Add and Modify Servers

Click the following links for detailed process information.

 To add a local server to your driver configuration:

  1. From the Display Mode menu, choose Config Mode.
  2. From the Edit menu, choose Add Server. The Select an OPC Server dialog box appears, displaying a list of the OPC servers installed on the local machine.

NOTE: If no servers are found, verify that the OPC server(s) you want to access are properly installed on the local machine.

  1. Select the OPC server you want to connect to and click OK. The Power Tool adds the server to the Tree Browser.
  2. In the Properties Viewer, enter the properties for the new server. Edits to a property do not take effect until you remove the focus (the cursor) from the field.
  3. Select the Enable check box to enable communication for the server.

 To add a remote server to your driver configuration:

  1. From the Display Mode menu, select Config Mode.
  2. From the Options menu, choose OLE Server. The I\O Driver Server Connection dialog box appears.
  3. Select Use Remote OPC Client Driver to choose an OPC server installed on a remote machine.
  4. In the Remote machine name or TCP/IP address field, enter the name or TCP/IP address of the remote computer.

- Or -

Browse the Network list and select the name of the computer with the OPC server you want to use. The selected computer name appears in the Remote machine name or TCP/IP address field.

  1. Click Connect. The OPC servers installed on the remote machine display in the Tree Browser.

NOTE: If no servers are found, verify that the OPC server(s) you want to access are properly installed on the remote machine.

  1. If applicable, enter or update the properties for the server. Edits to a property do not take effect until you remove the focus (the cursor) from the field.
  2. Select the Enable check box to enable communication for the server.

 To modify an existing server’s properties:

  1. In the Tree Browser, select the server you want to modify.
  2. In the Properties Viewer, edit the server’s properties as needed. If the Enable check box is selected, clear and re-select the check box for the connection property change to take effect. Changes to other properties take effect immediately after you remove focus (the cursor) from the current field.

 To select a new server location:

  1. In the Tree Browser, select the server you want to change the location for.
  2. Click the Select Location button. The Select the Host Machine dialog box appears.
  3. Select Use Local OPC Server to change from a remote machine to the local machine.

- Or -

Select Use Remote OPC Server change from the local machine to a remote machine and either enter the machine name or TCP/IP address or choose the remote machine from the Network list, then click OK. The following message displays:

The change will not occur until the next time the driver connects to the OPC server. Would you like to disconnect form the current server and reconnect to the remote node now?

  1. Click Yes to change the location of the server. The OPC Server Location and Remote Machine Name fields on the Server Properties Viewer are updated accordingly.

NOTE: Having the ability to change the server location is useful for configuring the server offline; that is, without having to connect to the remote machine, which may not be available. For example, you select the server on the local machine and configure it, and when you are ready to access the remote server, or when it becomes available, you change the server location to the appropriate remote machine.

IMPORTANT: When you change the machine location, the OPC Client Power Tool does not check to ensure that the configured server exists on that machine. For example, if the server does not exist at the new location, or you do not have access rights, you will receive runtime errors when you start or enable the server.

See Also