OPC UA API as a stand-alone add-on

[Mads]

We were thrilled to see that NI developed an OPC UA API. We develop software for both VxWorks and Windows, so having OPC UA available on RT is great. But having to shell out for the entire DSC suite, run-time licenses and all, just to be able to use the same API on Windows is unreasonably costly and forces us to use a different API on Windows. If we could buy the API as an isolated component at a more reasonable price (and with easier licensing) we would jump for it immediately.

A generalized version of the idea:

The DSC can still function as a nice bundle, where the price for the bundle is lower than the total for each individual item, but when NI makes such packages please make it possible to pick-and choose amongst those components as well, so that in cases where you actually have a need for just one of them, you can get it at a price that is reasonable for that individual component.

[Sectoid]

It will be great if OPC UA functions will be included in to the Base Development System, like Protocols VIs and Functions.

[caseyg]

Completely agree. There are a few nice pieces within DSC that would be appealing if available seperately - specifically OPC UA and Automation Symbols. We have an OPC DA based system that we want to upgrade, but buying DSC (and dealing with run times) is not worth it.

[cpazos]

Hi all!

Thank you for submitting your ideas in this forum. OPC UA is a technology we consider key in our portfolio for industrial automation solutions. It allows standard, secure communications with third-party devices from either PC or embedded devices. As we continue expanding our LabVIEW RIO platform and nurture our relationship with the OPC Foundation, we are also investing in expanding our OPC UA offering to include new capabilities such as the Historical Access and Alarms & Conditions facets of this specification. Along with these changes, we are also considering modifications to our licensing model similar to the suggestions posted in the first post of this thread. While these changes to our API are officially in our roadmap, we are still defining release timeframes for both desktop and embedded platforms.

Thanks,

Carlos Pazos

Product Marketing Manager

Embedded Software

[Mads]

We have an application for OPC UA on Windows now that has a commercial potential on the general market, one of the main hurdles if we are to release it though is that we (we assume) will have to make sure everyone buying it will also buy a full DSC run-time license(!).  There are two problems with that; practicality and price. As for the practicality there is a simple solution right now, one that is probably just a loop-hole; we seem to be able to get OPC UA to run just by including the right DLLs in the installation set - no license installation required(!?). Formally we would probably still have to tell the customers to buy a license separately from NI (no way to integrate that into the installer/application) - and then the price is an issue as it is way too high just to get OPC UA connectivity...So what to do? Ideally we would be able to either pay a one-time license to distribute the given application, or we should be able to easily integrate a licensing arrangement within the installer or aplication to buy a lower-prices run-time license...Perhaps NI would forget about the run-time if the application generated income for NI anyway by being sold through the LabVIEW Tools Network?

[drjdpowell]

I've had the exact same issue with a client of mine, and note that it can be counterproductive since it reinforces the view of NI being too expensive and thus pushes the client down the road of not using NI technology.  "A bit pricy (but always gets the job done)" is a lot easier to sell than "Expensive (and sometimes riduculously expensive)".

[Mads]

Now that the OPC UA API is in a separate toolkit (great news, the idea can be set as "completed" 🙂 ), we are wondering if there is a way we can build the registration of a deployment license into our installer or application? Right now we can install our OPC UA server product on a Windows target, but unless we manually point the users to how they are to install a deployment license, the server will just fail on launch...Ideally we would just pre-purchase a license (bulk price?) and then bundle the deployment license with the installers...so that the end users will not even notice. 

[Darren]

The OPC UA API is now available as a separate toolkit.

[AristosQueue (NI)]

Mads: I have no idea about your question. I suggest posting to the regular forums for an answer. I am flagging this idea to be marked as Complete. Thanks for spotting it.