Industrial Communications
Communication protocols and standards in automation: OPC, MQTT, REST API, Modbus, PROFINET and more.
OPC DA and OPC UA standards: KEPServer, RSLinx, Simatic Net, OFS, DAServer, TwinCAT OPC configuration and more.
OPC DA (Data Access) is the classic COM/DCOM-based variant for real-time communication between OPC servers and clients. Widely supported by major PLC and SCADA manufacturers.
OPC UA (Unified Architecture) is the cross-platform, secure successor to OPC DA. It does not depend on COM/DCOM, includes a semantic information model and native encryption. It is the recommended standard for new installations and Industry 4.0.
Lightweight publish/subscribe messaging protocol, ideal for industrial IoT and IIoT applications.
MQTT operates over TCP/IP with a central broker model where clients publish and subscribe to topics. Its low bandwidth consumption makes it ideal for M2M communications and edge computing.
Broker configuration (Mosquitto, HiveMQ), MQTT clients on Siemens/Allen Bradley PLCs, and connection with SCADA platforms and cloud historians.
Integration of industrial systems with web services through REST APIs. Connecting PLCs, SCADAs, and historians with modern applications.
REST APIs allow automation systems to communicate with web applications, cloud databases, and external services using standard HTTP/HTTPS, facilitating vertical integration in IIoT architectures.
One of the most established and widely used protocols in industrial automation: serial (RTU/ASCII) and Ethernet (TCP).
Modbus RTU is transmitted over RS-232/RS-485 and is the de-facto standard for drives, instrumentation, and field devices. Modbus TCP encapsulates the same protocol over Ethernet networks.
Available articles: Modbus RTU network simulation, frame analysis with Wireshark, and security testing over Modbus TCP.
Monitoring and management of industrial network devices (switches, routers, gateways) from monitoring systems.
SNMP allows querying and configuring network devices via MIB OIDs. It is the standard protocol for monitoring plant network infrastructure: interface status, traffic, and hardware alarms.
Concepts, simulation, and analysis of Ethernet networks applied to the industrial environment.
Industrial network design with redundant topologies, VLAN configuration, STP/RSTP protocol to prevent broadcast storms, and simulation with GNS3 before deploying to production.