4 Use cases

4.1 Complex configuration

For systems that are large and complex, engineering is often done in multiple tools and by multiple individuals. The separate configurations are required to work together, but resolving the references between these different configurations can be a significant task. A common solution to simplify this task is a naming convention for the items that are being referenced. Providing an automatic lookup capability for these names would greatly simplify configuration. Each system can specify its own names and configurations can be built to just use the names, without having to know the exact address of the items. The exact address would include the address of the Server, the address of the tag in the Server, the required protocol for connecting to the Server, security settings etc. OPC UA defines a GDS that can provide information about what Servers are available in a system and how to connect to them, but it does not currently provide information about the tags that are available in a given Server.

4.2 Automatic reconfiguration

In a system where many smaller Servers exist and these Servers could be dynamic, in that new Servers can appear and disappear. Configuration could move between Servers. The ability to detect the new configurations and the automatic resolution of where a specific piece of information is located would greatly simplify these systems.

4.3 Cloud based system

Much like the previous use case, a cloud-based system, where Servers can be spun up in a new cloud system or adjusted and split based on loading to multiple Servers. The ability to detect the new configurations and the automatic resolution of where a specific piece of information is located would greatly simplify these systems.

4.4 Aggregated systems

In systems where many simple devices exist, any given simple device could not have the ability to provide name resolution, yet these systems can be much like systems in one of the previous use cases. In a system such as this, an aggregating Server could exist, where the aggregating Server would provide the names as well as the lookup for the underlying Server. This aggregating Server could also provide other functionality such as aggregation of values, but it could only provide the name definitions and resolutions. The underlying Server could have no knowledge of the AliasName.

4.5 Device replacement

In systems where devices are replaced, the replacement device often needs to be configured, where the configuration can include the addition of an AliasName. An interface for adding AliasNames and AliasNameCategories would allow a standard configuration to setup the device. In the case where a device is moved and reconfigured, it may be required to first delete the AliasNames and AliasNameCategories in the device.