, therefore the client have DCOM setting configured to accept the remote access.

The difference in behaviour between the two applications lies in the existence in the Demo Client of a special fall-back mechanism that allows the client to actively poll the server’s items when the subscription failed. This poll is done using OPC session read requests at regular interval defined as subscription’s update rate. Because of this the transparent behaviour, one can draw the wrong conclusion that the subscription based cyclic data exchange work fine and no DCOM security issue exists.

The developed OPC Server doesn’t terminate

You have created an OPC Server using the Softing OPC Toolkit. The developed OPC Server can be started by the OPC client but the Server does not exit when the Client closes the connection.

To terminate the OPC Server, you have to implement the method OpcServer::Shutdown in your code. The shutdown event is triggered by the Toolkit when the last OPC client disconnects. Inside that method you have to implement the code, which closes your application.

Installation of the OPC Application on a target machine

Please read the following application note:

Installation of the OPC-Application on a target machine

Communication with Rockwell OPC Servers fails

The Softing OPC Toolkit Classic SDK/CDK V4.4x support principally all OPC Data Access Specifications: V1.0a, V2.05 and V3.0

Please note: some of the Toolkit methods (such as DaSession..::..Read, DaSession..::..Write) may be used only for the servers that support XML-DA or DA V3.0. For the servers that support only DA V2.0 or below, the method returns an error code indicating that the operation is not supported. In this case the Read / Write method of the DaSubscription class should be used.

DABrowse_DA20 Sample:
This example shows how to synchronously browse a Data Access Server's address space. The example can be used for browsing the Data Access servers that support Data Access V2.0 or less as well as the ones that support XML-DA V1.0 OPC specification. To support interoperability, a workaround that hides erroneous behaviour of servers created with the Rockwell Toolkit can be activated. Therefore, the ForceBrowseUp property (.NET) / setForceBrowseUp() method (C++) has to be set to (.NET) / called with (C++) "true" before each call of the browse method.

OPCEnumerate Sample:
This example shows how a client can inform itself of OPC servers that support Data Access or Alarms and Events Specifications and are located on the local computer or on other remote computers. The found servers will be grouped accordingly to the OPC specification they support. (DA_V1.0, DA_V2.0, DA_V3.0 or AE_V1.0) For each found server the following information will be given:

the server's description
the server's CLSID
the server's ProgID
the server's version independent ProgID

Selecting a server will determine its URL to be displayed in the TextBox control from the bottom of the page. The operations are executed synchronously.

How to enable the Toolkit traces

The trace files are used by the Toolkit to log debugging purposes messages.

The tracing mechanism can be enabled through the EnableTracing method on the Application Object. For e.g.

GetApplication().EnableTracing(
     EnumTraceGroup.ALL,
     EnumTraceGroup.ALL,
     EnumTraceGroup.CLIENT,
     EnumTraceGroup.CLIENT,
     "Trace.txt",
     1000000,
     0);

The OPC Toolkit distinguishes 4 trace levels:
-   Error,
-   Warning,
-   Information,
-   Debug

For each level, you can specify the trace output that is to be written.

The specified file name ( here “Trace.txt”) is basis for forming trace file names. Trace outputs are written alternately to two files. These are called "Basis"_currentA.log and "Basis"_currentB.log. Once the maximum size has been reached for one file, the other file is used.

If trace backup files are configured then instead of being overwritten when the server is restarted, old trace files are stored as backup copies until this number is reached. The backup copies are stored in the same directory as the "Basis"_currentA/B.log files and are named "Basis"_backup#X.log, where X = 1 .. number of log copies.

Advanced DCOM settings are necessary from the version 4.4x

The OPC Security has been changed in the latest version of the Softing OPC Toolkit V4.4x and it effects all operations. Please read the "Installation" -> "DCOM Configuration" chapter from the Toolkit Documentation for better understanding the new workgroup/domain-enabled DCOM security scheme.

Given the new security settings, connections to different domain/workgroup are not allowed by Microsoft Windows DCOM unless CoInitializeEx and CoInitializeSecurity are issued in the customer application before initializing the Toolkit (so that the DCOM security is already initialized when the Toolkit initializes).

These DCOM security settings are however not part of our scope since the DCOM is a service of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

The developed OPC Server restarts automatically when an OPC Client is connected to it.

The OPC Classic uses DCOM as base communication technology between the OPC Clients and OPC Servers.

DCOM has a special functionality that enables the OPC Clients to verify if the Server's process is already started and if so to just connect to the already started process.
If the process is not started, the Client will just start the OPC Server in a new process. This mechanism is independent on the OPC technology. In order to change this behaviour, the user needs to tune the DCOM settings of the PC.

The reported behaviour is valid, and is actually the intended behaviour in many automation use cases.

OPC Client connects to an OPC Server
the client has a reconnection mechanism activated that detects when the connection is broken and will just reattempt a connection
Server shuts down (gracefully)
Client detects the connection break and will trigger the reconnection mechanism (attempts a session)
Server gets started by the DCOM intrinsic mechanisms described above

If you want to keep the server stopped, you must make sure that there is no instance of a client attempting to reconnect (like described in the above mechanism). There is no straight forward mechanism that prevents the server to be started via DCOM from a Client.

OPC Server shuts down when there is no OPC Client connected.

Normally this is the expected behavior of a server when it was started by a client via DCOM.

If this is not desired, you can change the implementation of the handleShutdownRequest() callback so that the process running the OPC Server is not terminated.

In our Console example application I would just leave the implementation of handleShutdownRequest() empty. E.g.:

long API_CALL handleShutdownRequest(void)
{
// SetEvent(g_endEvent);
return S_OK;
} // end HandleShutdownRequest

This callback is triggered by the toolkit to inform the application that no clients are connected anymore. The active action of shutting down the OPC server is done by the application though.

Server's address space elements creation performance optimization

In order to improve the performance of managing the address space elements within a server, especially the user can choose the following setting.

long OpcServer::initialize(void).

getApp()->setOptimizeForSpeed(TRUE);

This will change the internal method of storing the address space from lists to maps.
The benefit is that the access to the elements is faster, but the disadvantage is that the order of the elements cannot be controlled by the user. For the user this means that when browsing the address space the order of the items is different than the order of definition of the elements and the client needs to sort this out.

Server redundancy mechanism

The Softing OPC Toolkit does not have implemented a server redundancy mechanism (warm/cold/hot).

However, it provides the required means for detecting the communication failure condition and its flexibility allows fast switching of the active session, should the server be redundancy prepared. In the case the server does not offer more than one interface, the connection monitor will reconnect the objects automatically.
You only have to implement the "handleStateChangeCompleted" (C++ callback) or "StateChangeCompleted" (.NET event) and take the appropriate actions when such a callback or an event is triggered by the Toolkit CORE with the new State being disconnected.
Depending on the situation, we recommend either create two different trees of sessions-subscriptions-items at startup, activate one and connect the other (warm redundancy). When the active session would fail, then activate the other session (if it`s not the case for both to be down) and use it as required. When the first session recovers, then park it in the deep connected state.

There is very much flexibility in the Toolkit and it allows you to implement various standard/custom redundancy mechanisms.

OPC UA Development Toolkits

Licensing Model of the OPC UA C++ Development Toolkits [C++]

The Toolkit installation package installs a time limited but otherwise fully Toolkit package which can be used to develop OPC UA applications. Without entering a client or server license, the Toolkit-based application will stop to work after a runtime of 90 minutes. On Windows systems a message box will notify the user about the elapsed runtime of the demo version.

To remove the run time limitation in applications the appropriate license keys must be provided to the Toolkit during initialization of the application. Different license keys are available to individually enable different Toolkit features.

License keys depend on the target system. This means that, for example, a Server license for Windows will not unlock the Server feature in a VxWorks server application.

The available features are:

UA Server: enables all required functions for OPC UA servers.
UA Client: enables all required functions for OPC UA clients.

Note: If more than one feature shall be used (e.g. if you are developing both a client and server in the same module) all required features must be enabled separately.

Activating a license
The following code illustrates how to activate your license key XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX:
ObjectPointer<Application> application = Application::instance();
application->activateLicense(EnumFeature_Server, _T("XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX"));
application->activateLicense(EnumFeature_Client, _T("XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX"));

OPC UA C++ Toolkits V5.5x.x Windows Source Code installation [C++]

Getting started instructions to install and build:

Install the binary version of the toolkit setup.
Extract the content of the source code archive (e.g. InstallOpcUaCppToolkitWindows5.52.0_Source.zip). The zip file is password protected and the password is the source code license key provided.
Copy the content of the source code archive over the installed version of the toolkit e.g.: C:\ProgramData\Softing\OPCUACppToolkit\V5.5x\
Use the Visual studio specific solutions to rebuild the toolkit core binaries. The compiled binaries will be binary license free.
The toolkit binaries generated can be now used in new UA Applications compiled using the Softing OPC UA C++ Toolkits API

Error Handling / Enabling Tracing [C++]

Error Handling:
All functions that may encounter errors during execution use the enumeration EnumStatusCode to specify the error condition. The values of the StatusCode enumeration are defined by the OPC Foundation and are also used to denote errors in service calls. Also the quality of a variable’s value is denoted by the same StatusCode. See the reference manual to receive the complete list of all enumeration values.

The Toolkit provides the global function getEnumStatusCodeString() to retrieve the textual description of a StatusCode. This method can be useful for debugging error conditions.

The StatusCode class provides convenience methods for testing status codes. The static method StatusCode::isGood(), for example, may be used to test whether a given status code is 'good', i.e. does not indicate an error.

Enabling Tracing for the Toolkit Components:
If a status code does not provide enough information to identify a problem, you may turn on tracing of diagnostic messages. Tracing of diagnostic messages can be enabled in the Trace singleton class. The following code illustrates how to enable tracing to a log file:

Trace::instance()->enableFileLogging(_T("logging.txt"), 10000, 5, 256);
Trace::instance()->enableTraceLevel(EnumTraceGroup_All, EnumTraceLevel_WarningAndHigher);

The trace output can also be streamed over a TCP connection. See the Trace Viewer topic for further reference.

It is also possible to implement an individual tracing. To do this, invoke the Trace::enableCallbackLogging(). The given callback will be invoked on every enabled trace level / trace group.

Licensing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkits [.NET]

The installation package of the Softing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit may be downloaded and used freely by anyone. By default, the installer will install and set up the base trial package. This may be used for OPC application development. The base trial package contains fully functional Softing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit core dlls, which will run in trail version, unless a proper license is activated. The only limitation of the trial version is a 90 minutes run time limitation. After exceeding 90 minutes of runtime, the Softing OPC UA .NET Toolkit will stop working and a message box notifying the user will pop up.

There are 2 licensing models available for the Softing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit V1.xx:

Source Code license - added when installing the product
Binary license - provided by the OPC UA Client or Server application.

Binary License:

Accessing a licensed Softing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit requires that the License key is programmatically provided by your OPC UA application before writing any other Softing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit access code. For using licensing model an activation method must be called in your OPC UA application with the proper activation key.

Sample code in C#:
// Activate your OPC UA Server design time license
bool bActivated = application.ActivateLicense( LicenseFeature.Server, "XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX");

// Activate your OPC UA Client design time license
bool bActivated = application.ActivateLicense( LicenseFeature.Client, "XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX");

In the sample code above the placeholder "XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX" shall be replaced by a valid License key. The License key is not bound to a specific PC and can be transferred to another PC. If you don't have a valid License key please contact the Softing's Sales Department

Source Code License:

Using a Softing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit with activated Source Code License provides full source code of the Softing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit 1.xx and enables the user to compile his activation free version of the Softing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit 1.xx.

Activation of the Source Code License key must be done within the Installation Setup.

After activation the source code for the activated components/features will be installed/extracted on your machine. If you don't have a valid Source Code License key please contact the Softing's Sales Department.

Note: After installing Softing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit V1.xx with Source code license option, the Sdk Client and/or Sdk Server must be compiled. Use one of the Visual Studio solutions available in the ProgramData\Softing\OpcUaNetToolkit\V1.xx\src\Core folder.

When installing a later version of the Toolkit or its components over V1.20 the user must be aware that some components will be installed in parallel to the older ones. This behaviour is due to the fact that the installation folder names have changed from V1.20 to later versions. For example on upgrading the Toolkit from V1.20 to V1.25 there will be two versions of both Softing OPC Client and UA Demo Server but there will be only one version of the Server and Client Gateways. After any upgrades from V1.20 a check of the installation folders is recommended.

UserName and Password of the OPC UA Demo Server

Please enter the following UserName and Password in the OPC UA Demo Client to be able to connect to the OPC UA Demo Server.

UserName: usr
Password: pwd

Where can I find the OPC UA Local Discovery Server?

OPC Foundation is providing an implementation of the OPC UA Local Discovery Server. The LDS ensures the very first interoperability step between OPC UA Clients and Servers. The LDS is expected to open well known port (4840) specified in the OPC UA Specification in order to respond to server registration respective clients interrogation calls, therefore it is impossible to run multiple variants of LDS server on the same machine. Softing, together with other vendors decided to support the OPC Foundation’s LDS implementation and to use and recommend it to be used by customers.

All Softing’s Windows based OPC UA products (toolkits, clients and servers) are redistributing the OPC Foundation’s LDS as a separate component in their setups.

We encourage the customers to download and deploy by themselves the LDS from the OPC Foundation website as well. The most recent version can be found here:
opcfoundation.org/developer-tools/developer-kits-unified-architecture/local-discovery-server-lds/

No Local Discovery Server (LDS) exists for Linux systems [C++]

All Softing’s Windows based OPC UA products (toolkits, clients and servers) are redistributing the OPC Foundation’s LDS (Local Discovery Server) as a separate component in their setups.
Unfortunately the OPC Foundation doesn’t provide an LDS for Linux systems.

The Windows installation of the Toolkit installs the LDS and we deliver the batch file “update_discovery_server_store.bat”, which copies the LDS certificate to the server PKI store and the server certificate to the LDS PKI store.
That is how the file “cert_discovery_server.der” appears in the server PKI store.

Currently the only way to use a server on Linux with an LDS is to install and register the LDS on a remote Windows machine.
This step requires to exchange the certificates manually and to configure the correct IP address to the LDS in the sample.
For a quick approach, simply install the C++ Toolkit for Windows on that Windows machine, then have a look at “<installdir>/Source/PKI/update_discovery_server_store.bat“, where to get and insert the certificate files.

Note: the use of an LDS mainly makes sense when there are several servers and when you need one entry point, where all existing servers are visible. For one server only, the self discovery is sufficient. When you ask that server, which servers are available, then the server replies with the contact data of itself. This feature is automatically provided by the toolkit without additional configuration.

Note: it is not necessary to create a certificate for the Local Discovery Server. The LDS should be existent locally. The LDS can register itself.

install.bat generates the certificates but some of them are empty

install.bat might not work properly, if there are more than one network adapters present or if the adapter has an IPv6 address.
As workaround you should call the script with parameters:

install.bat <HostName> <UserDnsDomain> <IpAddress>

How to setup certificates in VxWorks [C++]

The batch file (for Windows) or shell script (for Linux) to create the PKI store can be called with command line parameters to configure the PKI store for any IP address or hostname (use the --help argument to see the options and required syntax).
Create a PKI store for your VxWorks device, copy it somewhere where the device can find it (on the device directly, a network path or a plugged flash card ...).
Then you also have to configure the application code to use the correct path.

Note: When you use the client and server on different machines, then both need an own PKI store, where you have to copy the "own" certificates to the "trusted" folder of the other ones PKI store.

Certificate basics [C++]

OPC UA applications usually have an Application Instance Certificate.

If a signed or encrypted connection shall be established, then the client and server have to trust each other Application Instance Certificate (the certificates are in the trust lists).If that is the case, then the certificates are used to sign and/or encrypt the communication.
If a client and server want to establish a not signed and not encrypted communication with anonymous authentication, then the trust relationship between client and server may, but does not have to exist. Then the client can decide to not configure an application instance certificate at all, because no certificate is transported.
If the connection shall be established with an authentication token different to anonymous, then the server may demand a user token security policy.
This is used to encrypt a certain part of the token, in case of the UserNameIdentityToken, the transported password is encrypted, otherwise without having a message encryption, the password would be transported unencrypted and could be read from everybody who listens at the network traffic. For this user token encryption again the server and client certificates are required and transported between the applications.
The difference to case 1 is, that the certificates are not checked whether they are trusted, they are only needed to encrypt the user token at the connection establishment.

You need an Application Instance Certificate for your application. Please have a look at the batch files that we use to create the demo store certificates of our test and sample applications at <installdir>\Source\PKI\batches. You are free to modify them to your needs.
You also need to set a PKIStoreConfiguration that has at least a configured trust list location.
This trust list can be an empty folder, when your client does not have to trust any server certificate. Unfortunately this trust list has to be configured and has to exist in any case.</installdir>

Is it possible to run an OPC UA application without an application certificate? [.NET]

No, because the current version of the OPC UA specification requires that all OPC UA applications have a certificate that is exchanged and validated when creating a Session.

Exception: ‘Certificate is not trusted’ [.NET]

This exception will be thrown if the certificate of the server is not found in the trust list of the client or the certificate of the client is not found in the trust list of the server.
In this case the connection will be refused.

In order to establish a trust relationship between two applications (client and server) a manual copy of the certificate’s public keys to the trust list of the partner application need to be performed. This means the public key certificate of the client application needs to be copied to the trust list location of the server application and the public key certificate of the server application needs to be copied to the trust list of the client application.

You will probably find the missing certificate in the rejected certificate store.
Make sure that the certificate is in the trusted PKI folder and not in the rejected certificate store. (e.g. C:\ProgramData\Softing\OpcUaNetDemoServer\pki\trusted\certs\)

Exception: 'The Certificate Generator utility is not installed' [.NET]

The Sdk uses the Opc.Ua.CertificateGenerator.exe utility to create a new self signed instance certificate if one does not exist. This utility is installed by the Softing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit installer and by the Softing OPC UA .Net DemoServer installer.
It should be located in \Program Files\Common Files\OPC Foundation\UA\v1.0\Bin. If isn't installed in this location, the Sdk also looks for this utility in the same folder as the application.

Exception: ‘Could not create a certificate via a proxy: Input file was not processed properly’ [.NET]

The error appears because the CertificateGenerator tool cannot be found on the local machine.

The OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit SDK uses the Opc.Ua.CertificateGenerator.exe utility to create a new self signed instance certificate if one does not exist.
The CertificateGenerator tool is provided by the OPC Foundation as part of the standard "Local Discovery Server" installation.
This utility is also installed by the Softing OPC UA .NET Development Toolkit installation package and by the Softing OPC UA .Net DemoServer setup. It should be located in

\Program Files\Common Files\OPC Foundation\UA\v1.0\Bin.

If isn't installed in this location, the SDK also looks for this utility in the same folder as the application.

The problem can be fixed by copying the .exe file of the tool from another machine where Softing .NET Toolkit is installed.

If the thumbprint was explicitly specified in the configuration file of the application, it can also cause that a new certificate cannot be generated. The “Thumbprint” entry in the SecurityConfiguration\ApplicationCertificate path needs to be removed before a new self signed certificate can be created. Also, if the “SubjectName” has the format [CN=ApplicationName, DC=domain], the format must be reduced to contain only the [ApplicationName].

Another problem might be that the file path where the application is located is too long. In this case, the application folder should be moved to a lower level in the folder structure (e.g. directly on the root folder).

Exception: ‘Thumbprint was explicitly specified in the configuration. Cannot generate a new certificate’ [.NET]

The "Thumbprint was explicitly specified in the configuration. Cannot generate a new certificate" error appears in case the Thumbprint is specified in the xml configuration file and the certificate was moved or deleted.

The fix is to delete the thumbprint manually from the configuration file and leave only the path and the subject.

    <ApplicationCertificate>
      <StoreType>Directory</StoreType>
      <StorePath>%CommonApplicationData%\Softing\OpcUaNetDemoServer\pki\own</StorePath>
      <SubjectName>UA Demo Server</SubjectName>
    </ApplicationCertificate>

If the “SubjectName” has the format [CN=ApplicationName, DC=domain], the format must be reduced to contain only the [ApplicationName].

Exception when calling connect(): SubjectName does not match the SubjectName of the current certificate [.NET]

The issue can be caused in different scenarios.
Please check the following:

make sure creating a new certificate when moving the client application on another PC. Delete the certificates from pki\own folder when moving the application on another machine. The Client should create a new certificate for the actual host at the first time. Therefore the CertificateGenerator utility should also be available on the new machine for this purpose.
make sure not calling the LoadApplicationConfiguration() method multiple times in your code. It should be called just at the startup. (The same for Application.Configuration.Validate() method.)
make sure setting the Application.Configuration.ApplicationName parameter without "CN=" or "DC=" inside (for eg. "Softing OPC UA .NET Toolkit UA Client Sample").

In case the issue still exists please send us the call stack of the exception.

Retrieving the supported endpoints [.NET]

The GetEndpoints service returns the list of endpoints supported by the Server and all the configuration information required to establish a SecureChannel and a Session. The server certificate is also contained in the EndpointDescription data. If this information is already known to the Client (e.g. read it from a configuration file), the GetEndpoints call is not necessary.

Timestamps are transported as UTC time

According to OPC UA specifications the timestamps are transported as UTC time in order to avoid inconsistencies in case Client and Server applications are running on different time zones.

The UA applications should convert these values to the local time at the receive moment (now.ToLocalTime()).

Two different Client APIs are provided with the OPC UA .NET Toolkit [.NET]

The Softing OPC UA .NET Client Toolkit is composed of two different APIs. Applications can be built using both of them:

simplified API (Toolkit)
advanced API (SDK)

Toolkit - simplified application public interface, developed on top of the Client SDK. Applications can be very easily built with this API. But this API exposes only the basic OPC UA functionality for a client application.
Classes to be used are contained in the Softing.Opc.Ua.Toolkit namespace.

SDK - advanced application public interface that can be used to develop advanced OPC UA features. This API is not very easy to use.
Classes to be used are contained in the Softing.Opc.Ua.Sdk namespace.

What is the difference between the Session.KeepAliveInterval and the Subsription.LifeTimeCount settings? [.NET]

The Session.KeepAliveInterval defines the value (in milliseconds) indicating how frequently the server connection is checked to see whether the communication is still working or not.
This parameter is used by Clients to detect a connection failure with the Server.

In case you are using the "Softing.Opc.Ua.Sdk.Client.dll" for your Client application, a SessionReconnectHandler can be used for detecting the communication failures and for automatic restore of the session in this case.

If you are using the "Softing.Opc.Ua.Toolkit.dll" library for your Client application, the reconnect mechanism happens automatically in the background in case a connection is lost.
It is recommended using this simplified Toolkit API for your UA Client application implementation.

The Subscription.LifeTimeCount represents the keep-alive mechanism negotiated at subscription level and it is used by the Server to inform the Client that the monitored items of the subscription don't have a value change for a longer period.
If there is a number of publish intervals (represented by LifeTimeCount) without notifications then an empty publish message will be sent to the Client.

When establishing a connection to a B&R PLC an error occurs regarding ServerEndpoints [.NET]

When trying to establish a connection to a B&R PLC the following error message appears:
The list of ServerEndpoints returned at CreateSession does not match the list from GetEndpoints.

This is a known problem of the B&R PLCs that we are already aware.
Normally this erroneous behaviour should be solved on the server side (the server doesn't respect the security requirements).

Softing has made a compromise regarding this and implemented a workaround.
The validation of the endpoints cannot be skipped because it is a requirement for OPC UA compliance. Therefore the validation will be performed, but the OPC UA .NET Toolkit only logs the error and allows the connection to be established.

The workaround is available up to the version 1.30 of the OPC UA .NET Toolkit.
Please install the latest version of the OPC UA .NET Toolkit from the web site.

Connecting an OPC UA Session over the http protocol sometimes fails [.NET]

Connecting an OPC UA Session over the http protocol sometimes fails, even if a session over the opc.tcp binary protocol is possible with the same security configuration.

Some OPC Servers don't respond to the GetEndpoints service over the http protocol with no security.
A solution is to call the Session.InitializeWithDiscoveryEndpointDescription before connecting the session. The method takes an EndpointDescription parameter that must be retrieved from the Application.Discovery method. This way all the missing Endpoint information, like the Server instance certificate, will be available before establishing the connection.

Some servers accept connections over http with no security if the url string is prefixed with "/None" like in "http://localhost:51511/UA/DemoServer/None".

Handles of Monitored Items are reassigned after an automatic reconnection [.NET]

After an automatic reconnection of the OPC UA .NET Toolkit, the values of Client handles will be reassigned. The previous assignment of a DataChangeNotification is then lost.

The handles for the MonitoredItems are changing in case the items are recreated on the Server side because they represent Server assigned identifiers.

In case unique names are assigned at application level, the DisplayName can be used for identifying the items instead of the handles.

In some cases the session from the Server is destroyed after the connection is lost (e.g. the Server application was restarted or the Server destroyed the session due to a timeout).
In this case the client will recreate a session with the same configuration (subscriptions, monitored items) but some new identifiers will be generated by the Server (SessionId, SubscriptionIds, MI Ids).

Therefore it is not safe to relay on the initially assigned handles.

In addition, it is recommended using at least the version 1.30 of the OPC UA .NET Development Toolkits. It has some improvements in the reconnect mechanism. i.e. it attempts to regain the server session if possible.

What is the difference between the Namespace Index (ns) and the Namespace URI (nsu) access? [.NET]

In OPC UA the server's address space is described using the name-spaces concept. All addressable entities in the server must belong to one single namespace.

The namespace must contain unique identifiers and using different name-spaces, the server's designer, can ensure a name collision free addressing even in case the same identifiers are used.

A namespace in the server is uniquely represented by an URI (string). The server exposes the list of it's namespace URIs in an array. The index () location of an namespace URI is this array very important because on the regular read/write/subscribe operations only the namespace index will be used for performance reasons. (It is faster to transport an integer value than a full blown string.)

In a server the namespace URIs may not change, but the position of a certain namespace URI in the namespace array may change. That's the reason of existence of a so called ExpandedNodeID structure that besides the namespaceID and Identifier contains the URI of the namespace as well. This ExpandedNodeID should only be used for persisting the identifiers at the client side and for validating that the namespace indexes did not change on the server after a server restart. Nn order to read / write / monitor, the API requires the application to provide a NodeID. This structure is supposed to uniquely identify a certain resource in the address space of a server.

The NodeID consists of a NamespaceIndex (ns) and an Identifier (which is a union and can be a string or an integer or a GUID or a byteArray - opaque). For the NodeID no Namespace URI (nsu) is required. The nsu is only required for an ExpandedNodeID definition.

The namespace URI string is never used in the actual interaction with the server, just the namespace index is used.

The namespace index is always mandatory, the namespace URI is optional and actually not required when NodeID class is used.

What is the purpose of the ServerIndex property in the expanded node id? [.NET]

The ServerIndex is an advanced field that provides the information if the addressed NodeID is located on the local Server, or it resides on a remote Server. This is relevant for the Servers that act as aggregation Servers and retrieve their data from underlying OPC Servers. Therefore there is the ServerIndex that identifies the Server that contains the TargetNode. This Server may be the local Server or a remote Server.

This index is the index of that Server in the local Server's Server table.
The index of the local Server in the Server table is always 0.
All remote Servers have indexes greater than 0.

The Server table is contained in the Server Object in the AddressSpace. The Client may read the Server table Variable to access the description of the target Server.

Using a normal non aggregation Server / Server chaining solution that parameter is always 0.

Continuation Point / Data Restriction per Client request or on Server side

Some OPC UA services (e.g. HistoryRead to retrieve historical values from a variable) allow clients to restrict the maximum number of results per request. If a server has more results to deliver, it returns a continuation point along with the results which the client can use to request more results. A server application must be able to deliver the remaining result with context information stored within a continuation point.

Browsing the Address Space
OPC UA provides the services Browse and BrowseNext to browse the address space of a server. Browsing the address space is a way to get all nodes that are connected to another node by references. To retrieve for example complete trees or the whole address space, several browse calls are necessary which use the results of previous browse calls. The service allows both the client and the server to restrict the number of the returned results. If the number of results exceeds this maximum, a so-called continuation point is created in the server and passed to the client. The continuation can be passed with the BrowseNext to retrieve the remaining browse results.

How to write a single value into a multi-dimensional array [.NET]

The following code snippet in .NET demonstrates how to write a single value into a two-dimensional array:
// Write with IndexRange
WriteValue valueToWrite = new WriteValue();
valueToWrite.NodeID = new NodeID("ns=2;s=/Static/All Profiles/Arrays2D/Int32"); // DemoServer:
valueToWrite.AttributeID = AttributeID.Value;
valueToWrite.IndexRange = "0,0";
valueToWrite.Value = new DataValue();
valueToWrite.Value.Value = new int[,] { {100}};

Console.WriteLine("Writing the value for NodeID: {0}", valueToWrite.NodeID);

try
{
    StatusCode writeResult = session.Write(valueToWrite);
    // Display the result.
    Console.WriteLine("Write Result = {0}", writeResult);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Write error: {0}", ex.Message);
}

Please make sure when setting "valueToWrite.Value.Value" to use a two-dimensional value with the correct data type (even if it contains a single value).

In the OPC UA specification the IndexRange syntax for multi-dimensional arrays is specified as follows:
Multi-dimensional arrays can be indexed by specifying a range for each dimension separated by a ‘,’. For example, a 2x2 block in a 4x4 matrix could be selected with the range “1:2,0:1”.
A single element in a multi-dimensional array can be selected by specifying a single number instead of a range. For example, “1,1” specifies selects the [1,1] element in a two dimensional array.
Dimensions are specified in the order that they appear in the ArrayDimensions Attribute. All dimensions shall be specified for a NumericRange to be valid.
All indexes start with 0. The maximum value for any index is one less than the length of the dimension.

How to create Monitored Items efficiently using the simplified Client API [.NET]

In order to create multiple monitored items in a single service call you need to do the following sequence:

create a Subscription object in "Disconnected" state (you can do this by either calling Disconnect after creation or creating it on a disconnected session)
add all the required monitored items to the Subscription (by passing the subscription in the constructor)
call subscription.Connect() with "deep" and "active" parameters set to true. This will create the items in a single service request

A small code sample based on Softing Demo Server:

Subscription subscription = new Subscription(m_session, "ClientSubscription");
subscription.Disconnect(true);

// Create 100 items
for (int j = 0; j <= 99; j++)
{
   string itemId = String.Format("ns=2;s=/Dynamic/All Profiles/Scalar Mass/Int32/Int320{0}", j);

   // add a monitored item.
   MonitoredItem monitoredItem = new MonitoredItem(subscription, new NodeId(itemId),
AttributeId.Value, null, String.Format("MonitoredItem{0}", (j + 1)));

   // subscribe to DataChange notification event.
   monitoredItem.DataChangesReceived += new EventHandler<datachangesnotificationeventargs>(DataChangeNotification);
}

Events are not received in the same order as they were triggered [.NET]

In a multi-threading environment it is possible that some events are not received in the same order as they were triggered. It happens especially in heavy load scenarios, when having multiple fast changing values.
This situation is also described in the OPC UA specifications and it can happen on both Server- and Client side.

Workaround:
On the Client side, the value of ServerTimestamp can be used for sorting the data. The ServerTimestamp for item notification can be retrieved from the dataChangeNotification.Value.ServerTimestamp.

The DataChangeNotification.SequenceNo will also identify the subscription publish message that the notification belongs to. It happens sometimes that the order of Publish responses arriving from the Server are something like this sequence: 1, 2, 4, 3. This behavior is also accepted as valid in the OPC UA specification.

In a C# Client you can use the Subscription.DataChangesReceived event instead of MonitoredItem.DataChangesReceived. This event will send the complete list of notifications from a publish response. In this case the chance of a wrong order is lower because it can be processed faster.

OPC UA Client cannot connect to OPC UA Server [.NET]

In case you are not able to connect to an OPC UA Server running on a different machine then please check the following:

make sure the Server endpoint is accessible. i.e. the Server machine can be accessed over the network and the Server port is not blocked (Firewall).
make sure that Softing OPC UA Client certificate is trusted by the Server application. Softing OPC UA Client will display a pop-up and the user can decide what to do in case the Server certificate is not trusted. So no manual steps required.
make sure that the Client and Server clocks are synchronized (also the TimeZone). OPC UA applications require Client and Server clocks to be in sync and sometimes this can be the source of rejected connections.
make sure that at least the Client can discover the available Server endpoints. In "Session Connect" window, you go to "Manual\Double Click to Add Server...". Insert the Server address and click the button from the right side. If the server is accessible you should see all available endpoints. Choose one of them and try to connect to it.

If still not working please check what kind of error you get in the Client logs. Softing OPC UA Client has a live message log viewer on the bottom side of the main window. Copy the exact error message you get in the client log and send it to us for further investigation.

Using for logging different versions of the log4net.dll assemblies [.NET]

When the application is using for logging a different version of the log4net.dll assembly than the one required by the assemblies of the Softing Sdk then an assembly binding can be defined in the app.config file. The different versions of the log4net.dll file can be stored in different locations, like in the example below:

<runtime>
    <assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="log4net" publicKeyToken="669e0ddf0bb1aa2a" />
        <codeBase version="1.2.11.0" href="Log4Net\v.1.2.11\log4net.dll" />
      </dependentAssembly>
      <dependentAssembly>
        <assemblyIdentity name="log4net" publicKeyToken="1b44e1d426115821" />
        <codeBase version="1.2.10.0" href="Log4Net\v.1.2.10\log4net.dll" />
      </dependentAssembly>
    </assemblyBinding>
</runtime>

Another option would be to copy the different versions of the log4net.dll file in the Global Assembly Cache (the %windir%\assembly\).

Best Practices for Big Data Support on OPC UA Clients [C++]

When dealing with big data (lots of variables, that shall be read, written or subscribed), there are three general aspects that have to be considered:

Message Size
Timing
Resources

All OPC UA services are designed to handle the requests and responses for multiple nodes (like read, write and subscribe) and many of them can contain optional data.

In general, the more nodes are handled within service calls (the bigger the messages), compared to several smaller service calls, the less is the message overhead and the better the performance.

On the other hand, be aware that the OPC UA stacks have has a maximum message size, e.g. the C Stack of the OPC UA C++ Toolkit has a fixed size of 16 MB.
Trying to send or receive bigger messages will produce errors. Try to limit the maximum message size by splitting too big service calls to several smaller ones or by specific configuration options (like Subscription::setMaxItemsPerPublish() or Application::setMaxMonitoredItemsPerService()).

Splitting operations into several smaller ones might increase the total required time, but might help to prevent timeout problems, as every single service can be processed faster.

Regarding the optional data, try to strip down not required optional information to reduce the message size and increase the speed.
For example when reading values, you can reduce the size of each transported value by 16 bytes by not requesting the Server- and SourceTimestamps of the values.

The more data is transferred, the longer it will take to process it. Have a look on the configured service timeouts, they might need to be increased to prevent timeouts.

The client itself shouldn't have any resource problems, as a client usually does not have big memory storages or value monitors, but it influences the server's resources, like memory and CPU usage.

Theoretically the server should define proper limits to prevent resource problems, but even the client might think about a proper usage.
For example the subscription service requires some memory for the buffering and some CPU for the observation at the Server, where the read service only needs to copy current values once but cannot collect only the changed values.
Try to use subscriptions only for regularly changing nodes or for data that is important to be received as soon as possible (like alarms and events).
Prefer the read service to receive values that have to be received seldom.

Is it possible to determine the structure of a UA server via the browse functionality? [C++]

In addition to the reference-specific information, the Browse Service supports only the Mandatory Basic node attributes (NodeId, NodeClass, BrowseName, DisplayName) that each node type must have.

All optional and type-specific attributes can only be handled via the Read Service.

Does the Softing OPC UA C++ Toolkit support QNX operating system? [C++]

Our toolkit’s basic architecture is platform independent. With the same code basis we support 3 operating systems as reference implementation:

Windows,
Linux and
VxWorks.

The only difference between the 3 is a small platform abstraction layer. The toolkit can be easily ported on various other operating systems respective hardware platforms.

Normally you have the complete source code for the toolkit therefore you can compile it yourself for various hardware platforms. The make-files are also prepared to be ready to use with cross-compilers use. The code itself is written in a platform independent manner.

Softing can offer a small integration project for a specific operating system and HW platform as well.
The pre-requirements for such an integration project are:

access to the build tool chain (cross-compiler) installed, and the tool chain usage exemplified with an sample
access to a target platform for execution of the tests and
a technical contact to assist us with details regarding the build tool chain and test platform.

The integration project consists of generating the toolkit binaries for the target platform, building the client & server test applications to run on this platform and executing the system tests on the target platform. Potential issues found during tests will be addressed and fixed by Softing. In case you’re interested in an integration project, please contact our sales department yle="background-color: yellow; border: 2px red solid; color: black;">info.automation@softing.com regarding the commercial aspects.

How to load the OPC UA Toolkit libraries dynamically? [C++]

Normally when loading a DLL library dynamically, the whole initialization is done during a DllMain function. None the less, some operations are very risky to be called within a DllMain, like synchronization with other threads, this can cause deadlocks (see msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dn633971%28v=vs.85%29.aspx.
The loadToolbox() function does this kind of synchronization which would likely cause such a deadlock.

To fix the problem, call loadToolbox() or unloadToolbox() after loading the DLLs, respectively before unloading the DLLs. This can be done via functions or static methods. Also keep in mind, that all instances of toolkit classes (including data classes) are destroyed before unloadToolbox() is called.

Redundancy support [C++]

The naming about the redundancy can be a bit confusing, we don't provide support for the server redundancy on the server side, but server redundancy on the client side - the client can communicate with a set of redundant servers.

Besides that, the Toolkit only supports the redundancy modes cold and warm.
The displayed enumeration displays all possibly existing redundancy types, but not all of them are supported.
The transparent redundancy mode is implicitly supported for the client, because this mode looks like a single server to clients.

The Toolkit provides only support on the client side to handle redundant servers.
The Toolkit does not provide support for redundancy on the server side, as all the sophisticated details depend on the application. (How to calculate the service levels? Shall the secondary server be started on a primary failure or is it always running? Is there data to be exchanged between the servers and how to exchange it?...).
But of course, it is possible using the OPC UA C++ Toolkit to build redundant servers.

None of the client specific callbacks will be called [C++]

Please check, if you initialized your Application as Client (or Server and Client). See ApplicationDescription::setApplicationType().
If that is not correctly set, everything seems to work fine, but none of the client specific callbacks to the API will ever be called.
In future versions, we will report some configuration errors for such problems.

HTTPs Support [C++]

Does the toolkit support HTTPS UA Binary & HTTPS UA XML facets?
The toolkit supports only the binary encoding for HTTPS.

Does the toolkit support HTTPS protocol over a VPN tunnel?
The toolkit cannot establish a VPN connection. This has to be done by a third party program.
Once a VPN connection is established, the target network is treated like a local network and the OPC UA communication should work. We didn't test such a VPN connection scenario yet.

How HTTPS certificates (Client and Server) are supported by the toolkit?
PKI configuration, self-signed, CA-chain, etc.
In OPC UA, every application requires to have an application instance certificate, which is used for anything related to security.
This specific application instance certificate is used also for the HTTPS communication.
The toolkit supports all common certificate features (self signed certificates, CA-chains, revocation lists ...).

Note: As HTTPS is always encrypted, the trust relationship between Client and Server must be established before the very first communication.
Some other OPC UA clients can have problems using typically insecure services
(like GetEndpoints) on a secure HTTPS channel.

BadWriteNotSupported [C++]

Write operations to some third party servers get rejected with the status "EnumStatusCode_BadWriteNotSupported".

Not all OPC UA Servers support writing timestamps. This is not a bug of the Softing OPC C++ UA Toolkit or the third party Server, it is the official way of a Server to say, that it doesn't support writing timestamps.

Don't call DataValue::setServerTimestamp() and maybe not even DataValue::setSourceTimestamp() on the DataValue that shall be written, respectively call these methods with an empty DateTime variable to clear existing timestamps.

BadHostUnknown [C++]

The BadHostUnknown error indicates that the hostname cannot be resolved. The operating system cannot resolve the hostname, or the hostname is incorrect.
The DNS is not configured properly.
A "ping <computer name>" will usually also not work.

In such cases, use the URL with the IP address to configure the session, or configure the name resolution (or edit the "hosts" file).

Debug Assertion during shutdown [C++]

Debug assertions during shutdown indicate that a toolkit class instance is still alive during unloadToolbox(). In general when toolkit class instances are destroyed after unloadToolbox(), this might cause memory leaks or crashes (accessing freed resources).

Make sure that all toolkit instances are destroyed before unloadToolbox().

If you use toolkit classes as global variables, you should better replace them with pointers, which can be assigned and released after loadToolbox() and before unloadToolbox().

Application::stop() and Application::uninitialize() should also be called before calling unloadToolbox().
Application::stop() will close the endpoints and this way the client connections will be closed as well.

How to read a Property value [C++]

Mixing up Attributes and Properties is a common misinterpretation.

An Attribute is some data, bound to a certain node class (Object, ObjectType,Variable, VariableType, ReferenceType, DataType and View). The available Attribues are fixed, thus they cannot be extended to contain additional data.

Properties have almost the same syntactical meaning as Attributes, but Properties are completely different nodes (of the node class Variable) with own Attributes. The Property node is referenced from the parent node via a HasProperty reference.

To read a Property value, you have to get the NodeId of that Property (e.g. via TranslateBrowsePathsToNodeIds) and perform a read on the Value Attribute.

How can I use a different OpenSSL version in my application than what is used by the toolkit? [C++]

If you have the source code of the toolkit, you can download the desired OpenSSL ".tar.gz" file to <InstallDir>/Source/Core/OpenSSL, move/remove the prior ".tar.gz" file from that folder and try to build the toolkit with the different OpenSSL (see OpenSSL Functionality). The toolkit should be compatible with most OpenSSL versions, otherwise it will report compilation errors.

If you have the binary version of the Windows toolkit, then the only problem is, that the two different OpenSSL DLLs typically want to have the same names. To solve that, you can rename the libraries libeay32.dll and ssleay32.dll to names with an equal length, e.g. libeayua.dll and ssleayua.dll. Then you can open the DLLs TB5STACK.dll (or TB5STACKx64.dll) and the renamed ssleay32.dll in an editor and search and rename the original DLL names by the new names.

Note: This will work only if the old and new DLL names have the same size, changing the size of the DLL content will cause problems!

OPC General

Are Softing OPC Servers 64-bit applications or can they be used on 64-bit systems?

Softing OPC Servers are 32-bit applications that can be used on 64-bit systems in 32-bit mode without any limitations or performance reduction.

Another advantage over 32-bit architecture is that 64-bit systems can directly address more than four GB RAM. This is useful for applications with large memory requirements, such as video processing applications and database systems, provided they have been programmed for a 64-bit system. In most other applications – in particular, office applications – there is no subjectively noticeable speed advantage.

How can I find the version number of my installed OPC product?

OPC Server:
Softing OPC Servers provide an integrated web server interface where you can access the exact version information of an OPC server. To start the OPC server's web interface, open the context menu of the Tray Application and click “Show Web Pages.” The “Information” area can be accessed by all users
without any user login.

Note:
You can only access the web pages of the OPC server when the server is running!

Some of the tray applications also display the exact version information.

OPC Toolbox:
In the OPC Toolbox, the exact version information is contained in the “SOVersion.h” file. The version number can also be determined from the version of the “OTB.dll” file. You can find these files in the following directories:

"C:\Program Files\Softing\OPCToolkit\V44x\Windows\core\common" and
"C:\Program Files\Softing\OPCToolkit\V44x\Windows\bin"

OPC ActiveX Controls:
You can determine the version number from the file version of “C:\Program Files\Softing\OPCActiveX\bin\soaxcmn32.ocx.”

The attempt to establish a connection to an OPC-Server which is running as a service fails.

Is it necessary to install the OPC Core Components on my computer before using any OPC Client or OPC Server?

The OPC Foundation provides the binaries needed to run DCOM OPC server and OPC client application as Windows Installer packages.
It is necessary to install the "OPC Core Components" on each machine where an OPC server or an OPC client is installed.
The latest version of the OPC Core Components Redistributables can be downloaded from the OPC Foundation web pages.

Is it possible to start the Softing OPC Demo Client with a specific configuration file?

Yes this is possible. First, create the desired configuration file (.soc) with the OPC Demo Client. You can then access the OPC Demo Client with this configuration by specifying the parameter load.

SOClient /load filename.soc

This parameter can be passed either in the command line or in the desktop from the context menu "Properties".

Starting an OPC Server / Easy Connect with limited access rights

If the OPC Server / Easy Connect is configured as a Service then a user with limited access rights cannot start or stop this

Softing Traceoutput

Description of the Softing Traceoutput

Error messages beginning with 0x8

Generally the error codes beginning with 0x8 are operating system specific error messages. You can find a short description to such kind of error codes in the Microsoft Visual Studio Error Lookup Tool or in Internet.

Error message: Access denied (0x80070005)

The error 0x80070005 (Access denied) indicates a DCOM problem.

The problem often lies in the user context used by COM/DCOM to launch the OPC Server (Microsoft DCOM Identity Setting).

The Identity setting (dcomcnfg) also plays an important role by a local connection and even with our OPC Tunnel! In order to handle the underlying OPC Server in the OPC Tunnel correctly, the identity should be set to "Interactive User".

This identity setting is applicable only when running in Application Mode and not as “Service”. Please configure the OPC Server/Client as “Application” in the OPC Tray (Running Mode) and change the identity in the DCOM configuration (dcomcnfg).

In the most cases this DCOM setting is helpful. Otherwise, please configure a user with administrator privileges and password and start the application under this user (on client and server sides).

The DCOM settings are however not part of our scope since the DCOM is a service of the Microsoft Windows operating system. For further information about it please visit the Microsoft Websites.

Error message: RPC server is not available (0x800706BA)

When an OPC Client reports this DCOM error (0x800706BA) then the OPC Client is unable to connect to an OPC Server or loses an existing connection. The OPC Client doesn’t detect the loss of connection. The OPC Client can’t access data from the OPC Server. The callbacks for data exchange don’t get through from the Server to the Client.

This might have different reasons:

The OPC Server is not responding to a DCOM call due to deadlock / crash
The OPC Server is not responding to a DCOM call due to a bad DCOM configuration.
The Firewall is on
The OPC Server is not available due to network interruption.

The problem often lies in the user context under which the Server is running (DCOM Identity Setting). Therefore please configure a user with administrator privileges and password and start the application under this user. In the most cases this DCOM setting is helpful.

The DCOM settings are however not part of our scope since the DCOM is a service of the Microsoft Windows operating system. For further information about it please visit the Microsoft Websites.

S7/S5 OPC Server

Standard TCP / IP Port in the S7 communication

In general, the S7 communication is running via the RFC1006 Transport Layer.
The standard TCP/IP port is 102.

The S7/S5 OPC Server can not read the S7 program files for newer version of Simatic S7 CPU types.

Adding Customized web pages for visualization of values.

How to use the built in S7-PLC redundancy feature?

How to use the integrated redundancy feature of the S7 OPC Server?

Where can I find the configuration files of the S7/S5 OPC Servers?

It depends on which version of the S7/S5 OPC Server you are using. The format of the configuration was changed between the versions 3.1x and 4.0x.

Version 3.1x:
In the previous version of the S7/S5 OPC Server, the configuration was stored partly in the registry and partly in different XML files.
The configuration for the NETLink PRO interface was stored in XML files located in the \NETLink folder of the S7/S5 OPC Server installation directory.
All other interface configurations were stored in the registry in the keys:
HKLM\Software\Deltalogic\AGLink
HKLM\Software\Softing\S7 OPC Server

Version 4.0x:
In the new version, the entire configuration is stored in XML files (*.XML) that reside in the OPC Server installation directory (C:\Program Files\Softing\S7S5OPCServer).

Where the alias files and Step7 projects are stored is user-specific.
When updating to version 4.0x, please note that the old configuration will be automatically converted to the new format.

Version 4.1x:The entire configuration is stored in XML files (*.XML). Standard file location:- Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008: C:\ProgramData\Softing\S7S5OPCServer - Windows XP, Windows Server 2003: C:\Document and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Softing\S7S5OPCServer

Reading out data in KG/KC format from an S5

To read out data in KG format (Real) from an S5, you need to use the S7 syntax instead of the S5 syntax (e.g. DB8.DBD0 instead of DB8DD0).

Connection to S7-1200/1500 fails

Error message in trace: „Could not be executed in cycle“

This error message in the trace file of the S7/S5 OPC Server indicates a possible communication overload between server and PLC. You can solve this problem by either increasing the update rate in the OPC client or reducing the number of polled items in a group.

You can get more details on this error by analyzing the Diagnostics web pages of the S7/S5 OPC Server (Cyclic Requests, Clients and PLC Connections). To access the Diagnostics pages, open the system tray application (right-click on the tray icon) and click “Show Web Pages”. Then log on as 'Administrator' (password 'ad').

Please note that you can only access the web pages when the OPC server is running.
The “Diagnostics | Cyclic Requests” page provides a list of all the cyclic read requests of the OPC clients. If an OPC client creates items in the OPC server, an update rate is specified for the items of a group according the group's properties. This web page shows you the cyclic requests that are executed for all items of the OPC clients. The update rate should be at least the average value of the associated group on this page.
The update rate can only be set in the OPC client application you are using. When using the Softing OPC Demo Client, select the corresponding OPC group object in the tree on the left. Click the right mouse button, choose “Properties” from the context menu and set the update rate (a detailed description is provided in the Online Help under Softing OPC Demo Client -> DA Server access -> Displaying object properties).
If supported by your OPC client, you can also set an update rate of 0. This setting will cause the OPC server to retrieve the data from the PLC as fast as possible.

Error message: “Quality BAD waiting for initial data”

Basically if you subscribe to an item on the OPC Server, which has not been accessed by any client before and the cache has not been initialized you will get the error “Quality BAD waiting for initial data”. Normally the OPC Server makes an initial read if you subscribe to the item the very first time. If you would successfully write an initial value to this OPC item then this message would disappear.

May be your configuration is not correct (addresses in the alias file or the one you try to access using S7 syntax doesn’t match the project on the PLC).

To get a better understanding you should have a look at the standard item "connected" in the Softing OPC Toolbox Demo Client which shows if the OPC-Server has a connection to the PLC or not:
0 = no connection,
-1 = connection ok.

If the "connected" item value is 0, it means that the PLC is temporarily not accessible on the OPC Server. There is a problem with the connection to the PLC. Check the network connection.

Error message: PLC not found (0xFFF5001C)

PLC not found means that the S7/S5 OPC Server can not access the PLC any more.

Possible causes:

Network problems (ping ...),
Port 102 on the PLC is blocked,
Often an access problem to the PLC (for e.g. a PLC programmer occupies the software interface temporarily),
The configuration of the PLC does not match the configuration of the S7 OPC Server any more

If the PLC has an Ethernet connection you can try to “ping” the PLC.

When the communication port of the PLC is already used then try to switch between the connection types "PG" and "OP" and “others” in the Configurator. It could also help in such cases if the programmer configures more resources for the corresponding channel of the PLC in the STEP 7 project.

The “Test” button offers a quick way of testing the connection which is currently selected in the Configurator. To this end, a direct communication connection (not an OPC connection) is established to the controller indicated by the channel and PLC number, and the MLFB number (serial number) is requested and displayed.

Depending on the results:

When no connection to PLC, not able to ping, Test button fails then there is a problem with the connection to the PLC. Try to check network connection or whatever interface you use.
When ping and test are ok then maybe the configuration of the PLC does not match the configuration of the S7 OPC Server any more (you try to access items, which are not present on the PLC).

Error message: Timeout (0xFFF50004)

This error message is coming from the ACCON-AGLink and means Timeout. You can see all of the error messages from the AGLink in the file AGLink40_Error.eng, which can be found in the installation directory of the S7/S5 OPC Server.

If this error will be reported then the OPC Server has temporarily no connection to the physical device.

This might have different reasons:

Network issue. Check the network connection.
Port 102 on the PLC is blocked. Please check it with “Telnet IP 102”.
Communication port of the PLC is not free. Try to switch between "PG" and "OP" connections in the configuration.

Modbus/TCP OPC Server

How can I activate the slave functionality of the Modbus/TCP OPC Server?

How do I configure the Softing Modbus OPC Server to be able to access the data of a Modbus device?

Using Modbus Unit Identifiers in syntax items

The Item IDs of syntax items are structured in the following way:
[<Modbus/TCP Device Name[<:Modbus/TCP Port Number]>/][<Modbus Unit Identifier>.]<Modbus/TCP Address>[:<Data Type>][<Array Boundaries>]

Only the <Modbus/TCP Address> is mandatory. The other parts are optional.

<Modbus Unit Identifier>
The Modbus Unit Identifier in the Modbus/TCP device. In Modbus, the Unit Identifier is used to address multiple logic devices via one physical device. This functionality is mainly used for gateways (Modbus RTU -> Modbus TCP).
This part of the syntax is optional. The default value is "255"(0xFF).
Example with Modbus/TCP Device Name and Modbus/TCP Unit Identifier:
GatewayIP/1.300010

Devices that support the Modbus RTU protocol can only be addressed via a Modbus gateway. As the gateway combines multiple Modbus RTU devices into a single IP address, the devices must have different Modbus Unit IDs to allow the server to distinguish them. This means that the Modbus Unit Identifier always has to be specified for Modbus RTU devices.

Devices that support the Modbus TCP protocol can be operated directly, without a gateway. In this case, the device description indicates whether the Modbus Unit Identifier is required, how it is set, and how it can be modified. Many Modbus TCP devices ignore the Unit Identifier, so that it does not have to be specified in these cases.

PROFIBUS OPC Server

In the integrated Web interface, you can edit the trace settings of the OPC server and view the trace output.

How do I enable the OPC Tunnel functionality in the PROFIBUS OPC Server?

The server-side functionality of the Softing OPC Tunnel product is integrated in the PROFIBUS OPC Server by default. The OPC Tunnel allows remote OPC communication without DCOM and across firewalls and provides user authentication functionality to protect your data from unauthorized access.

The OPC Tunnel functionality of the PROFIBUS OPC Server currently cannot be enabled with the Configurator. Therefore, you need to make a manual entry in the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Softing\PB OPC Server
- Key: TunnelIpPort
  - Default = 0 (Tunnel disabled)
  - Default for activation = 56765

To enable the default port 56765, please create a text file containing the following three lines, save the file with the file extension .reg, and run this file.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Softing\PB OPC Server]
"TunnelIPPort"=dword:0000ddbd

Click “Yes” at the registry prompt.

The system then needs to be rebooted.

If you want to use a different port instead of port 56765, you can simply enter the relevant number manually in the registry.

Start Regedit:

Go to the key “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Softing\PB OPC Server” and double-click “TunnelIPPort.”

Select “Decimal” and enter the required port address (default: 56765).

Click OK, close the registry editor, and reboot the system.

Changing the Slave Address with the Configurator

Detect devices: the configurator detects the slaves when you run the scanning process.
Important: Delete the cyclic data container (CyclicData) of the slave whose address you want to change
Then activate the configuration via the Toolbar (or context menu or F5). The PROFIBUS Master establishes a connection with the configured Slave.
Change the desired station address. Highlight the slave whose address you want to change, open the context menu and select "Properties". A dialog box opens in which you can set the desired address. Click “Apply” to confirm your settings. After about 10 seconds the “Apply” button becomes grey which means the device address has changed. Click “OK” to close the dialog.
Deactivate the configuration
Activate the configuration again.

The slave can now be accessed with its new address.

The License Manager fails to detect the licenses on Softing interface cards on 64 bit systems

Please download and install the software patch from here LicenseManager_V306

Multiprotocol OPC Server (former INAT OPC Server)

Why do the servers without license run for less than the 72 h?

There can generally only be one reason:
The PC's system time is changed.
This is done either by a program that changes the time due to incompatibility with the operating system (e.g. STEP5 V6.x under Win2000 - the product is not enabled for this combination) or by other programs that should actually synchronize the system time in the network, but lead to problems in that they change the system time for a minimal time (in most cases, users do not realize this because it easily goes unnoticed).

In any case, the time in the Logger has to be checked to see if the server really runs for 72h in demo mode or shorter.

OPC server freezes and cannot be operated

After running for a while, the OPC server freezes. It then cannot be operated anymore and does not provide any data. All other programs on the PC and all other network functions continue to work as normal.

In all probability, a great many or all "Logger functions" have been activated in the OPC Server Logger. You might have verbose enabled. This may lead to the described effects on some PCs. If you disable Logger functions (default is "Show Errors"), the OPC server will run without freezing again.

No connection between INAT server and CP535 via H1

In all probability, different TSAPs are used for the H1 connection. The CP535 HW3 (according to Siemens there is only one firmware version in HW3) has the effect that the TSAPs are swapped when the CP535 HW3 acknowledges the network connection. As a result, the PC closes the connection and no network connection is established.

How to solve the problem:
It is essential to enter identical TSAPs for communication with the CP535 HW3.

S7 standard TSAPs for OPC/DDE server

OPC/DDE communication with Siemens S7 controllers is normally done via default connections. This means that the connection parameter settings only have to be made on the OPC/DDE server side, not on the controller side (S7-CP):
In the OPC/DDE server, enable RFC1006 and select ISO-on-TCP (RFC1006). Here you need to enter the standard TSAPs in the HEX box:
Own TSAP: 01 00
Dest TSAP: 03 xy
(x = rack number multiplied by 2, where the first rack has rack number 0 / y = slot of the CPU)

An example is available for download as a PDF.

Why is -1 (VT_I4) output for the special item "STATUS" if the connection is working properly?

In older versions, there was an error in the output of the STATUS for a correct connection. This has been corrected in the newer versions.
Now -1 (VT_I4) is output for a properly working connection.

After connection interruptions to Siemens CP (PLC off/on, network disconnected), it may happen that the connections cannot be established anymore. In most cases the only thing that helps is to shut down the INAT server for a prolonged time.

This behavior may occur with Siemens CPs that have older firmware versions. For example, this problem occurs with a CP443-1 V2.0, whereas no errors occur with FW V2.6.

A correctly entered license (activation code) "disappears".

Although you can enter the same code again and thus re-activate the product, the activation is lost again when you exit and restart the program.
In all probability, an incorrect "licensekey.txt" path is given in the title bar of the program's license window.
Taking the OPC server (default) as an example, a correct path would be: C:\ProgramFiles\INAT\OPC Server Ethernet\license\licensekey.txt

How to solve the problem:
The following registry entry has to be deleted:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INAT\License]
"LicenseKey"="any path\\LICENSEKEY.TXT"
The "license_pfad_delete.reg" registry file attached as a ZIP file for download will do this automatically.
After a restart of the product, the correct "licensekey.txt" path is now given in the title bar of the license window. An activation code entered will be retained.

OPC Easy Connect Suite - OPC Tunnel

Is the Softing OPC Easy Connect Suite a 64-bit application?

The Softing OPC Easy Connect Suite is a 32-bit application that can be used on 64-bit systems in 32-bit mode without restrictions or performance reduction.

Background information from the German Wikipedia entry (translated excerpt):
The advantages of 64-bit CPUs include an easier calculation of large integer values. This offers benefits, for example, for encryption algorithms, graphical calculations (e.g. fixed point arithmetic for computer games), 64-bit file systems, or multimedia formats (MPEG2, MP3).
Another advantage over 32-bit architecture is that 64-bit systems can directly address more than four GB RAM. This is useful for applications with large memory requirements, such as video processing applications and database systems, provided they have been programmed for a 64-bit system. In most other applications – in particular, office applications – there is no subjectively noticeable speed advantage.

How to create and use a bidirectional OPC-Communication with OPC Tunnel?

How to configure redundant server connections?

EasyConnect V2.x OPC2Database on 64Bit Systems

If EasyConnect OPC2Database is used on a 64Bit system it is essential, that the 32Bit version of the ODBC Database driver is installed. EasyConnect is not able to use 64Bit drivers.

Where can I find the configuration files of the OPC Easy Connect Suite?

It depends on which version of the OPC Easy Connect Suite you are using. Directory structure and configuration file names were changed between the versions 1.x and 2.x.

Version 1.x:

file path: <installation directory> (C:\Program Files\Softing\OCT\)
main configuration file: OCT.xml
trace file: file name and directory are user defined (under Diagnostics).
Storage: file name and path for storage items can be arbitrarily defined (default: <installation directory>Storage.txt)
Task: Folder and file names for add-on DLLs can be arbitrarily defined (default: <installation directory>Mytask.txt)
Subscription file: subscription configuration file name and path can be arbitrarily defined (default: <installation directory>MySubscription.txt)
Filter file: Filter configuration file name and path can be arbitrarily defined (default: <installation directory>Filter.txt)

Version 2.x:

file path: depends on the used operating system:

- Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008:

C:\ProgramData\Softing\EasyConnect\ConfigurationX\

- Windows XP, Windows Server 2003:

C:\Document and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Softing\EasyConnect\ConfigurationX

main configuration file: OSF_Runtime.xml
trace file: file name is user defined. Only the file name can be set (the path is the path of the instance)
Storage: Storage renamed to Local Items, configuration file name and path are always relative to the main configuration file. (Path=".\LocalItems\LocalItems.txt")
Task: folder and file names for add-on DLLs are fixed (Path=".\Tasks\Tasks.txt")
Subscription file: subscription file name and path are always relative to the main configuration file (Path=".\Tasks\Subscriptions.txt")
Filter file: filter file name and path are always relative to the main configuration file. (Path=".\Filters\Connection_2.txt"). The server connection name will be used as the name for the filter file.

Please use the menu items „Backup“ and „Restore“ in the Configurator (menu Configuration) for backup.

dataFEED OPC Suite

License Model

The following general types of licenses are available:

Node locked licenses with a corresponding software key.
Portable licenses with a hardware dongle for the USB port.

Note: If you want to use the USB hardware license keys (dongles) you also need to install the SafeNet dongle driver separately. This can be done either directly by selecting the SafeNet dongle driver in the dataFEED OPC Suite setup or by executing the corresponding link in the Softing License Manager start menu - Softing / License Manager / SafeNet Dongle Driver Installation.

Softing dataFEED OPC Suite V4.03 enables/disables functionalities based on licensed features. All supported features (available starting with version 4.00) are enabled by the following licenses:

dataFEED OPC Organizer Classic License, enables the following functionalities:

OPC Bridge.
OPC Server Concentrator
OPC Optimizer
Interface for the communication with different clients - OPC DA (V1.00, V2.05 and V3.00) and XML-DA
Interface for the communication with different server - OPC DA (V1.00, V2.05 and V3.00) and XML-DA
OPC Filtering

Note: The number of possible server connection based on DA/AE client interface is limited to 1 DA (DA, tunnel or XML-DA) and 1 AE sever connection – the first configured connection will be establish and all others will be rejected at the initialization time.

dataFEED OPC Server Extension License, enables the following functionalities:
· All features enabled by OPC Organizer Classic license
· Server connections (DA/AE, XML-DA or tunnel – this required also as OPC Tunnel as additional license) to external OPC Servers as data source – the following number of server connection can be activated as option into license (Please note that the corresponding licensed server connections are counted for all types of server connections together and not separately).

The following number of server connections should be available:

50 server connections

Attention: The overall number of actually used licence items is computed at runtime over all local dataFEED OPC Suite applications currently running on the corresponding computer. The configurator, however, shows only the license items used by the actual configuration.

dataFEED OPC Tunnel License, enables the following functionalities:

All features enabled by OPC Organizer Classic license
OPC Tunnel DA server interfaces
OPC Tunnel DA client interfaces (the number of tunnel server connections is limited to 1 by Base DA license or to a specific number by Server Extension license)

dataFEED OPC Organizer UA License, enables the following functionalities:

All features enabled by OPC Organizer Classic license
OPC UA Server interfaces

dataFEED OPC Data Handler License, enables the following functionalities:

All features enabled by OPC Organizer Classic license
All features enabled by OPC Organizer UA license
OPC to File add-on
OPC to Database add-on
Server to Server add-on (Exchange)
Client to Client – Storage local items (internal address space)
Store and Forward add-on

Note: The maximum number of items used for all running instances/configurations into add-ons is limited to 10.000 collector item.
Note: The number of server connections is limited to 1 by the dataFEED OPC Organizer Classic license. If you want to use the exchange functionality for Server to Server communication, the dataFEED OPC Server Extension license is needed.

dataFEED OPC Server Siemens License, enables the following functionalities:

All features enabled by OPC Organizer Classic license
Siemens family PLC connections (unlimited number of device connections)

dataFEED OPC Server Rockwell License, enables the following functionalities:

All features enabled by OPC Organizer Classic license
Rockwell family PLC connections (unlimited number of device connections)

dataFEED OPC Server Mitsubishi License, enables the following functionalities:

All features enabled by OPC Organizer Classic license
Mitsubishi family PLC connections (unlimited number of device connections)

dataFEED OPC Server Modbus License, enables the following functionalities:

All features enabled by OPC Organizer Classic license
Modbus family PLC connections (unlimited number of device connections)

dataFEED OPC Server B&R License, enables the following functionalities:

All features enabled by OPC Organizer Classic license
B&R family PLC connections (unlimited number of device connections)

dataFEED OPC Suite License – Enables all available functionalities from Softing dataFEED OPC Suite product.
Note: Maximum number of server connections allowed by this license is 50. If more then 50 server connections are needed a Server Extension license with a higher number of allowed server connections must to be activated.

Installation and Activation of Licenses
All licenses can be installed and activated with the external Softing License Manager. If there are no licenses installed, Softing dataFEED OPC Suite is executed in a time/function limited Demonstration Mode.

Attention: If the actual licenses are changed during the runtime of the local dataFEED OPC Suite application, the local dataFEED OPC Suite application will be stopped and the configurator and the tray application will show the yellow 'Demonstration Mode Expired' icon for the corresponding configuration.

Demonstration Mode

If no license is installed on the local computer Softing dataFEED OPC Suite runs for 72 hours in a limited demonstration mode. All dataFEED OPC Suite features are enabled, however the available license items are restricted to the following values:

10 server connections.
250 data items.

When the demonstration period ends after 72 hours, the local dataFEED OPC Suite application stops all functionalities. The user is notified by a warning message from the dataFEED OPC Suite tray application, and both the configurator and the tray application show the corresponding yellow icon.

Restarting the local dataFEED OPC Suite application will start a new 72-hours demonstration period.

Note: The demonstration mode is only available if no licenses are installed on the corresponding computer. Installing at least one license key will disable the demonstration mode completely.

Does the OPC Easy Connect Suite work with the product dataFEED OPC Suite?

The datafeed OPC Suite is 100% compatible to the already discontinued OPC Easy Connect Suite, replacing this product. Therefore, it is possible to install Easy Connect on the client side and dataFEED on the server side and vice versa. The tunnel functionality is always guaranteed.

Column name restriction using MS Access Database (OPC2Database)

The name of a column in an MS Access Database must not contain any special characters or spaces. Otherwise writing values into the Database doesn’t work correctly.

Connection to S7-1200/1500 fails

How to configure trace outputs to file

Trace outputs, also called diagnostics information, can be configured in the dataFEED OPC Suite Configurator in the section Settings -> Diagnostics.

In the Trace Levels group box the different trace levels (the amount of data to be traced) can be defined for each of the four trace groups. The following trace groups are available:
• Error Messages,
• Warning Messages,
• Information Messages and
• Debug-Messages

To enable tracing to a file the Trace to File checkbox must be checked.

Note: When the local dataFEED OPC Suite application is restarted the contents of the trace files are backed up. The backup is only performed for the previous log files when a new session of the local dataFEED OPC Suite application is started and not when the log files reach their maximum size during the application runtime.

If asked for the trace files in a support case, you can find them in the following folder:
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Softing\dataFEED OPC Suite\ConfigurationName\

Please note that this folder can vary depending on the Microsoft Windows operating system and the language version used.

The backed up trace files have the following names:
OSF_Runtime_backup#numberA.log
OSF_Runtime_backup#numberB.log

The actual trace files have the following names
OSF_Runtime_currentA.log
OSF_Runtime_currentB.log

Note: The tracing mechanism is circular meaning that it writes data to two separate files. When the first file reaches the Maximum file size the trace mechanism overwrites the second file and so on.

Note: When the local dataFEED OPC Suite application starts it automatically renames the two trace files from the previous session as the most recent backup files. If Number of backup files is set to 0 then the trace files from the last session will not be backed up.

Attention: Please make sure that you have enough free space for the ongoing trace files (e.g. twice the Maximum File Size) plus additional space for the backup files (if Number of backup files is greater than 0).

For a more detailed description see the online help chapter Configuration -> dataFEED OPC Suite Configuration -> Settings -> Diagnostics

Configuration Backup and Restore

The Backup and Restore features in the Configuration main menu allow exporting and importing different configurations in order to migrate the server and all of its settings from one machine to another.

The Backup menu functionality performs a complete export of the currently loaded configuration into a single backup file. The backup process can be started by clicking the corresponding entry on the Configuration main menu. The action is only available if a configuration is currently loaded. The resulting backup file will be a binary file (.OSF) containing all the data relevant to the configuration.

The Restore feature allows importing a previously exported configuration from a backup file. The restore process can be started by clicking the corresponding entry on the Configuration main menu. A file open dialog appears where you can select the backup file. If the selected file is a valid backup file, the restore procedure will start and the resulting configuration will be opened on completion.

Changing the default configuration when the Configurator is launched from the shortcut

If you have deleted the "Configuration1" configuration and then click on the dataFEED configurator shortcut, a default configuration with the name "Configuration1" will be created again.

If you want to change the configuration name, you can do it using the XML configuration file. To do this, open the XML configuration file of the dataFEED configurator, which you can find in the folder here:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Softing\dataFEED OPC Suite\OSF_Configurator.xml

In the "Options" section, you can specify the default configuration names.

Change the value of the "DefaultConfigName" parameter from "Configuration1" to your desired configuration name. Then save the XML configuration file to save the changes.

Connection problems to the underlying OPC Server with the message ‘First connect not executed’

The connection to the underlying OPC Server cannot be established.
In the log file of the dataFEED OPC Suite you can see the following entry: „First connect not executed“

Workaround:

Notice the DCOM Identity settings for your OPC Servers:
- Start "dcomcnfg" (enter Windows key + R and "dcomcnfg.exe").
- In the tree view navigate to: Component Services – Computers – My Computer - DCOM Configuration.
- Select your OPC server (right side).
- Open the context menu (right mouse button) -> Properties.
- Select the "Identity" tab.
- Write down the settings and close the window.
Set exactly the same Identity settings for the dataFEED configuration:
- Navigate to Softing - dataFEED Configuration1 in the tree view. You will see two entries for that, once for DA and once for AE. Repeat this step for both entries as this is easier. Select the tab "Identity"
- Now set exactly the same values as you have noted down from your OPC Server which you would like to connect to (see above).
- Close this window by clicking on ok and redo the same step and settings on the second entry.
If the identity setting is not possible because this option is grayed out, then close this window and go to the dataFEED configuration. Change the execution mode first from the menu of the dataFEED Configurator (Local Application -> Run mode). Select another entry as before. After that, process the DCOM settings with step 2. again.
Then restart the Softing dataFEED OPC Suite.

The connection to the underlying OPC servers should now be successfully established.

Error message: "BadNotSupported" when writing from an UA client to a DA server

Browsing and reading values from an UA OPC Client to the configured DA OPC server work fine. However writing of an OPC item is acknowledged with "BadNotSupported".

The Softing dataFEED UA Client transmits an OPC item with time stamp, quality and value per default.

According to the OPC specification, writing the time stamp and quality is optional.
Some DA OPC server doesn’t support it. If the underlying DA OPC server doesn’t support writing the time stamp and quality, then writing is acknowledged negatively with the error message "BadNotSupported".

Workaround:
You can configure in the XML configuration file of the dataFEED OPC Suite whether writing of the time stamp and quality should be transferred to the underlying DA OPC server or not.

To do this, please open the XML configuration file:
C:\ProgramData\Softing\dataFEED OPC Suite\<Configurationname>\OSF_Runtime.XML

In the "UA_Server" section, change the line as follows:
<UA_Server RebrowseTimeoutInterval="10000" Enabled="true" WriteFiltering="V">

With this entry, WriteFiltering="V", only the value of the OPC item is transferred without time stamp and quality.

Please save the XML configuration file, and then restart the dataFEED OPC Suite.

How to speed up the startup process?

Please uncheck the “Validate items” check box in the “Advanced Settings” dialog.

Select in the navigator control on the left side of the Configurator main window the section Settings -> Advanced. In the dialog window you will find the mentioned check box “Validate items” below the section “Global DS-OPC and DS-Tunnel Settings”.

This entry decides whether the item IDs from a dynamic server connection subscription should be validated or not. If no validation is performed all item IDs from the subscription file will be accepted by the local dataFEED OPC Suite application for a dynamic source.
Leaving out validation increases the item adding speed.

How can I configure an S5-PCLink connection in the dataFEED OPC Suite

Settings in the S5-LAN-Manager:
For S5 Protocol please set the S7/S5-Server-Port to 2002 in the S5 LAN Manager configuration.

For S7 Protocol the S7/S5-Server-Port should be set to 102.

Settings in the dataFEED OPC Suite:
Please restore the sample configuration file S5-PCLink-Verbindung.osf where both connections to the same S5 PC Link are configured.

Please note that the used ports in both configuration, dataFEED OPC Suite and S5 LAN Manager, should be the same.

uaGate, edgeGate

What is the maximum data throughput of uaGate?

2.500 byte items with 200ms polling time

What is the fastest polling rate of uaGate?

50ms polling time

How many symbols can be used?

The maximum number of symbols which can be imported is 20.000. The edgeGate supports with its 5 connections up to 60.000 symbols, but also a maximum of 20.000 per connection.

Is the store-and-forward functionality towards OPC UA supported?

The buffering as specified in the OPC UA standard is implemented, but the items are stored in the RAM, not on the SD card. Please mind that the OPC UA client must support this functionality and demand it from the server.

Is the store-and-forward functionality towards MQTT supported?

Yes, if you choose the QoS 1 or QoS 2 (Quality of Service) to the Broker connection, the selected Topics are stored on the SD-card (please insert a sd-card). Please mind that the MQTT broker has enough performance to handle the amount of resend data if the connection is re-established.

Is the OPC UA Historical Access (HA) supported?

Not yet.
Certificate checking specifics.
The expiration date of a client certificate is intentionally not checked, for user convenience.

Which web browsers are supported?

We recommend using Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome for the gateway configuration.
Microsoft Explorer has some known limitations that might interfere with the user interface.

How to change the language of the user interface?

The browser preferred language is used for the user interface, currently English and German is supported. If you want to override this default setting, change the preferences in your browser. For example, in Mozilla Firefox, choose Menu – Settings – Content – Languages and change move the desired language to the top of the list.

Which cloud platforms are supported?

We support the Microsoft Azure Cloud, Amazon AWS Cloud, IBM Bluemix Cloud and other cloud providers, which are using MQTT for telemetry data.

echocollect

How is the PLC connection limit defined?

Each PLC connection in the NetCon main window is counted. If the connection is created multiple times, it is counted multiple times as well. E-Mail, OPC-UA, MQTT, OPCpipe, database or FTP connection is exempted from the limit. The connections are bi-directional, i.e. read and write is not calculated separately. It is possible to toggle the PLC connections on and off.

How many connections can be used?

You can connect to multiple PLCs (up to 5 or 15 with extension license), multiple data base and OPCpipe connections (up to 4) and single connections to E-Mail Server, OPC-UA Server, MQTT Broker or FTP.

NetCon cannot discover the echocollect gateways

This occurs, if your network is not correctly configured. This is usually caused by the wrong default route or net mask configuration. In this case, the connection over H1 could help. Moreover, be sure, that only one Ethernet interface is active on your PC. If, e.g., your wireless adapter is switched on, the discovery over Ethernet won’t work due to the Windows internal limitations. The used ports for discovery are 997 and 982, please be sure that they aren’t blocked via firewall.

How to activate additional licenses in echocollect?

PDF Download

Which databases are supported by echocollect?

These databases are tested regularly by our QS department for compatibility with echocollect. Other versions might be compatible as well, but they were not fully tested.

Data Base	Version
Oracle	V10
	V11
	V11.2 XE
DB2	V10.1
	V9.5
	V9.75
MsSQL	2005

SYBASE	ASE 15_0

MySQL	5.5

Do I need any special license, in order to use the database buffering functionality?

Yes, you need the data logger license (LRL-YY-14-3002).

Which SD-card sizes are supported?

SD: from 8 MB till 2 GB
SDHC: from 4 GB till 32 GB
(SDXC is not supported)

What happen, if the SD-card is full?

When enabled, the oldest data will be rewritten by the latest, in a circular buffer manner.

Is there any limitation on the number of items, accessible over the OPC-UA or OPC Pipe?

The access itself is not limited by the license. However, this license limit on the symbol table is still applicable (10.000 items).

Which OS versions are supported by NetCon?

The NetCon is tested with the following Windows version:
Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016.

Which OS is used in the echo devices?

Custom hardened operating system based on Linux Kernel

How is the serial number of the echocollect defined?

yywwnnnnnnxxxx	yy = production year (two-digits) ww = week number (two-digits) nnnnnn = counting-up number (6 digits) xxxx= Variante = the last 4 digits of the order number

Where can I order the power connector for echocollect?

This is a standard component, produced by Phoenix, ID: MC 1,5/2-STF-3,5

Configuring a Softing echocollect to establish data exchange between a Siemens S7-300 and an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix

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PLCs supported by echocollect

PDF Download

echochange

Setting up data exchange between a Siemens S7-300 and an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix, using Siemens SEND/RECEIVE functions and Allen-Bradley CIP Generic messages

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Setting up data exchange between a Siemens S7-300 and an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix, using Siemens PUT and GET functions

PDF Download

Setting up data exchange between a Siemens S7-1200 and an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix, using Siemens PUT and GET functions

PDF Download

PLCs supported by echochange

PDF Download

S5-PCLink

Step5 displays "Error 0334" when I want to establish a connection via the S5-PCLink

Please download and install the software patch s5vir122.exe from our download area.

I cannot change any settings in the S5-PCLink (e.g. IP address, name, etc....) with the S5-LanManager

Firmware version 1.03 or newer is installed in the S5-PCLink (check S5-LanManager).

Please download an update of the S5-LanManager from our web site. Replace the installed files (C:\Program Files\Softing\S5-PCLink\... ) with those from the S5LanManager_update.zip file.

Communication with the PLC is sporadically broken or cannot be established at all

On S5 PLCs of type S5U115-944 and -928B, the power sources needed by our S5-PCLink are often defective. This is indicated by a failure to connect to the PLC (green LED on S5-PCLink flashes once approx. every 4 seconds) or a broken connection at irregular intervals.

Pinging the S5-PCLink works.

Solution:
You will need a power source adapter that can be added between the PLC and the S5-PCLink, and provides the power sources.
Please contact our sales department if you need this adapter.

What is the default IP address of the S5-PCLinks (factory setting)

There is no default IP address setting. The IP address is automatically assigned by the DHCP server per default.

If there is no DHCP server available, then the module will use a random address from the IP address space 169 - ... (after about 1 minute).

In case the device will not be shown in the S5-LAN-Manager then connect it directly with a crossover network cable and your PC. Please disable the Firewall. You can then configure the device in the S5-LAN-Manager. (For the operation mode this function is not necessary).

S5-PCLink is not found in the S5-LAN-Manager

Possible causes:

IP address / port is blocked by the firewall . Please disable the firewall and then search again in the S5-LAN-Manager. Ports see below.
A virus scanner could also block the communication, so please turn off the virus scanner.
There is a router between the PC and the module (especially NAT router), which does not forwards the search to the broadcasts.
If a VPN connection is used then the required ports must be free.

Ports

65467 (UDP): Search S5-LAN by S5-LAN-Manager/PLCVCOM
65467 (TCP): Search S5-LAN by S5-LAN-Manager/PLCVCOM
10010 (TCP): PG port ( PLCVCOM )
2002 (TCP): S5 server port ( VIPA )
102 (TCP): S5 server port ( RFC1006)

Alternate solution:

In case the device will not be shown in the S5-LAN-Manager then connect it directly with a crossover network cable and your PC. Please disable the firewall. You can then configure the device in the S5-LAN-Manager. (For the operation mode this function is not necessary).

Contact

European countries
support.automation@softing.com

Italy
info@softingitalia.it

Data Integration

Entered station parameters are not applied

This only happens if you try to assign station parameters (such as name, IP address) to a new or undeleted echochange.
In all probability, you have attempted to assign these parameters via the second network adapter TP2. A correct assignment of the station parameters is technically only possible via the first network adapter TP1.

When "Start as a Service" is enabled, the DDE server cannot be operated

Use the registry script from the attached ZIP file to unregister the "start DDE server as service" function. After rebooting, you can restart the DDE server's user interface.

With respect to the problem of the server not working as a service, please contact our support team.

Installation under Windows Server fails

The reason is probably that the "Windows Terminal Server" is (also) running on the server operating system.

How to solve the problem:

The INAT software can only be installed by selecting

"Start - Settings - Control Panel - Software - Add New Programs".

Installation under Windows Server 2003 fails

When you use Windows Server 2003, it may happen that after the language selection, the installation of an INAT software application is aborted either without an error message or with a Logger error message.
In all probability, the following registry entry is empty in this Windows Server 2003 version:
"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MicrosoftWindows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders\Fonts"
Entering the correct value (C:\Windows\Fonts) is not successful.

How to solve the problem:
Install the INAT software by selecting
- Start
- Control Panel
- Software
- Add New Programs

Examples of Fetch/Write communication

echolink s7 - compact

echolink S7-compact TIA Settings

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How to access echolink S7-compact with the S7/S5 OPC server

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Echolink S7 Compact:S7-300/S7-400 WinCC flexible

It is possible to realize a connection from a WinCC flexible Runtime/Panel to a S7-200 PPI station over ethernet using an Echolink S7 Compact gateway.

Example

In the following example a configuration with WinCC flexible is shown. The HMI station ist connected to the Echolink S7 Compact via an Ethernet connection. The Echolink S7 Compact itself is connected to a S7-300/S7-400 station by MPI or PROFIBUS. Bus parameters were configured by the IBHNet configuration tool.

The following addresses were chosen in the example:

IP addresses:

Station	Address
HMI station	192.168.0.194
Echolink S7 Compact	192.168.0.167

MPI/DP addresses:

Station	Address
Echolink S7 Compact	5
S7-300/400 station	12

Configuration: The ethernet communication driver for S7 300/400 must be selected in WinCC flexible, since only this driver allows the selection of an extension slot on the PLC side. This setting is necessary for the selection of the MPI/DP address to use for the connection.

echocollect and Sinumerik 840 D PL

This application note summarizes the possibilities to access data in the Sinumerik 840 D PL. Echocollect supports only the Simatic S7 PLCs officially, not the Sinumerik CNC in general. However, the Sinumerik 840 D PL contains a S7 PLC internally, which memory can be accessed by echocollect. This PLC can be accessed over the X122 connector (MPI PG port, at 187,5 kBaud) only. Only the “DPR” machine memory is accessible with this approach. Unfortunately, the machine vendor usually provides no documentation about the internal data organization in the PLC memory. Therefore some reverse engineering may be necessary. Due to these facts, Softing support cannot assist you in this case. Only the model Sinumerik 840 D PL was tested by our customers, other models of Sinumerik are probably not compatible.

Configuration of OPC UA > DA Gateway for usage with echocollect

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echolink one2Profinet

What is the maximum number of possible simultaneous IP connections (eg. Redundancy)?

Only one connection, no redundancy supported

Is there a virtual serial port driver for this tool?

No, there is no driver available

How to connect an OPC Client to echocollect?

PDF Download

How to activate additional licenses in echocollect?

PDF Download