Requirements for the OPC Server

Requirements

  • Correctly installed WinCC OA version.
  • An OPC client.
  • The usage requires a valid license!

For information on the supported platforms for the OPC DA driver see Supported Platforms of the most important Drivers.

The OPC server is part of the WinCC OA standard version. A correctly installed OPC client must be available. Please refer to the client handbook for further information.

OPC Server Registration

The registration should be done automatically when the server is installed. If this is not the case, the server can be registered manually.

OPC Server Registration Syntax

WCCOAopcsrv /regserver <ProgId prefix> <Server Description> <Vendor name>
Parameter Description
ProgId prefix The prefix that should be used to create the ProgId. The internally created ProgId uses following format:<ProgId prefix>.OPC.1 By default the ProgId prefix "WINCC_OA" is used and the resulting ProgId (Program Identification from the registry) for the server will be "WINCC_OA.OPC.1" (For a second OPC server the ProgID "WINCC_OA.OPC.2" is used).
Server Description Description text for the server. If the description contains spaces the text must be marked using double quotes. Default: "WinCC OA OPC Server"
Vendor name Name of the product vendor. Default: "ETM professional control GmbH" The vendor name can also be set using the config entry [OPCSERVER] Vendor

Example

WCCOAopcsrv /regserver MYOPCSRV "My Product OPC Server" "My company"

Start a Second Server

You can also start a second server in the console. The second server has to be registered and started with the following command:

WCCOAopcsrv /runServer2 /RegServer

Unregister a Server

For unregistering a server the following command can be used:

WCCOAopcsrv /unregserver

OPC Server Commands

By search for the key WinCC OA.OPC.1 or WinCC OA.OPC.2 in the Registry, the element LocalServer32 can be found in a node with a CLSID. This contains the command to be executed. Here the call parameters, e.g. the project name, can be added.

DCOM settings for ETM OPC Server

ETM generally does not recommend the use of DCOM for the OPC Server communication. Problems might occur with DCOM when using redundant network connections. You can avoid this by using a remote OPC DA Server on the computer on which the OPC DA client runs or by using Dual Port network interface cards. Consider that a short connection lost might occur when changing the Dual Port card.

The following settings are made in DCOMCNFG of ETM OPCServer:

  • Identity: Selection of "This user" and edit a user with administration rights.
  • Authentication level -> standard.
  • Security options:
    • "User defined access" -> use the standard option
    • "User defined starting authorizations" -> use the standard option
    • "Configuration authorization" -> adjust and permit everything for all users
  • Use the option: execute application on this computer

Sometimes is a reboot of the system necessary, after changing DCOMCNFG.

Changing the right-settings inside the DCOM settings grants full control over the server start-up, while using PMON. e.g. Removing the launch permissions of "OPC Server Object" (Security -> Launch and Activation Permissions). To avoid that the client can start the server, the settings "Remote Launch" and "Local Launch" have to be disabled.