Course: OPC-The Windows to the World are Open

Description:

Sharing data between current control system offerings requires a myriad of hardware, software drivers, and configuration tools from each vendor. OLE for Process Control (OPC) is an industry-wide standard that breaks this proprietary lock by offering open connectivity based on principles adapted from MS Windows integration standards.
Using case studies and an OPC client/server demonstration, this seminar shows you the benefits and drawbacks of using OPC in your plant, how to link diverse industrial equipment into an effective plant-wide communications network, securely share plant data on the Internet, and how to justify the economics to move to OPC.

You will be able to:

*                   Link diverse industrial equipment into a plant wide communications network

*                   Understand the mission of the OPC Foundation

*                   See what the OPC standards provide

*                   Compare OPC to current industrial protocols

*                   Recognize the benefits and drawbacks to OPC

*                   Justify the economics to move to OPC

*                   Post your process data seamlessly onto the Internet or Intranet

*                   Migrate your plant and process data into your business applications

*                   Know where to go for off the shelf OPC solutions

You will cover:

*                   The OPC Foundation: History |Goals | Benefits of OPC

*                   Benefits and Limitations of OPC

*                   Why do we need another protocol?

*                   The ISO/OSI Communications Reference Model: Migration of Industrial Protocols | Proprietary Protocols, Open Protocols, Industrial Ethernet | Goals for a Common Industrial Protocol | Compare Client Server/Publisher Subscriber Methods for Sharing Data

*                   Technical Overview of OPC: Basic Components of OPC | COM and DCOM | Active-X Controls| Object Modeling Concepts

*                   Examine the Current OPC Standards: Common Interface, Data Access (DA) | Security | Alarms and Events (A&E) | Historical Data Access (HDA) | Batch | Data Exchange (DX) | XML-DA

*                   Implementation Techniques: Connect Plant Devices with Differing Communication Protocols | Moving Plant Data to Business Applications such as Excel, SQL Databases | Create Internet and Intranet Solutions | Case Studies (Polyethylene Plant, Chemical Plant Control, SCADA Gas Transmission System, Ammonia Plant, ERP, Machine Control) | What Control System Vendors are doing |Non-Microsoft Platform Support | Performance Benchmarks

*                   Resources for Off the Shelf OPC Solutions: Servers | Clients | Development Toolkits

Lab and Classroom Exercises:

*                   Demonstration of OPC Server and Client