Yokogawa ExaOPC DA - Ignition OPC UA

Ignition
1

Dear Ignition Team,

I am from digital transformation team of Saint-Gobain india. We have a requirement to connect Yokogawa ExaOPC-DA server to ignition server. We are using ignition platform for process data historian application. Our plant security guidelines suggests to use OPC-UA to communicate across the firewall. Since yokogawa only supports OPC-DA right now.

What we have already tried and succeeded:

  1. We have installed KEPServerEX on Yokogawa server and configured it as OPC-DA client. KEPServerEx converted this connection to OPC-UA and the ignition gateway was able to browse tags using OPC UA Client configuration.

2)We have developed Python OPC DA client using OpenOPC library and installed this program as windows service. This service was able to connect to Yokogawa ExaOPC-DA and extracts process values.

please provide us the clarity on following questions

  1. How can we achieve the aforementioned scenario with ignition components and products from inductive automation?

  2. Yokogawa ExaOPC-DA server has many instances running on different physical machines, can we have redundant OPC-UA connections from ignition gateway?

  3. If ignition doesn’t support OPC-DA/UA conversion, what will be the recommended third party middleware which can be used?

Thanks & Regards,
Saravanakumar S
e-mail: saravanakumar.s2@saint-gobain.com
phone: +919738972643
place: India, Chennai

2

Hi Saravanakumar
I face similar case before with HIMA ESD and ABB AC800F.
what I suggest is install ignition with only OPC DA module on the same computer as EXAOPC and send your data to main IGNITION server with either remote tag gateway or OPC UA.
Because EXAOPC install on windows you should use ignition 7 32 bit.
OPC DA is hard to work with remote network and specially old system so install minimum ignition platform with OPC DA on same machine is very good choose here.
You need pay only for OPC DA (400$) module which is much cheaper compare to kepware.
OPC UA is free.

1 Like
3

Hi nadar.chinichian,

Thank you for your reply, It would solve a problem but there is no clearance for us to install ignition on DCS server. :neutral_face:

4

why install unlike other windows program is run on java VM so it is no impact DCS system.
And why don't you use OPC DA module in your main ignition server. You will face some trouble to get access EXAOPC server but it eventually work for you.
For redundancy part define two opc DA connection in ignition and write a simple python script to switch if connection 1 fail to connection 2.