OPC UA Monitoring with Mango by Radix IoT

OPC UA (OPC Unified Architecture) is the modern industrial interoperability standard for data exchange between industrial control systems, PLCs, SCADA platforms, and enterprise software. It is the successor to the original OPC DA (Data Access) standards and is the foundation for Industry 4.0 and IIoT interoperability. Mango by Radix IoT supports OPC UA client connectivity, enabling real-time monitoring, continuous data collection into the Mango by Radix IoT historian, and alarm processing from OPC UA-enabled industrial control systems without additional middleware.

What Is OPC UA

OPC UA (Unified Architecture) is an open, platform-independent industrial communication standard published by the OPC Foundation. First released in 2008, it was designed to unify and extend the original OPC Classic standards (OPC DA, OPC HDA, OPC A&E) into a single, secure, cross-platform protocol.

OPC UA is unique among industrial protocols in that it defines not just the data transport mechanism, but also an information model — a standard way to describe and browse the structure of industrial systems. This makes OPC UA particularly well-suited for modern manufacturing environments where the semantic meaning of data (not just the raw values) must be communicated between systems.

OPC UA is implemented by:

Modern PLCs (Siemens S7-1500, Allen-Bradley, Beckhoff, and others)
Industrial controllers and motion systems
SCADA and DCS systems providing OPC UA server interfaces
Robotics and collaborative robot systems
Edge gateways that aggregate Modbus/BACnet data and re-publish via OPC UA
Modern CNC and manufacturing equipment
Batch and process automation systems

OPC UA vs. OPC Classic (DA)

Feature	OPC DA (Classic)	OPC UA
Platform	Windows-only (DCOM)	Cross-platform (Windows, Linux, embedded)
Security	None built-in	Built-in authentication, authorization, encryption
Transport	DCOM/COM	TCP binary, HTTPS, MQTT (PubSub)
Information model	Basic tag tree	Rich semantic information model
Interoperability	OPC Classic only	Cross-industry companion specifications

OPC DA (Classic) required Windows and used Microsoft DCOM for communication, making it difficult to secure and impossible to use in non-Windows environments. OPC UA eliminates these limitations: it runs on any platform, includes built-in security via OPC UA Secure Conversation and X.509 certificates, and can be embedded in devices with minimal hardware resources.

OPC UA Companion Specifications

OPC UA defines companion specifications that extend the base standard for specific industries:

Specification	Industry	Defines
OPC UA for PLC Open	Manufacturing	PLC function block data model
OPC UA for PackML	Packaging machinery	Machine state and production data model
OPC UA for ISA-95	Manufacturing	Enterprise-to-plant integration data model
OPC UA for Robotics	Robotics	Robot motion and status data model
OPC UA for Energy	Energy	Power system data model

These companion specifications define how specific types of industrial equipment expose data via OPC UA, enabling interoperability between equipment from different manufacturers.

Industries That Use OPC UA

Manufacturing and Automation

Modern manufacturing plants deploying Industry 4.0 initiatives use OPC UA as the primary integration standard between PLCs, robots, manufacturing execution systems (MES), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. OPC UA is the foundation of the umati initiative for machine connectivity in machine tool environments.

Process Industries

Chemical, oil and gas, and pharmaceutical facilities use OPC UA to connect process automation systems (DCS) to SCADA and MES layers. OPC UA’s information model supports the complex hierarchical data structures common in process industries.

Automotive Manufacturing

Automotive plants use OPC UA for robot cell integration, quality management systems, and production line data collection. The OPC UA companion spec for robotics is widely adopted in automotive automation.

Energy

Power generation facilities use OPC UA for integration between turbine control systems, substation automation, and SCADA platforms. OPC UA for Energy defines data models for power system components.

How Mango by Radix IoT Implements OPC UA

All protocol drivers, including the OPC UA driver, are included in a standard Mango by Radix IoT installation and covered by the license. There are no separate driver purchases, per-protocol licenses, or add-on fees. Mango by Radix IoT includes an OPC UA client driver that connects to OPC UA servers exposed by industrial equipment, PLCs, and other systems.

OPC UA Server Connection

Mango by Radix IoT connects to OPC UA servers using the configured endpoint URL, security policy, and security mode. Authentication options include anonymous, username/password, and X.509 certificate-based authentication. Communication is encrypted using OPC UA Secure Conversation, with X.509 certificate-based security policies such as Basic256Sha256 and Aes256_Sha256_RsaPss.

Node Browsing

Mango by Radix IoT can browse the OPC UA server’s address space to discover available nodes (data points). This eliminates the need to manually identify node IDs for all data points when connecting to a new OPC UA server.

Node Monitoring

Mango by Radix IoT monitors OPC UA nodes using OPC UA subscriptions and monitored items. When a value changes (or on a configured sampling interval), the OPC UA server sends the updated value to Mango by Radix IoT, which stores it in the historian and evaluates alarm conditions.

Use Cases: OPC UA + Mango by Radix IoT

Industry 4.0 Manufacturing Integration

A manufacturing plant’s modern PLCs expose OPC UA servers. Mango by Radix IoT connects as an OPC UA client, subscribing to production counts, cycle times, machine states, and energy consumption. This data is aggregated with Modbus data from older equipment into a unified operational view.

Edge Gateway Aggregation

An edge gateway collects data from Modbus RTU and BACnet devices at a remote site and re-publishes it via OPC UA. Mango by Radix IoT connects to the OPC UA server at the edge gateway, providing a standardized integration point regardless of the underlying field device protocols.

SCADA / DCS Integration

An existing SCADA or DCS system exposes an OPC UA server interface. Mango by Radix IoT connects as an OPC UA client, pulling real-time data from the SCADA/DCS into the Mango by Radix IoT historian and dashboard layer — enabling Mango by Radix IoT to serve as an aggregation layer above multiple existing automation systems.

Multi-Site Process Monitoring

Process manufacturing facilities at multiple geographic locations each have OPC UA-enabled DCS systems. Mango by Radix IoT aggregates OPC UA data from all sites into a centralized view, enabling corporate operations teams to monitor production across the enterprise.

Frequently asked questions

What is OPC UA?

OPC UA (OPC Unified Architecture) is the modern open industrial communication standard for data exchange between industrial systems. Published by the OPC Foundation, it is cross-platform, secure, and defines both a data transport protocol and an information model. It is the successor to OPC Classic (OPC DA) and the foundation for Industry 4.0 interoperability.

Does Mango by Radix IoT support OPC UA?

Yes. Mango by Radix IoT includes an OPC UA client driver that connects to OPC UA servers with configurable authentication, security modes, node browsing, and subscription-based monitoring.

What is the difference between OPC UA and OPC DA (classic)?

OPC DA (classic) ran on Windows only and used Microsoft DCOM. OPC UA is cross-platform, includes built-in security through OPC UA Secure Conversation and X.509 certificates, and defines a rich information model. OPC UA is the replacement for all OPC Classic standards.

Can Mango by Radix IoT connect to OPC UA servers on Linux or embedded systems?

Yes. Mango by Radix IoT connects to any OPC UA server regardless of the server's platform (Windows, Linux, embedded controller, edge hardware).

Does Mango by Radix IoT support OPC UA security certificates?

Yes. Mango by Radix IoT supports X.509 certificate-based authentication and encrypted communication using OPC UA Secure Conversation, with security policies such as Basic256Sha256 and Aes256_Sha256_RsaPss.

What if my equipment uses OPC DA (classic) instead of OPC UA?

OPC DA (classic) requires a Windows-based OPC server. Mango by Radix IoT's OPC UA client connects to OPC UA servers natively. For OPC DA (classic) equipment, a wrapper tool that bridges OPC DA to OPC UA is typically used. Contact Radix IoT for integration guidance.

Is the OPC UA driver a separate purchase?

No. All protocol drivers are included in a standard Mango by Radix IoT installation and covered by the license. There are no separate driver licenses or per-protocol fees.

Can Mango by Radix IoT translate OPC UA data to other protocols?

Yes. Data collected over OPC UA can be republished through standard integrations and configurable publishers, including Modbus IP, BACnet IP, and the REST API. Systems that do not speak OPC UA can consume the same data in a format they do support.