Communicate with programmable logic controllers

You can collect programmable controller data via OPC servers to
Allen-Bradley®
and non-Allen-Bradley devices.
FactoryTalk View Studio
 is an OPC client. The default OPC server installed with
FactoryTalk View Studio
 is
FactoryTalk Linx
. However, you can use third-party OPC servers to communicate with your application's data sources. Most OPC servers are capable of communicating with a variety of devices over a variety of networks using a variety of protocols.
To communicate with programmable controllers
  1. Specify a
    FactoryTalk Linx
     or OPC server for your application.
  2. Configure a device shortcut, that is, a path between the data server and each controller you want to use as a data source.
  3. Add device tags to the tag database for your application, or use direct references to objects in the graphic displays.
To specify an OPC server for your project
  1. In the
    Explorer
    window, select the application name at the root of the tree and right-click; then select
    New Data Server
    .
  2. Select
    FactoryTalk Linx
     or OPC Data Server
    .
  3. In the
    OPC Data Server Properties
     tab(s), specify the OPC server name (ProgID), host computer name (if the server is remote), your name for the server and, optionally, a description. Click the
    Browse
    button to select from the list of available servers.
To configure third-party OPC communications
Once you have added a third-party OPC server to your application, the
Tag Browser
 should display that server's data items in the correct syntax for that server.
To configure
FactoryTalk Linx
 communications
If you are using a
FactoryTalk Linx
 data server, this step creates the communications configuration file that your application uses to communicate with the devices on the network. You can create separate configurations for testing during development and for actual use at runtime.
  1. In the Applications Explorer, select the
    FactoryTalk Linx
     data server.
  2. Double-click Communications Setup to open the Configuration Wizard.
  3. Create a new configuration and click
    Finish
    .
  4. In the
    Communications Setup
    editor, add devices, set up device shortcuts, and construct a communications tree. As you add devices, you define their IP addresses. In the left pane, create and name shortcuts between the server and devices. Then select a device in the right pane and click Apply. You can continue to add devices by right-clicking the elements of the tree and selecting from the applicable devices.
    TIP:
    Shortcuts configured on the
    Target
    tab apply to the communications configuration of the runtime terminal. This file is downloaded to the runtime terminal with the application and can be used with the application at runtime. Shortcuts configured in the
    Local
     tab apply to the communications configuration of the development computer. The same shortcut names are used in both instances, but they can be configured to refer to different devices.
    The tree in the
    Local
    tab is reflected in the Communications Explorer. Changes made in one will also appear in the other.
To add OPC server tags
  1. In the
    Tag Database
    editor in
    FactoryTalk View Studio
    , create a new analog, digital, string or array tag. Block tags are not supported in an OPC server.
  2. In the
    Data Source
     box, select
    Device
    .
  3. Click the
    Browse
    button in the
    Address
    box to open the
    Tag Browser
    .
  4. In the left pane, select the OPC server that your application is using.
  5. Open the Online item to show the single element processor tags in the right pane. Multi-element tags and program tags are listed in the left hand pane, below the Online heading. Click any of them to show their elements in the right hand pane.
  6. Click beside the tag that you want to use. The full path to the tag you selected appears in the
    Address
     box, in the correct syntax for the data server you are using.
  7. Click
    Accept
    .
    TIP:
    The OPC server is configured separately. Before you can add a data server to your application, the data server must be correctly installed on the local computer or on a remote computer accessible via a network.
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