The combination of high-level design tools such as LabVIEW and widely accepted communication standards such as OPC offers the right set of tools to meet the challenges of advanced distributed systems.
These capabilities allow users to create a customized OPC UA server application or OPC UA client application on both Windows and real-time OSs.
For NI real-time hardware targets, the LabVIEW Real-Time Module enables the OPC UA communication feature set. For programming Windows-based targets, LabVIEW DSC features OPC UA capabilities. In addition, when a user requires more customization, LabVIEW includes an OPC UA API as one of two different LabVIEW add-ons. The combination of NI OPC Servers and LabVIEW provides a single platform for delivering high-performance measurements and control to industrial systems.
This conversion to OPC then enables LabVIEW to communicate with many different PLCs and third-party devices through the OPC Client included with the LabVIEW Datalogging and Supervisory Control (DSC) Module. NI OPC Servers serve as a bridge to convert proprietary industrial protocols to the open OPC Classic and OPC UA protocols. This helps users communicate through the OPC networks to OPC-enabled programmable logic controllers (PLCs), data-logging historians, and SCADA systems. LabVIEW features different options to connect to any OPC-enabled network via Classic OPC or OPC Unified Architecture (UA). Because of the capabilities and flexibility they offer, NI has integrated these technologies into LabVIEW software. OPC technologies are a step forward in meeting this interconnectivity challenge. As mentioned before, this last component of the equation is paramount to keep up with industry trends that prioritize the use of distributed systems. NI’s LabVIEW is an example of an integrated development environment capable of seamlessly targeting advanced hardware architectures while providing control, analysis, and communication functions. These devices incorporate different technologies, so development environments capable of targeting the whole system are essential. Tools for distributed systems need to be flexible enough to allow for efficient application development and integration with existing networked architectures. Because these kinds of devices proliferate in different application areas, their connectivity and interoperability are critical. Solutions such as National Instruments’ (NI) CompactRIO system feature architectures with real-time OSs and FPGAs for implementing high-speed I/O, closed-loop control, motion control, and machine vision on a single device. The combination of multicore processors, FPGAs, DSPs, GPUs, and other tools creates next-generation hardware architectures capable of addressing the needs of a wide range of control and monitoring applications. This new breed of devices offers many features based on the variety of processing elements they incorporate.
Industry trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 are fueled by advanced distributed systems that not only feature the latest technologies but also require higher levels of interconnectedness.