Plain-language explanations of OPC, IIoT, cybersecurity, data architecture, and Industrial AI concepts, written by engineers, for engineers and the business leaders who work with them.
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The foundational standard for hardware-software interoperability, OPC DA, UA, HDA, A&E, DDE, DCOM, ActiveX, and the client-server model explained.
The industrial interoperability standard, what it means, how the client-server model works, and why it matters for your data strategy.
Platform-independent successor to OPC Classic, security, information model, pub/sub transport, and why it's the foundation for IIoT and UNS.
Real-time data access, how OPC DA 2.0 and 3.0 work, when you still need it, and how it coexists with OPC UA in modern plants.
Role, architecture, and the client-server model explained for engineers evaluating connectivity options or explaining OPC to stakeholders.
Moving OPC data securely across networks and DMZs without DCOM, how tunneling replaces brittle DCOM configurations with TCP-based transport.
Historical data access for retrieving archived process data, raw reads, interpolated values, aggregates, and when HDA vs OPC UA HA.
Alarms & Events, the OPC standard for subscribing to, acknowledging, and managing process alarms through a common interface.
Microsoft's COM-based framework that became the foundation of OPC Classic (DA/HDA/A&E), its limitations, and the path to OPC UA.
Microsoft's Distributed COM technology that OPC Classic uses for remote connections, why it's complex to configure, Windows hardening impacts, and migration paths.
Dynamic Data Exchange, the original Windows IPC that pre-dated OPC, Application|Topic!Item addressing, and TOP Server's DDE Client Bridge for legacy systems.
Software Toolbox has been solving industrial connectivity challenges since 1996. Whether you're evaluating OPC servers, building a Unified Namespace, or planning an AI readiness initiative, our engineers have seen it before.
