How to Log Data Using the OPC UA Collector
The OPC UA Collector is the most popular import tool. In this article, a first time user can learn how to set up a UA logging session.
Start a Logging Session
Open the Canary Admin application and select the 'OPC Collector' tile.
Select the 'Configuration' tab at the bottom of the page.
Click 'New Session'. Name the session.
The OPC UA Collector can organize tags in two ways, by groups and by logging sessions. Groups are sub categories that can be created within logging sessions. A recommended best practice is to use multiple logging sessions to organize tags based on the future maintenance needs. Out of use tags may need to be dropped, or certain meta data properties may need to be changed. To make any changes, the active logging session must be stopped momentarily and restarted. When this occurs, for a brief second, tags do not log data creating a tiny hole of data loss (usually less than 5 seconds) in the archive. Additionally, a new HDB file will also be created. For these reasons, a logging session should never log to more than a single DataSet.
In 'Session Settings' towards the bottom of the page, select a DataSet to log tags to. If left blank, the Collector automatically creates a new DataSet to log tags to.
Enter the machine name and port number for target OPC Server.
The port number and machine name can be found in your OPC Server documentation.
Select 'Browse' at the top of the page. If credentials are correct, a window with the OPC Server nodes appears.
Select the desired node and 'Shift-Click' to select tags to log.
Select 'OK' after finding the desired tags.
Select 'Apply' at the top of the page.
Click 'Status' at the bottom of the page to see the session tile where the logging session can be initiated.
Press the 'Play' icon that appears as a sideways triangle.
Additional OPC UA Collector Settings
Metadata Property Processing - Users can add engineering units, scales, limits, and a tag description to a tag. Additional tag properties allow for more precise tag searches. Searching for tags via tag properties is especially helpful when building out Asset Models, which is another one of the powerful tools the Canary System offers.
Deadbanding - A deadband is the range a tag's values can vary before the data is logged. OPC UA Deadbanding is a popular feature that allows users to refrain from storing inconsequential data.
Dual Logging - The OPC DA Collector is capable of supporting Dual Logging, which allows data to be pushed from one logging session to many historians. Many operations have primary and redundant historians while others have local/corporate historians.
Redundant Logging - With Redundant Logging a user can ensure the same data gets sent from two different machines to one historian. Redundant Logging ensures that data is never lost when one logging session stops for whatever reason.
The Sample Interval - The Sample Interval, much like dead-banding, is a feature for filtering out inconsequential data. When the Sample Interval is set, the OPC UA Collector only pulls data if it changes within the set duration.
Data Transformations - Allows a user to apply a calculation to a tag, such as a measurement conversion, before the tag gets logged to the historian.