It is assumed that basic concepts of OPC UA information modelling, Remote IO for Factory Automation [RIO FA] and Remote IO for Process Automation [RIO PA] are understood in this document. This document will use these concepts to describe the Remote IO Information Model. For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in OPC 10000-1, OPC 10000-3, OPC 10000-4, OPC 10000-5, OPC 10000-7, OPC 10000-100, … as well as the following apply.

Note that OPC UA terms and terms defined in this document are italicized in the document.

A Controller is a host running a program which reads and writes the Process Values used to control an automated process. The control is usually done in cycles consisting of reading the Input Process Value, processing the Input, calculating the Output, and finally writing the Output Process Value.

A Device is a stand-alone unit exchanging cyclic data with a Controller. Devices are usually configured by the Controller and may also generate acyclic data like alarms or diagnostic information. A Device may consist of several modules and Submodules.

Remote IO is defined in this specification as accessing the Input Telegram data and the Output Telegram data of a PN Submodule from a remote host without interfering or interacting with cyclic data transfer.

A RIO Channel comprises all Function Blocks, Functions and Variables used for processing of an analog or digital electric signal.

A RIO Input Channel comprises all Function Blocks, Functions and Variables used for processing of an analog or digital electric input signal. Typically, the RIO Input Channel generates an Input Process Value from an electric signal.

A RIO Output Channel comprises all Function Blocks, Functions and Variables used for processing of an analog or digital electric output signal. Typically, a RIO Output Channel is used to transfer an Output Process Value to an electric signal. In addition, RIO Output Channels may process a Readback Value.

A RIO Channel Group is an aggregation of RIO Channels.

Input is the data transferred from a monitored electrical sensor signal to the Controller.

Output is the data transferred from the Controller to a remote-controlled actuator signal.

A Transducer comprises all Functions used for the conversion of an electric signal into a digital representation and vice versa.

An Input Transducer comprises all Functions used for the conversion of an electric signal into a digital representation.

An Output Transducer comprises all Functions used for the conversion of a digital signal representation into an electric signal. As an option, an Output Transducer in addition can also convert the electric output signal back into a digital Readback Value representation.

The Readback Value is the result of feeding the electric signal back into the RIO Output Channel within an Output Transducer.

A Physical Value is the digital representation of the electrical signal or the physical value measured/controlled by the attached sensor/actor.

A Function Block comprises all Functions used for the conversion of the Physical Value into the Process Value and vice versa.

The Process Value are all data variables which are intended to be part of cyclic data transfer with a Controller.

An Input Process Value contains the Input data used by a Controller.

An Output Process Value contains a Controller’s Output data to an automated process.

A Telegram represents the cyclic data of one PN Submodule. A Telegram consists at least of one Input Telegram or of one Output Telegram or of both.

An Input Telegram represents the cyclic Input data of one PN Submodule. An Input Telegram consists of Signals.

An Output Telegram represents the cyclic Output data of one PN Submodule. An Output Telegram consists of Signals.

Signals are components of a Telegram. A Signal maps to a Variable in the Application Information Model.

A PN Submodule is the consumer or the provider of one Telegram and the addressable endpoint for PROFINET access.

IOCSIO Consumer Status, see [PN Service]

IOPSIO Provider Status, see [PN Service]

MESManufacturing Execution System

PAProcess Automation

PNPROFINET

RIORemote IO

RIOforFARemote IO for Factory Automation

RIOforPARemote IO for Process Automation

SCADASupervisory Control and Data Acquisition

Node definitions are specified using tables (see Table 2).

Attributes are defined by providing the Attribute name and a value, or a description of the value.

References are defined by providing the ReferenceType name, the BrowseName of the TargetNode and its NodeClass.

• If the TargetNode is a component of the Node being defined in the table the Attributes of the composed Node are defined in the same row of the table.
• The DataType is only specified for Variables; “[<number>]” indicates a single-dimensional array, for multi-dimensional arrays the expression is repeated for each dimension (e.g. [2][3] for a two-dimensional array). For all arrays the ArrayDimensions is set as identified by <number> values. If no <number> is set, the corresponding dimension is set to 0, indicating an unknown size. If no number is provided at all the ArrayDimensions can be omitted. If no brackets are provided, it identifies a scalar DataType and the ValueRank is set to the corresponding value (see OPC 10000-3). In addition, ArrayDimensions is set to null or is omitted. If it can be Any or ScalarOrOneDimension, the value is put into “{<value>}”, so either “{Any}” or “{ScalarOrOneDimension}” and the ValueRank is set to the corresponding value (see OPC 10000-3) and the ArrayDimensions is set to null or is omitted. Examples are given in Table 1.

Table 1 – Examples of DataTypes

Notation	DataType	ValueRank	ArrayDimensions	Description
0:Int32	0:Int32	-1	omitted or null	A scalar Int32.
0:Int32[]	0:Int32	1	omitted or {0}	Single-dimensional array of Int32 with an unknown size.
0:Int32[][]	0:Int32	2	omitted or {0,0}	Two-dimensional array of Int32 with unknown sizes for both dimensions.
0:Int32[3][]	0:Int32	2	{3,0}	Two-dimensional array of Int32 with a size of 3 for the first dimension and an unknown size for the second dimension.
0:Int32[5][3]	0:Int32	2	{5,3}	Two-dimensional array of Int32 with a size of 5 for the first dimension and a size of 3 for the second dimension.
0:Int32{Any}	0:Int32	-2	omitted or null	An Int32 where it is unknown if it is scalar or array with any number of dimensions.
0:Int32{ScalarOrOneDimension}	0:Int32	-3	omitted or null	An Int32 where it is either a single-dimensional array or a scalar.

• The TypeDefinition is specified for Objects and Variables.
• The TypeDefinition column specifies a symbolic name for a NodeId, i.e. the specified Node points with a HasTypeDefinition Reference to the corresponding Node.
• The ModellingRule of the referenced component is provided by specifying the symbolic name of the rule in the ModellingRule column. In the AddressSpace, the Node shall use a HasModellingRule Reference to point to the corresponding ModellingRule Object.

If the NodeId of a DataType is provided, the symbolic name of the Node representing the DataType shall be used.

Note that if a symbolic name of a different namespace is used, it is prefixed by the NamespaceIndex (see 3.4.2.2).

Nodes of all other NodeClasses cannot be defined in the same table; therefore, only the used ReferenceType, their NodeClass and their BrowseName are specified. A reference to another part of this document points to their definition.

Table 2 illustrates the table. If no components are provided, the DataType, TypeDefinition and Other columns may be omitted and only a Comment column is introduced to point to the Node definition.

Table 2 – Type Definition Table

Attribute	Value
Attribute name	Attribute value. If it is an optional Attribute that is not set “--” is used.
References	NodeClass	BrowseName	DataType	TypeDefinition	Other
ReferenceType name	NodeClass of the target Node.	BrowseName of the target Node.	DataType of the referenced Node, only applicable for Variables.	TypeDefinition of the referenced Node, only applicable for Variables and Objects.	Additional characteristics of the TargetNode such as the ModellingRule or AccessLevel.
NOTE Notes referencing footnotes of the table content.

Components of Nodes can be complex that is containing components by themselves. The TypeDefinition, NodeClass and DataType can be derived from the type definitions, and the symbolic name can be created as defined in 3.4.3.1. Therefore, those containing components are not explicitly specified; they are implicitly specified by the type definitions.

The Other column defines additional characteristics of the Node. Examples of characteristics that can appear in this column are show in Table 3.

Table 3 – Examples of Other Characteristics

Name	Short Name	Description
0:Mandatory	M	The Node has the Mandatory ModellingRule.
0:Optional	O	The Node has the Optional ModellingRule.
0:MandatoryPlaceholder	MP	The Node has the MandatoryPlaceholder ModellingRule.
0:OptionalPlaceholder	OP	The Node has the OptionalPlaceholder ModellingRule.
ReadOnly	RO	The Node AccessLevel has the CurrentRead bit set but not the CurrentWrite bit.
ReadWrite	RW	The Node AccessLevel has the CurrentRead and CurrentWrite bits set.
WriteOnly	WO	The Node AccessLevel has the CurrentWrite bit set but not the CurrentRead bit.

If multiple characteristics are defined they are separated by commas. The name or the short name may be used.

To provide information about additional References, the format as shown in Table 4 is used.

Table 4 – <some>Type Additional References

SourceBrowsePath	Reference Type	Is Forward	TargetBrowsePath
SourceBrowsePath is always relative to the TypeDefinition. Multiple elements are defined as separate rows of a nested table.	ReferenceType name	True = forward Reference.	TargetBrowsePath points to another Node, which can be a well-known instance or a TypeDefinition. You can use BrowsePaths here as well, which is either relative to the TypeDefinition or absolute. If absolute, the first entry needs to refer to a type or well-known instance, uniquely identified within a namespace by the BrowseName.

References can be to any other Node.

To provide information about sub-components, the format as shown in Table 5 is used.

Table 5 – <some>Type Additional Subcomponents

BrowsePath	References	NodeClass	BrowseName	DataType	TypeDefinition	Others
BrowsePath is always relative to the TypeDefinition. Multiple elements are defined as separate rows of a nested table	NOTE Same as for Table 2

The type definition table provides columns to specify the values for required Node Attributes for InstanceDeclarations. To provide information about additional Attributes, the format as shown in Table 6 is used.

Table 6 – <some>Type Attribute values for child Nodes

BrowsePath

<Attribute name> Attribute

BrowsePath is always relative to the TypeDefinition. Multiple elements are defined as separate rows of a nested table

The values of attributes are converted to text by adapting the reversible JSON encoding rules defined in OPC 10000-6. If the JSON encoding of a value is a JSON string or a JSON number then that value is entered in the value field. Double quotes are not included. If the DataType includes a NamespaceIndex (QualifiedNames, NodeIds or ExpandedNodeIds) then the notation used for BrowseNames is used. If the value is an Enumeration the name of the enumeration value is entered. If the value is a Structure then a sequence of name and value pairs is entered. Each pair is followed by a newline. The name is followed by a colon. The names are the names of the fields in the DataTypeDefinition. If the value is an array of non-structures then a sequence of values is entered where each value is followed by a newline. If the value is an array of Structures or a Structure with fields that are arrays or with nested Structures then the complete JSON array or JSON object is entered. Double quotes are not included.

There can be multiple columns to define more than one Attribute.

The NodeIds of all Nodes described in this standard are only symbolic names. Annex A defines the actual NodeIds.

The symbolic name of each Node defined in this document is its BrowseName, or, when it is part of another Node, the BrowseName of the other Node, a “.”, and the BrowseName of itself. In this case “part of” means that the whole has a HasProperty or HasComponent Reference to its part. Since all Nodes not being part of another Node have a unique name in this document, the symbolic name is unique.

The NamespaceUri for all NodeIds defined in this document is defined in Annex A. The NamespaceIndex for this NamespaceUri is vendor-specific and depends on the position of the NamespaceUri in the server namespace table.

Note that this document not only defines concrete Nodes, but also requires that some Nodes shall be generated, for example one for each Session running on the Server. The NodeIds of those Nodes are Server-specific, including the namespace. But the NamespaceIndex of those Nodes cannot be the NamespaceIndex used for the Nodes defined in this document, because they are not defined by this document but generated by the Server.

The text part of the BrowseNames for all Nodes defined in this document is specified in the tables defining the Nodes. The NamespaceUri for all BrowseNames defined in this document is defined in 13.2.

For InstanceDeclarations of NodeClass Object and Variable that are placeholders (OptionalPlaceholder and MandatoryPlaceholder ModellingRule), the BrowseName and the DisplayName are enclosed in angle brackets (<>) as recommended in OPC 10000-3.If the BrowseName is not defined by this document, a namespace index prefix is added to the BrowseName (e.g., prefix '0' leading to ‘0:EngineeringUnits’ or prefix '2' leading to ‘2:DeviceRevision’). This is typically necessary if a Property of another specification is overwritten or used in the OPC UA types defined in this document. Table 145 provides a list of namespaces and their indexes as used in this document.

The Attributes of Nodes, their DataTypes and descriptions are defined in OPC 10000-3. Attributes not marked as optional are mandatory and shall be provided by a Server. The following tables define if the Attribute value is defined by this document or if it is server-specific.

For all Nodes specified in this document, the Attributes named in Table 7 shall be set as specified in the table.

Table 7 – Common Node Attributes

Attribute	Value
DisplayName	The DisplayName is a LocalizedText. Each Server shall provide the DisplayName identical to the BrowseName of the Node for the LocaleId “en”. Whether the server provides translated names for other LocaleIds are server-specific.
Description	Optionally a server-specific description is provided.
NodeClass	Shall reflect the NodeClass of the Node.
NodeId	The NodeId is described by BrowseNames as defined in 3.4.2.1.
WriteMask	Optionally the WriteMask Attribute can be provided. If the WriteMask Attribute is provided, it shall set all non-server-specific Attributes to not writable. For example, the Description Attribute may be set to writable since a Server may provide a server-specific description for the Node. The NodeId shall not be writable, because it is defined for each Node in this document.
UserWriteMask	Optionally the UserWriteMask Attribute can be provided. The same rules as for the WriteMask Attribute apply.
RolePermissions	Optionally server-specific role permissions can be provided.
UserRolePermissions	Optionally the role permissions of the current Session can be provided. The value is server-specific and depends on the RolePermissions Attribute (if provided) and the current Session.
AccessRestrictions	Optionally server-specific access restrictions can be provided.

For all Objects specified in this document, the Attributes named in Table 8 shall be set as specified in the Table 8. The definitions for the Attributes can be found in OPC 10000-3.

Table 8 – Common Object Attributes

Attribute	Value
EventNotifier	Whether the Node can be used to subscribe to Events or not is server-specific.

For all Variables specified in this document, the Attributes named in Table 9 shall be set as specified in the table. The definitions for the Attributes can be found in OPC 10000-3.

Table 9 – Common Variable Attributes

Attribute	Value
MinimumSamplingInterval	Optionally, a server-specific minimum sampling interval is provided.
AccessLevel	The access level for Variables used for type definitions is server-specific, for all other Variables defined in this document, the access level shall allow reading; other settings are server-specific.
UserAccessLevel	The value for the UserAccessLevel Attribute is server-specific. It is assumed that all Variables can be accessed by at least one user.
Value	For Variables used as InstanceDeclarations, the value is server-specific; otherwise it shall represent the value described in the text.
ArrayDimensions	If the ValueRank does not identify an array of a specific dimension (i.e. ValueRank <= 0) the ArrayDimensions can either be set to null or the Attribute is missing. This behaviour is server-specific. If the ValueRank specifies an array of a specific dimension (i.e. ValueRank > 0) then the ArrayDimensions Attribute shall be specified in the table defining the Variable.
Historizing	The value for the Historizing Attribute is server-specific.
AccessLevelEx	If the AccessLevelEx Attribute is provided, it shall have the bits 8, 9, and 10 set to 0, meaning that read and write operations on an individual Variable are atomic, and arrays can be partly written.

For all VariableTypes specified in this document, the Attributes named in Table 10 shall be set as specified in the table. The definitions for the Attributes can be found in OPC 10000-3.

Table 10 – Common VariableType Attributes

Attributes	Value
Value	Optionally a server-specific default value can be provided.
ArrayDimensions	If the ValueRank does not identify an array of a specific dimension (i.e. ValueRank <= 0) the ArrayDimensions can either be set to null or the Attribute is missing. This behaviour is server-specific. If the ValueRank specifies an array of a specific dimension (i.e. ValueRank > 0) then the ArrayDimensions Attribute shall be specified in the table defining the VariableType.

For all Methods specified in this document, the Attributes named in Table 11 shall be set as specified in the table. The definitions for the Attributes can be found in OPC 10000-3.

Table 11 – Common Method Attributes

Attributes	Value
Executable	All Methods defined in this document shall be executable (Executable Attribute set to “True”), unless it is defined differently in the Method definition.
UserExecutable	The value of the UserExecutable Attribute is server-specific. It is assumed that all Methods can be executed by at least one user.