Building Web-BasedHMI’s in

Visual Studio .NETIntroduction to

OPC Systems.NET

Win WorrallApplications/Development Engineer

Email: wworrall@softwaretoolbox.com

Direct Line: +1 (704) 708 6491

Agenda

Talk about Web-Applications, why they matter!

Briefly discuss the merits of a web-based application

Introduce OPC Systems.NET

Live Demo – Creating HMI Screens for the Browser

Summary

Questions & Answers

We’ll get here quickly!

We’ll get here quickly!

Web-Applications matter!

Accessible via Browser such as Internet Explorer and Firefox. iPhone, Smart Phone, Internet Tablets etc.

Security already built-into the Web-Server. Single application to maintain and deploy. No software or components to deploy. Accessible via LAN & Internet Development is easier than ever!

Why are we here? Why web-applications?

“Web Benefits” that matter!

Firewall-friendly HTTP: No need to open firewall Ports No DCOM headaches

Security built-in: Assign access-rights to users/groups for

the entire site, or per-page Use SSL for secure connections insuring

data-integrity and privacy Abundance of security tools available

“Cluster” Server(s) and Application(s) for High Availability

Web Development Changed

Code-less, no more learning “languages”

AJAX delivers dynamic pages, no reload

Winform/Webform development = same!

Easy debugging with Visual Studio.NET

“Streaming” OPC data is now Easy!

Web-App Capabilities

Display data from OPC Servers Get user-input for writing to OPC Items Trending/Charting live OPC Data Alarm displays and acknowledgements

Web-HMI, does it make sense?(AJAX Polling)

Simple screens with few graphics

Data response can be slow

Restrict access to users/groups

Must be accessible Inside/outside LAN Desktop, Laptop,

Phone etc.

Large quantities of data on-screen.

High-speed data (sub 1-second)

High concurrent user # with above.

Continuous process control / monitoring

We have other solutions that meet these needs

When it makes sense Not a good fit!

OPC Systems .NET Benefits

OPC Systems .NET provides these benefits:

Central “always-on” tag repository = faster performance

Tag data can come from OPC DA and/or Databases

Multi-Threaded for faster, and more Reliable operations

Buffers data, eliminating data-loss for short outages as

well as maximizing the performance of your web-link

Modular, components available separately or as a suite

Affordable, not as expensive as you might think

OPC Self-Certified, for assurance in quality

NO MORE DCOM HEADACHES

PLCPLC DCSDCS OtherOther

How it works…

OPC Systems .NETOPC Systems .NETServiceService

(Tag Repository) (Tag Repository)

OPC Systems .NETOPC Systems .NETServiceService

(Tag Repository) (Tag Repository)

AJAX Polling

Data Source

OPC Server

OPC Server

Tag repository stores Data, and some history

Data can come from OPC Servers

OPC Connection is always ON eliminating connectivity overhead

Browsers see OPC Data when page opens

Async polling retrieves data to be shown in page, no refresh!

PLCPLC DCSDCS OtherOther

How it works…

OPC Systems .NETOPC Systems .NETServiceService

(Tag Repository) (Tag Repository)

OPC Systems .NETOPC Systems .NETServiceService

(Tag Repository) (Tag Repository)

AJAX Polling

Data Source

OPC Server

OPC Server

Browser requests an “update” of the items/tags it needs.

OPC Systems .NET Server responds with values that have changed: If value remains same,

empty data-set returned If 1-value changed, that

value is returned If the value changed

multiple times, all updates sent

Tolerance

Tag Repository individually “caches” data to each client

If a client goes temporarily offline, it will “catch-up” on the next update.

Applies to ALL OPC Systems .NET Clients(data logging, alarms, WinForms, WebForms etc.)

OPC Systems .NET OPC Systems .NET ServiceService

(Tag Repository)(Tag Repository)

Client Client ApplicationApplication

Client Client ApplicationApplication

QueueQueueQueueQueue

Local

Client Client ApplicationApplication

Client Client ApplicationApplication

QueueQueueQueueQueue

Network

Client Client ApplicationApplication

Client Client ApplicationApplication

QueueQueueQueueQueue

Internet

Live Demo

Setup the Tag repository, creating tags

coming from multiple OPC Servers

Create a multi-page Web Site

Display some real-time data

User-entry form, for writing values to Tags

Charting page

Alarm display and acknowledgement page

Affordable

Licenses start at $595 for Webforms

License the entire system for just $1,995.00

No OPC Server Connection or Tag Counts

No Client counts at the OPCSystems Service

No Text File or Database Connection Counts

Code-less development tools are Runtime-free

Fully documented, lots of examples

SmartClient Technology ready

Other Features Available

Data Logging (text files and databases) Report generation Alarm logging and notification Windows Forms development tools Recipe management

Summary

Convenience: Quickly and easily build & deploy HMIs

Scalable Framework: allowing your system to grow

Reliable: OPC Self-Certified, plus Buffering

Alerting: Data Logging, Reporting, Alarming & Notifications

Open: API provides interface for your apps to control

Affordable: modular, buy what you need.

More Information

www.softwaretoolbox.com/opcsystems

Questions: Win Worrall:

Email:

Tel: +1 (704) 708-6491

Technical Support:

Tel: +1 (704) 849-2773

Web: http://support.softwaretoolbox.com

… get through to an expert!

wworrall@softwaretoolbox.com