FT Linx OPC UA Connector vs. Linx Gateway

I was looking through this presentation about the recent migration from RSLinx to FactoryTalk Linx and the new support for OPC-UA and am confused about the difference between the 'OPC UA Connector' that comes free with FactoryTalk Services Platform, and the FT Linx Gateway which is a whole thing. It seems like the former could be used in many scenarios that the latter is meant for.


The reason I was looking into this is that I had some OEM equipment with a CompactLogix connected to a PC with RSLinx Classic, and we needed to get PLC data on a remote Kepware server. We couldn't connect directly to the PLC as it was isolated on a separate NIC on the PC, so we were looking into getting RSLinx Gateway on the PC to enable remote OPC client connectivity, but then found this info about the recent updates.



It seems like the official approach would be install FT Linx Gateway to provide remote OPC connectivity, but based on page 19 of this presentation it appears that I could accomplish the same thing with FT Services Platform and the 'OPC UA Connector' for free. The only hitch is that this PC isn't running any FactoryTalk software, just RSLinx Classic OEM at the moment. Has anyone played with this? Can I just install FT SP, upgrade RSLinx to FT Linx, and get a remote OPC connection that way?

Dan123:

Hello. I have read your question and had a look at the presentation. This is my understanding: The FactoryTalkLinx OPCUA Connector is an OPC Client/FactoryTalk server that let's other FactoryTalk enabled devices get data from the OPCUA servers to which the OPCUA Connector communicates. I do not think this helps your use case.

Back to your problem: You have a remote Keptware OPC server which you cannot connect to the EtherNet/IP network because the PC running RSLinx has two LAN cards; one is connected the automation network (EtherNet/IP) and the other, let's call it the IT-level network, is the network to which the remote PC running Keptware is connected to.

What about this solution: On the PC running RSLinx enable the IP Routing functionality, that is, this PC running RSLinx will work kind of like a router.

On the PC running Keptware you have setup the correct routing table, in which you must setup the PC running RSLinx as the gateway for the EtherNet/IP network. With this configuration Keptware will not care about RSLinx services because, according to this link: This driver (Keptware) does not require a Rockwell Automation RSLinx license. Like many other third-party OPC servers, the EtherNet/IP implementation is proprietary and does not depend on RSLinx services.

With the correctly configured routing table on the PC running Keptware any request to a host whose IP address is in the EtherNet/IP segment will be sent to the PC running RSLinx and this PC, with the RIP function enabled, will forward the request from the IT network to EtherNet/IP and the response from the CompactLogix will be forwarded back to the IT network. And although I have not tested this, I think this will not require any setup in the CompacxtLogix because all the routing information is managed by the PC running RSLinx.

A very long answer, but I hope it helps.