APROL integrates OPC UA capabilities on both runtime servers and controllers. These capabilities range from access to real-time and historical data to alarms, method calls, file transfers, and redundant client and server connections.
Real-Time Data with OPC UA Data Access
Runtime servers can communicate with each other via OPC UA, enabling data exchange between different security zones, for example. Controllers can also be integrated directly into APROL as OPC UA servers. Data Access provides standardized access to real-time data, while certificates support secure authentication.
Methods and Secure File Transfer
OPC UA Methods can be used to invoke preconfigured functions on runtime servers and controllers. On controllers, for example, these methods can manage and control recipes. On runtime servers, they can initiate data analyses or calculated queries of historical time-series data. OPC UA File Transfer complements these capabilities by enabling robust, secure file exchange between clients and servers.
Integrating Historical Data and Alarms
Historical Data Access (HDA) makes archived data from the APROL trend system available to higher-level systems such as SCADA applications. Alarms & Conditions (AC) provides access to information from the APROL alarm system. HDA and AC can be configured separately or together and, when required, supplemented with real-time data via Data Access.
High-Availability OPC UA Clients
APROL Client Redundancy connects a redundant runtime server pair to any OPC UA server through two client connections. Changes to subscriptions are synchronized automatically across both connections. The active runtime server processes the real-time data and replicates it across the redundant real-time databases of the server pair. This enables seamless failover and continuous operation without data loss.
Redundant OPC UA Servers
APROL also supports high-availability server connections for external OPC UA clients. The redundant runtime server pair provides two connections, while subscription synchronization across both connections is handled on the client side. Real-time data is replicated between the redundant databases to ensure continuous process operation during failover.
One Interface for Vertical and Horizontal Integration
APROL brings the key OPC UA mechanisms together on a single platform: DA, HDA, Alarms & Conditions, Methods, File Transfer, certificate-based authentication, and client and server redundancy. This simplifies the standardized integration of controllers, runtime systems, and higher-level applications—from real-time communication to highly available data provisioning.