UNS TagProvider Services (Reference)

UNS →  Tutorial | Concept | How-to Guide | ISA-95 | Reference

Overview

TagProvider Services provide:

• Dynamic external data access
• Tagless connections to remote systems
• Automatic data model discovery
• Real-time structure updates
• Multi-protocol support
• Historian integration capabilities

TagProviders allow consuming external data models directly, ideal for IoT systems and dynamic environments where device configurations change frequently.

TagProviders vs Devices

Supported TagProviders

Communication Protocols

• MQTT - Standard and SparkPlugB
• OPC UA - Industrial standard
• ControlLogix - Rockwell PLCs
• Codesys - PLC Handler
• TwinCAT - Beckhoff systems

Application Integration

• Server to Server - Solution interconnection
• LineMonitor - Production monitoring

Historian Systems

• Canary Labs - Enterprise historian
• InfluxDB - Time-series database
• GE Proficy - Industrial historian
• SQL Database - Generic SQL sources

<ac:structured-macro ac:name="info"> ac:rich-text-body

<p>Historian TagProviders provide two additional features:</p> <ol> <li>Automatic historian querying for TrendCharts using Asset() syntax</li> <li>Can be used as Storage Locations for archiving time-series data</li> </ol> </ac:rich-text-body> </ac:structured-macro>

Configuration

Creating Connections

1. Navigate to Unified Namespace → TagProvider Connections
2. Click New Item button
3. Select protocol from list
4. Configure connection parameters
5. Test connection
6. Asset folder auto-created

Common Parameters

Protocol-Specific Settings

Each protocol requires unique parameters:

• OPC UA: Server URL, Security Policy
• MQTT: Broker, Topic structure
• ControlLogix: IP Address, Slot
• SQL: Connection string, Query

Using TagProviders

Asset Tree Integration

After configuration, TagProviders appear in Asset Tree:

/Root
  /MyOPCServer (TagProvider)
    /Line1
      /Motor1
        /Speed
        /Temperature

Accessing Data

Asset() Syntax:

csharp

// Read value
double speed = Asset("/MyOPCServer/Line1/Motor1/Speed");

// Write value
Asset("/MyOPCServer/Line1/Motor1/Speed") = 100;

// ControlLogix specific
Asset("/MyPLC/DINT:MyTag");
Asset("/MyPLC/DINT:MyArray[0]");

In Displays:

xml

<TextBox Text="{Asset('/MyOPCServer/Line1/Motor1/Speed')}" />

In Scripts:

csharp

if (Asset("/MyOPCServer/Line1/Motor1/Running"))
{
    // Motor is running
}

Data Type Handling

WPF Displays (.NET Framework 4.8)

Dynamic handling supported:

csharp

var value = Asset("/Path/To/Tag");
// Automatically handled as correct type

HTML5/Portable (NetStandard 2.0)

Explicit conversion required:

csharp

int intValue = TK.ToInt(Asset("/Path/To/Tag"));
string strValue = TK.ToString(Asset("/Path/To/Tag"));
bool boolValue = TK.ToDigital(Asset("/Path/To/Tag"));

Historian Integration

As Data Source

csharp

// TrendChart automatic query
TrendChart.Asset = "/HistorianProvider/Temperature";
// Automatically fetches historical data

As Storage Location

Configure in Historian → Storage Locations:

• Select TagProvider as target
• Map tags to historian points
• Define storage intervals

Best Practices

1. Use appropriate technology - Devices for static, TagProviders for dynamic
2. Test connections - Verify before production
3. Handle failures - Configure backup stations
4. Monitor performance - Check read/write times
5. Document providers - Clear naming and descriptions
6. Plan redundancy - Use backup stations
7. Consider security - Access mode restrictions

Browsing Data

Asset Tree Browser

1. Navigate to Unified Namespace → Asset Tree
2. Select TagProvider folder
3. Browse structure in tree
4. View live values in grid

Object Browser

Use toolbar Object Browser for correct syntax:

1. Click Object Browser icon
2. Navigate to desired element
3. Copy displayed AssetPath

Configuration Properties

Troubleshooting

Connection failed:

• Verify network connectivity
• Check protocol settings
• Review authentication
• Test with simple query

No data visible:

• Confirm connection active
• Check Asset Tree mapping
• Verify access permissions
• Review protocol specifics

Performance issues:

• Reduce polling frequency
• Check network latency
• Optimize queries
• Use local caching

Type conversion errors:

• Use explicit conversion (HTML5)
• Verify data types match
• Check null values
• Review error messages

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