OPC training

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I'm searching for some OPC training. I would like to get some training for a few of our guys(PLC techs, instrumentation/combustion techs and EEs). I'd like to have the following included:

-What is OPC?
-How does it work?
-How to set up an OPC server?
-What are the avaliable clients?
-How to program a client?

Basically assume that we are educated, but are ignorant of OPC.

Plant floor HMIs and data aquisition are becoming very important to our orginization and I feel that we NEED to educate ourselves about OPC. Where is a good place to start? I realize that it's quite possible to learn on your own, as I often do, but I'm looking for something formal.

Is this worth a darn?

http://www.opcfoundation.org/03_events/OPC-2008 Seminar Flyer.pdf

 

[danw2]

The OPC sponsored session is highly recommended for an overview. The OPC session I attended had well over 100 attendees, so one doesn't expect the personal hands-on trainer experience of a paid training session.

But a presenter showed a typical setup of an OPC server with a test client as part of a 5 hour presentation over a day. I don't recall that they went through DCOM configuration, but a tech note on their web site pretty well covers those bases.

There must have been at least a dozen vendors to boot with related offerings.

I would suspect that by now OPC is touting their efforts to do enterprise level communications, but it still starts at the DA level.

For a freebie, how can you go wrong?

Dan