MatrikonOPC Simulation Server

User's Manual
MatrikonOPC Simulation Server
User's Manual

This manual is a product of Matrikon Inc.

Matrikon Inc.
Suite 1800, 10405 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5J 3N4
Canada

Phone: 780.448.1010
Fax: 780.448.9191
www.MatrikonOPC.com

Document Revision History:

Document
Date Description Author
Version
2003-08-19 1.0 Initial document. DENG
2004-04-02 1.1 Added HDA and AE functionality descriptions. IMF
2008-05-14 2.0 Converted to new template. LB
Added OPC item descriptions, updated Installed
2008-08-25 2.1 Files, updated Installation and Un-Installation RK, LB
sections, updated Troubleshooting section.
Matrikon OPC Server Framework
v1.11.1.0/1.7.0.0 applied to server. Software
version updated to 1.5.0.0. Updated Installation
section. Updated Contacting Support section.
Alias Configuration section updated to include
2009-07-17 3.0 LB
Calculation scaling and Item Browser information.
Limitations section updated. Appendix B –
Aliases: added Scaling Calculation section,
updated CSV File Format and Scaling Algorithms
sections. Updated Appendix E – Security.
Added reference to Quick Start Guide in Installed
2009-07-22 3.1 LB
Files section.

2009-09-10 4.0 Restructured document for version 1.6.0. CHB

Version 1.7.0. Supported operating systems list
2017-01-30 5.0 MJL
modified. References to UCS eliminated.
2017-05-05 5.1 Version 1.7.1 MJL
2018-07-04 5.2 Updated to latest user manual standards. V.1.7.2 MJL

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 2

SOFTWARE VERSION

Version: 1.7.2

DOCUMENT VERSION

Version: 5.2

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

© Copyright 1997 - 2018, Matrikon® International, a business unit of Honeywell Limited ("Matrikon®
International"). All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, translated, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior
written permission of Matrikon® International.

CONFIDENTIAL

The information contained herein is confidential and proprietary to Matrikon® International. It may not be disclosed or
transferred, directly or indirectly, to any third party without the explicit written permission of Matrikon® International.

LIMITATIONS
Matrikon has made its best effort to prepare this manual. Matrikon makes no representation or warranties of
any kind with regard to the completeness or accuracy of the contents herein and accepts no liability of any kind
including without limitation warranties of merchantable quality, satisfactory quality, merchantability and
fitness for a particular purpose on those arising by law, statute, usage of trade, course of dealing or otherwise.
Matrikon shall not be liable for any losses or damages of any kind caused or alleged to be caused directly or
indirectly from this manual.

LICENSE AGREEMENT

This document and the software described in this document are supplied under a license agreement and may only be used
in accordance with the terms of that agreement. Matrikon® International reserves the right to make any improvements
and/or changes to product specifications at any time without notice.

TRADEMARK INFORMATION

The following are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective organizations:

Matrikon and Matrikon OPC are trademarks or registered trademarks of Matrikon® International.

OTHER

Matrikon OPC™ is a division of Matrikon® International.

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 3

Table of Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 5
Who Should Use This Manual .............................................................................................. 5
Overview of Manual ........................................................................................................... 5
References ....................................................................................................................... 6
Terminology ..................................................................................................................... 6
Getting Started................................................................................................................. 8
System Requirements ........................................................................................................ 8
Software Requirements ................................................................................................... 8
Hardware Requirements .................................................................................................. 8
Installed Files.................................................................................................................... 8
Licensing .......................................................................................................................... 9
Contacting Support ............................................................................................................ 9
Driver Configuration ....................................................................................................... 10
OPC Data Items .............................................................................................................. 11
Simulation Items ............................................................................................................. 11
Available Items ............................................................................................................ 11
Dynamic Item Creation.................................................................................................. 11
Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 12
Alarms and Events Functionality .................................................................................... 13
Simulated Event ........................................................................................................... 13
Simulated Item Creation Event ....................................................................................... 13
Historical Data Access Functionality ............................................................................... 14
Read Functionality ........................................................................................................ 14
Update Functionality ..................................................................................................... 15
Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver Functionality ................................................................... 16

Table of Tables
Table 1 - Data Options ...................................................................................................... 5
Table 2 - Terms and Definitions........................................................................................ 7
Table 3 - Files Installed in "Simulation" Folder ................................................................ 9
Table 4 - Matrikon OPC Support Regional Contact Information ........................................ 9
Table 5 - After-Hours Support .......................................................................................... 9
Table 6 - Available Items ............................................................................................... 11
Table 7 - Simulated Event - Event Notification Attributes ............................................... 13
Table 8 - Simulated Item Creation Event - Event Notification Attributes ........................ 13
Table 9 - Simulated Item Types Supported Operations .................................................. 14
Table 10 - Aggregation Functions Supported by Simulation Driver................................. 15
Table 11 - Attributes Stored for Each Item by Simulation Driver .................................... 15
Table 12 - OPC Alarms and Events v1.10 Events ............................................................ 16
Table 13 - OPC Historical Data Access v1.20 Read Functions ......................................... 16
Table 14 - OPC Historical Data Access v1.20 Update Functions ...................................... 16
Table 15 - OPC Historical Data Access v1.20 Annotation Functions ................................ 17
Table 16 - OPC Historical Data Access v1.20 Playback Functions ................................... 17

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 4

Introduction
The Matrikon OPC™ Simulation Driver (also referred to as Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver and
Testing or Simulation server) enables data interchange to any OPC clients. The driver provides
different types of data that offers testing abilities.
Table 1 lists the various data options available in the driver.

Source Type Function

Provides variables that can be set to any value depending on their type.
Bucket Brigade
Read and Write capabilities.
Random Produces random values to test Read capabilities of an OPC client.
Read Error Allows testing on OPC client’s behaviour when an error occurs.
Waves Produces read-only values in a Square, Saw-tooth, or Triangle wave.
Write Errors Allows test for Write errors.
Write Only Allow Write tests.
Table 1 - Data Options

The Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver can be used to simulate other OPC servers on a simple level,
and to test your OPC client or architecture. This driver can give users a useful source of data to
test their system. Not only does it come pre-loaded with data points that perform multiple
functions, but you can also add more simulated tags as needed.
The Simulation driver can also be used to troubleshoot system connectivity by replacing your OPC
server with the Simulation driver which can then expose OPC server configuration issues.

Who Should Use This Manual

This manual is intended for all users of Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver. This manual explains how
to license, and configure the software, and how to perform common tasks. In addition and where
required, technical information about OPC data items, diagnostics information, and a
troubleshooting section is included.

Overview of Manual
This manual uses icons to highlight valuable information. Remember these icons and what they
mean, as they will assist you throughout the manual.

This symbol denotes important information that must be

acknowledged. Failure to do so may result in the software not
functioning properly.

Font displayed in this color and style indicates a hyperlink to the

BOLD applicable/associated information within this manual, or if applicable,
any external sources.

The User’s Manual has been designed so that you can click on references in the document to jump
to that referenced point without having to scroll through several pages (in some cases). For
example, if you were to see the sentence “Refer to Figure 1 for more information”, pressing the

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 5

 CTRL key and clicking your mouse on the text “Figure 1” will automatically take you to the location
of Figure 1 within the document.
This manual consists of several chapters and is structured as follows:
 Introduction – this introductory chapter.
 Getting Started – provides instructions for installing the software, and Matrikon OPC
Support team contact information.
 Driver Configuration – provides Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver configuration
instructions.
 OPC Data Items – describes the driver’s items.
 Limitations – provides information on specific performance and operational limitations of
the software (if any).
 Alarms and Events Functionality – provides information about Matrikon OPC Simulation
Driver A&E functionality.
 Historical Data Access Functionality – provides information about Matrikon OPC
Simulation Driver HDA functionality.

References
This document references information found within the following documents/sites:
 www.opcfoundation.org
 www.MatrikonOPC.com
 www.opcsupport.com
 OPC Overview 1.0
 OPC Common Definitions and Interfaces 1.0
 OPC Historical Data Access Custom Interface Standard 1.20
 OPC Data Access Custom Interface Standard 2.05
 OPC Data Access Custom Interface Standard 3.00
 OPC Alarms and Events Custom Interface Standard 1.10

Terminology
The following terms are used interchangeably throughout this document:
 screen and window
 tab and panel
 Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver and Simulation driver
Table 2 provides a list of definitions for terms used throughout this document.

Term/Abbreviation Description
Component Object Model. A method for organizing software, specifying how to
COM
build components that can be dynamically interchanged.
DA OPC Data Access. Provides access to real-time process data.
DCOM Distributed Component Object Model. An extension of COM that allows

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 6

Term/Abbreviation Description
communication between COM components over a network.
Dynamic Data Exchange. Allows the transfer of data between two running
DDE
applications.
DDL Data Definition Language.
HDA OPC Historical Data Access.
Human Machine Interface. Device that allows interaction between the user and
HMI
machine. Typically used in process control applications.
LAN Local Area Network.
Matrikon Matrikon Inc.
Matrikon OPC Matrikon’s brand name for its OPC servers and clients.
The communication standards published by the OPC Foundation. Refer to
OPC
www.opcfoundation.org for more information.
PLC Programmable Logic Controller.
Sync/Async Abbreviations for Synchronous and Asynchronous operations.
Table 2 - Terms and Definitions

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 7

 Getting Started
This section of the User’s Manual contains important information regarding software installation and
how to contact Matrikon OPC’s Support team.
The System Requirements section shows how to avoid future problems by ensuring that the
system meets the minimum software and hardware requirements. The Installed Files section will
provides a list of files that are installed.
Once the software is installed, refer to the Licensing section for information on how to obtain the
appropriate license. The Licensing section will refer you to the Licensing Procedures document that
was installed along with the driver and this User’s Manual. The Contacting Support section will
provide you with contact information for the Matrikon OPC Support team, should you have any
problems during the installation or licensing of the software.

System Requirements
The software has Software and Hardware system requirements. These requirements must be
met for the software to function properly.

Software Requirements
The following software is required:
 Microsoft Windows 7, or
 Microsoft Windows 10, or
 Microsoft Windows Server 2008, or
 Microsoft Windows Server 2012, or
 Microsoft Windows Server 2016

Note: It is recommended that the most current service packs are

installed.

Hardware Requirements
The following hardware is required:
 Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor
 512 MB RAM
 40 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive

Installed Files
The installation program copies all necessary files to the target computer and creates shortcut
icons in the Start menu. The driver-specific files listed in Table 3 are installed by default in the
following location:
C:\Program Files\Matrikon\OPC\Simulation

File Name Description

MatrikonOPC Simulation Server Release
Notes.pdf Release Notes for this server.

MatrikonOPC Simulation Server Quick

Start Guide.pdf Quick Start Guide for this server.

MatrikonOPC Simulation Server User User’s Manual for this server.

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 8

 File Name Description
Manual.pdf
OPCSim.exe Server executable.
Table 3 - Files Installed in "Simulation" Folder

Licensing
Most Matrikon OPC products require some form of licensing criteria be met to ensure that it
functions successfully.
The Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver does not require licensing.

Contacting Support
The Matrikon OPC Customer Services department (www.opcsupport.com) is available 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.
Contact Matrikon OPC Support using the information below, or send an email
([email protected]).
For Monday to Friday daytime support requests, contact Matrikon OPC Support using the regional
phone numbers provided in Table 4.

Region Office Hours Contact Information

North America
8:00 am-5:00 pm +1-877-OPC-4-ALL
UTC/GMT -7 hours (MST)
Europe /Africa * +49-221-969-77-0
9:00 am-5:00 pm
UTC/GMT +1 hours (CET) (Request OPC Support)
Middle East *
9:00 am-5:00 pm +973-174-65363
UTC/GMT +3 hours
Australia/Asia * +61-2-4908-2198
9:00 am-5:00 pm
UTC/GMT +10 hours (AEST) (Request OPC Support)
* Toll-free regional numbers coming soon!
Table 4 - Matrikon OPC Support Regional Contact Information

For after-hours support in all regions, please use either of the following numbers. There is no
extra charge from Matrikon OPC for calling their after-hours support numbers.

Region Contact Information

+1-780-231-9480
All
+1-780-264-6714
Table 5 - After-Hours Support

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 9

Driver Configuration
No driver-specific configuration is necessary for the Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver.
For basic OPC server configuration instructions, please consult the Matrikon OPC Server User’s
Manual.

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 10

OPC Data Items
This section describes the OPC data items used in the Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver.

Simulation Items
The Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver item ID syntax is as follows:
Source Type.Data Type
Where:
 Source Type is the name source the data types belong to.
 Data Type is the name of the item and the data type the item is.

Available Items
Item ID Data Type R W Comments
Bucket Brigade.Int2 VT_I2   Short Read/Write item.
Bucket Brigade.String VT_BSTR   String Read/Write item.
Random.R8 VT_R8  Random Read Real item.
Random value and size of Array of
Random.ArrayOfString VT_ARRAY|VT_BSTR 
String Read item.
Unsigned short Saw-tooth wave
Saw-toothed Waves.UInt2 VT_UI2 
Read item.
Triangle Waves.Int4 VT_I4  Integer Triangle wave Read item.
Currency Triangle wave Read
Triangle Saves.Money VT_CY 
item.
Table 6 - Available Items

Examples
The following are examples of valid item IDs:
 Bucket Brigade.Money
 Random.Real4
 Saw-toothed Waves.ArrayOfReal8

Dynamic Item Creation

The OPC Simulation Driver has the ability to create many more items than can be initially browsed.
Any item that is added under a simulation category is a valid OPC item for the Simulation driver.
For example Bucket Brigade.xxx and Square Waves.yyy are valid items that can be added. The
behaviour of these items that are added will always be the same as the category to which they
belong (e.g., a Bucket Brigade item will be readable and writable but cannot change on its own, a
Saw-Toothed Wave will ramp up to the maximum and then start coming back down). Any new
automatically-created item is of the type VT_BSTR. This enables the Simulation driver to easily
create thousands of tags with data, with no configuration required.

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 11

Limitations
Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver has the following limitation:
1. History – the Simulation driver has limited history and lists only the last 100 values per
item.

Refer to the Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver Release Notes for known issues.

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 12

Alarms and Events Functionality
The Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver can be used to simulate simple events and send notifications
of these events to client applications. The events that can be generated fall into two categories:
 Simulated Event
 Simulated Item Creation Event

Simulated Event
A Simulated Event is generated every time a write operation is performed on a Bucket Brigade
item of type string. An event notification containing the following attributes are sent to the client:

Attribute Description
Bucket Brigade.String, which is a reference to the object that
Source
generated the event notification.
Time The time that the event occurred.
Event Category 1 (set by the driver).
Severity 1 (which indicates a low severity).
Message The string that is written to the Bucket Brigade item by the user.
Table 7 - Simulated Event - Event Notification Attributes

Simulated Item Creation Event

A Simulated Item Creation Event is generated when a new simulation item is created.
Note: This is different than simply adding a pre-defined tag, such as Bucket Brigade.Boolean or
Square Waves.Int1. An example of a new simulation item is Bucket Brigade.xxx or Square
Waves.yyy. Thus, a new simulation item consists of a valid, existing simulation item type and a
period followed by a string that does not refer to a pre-defined data type.
The event notification sent to the A&E client is as follows:

Attribute Description
Simulated item type, which is a reference to the object that
Source
generated the event notification.
Time The time that the event occurred.
Event Category 2 (set by the driver).
Severity 1 (which indicates a low severity).
Message The following string: “New simulation item created.”
Table 8 - Simulated Item Creation Event - Event Notification Attributes

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 13

Historical Data Access Functionality
The Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver is capable of acting as a Historical Data Access server by
caching values in a rolling buffer (which is capable of storing a maximum of 100 items) that can be
read back using function calls contained in the HDA Custom Interface. An HDA client can be used to
connect to the Simulation driver and perform a variety of read and update operations on a variety
of different simulation items. Performing an update operation will write data to the buffer, while
performing a read operation allows the user to view data that is already present in the buffer. The
following table displays the types of operations that can be performed on each simulation item:

Simulation Item Updateable? Readable?

Bucket brigade  
Random  
Read error  
Saw-toothed waves  
Square waves  
Triangle waves  
Write error  
Write only  
Table 9 - Simulated Item Types Supported Operations

The Simulation driver supports a number of HDA read and update functions which are described in
the following sub-sections.

Read Functionality
ReadRaw
Reads the values, qualities, and timestamps from the history buffer fro the specified time domain
for one or more items in a group.
ReadAtTime
Reads the values and qualities from the history buffer for the specified timestamps.
ReadProcessed
Computes aggregate values, qualities, and timestamps from the data in the history buffer for the
specified time domain for one or more items. The aggregate functions are performed during the
retrieval of the data. The aggregate functions supported are:

Aggregation Function Description

Uses the linear straight-line interpolation method to estimate a
Interpolation
value between known values.
Retrieve the time-weighted average data over the resample
Time average
interval.
Retrieve the minimum value in the resample interval and the
Minimum actual time
timestamp of the minimum value.
Minimum Retrieve the minimum value in the resample interval.

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 14

 Aggregation Function Description
Retrieve the maximum value in the resample interval and the
Maximum actual time
timestamp of the maximum value.
Maximum Retrieve the maximum value in the resample interval.
Table 10 - Aggregation Functions Supported by Simulation Driver

ReadAttribute
Reads attribute values and timestamps from the history buffer for the specified time domain for the
item. The item attributes tracked by the Simulation driver are:

Attribute ID Attribute Name Attribute Description

1 data_type Data type.
2 description Item description.
11 normal_maximum High Engineering Units.
12 normal_minimum Low Engineering Units.
13 itemid Item ID.
-5 triangle Triangle wave.
-4 square Square wave.
-3 sawtooth Saw-toothed wave
-2 random Random
-1 bucket Bucket Brigade
Table 11 - Attributes Stored for Each Item by Simulation Driver

Update Functionality
Insert
Inserts values and qualities into the history buffer at the specified timestamps for one or more
items. If data is already present at the insertion point in the butter, the insert operation fails and
the message “data exists” is returned. If the maximum size of the buffer is exceeded (i.e., more
than 200 items exist) as a result of an insert operation, items are deleted from the beginning of the
buffer.
Replace
Replaces values and qualities in the history buffer at the specified timestamps for one or more
items. This operation results in existing data being overwritten. If an attempt to replace a non-
existent data point is made, the misleading error message, “data exists”, is returned and the
replace operation fails.
InsertReplace
Inserts or replaces values and qualities at the specified timestamps for one or more items. If the
item has a value at the specified timestamp, the new value and quality will replace the old one. If
there is no value at that timestamp, the function will insert the new data.

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 15

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver Functionality
Alarm and Event Capabilities
Table 12 lists the events in the OPC Alarms and Events Custom Interface Standard v1.10 that are
supported by the Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver.

Event Supported?
Condition-related Not supported.
Tracking-related Not supported.
Simple 
Table 12 - OPC Alarms and Events v1.10 Events

Historical Data Access Capabilities

Table 13 lists the read functions in the OPC Historical Data Access Custom Interface Standard
v1.20 supported by the Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver.

Supported?
Function
Synchronous Asynchronous
ReadRaw  
ReadProcessed  
ReadAtTime  
ReadModified Not supported. Not supported.
ReadAttribute  
Table 13 - OPC Historical Data Access v1.20 Read Functions

Table 14 lists the update functions in the OPC Historical Data Access Custom Interface Standard
v1.20 supported by the Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver.

Supported?
Function
Synchronous Asynchronous
Insert  
Replace  
InsertReplace  
DeleteRaw Not supported. Not supported.
DeleteAtTime Not supported. Not supported.
Table 14 - OPC Historical Data Access v1.20 Update Functions

Table 15 lists the annotation functions in the OPC Historical Data Access Custom Interface Standard
v1.20 supported by the Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver.

Supported?
Function
Synchronous Asynchronous
Read Not supported. Not supported.

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 16

 Supported?
Function
Synchronous Asynchronous
Insert Not supported. Not supported.
Table 15 - OPC Historical Data Access v1.20 Annotation Functions

Table 16 lists the playback functions in the OPC Historical Data Access Custom Interface Standard
v1.20 supported by the Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver.

Function Supported?
ReadRawWithUpdate Not supported.
ReadProcessedWithUpdate Not supported.
Table 16 - OPC Historical Data Access v1.20 Playback Functions

Matrikon OPC Simulation Driver v1.7.2 User’s Manual 17