As introduced in 4.7, logical connection establishment may be executed by a ConnectionManager. If present on a Server, the ConnectionManager is represented in the Information Model by ConnectionManagerType (see 6.7). To start the establishment of logical connections using the ConnectionManager, the ProcessConnectionConfigurationSets Method is invoked. The ConnectionManager calls the EstablishConnections Method on an AutomationComponent to establish the logical connections.

For each logical connection to be established, the ConnectionConfigurationSet includes:

• address information, e.g., OPC UA Server address, BrowsePath to the AutomationComponent, FunctionalEntity, etc.,
• optional parameters to be used for verifying the Assets and FunctionalEntities,
• optional parameters to be used for establishing control,
• optional parameters to be used for configuring the application behaviour,
• data to be exchanged via the logical connection,
• communication model-specific properties for the utilized OPC UA communication model (e.g., PubSub or Client / Server [future]).

For more details on the ConnectionConfigurationSetType, see 6.8. For details on ConnectionManager functionality, see 6.7.

A ConnectionManager does not monitor the state of logical connections it has established.

To close logical connections using the ConnectionManager, the ProcessConnectionConfigurationSets Method is invoked. The ConnectionManager calls the CloseConnections Method on an AutomationComponent to close logical connections.