Users of Allen-Bradley PLCs and DCSs can extend the connectivity of those platforms using OPC and the new MatrikonOPC server . This device is an industrial-strength OPC server providing communication with A-B’s most common protocols:
Allen-Bradley Data Highway Plus (DH+);
Allen-Bradley DF1 (DF1);
Allen-Bradley Data Highway 485 (DH485); and,
Ethernet/IP.
The server connects to devices via serial connections, single-port Allen-Bradley 1784- PKTX PCI cards, and Ethernet connections.
This new server reportedly includes time-saving features not found in other drivers, including:Automatic discovery and configuration of devices;
Competitive system expansion;
Loading of device configuration files such as .l5k, .pc5, and .slc;
Automatic configuration of serial connections;
Automatic generation of tags are for each device; and,
Support for device-level redundancy through fail-over channels.
—Edited by Peter Welander, process industries editor, [email protected] , Control Engineering Weekly News
