The new Adcon addUPI-OPC Server supports all OPC clients using the OPC-DA interface. Data collected by an addUPI Server (A840 Telemetry Gateway or addVANTAGE Pro Server) is passed on to the OPC client through the addUPI-OPC Server. This makes the Adcon network fully transparent to any industrial SCADA system, supporting any of the following OPC-DA specifications:

- Data Access V1.0A
- Data Access V2.05
- Data Access V3.0

The implementation of an Adcon specific protocol (addUPI) to communicate with the RTUs or the setup of a file transfer system to import data into the SCADA system are no longer needed.

The OPC Server supports the Operating Systems Windows XP and Windows 2003 Server.

Adcon has implemented this OPC-DA Server in a special way. Since the major advantage of an Adcon radio network is the continuous availability of data we have tried to make sure that even without the support of OPC-HDA (Historical Data Access, supported by few vendors only) all data is being transferred to the OPC client.

Most SCADA systems are only interested in real-time data, and don't care about historic readings, even if they are only 60 minutes old. Understandably so for system operation and machine control. But in a monitoring network this data might well be of interest, so it should be passed on to the OPC client.

Why is this important? If for one reason or another, the communication link between the base station and the RTU gets interrupted, the RTU will then deliver several readings to the A840 Telemetry Gateway at once, as soon as communication is reestablished. In a standard OPC environment the OPC server would, being confronted with several values, simply discard the old ones, keeping only the latest reading.

Not so with the Adcon addUPI-OPC server! The Adcon addUPI-OPC server keeps in mind which value was transferred last to the OPC client. When the OPC client comes back to request the latest values it will still receive the values in historic order - nothing gets lost!

The Adcon addUPI-OPC Server is available as of now, in both english and german. A comprehensive manual guides through the installation of the server. However, OPC KnowHow is required, since the SCADA system operator will have to set the proper parameters in his own OPC environment.

If you want to know more about the OPC Foundation, the standard as such and how this all works, visit the website of the OPC Foundation!