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OPC-UA Integration

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Edge OPC-UA Integration is implemented in a similar way, as OPC-UA Integration. The only difference is in the way, how integration is created and provisioned. Please make sure that you have knowledge of OPC-UA Integration before proceed.

Overview

OPC UA Integration allows you to stream data from the OPC UA server to ThingsBoard Edge and converts the device payloads to the ThingsBoard Edge format.

In this tutorial, we will configure the integration between ThingsBoard Edge and OPC-UA to get the Airconditioners data from the OPC UA C++ Demo Server and allow the user to switch on/off any Airconditioner using the Integration downlink feature.

Prerequisites

  • Download and install the OPC UA C++ Demo Server;
  • After installation, launch the UA Admin Dialog;
  • Make sure that the hostname/IP address where the OPC-UA server is hosted is set correctly, and remember the values for the hostname/IP and port. These values will be needed when configuring the OPC-UA integration.

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  • Launch the UaCPPServer. The console dialog will open showing the server endpoints URLs

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Create Converter templates

Converter and Integration templates are created on the Cloud, so please log in as Tenant administrator to cloud instance.

Before creating the Integration template, you need to create an Uplink and Downlink converter templates in Converters templates page.

Uplink Converter is a script for parsing and transforming the data received by OPC UA integration. Downlink Converter parses and transforms the data sent from ThingsBoard Edge to the format that is consumed by existing device(s).

First, we need to create the Uplink Data converter that will be used for receiving the messages from the OPC UA server. The converter should transform the incoming payload into the required message format. The result message must contain the deviceName and deviceType. These fields are used to submit the data to the correct device. If a device cannot not be found, a new device will be created. Here is a sample of the payload from the OPC UA Server:

Payload:

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{
    "temperature": "72.15819999999641"
}

Metadata:

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{
    "opcUaNode_namespaceIndex": "3",
    "opcUaNode_name": "AirConditioner_1",
    "integrationName": "OPC-UA Airconditioners",
    "opcUaNode_identifier": "AirConditioner_1",
    "opcUaNode_fqn": "Objects.BuildingAutomation.AirConditioner_1"
}

We will take the opcUaNode_name metadata value and map it to the deviceName and set the deviceType as default.

However, you can use another mapping in your specific use cases.

Also, we will retrieve the values of the temperature, humidity and powerConsumption fields and use them as device telemetries.

Click on the “plus” and on “Create new converter”. To view the events, enable Debug. In the function decoder field, specify a script to parse and transform data.

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While Debug mode is very useful for development and troubleshooting, leaving it enabled in production mode can significantly increase the disk space used by the database since all the debug data is stored there. It is highly recommended turning the Debug mode off after debugging is complete.

Example for the Uplink converter:

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/** Decoder **/

var data = decodeToJson(payload);
var deviceName = metadata['opcUaNode_name'];
var deviceType = 'default';

var result = {
   deviceName: deviceName,
   deviceType: deviceType,
   telemetry: {
   },
   attributes: {
   }
};

if (data.temperature) {
    result.telemetry.temperature = Number(Number(data.temperature).toFixed(2));
}

if (data.humidity) {
    result.telemetry.humidity = Number(Number(data.humidity).toFixed(2));
}

if (data.powerConsumption) {
    result.telemetry.powerConsumption = Number(Number(data.powerConsumption).toFixed(2));
}

if (data.state !== undefined) {
    result.attributes.state = data.state === '1' ? true : false;
}

function decodeToString(payload) {
   return String.fromCharCode.apply(String, payload);
}

function decodeToJson(payload) {
   var str = decodeToString(payload);
   var data = JSON.parse(str);
   return data;
}

return result;

The purpose of the decoder function is to parse the incoming data and metadata to a format that ThingsBoard Edge can consume. deviceName and deviceType are required, while attributes and telemetry are optional. Attributes and telemetry are flat key-value objects. Nested objects are not supported.

You can change the decoder function while creating the converter or after creating it. If the converter has already been created, then click on the ‘pencil’ icon to edit it. Copy the configuration example for the converter (or your own configuration) and insert it into the decoder function. Save changes by clicking on the ‘checkmark’ icon.

For sending Downlink messages from the ThingsBoard Edge to the OPC UA node, we need to define a Downlink Converter.

In general, the output from a Downlink converter should have the following structure:

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[{
"contentType": "JSON",
"data": "{\"writeValues\":[],\"callMethods\":[{\"objectId\":\"ns=3;s=AirConditioner_1\",\"methodId\":\"ns=3;s=AirConditioner_1.Stop\",\"args\":[]}]}",
"metadata": {}
}]
  • contentType - defines how data will be encoded {TEXT | JSON | BINARY}. In case of OPC UA Integration, JSON is used by default.
  • data - the actual data that will be processed by OPC UA Integration and sent to the target OPC UA nodes:
    • writeValues - array of write values methods OPC UA Write Value format:
      • nodeId - target node (ns=<namespaceIndex>;<identifiertype>=<identifier>)
      • value - value to write
    • callMethods - array of call methods OPC UA Call Methods format:
      • objectId - target object
      • methodId - target method
      • args - array of method input values
  • metadata - not used in case of OPC UA Integration and can be empty.

You can customize a downlink according to your configuration. This converter will process the RPC command to the device using the method setState and a boolean params value to call the ‘Start’ or ‘Stop’ method of the Airconditioner. Destination node is detected using the deviceName field of the incoming message metadata.

Create Downlink in Converter templates page as well. To see events select Debug checkbox.

An example of downlink converter:

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/** Encoder **/

var data = {
    writeValues: [],
    callMethods: []
};

if (msgType === 'RPC_CALL_FROM_SERVER_TO_DEVICE') {
    if (msg.method === 'setState') {
        var targetMethod = msg.params === 'true' ? 'Start' : 'Stop';
        var callMethod = {
            objectId: 'ns=3;s=' + metadata['deviceName'],
            methodId: 'ns=3;s=' +metadata['deviceName']+'.'+targetMethod,
            args: []
        };
        data.callMethods.push(callMethod);
    }
}

var result = {
    contentType: "JSON",
    data: JSON.stringify(data),
    metadata: {}
};

return result;

Create Integration template

Now that the Uplink and Downlink converter templates have been created, it is possible to create an integration. Go to Integration templates section and click Add new integration button. Name it OPC-UA Airconditioners, select type OPC-UA, turn the Debug mode on and from drop-down menus add recently created Uplink and Downlink converters.

Here are the other integration field values:

  • Application name: <empty> (client application name)
  • Application uri: <empty> (client application uri)
  • Host: ${{endpointHost}} (we will add Edge attribute endpointHost in next steps)
  • Port: Endpoint Port (see Prerequisites)
  • Scan period in seconds: 10 (how often to rescan OPC UA nodes)
  • Timeout in milliseconds: 5000 (the timeout, in milliseconds, before failing a request to OPC UA server)
  • Security: None (can be Basic128Rsa15 / Basic256 / Basic256Sha256 / None)
  • Identity: Anonymous (can be Anonymous / Username)
  • Mapping:
    • MappingType: Fully Qualified Name (can be Fully Qualified Name / ID)
    • Device Node Pattern: Objects\.BuildingAutomation\.AirConditioner_\d+$ (regular expression used to match scanned OPC UA Node FQNs/IDs to device name. In this sample, path on OPC UA Explorer is Objects/BuildingAutomation/AirConditioner_X, where X is a number from 1 to N. That’s why we use Objects\.BuildingAutomation\.AirConditioner_\d+$ as regular expression, because \d+ means any number from 1 to N, and $ means the end of the string)
    • Subscription tags (list of node tags (Path) to subscribe with mappings to keys (Key) used in the output message):
      • state - State
      • temperature - Temperature
      • humidity - Humidity
      • powerConsumption - PowerConsumption

Click Add to save the Integration.

We can send a downlink message to the device from Rule chain using the rule node. To be able to send downlink over integration we need to modify ‘Edge Root Rule chain’ on the cloud. We’ll need to add two rule nodes - originator fields and integration downlink nodes. Set ‘RPC Request to Device’ link to originator fields and configure to add originator name and type to the message metadata - in the downlink converter name of the device will be used to set proper OPC-UA node. And then add Success link from originator fields node to integration downlink node. When RPC request is going to be triggered to a device on the Edge, the downlink message will be sent to the integration.

Airconditioners Dashboard

To visualize the Airconditioners data and test RPC commands, we will create the Airconditioners dashboard and assign it to edge. First, please download the airconditioners_dashboard.json file.

  • Open Dashboard groups and create new Airconditioner group
  • Open newly created Airconditioner group
  • Click import icon and browse recently downloaded airconditioners_dashboard.json file. Click Import button
  • Go to Edge instance and click on Manage Dashboard icon
  • Assign Airconditioner group to the edge
Open Dashboard groups and create new <b>Airconditioner</b> group
Open Dashboard groups and create new Airconditioner group
Open newly created <b>Airconditioner</b> group
Open newly created Airconditioner group
Click import icon and browse recently downloaded airconditioners_dashboard.json file. Click Import button
Click import icon and browse recently downloaded airconditioners_dashboard.json file. Click Import button
Go to Edge instance and click on Manage Dashboard icon
Go to Edge instance and click on Manage Dashboard icon
Assign <b>Airconditioner</b> group to the edge
Assign Airconditioner group to the edge

Assign Integration to Edge

Once converters and integration templates are created, we can assign Integration template to Edge. Because we are using placeholder ${{endpointHost}} in the integration configuration, we need to add attribute endpointHost to edge first. You need to provide Endpoint Host of the OPC-UA Server (see Prerequisites). Once attribute added, we are ready to assign integration and verify that it’s added.

  • Add endpointHost attribute to Edge and set value as your Edge 192.168.2.153
  • Click Manage Integrations button of Edge entity
  • Assign Integration to the Edge
  • Login to your ThingsBoard Edge instance and open Integrations page - placeholder is going to be replaced by attribute value
Add <b>endpointHost</b> attribute to Edge and set value as your Edge <b>192.168.2.153</b>
Add endpointHost attribute to Edge and set value as your Edge 192.168.2.153
Click <b>Manage Integrations</b> button of Edge entity
Click Manage Integrations button of Edge entity
Assign Integration to the Edge
Assign Integration to the Edge
Login to your <b>ThingsBoard Edge</b> instance and open Integrations page - placeholder is going to be replaced by attribute value
Login to your ThingsBoard Edge instance and open Integrations page - placeholder is going to be replaced by attribute value

Validation

Let’s verify that integration was successfully started on Edge and connection to OPC-UA Demo Server was established.

  • Go to the Device groups page. You will see the Airconditioners group.
  • When you open this group, you will see the 10 Airconditioner devices.
  • Open the details of one of the Airconditioners and select the Latest Telemetry tab.
  • You will see that telemetry values are frequently updated.
  • Go to Dashboards and open the Airconditioners dashboard.
  • You will see the telemetry till the last minute from all the 10 airconditioners.
  • Open the Airconditioner details page by clicking on the details button in the Entities widget.
  • You will find the Airconditioner status light green.
  • Try to switch off the airconditioner by clicking on the On/Off Round switch.
  • The Airconditioner status light will turn into grey, the temperature will start rising, the humidity will start increasing and the power consumption will stop.

Next steps