Integrations
What is OPC UA?
OPC UA (Unified Architecture) is the modern open standard for industrial data exchange. It replaces the older OPC Classic and is increasingly used in smart buildings as well as manufacturing.
What OPC UA is. OPC UA (OPC Unified Architecture) is a platform-independent, service-oriented standard for secure industrial data exchange, published and maintained by the OPC Foundation as IEC 62541. It replaces the older, Windows-only OPC Classic with a standard that runs on any platform and defines transport, security and the data model itself.
What it does. OPC UA defines a rich information model. Assets, devices and points are exposed as typed nodes with relationships between them, not just raw values on a wire. A client can browse that model to discover what a server exposes, subscribe to value changes, and read historical data, all through the same standard interface regardless of vendor.
OPC UA vs BACnet, Modbus and oBIX. OPC UA carries more context and stronger built-in security than BACnet or Modbus, which is why it's the default standard in modern manufacturing and process industries. BACnet remains purpose-built for building automation. Modbus is older and simpler, values only, no context. oBIX sits above all three, exposing a Niagara supervisor's data as a web service. See the full comparison in our protocol guide for integrators.
| Protocol | What it's for | Transport model | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|---|
| OPC UA | Secure industrial and building data exchange | Service-oriented, typed object model | Modern manufacturing, upgraded BMS |
| BACnet | Building automation, purpose-built | Standard objects over IP, Ethernet or MS/TP serial | Most modern BMS |
| Modbus | General industrial control, adopted by buildings | Register reads/writes over RTU serial or TCP | Meters, VFDs, older controllers |
| oBIX | Reading a supervisor's data as a web service | XML over HTTP | Niagara stations and supervisors |
Standards context. OPC UA is defined in the IEC 62541 series and governed by the OPC Foundation, an industry consortium with members from automation, IT and building vendors. Security, authentication, encryption, message signing, is part of the base specification, not bolted on, which partly explains why it's spreading beyond its industrial roots into commercial buildings.
How FrostLogic Explore connects. FrostLogic Explore reads OPC UA natively, including subscriptions to value-change events. Authentication and encryption are handled per the security profile your site already uses. Write access starts off; we don't issue commands or change setpoints until you grant a scope.
Before you ask
OPC UA, the questions that come up.
OPC Unified Architecture. It's an industrial data-exchange standard from the OPC Foundation, not a single vendor's product.
OPC UA carries a richer, typed information model and built-in security, which is why manufacturing and process industries default to it. BACnet is purpose-built for building automation specifically. Modbus is older and simpler, register values only, with no security or context layered in.
Yes. OPC UA succeeds the older, Windows-only OPC Classic (DA, HDA, A&E) with a platform-independent standard that covers transport, security and the data model in one specification.
Both. It's dominant in manufacturing and process industries, and increasingly common in commercial buildings where the BMS has been modernised or where building and process data are converging on one platform.
Yes, once you turn it on. Write access starts off. You grant it one scope at a time, and Explore proposes the change with its reasoning before anything moves. You choose whether that proposal waits for approval or runs automatically inside the scope you set.
Authentication and encryption follow whichever OPC UA security profile your site already runs. Explore connects as a standard client under that profile, it doesn't require a separate security exception.
Related terms
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