This driver is a simple driver. It provides additional functionality to enable ClearSCADA to interface with specific supported devices using a particular protocol. To interact successfully with such devices, you need to:
- Install and run the driver
- Ensure that the driver is licensed
- Configure the required database items and settings on the driver
- Ensure that the database items (and any database items on which they depend) have valid, saved, configuration and are 'In Service'.
The OPC standards are a series of standard specifications aimed at allowing inter operability between different SCADA systems. ClearSCADA uses these standards to allow transfer of data between the ClearSCADA server and third-party applications.
The Simple OPC driver is used to read and write to data on other servers, including ClearSCADA or third-party servers, using the OPC protocol. The driver takes into account any OPC private security settings, designed to limit access to configuration properties on many OPC servers.
The OPC documentation explains how to configure OPC-specific features and items within the ClearSCADA database (see Configuring OPC Devices in ClearSCADA).
It also explains driver-specific aspects that are of interest to System Administrators and engineers when investigating unexpected system behavior relating to the Simple OPC driver (see OPC Registration and Server Browsing, and see OPC Specific Status Display Attributes.)
NOTE: There are no driver-specific pick actions for database items on this particular driver. However, users with the required privileges can add custom pick actions to a database item by using the User Methods tab on the relevant configuration Form (see Using the User Methods Tab to Define Custom Actions in the ClearSCADA Guide to Core Configuration). See a system administrator for the documentation associated with such custom actions (also known as ‘methods’).
ClearSCADA is able to read and write to data on other servers using one of several OPC standards and one of several ClearSCADA drivers—for information on which driver is appropriate for your system requirements, see Which Driver?.
Further Information
OPC Foundation Standards: see www.opcfoundation.org
OPC Time Formats used in ClearSCADA: see Using OPC Time Formats in the ClearSCADA Guide to Core Configuration.