Requirements and Challenges in the Configuration of a Real-Time Node for OPC UA Publish-Subscribe Communication
Rebekka Neumann, Christian von Arnim, Michael Neubauer, Armin Lechler, Alexander W. Verl · 2023
Factory automation is evolving from a hierarchical structure towards an interconnected architecture in which systems at different levels can communicate seamlessly with each other. This requires an appropriate replacement of proprietary fieldbus systems in the automation sector. A promising solution to implement cross-plane end-to-end real-time capable communication between computing nodes is proposed in literature. The usage of Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture (OPC UA) as the information model with the Publish-Subscribe (PubSub) communication mechanism in combination with Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) is presented to fulfill the requirements for message transmission. In contrast to the state of the art of configuring fieldbus systems, the configuration of such a real-time communication node has to be done manually. This process is complex, as deep knowledge in different domains is required. In this work we elaborate the requirements for such a communication node and present the resulting implementation challenges, which can be used as the basis for a configuration tool.