The OPC Client is a GE version 7.x I/O driver that provides the interface and communications protocol between OLE for Process Control servers and your process control software. GE version 7.x drivers are designed with the following attributes to provide flexibility and ease-of-use:
- OLE Automation technology
- iFIX integration
- Event-driven architecture
- OLE for Process Control compliance
OLE Automation Technology
Version 7.x drivers incorporate OLE Automation technology and can therefore expose their features to scripting tools and other applications. Because the drivers are OLE Automation applications, you can:
- Create and manipulate objects exposed in the I/O Server from another application.
- Create tools that access and manipulate driver objects. These tools can include embedded macro languages or external programming tools.
The I/O driver consists of the following OLE components:
- The I/O Server – The core executable program. The I/O Server maintains the OPC server, group, and item objects, performs all required functions for communicating with third-party OPC servers, and exposes the methods and properties to other applications.
- The I/O Driver Power Tool – A client application to the I/O Server with a graphical user interface. The Power Tool accesses the I/O Server and lets you view and modify OPC server, group, and item properties.
You can also view and modify driver properties with a custom client application developed specifically for your system. Refer to Creating Custom Client Applications to learn more about creating your own client application.
Integration with iFIX
GE version 7.x drivers let you automatically add addresses to the driver configuration while you are configuring your iFIX database. When you add a block to the database that accesses a point in the OPC server that you have not configured, the point is automatically added to the I/O Server and polled for data. Refer to Feature: Creating Items Automatically in iFIX Process Database.
Event-Driven Architecture
Version 7.x drivers are event-based rather than time-based, reducing CPU time and increasing performance.
OPC Compliance
The OPC Client driver complies with the OLE for Process Control (OPC) v1.0a and v2.0 standards. The OPC Client provides the ability to bring data from any OPC v1.0a or v2.0 server to the GE iFIX Human-Machine Interface (HMI) software.
