Does anyone here have any experience using Copia Automation’s version control system for PLC programs?
We’ve just started a 2 week trial and so far I’ve been impressed with the product. Their ability to visualize ladder logic and highlight changes between commits is really nice. I can already tell that being able to view the ladder logic in the web browser will be useful for quick code checks, collaboration, etc. This seems like a perfect match up with Perspective with being able to load the PLC program for troubleshooting and see what has changed in recent days, etc (no cost for read only access). They have web hooks as well that I’d imagine could allow for some cool configurations within Ignition (notifications of upcoming code changes, PLC code changelogs, etc).
Anyways, I just wanted to see if anyone else has more extensive experience with this product and also get the word out for others who may not have heard about it yet! Now, one day, I’ll put in the effort to get Ignition into a VCS…
Will,
Did you happen to continue using Copia? I'm currently evaluating for PLC version control and was interested in using it for Ignition as well, hoping to have version control under one umbrella.
Yup, our team of 5 have been using it for about a year now. It has been very easy to use and has been great for non-controls personnel too since you can create free read only accounts. Allows users who just want to look at the PLC logic to quickly open up the viewer in a web browser. I do very little PLC programming and primarily focus on Ignition, I find the web browser much more convenient to spot check PLC programs than spinning up VMs with Studio5000. We haven't started using it for Ignition yet - I'm being a bit lazy and waiting for 8.3 - but I wouldn't have any concerns with Copia being able to handle it if you wanted to include Ignition backups.
I should note that we are 99% Rockwell PLCs so I don't have any experience with other PLC brands in Copia.
Edit: I'll add that I think their ladder logic viewer is very good. I'm actually hoping they eventually release a tool that allows to host it on local machines with a way to link it to a live PLC so you can view live tag values within their viewer. Would be a great troubleshooting tool for Ops without having to give the "keys to the kingdom" to users who have no/very little PLC experience.
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