UaGateway connects to DA-Server, but no items are found

Questions regarding installing, running and configuring UaGateway.

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erg
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UaGateway connects to DA-Server, but no items are found

Post by erg »

Hello.

We are evaluating UaGateway to provide UA-Clients a possibility to connect to an existing DA-Server.

The used OPC DA Server is the 'Saia-Burgess Controls AG & Merz OPC server', version 2.02.17.20 ( https://www.sbc-support.com/de/software/opc-server/ ).

The OPC Server is running and registered, ordinary DA-Clients (like the matrikon opc client) can successfully connect to the DA-Server, browse its items, add them and see the actual data from the PLC.

So we have installed the Unified Automation UaGateway, created the certificates and then started the configuration screen. We were able to successfully add the local DA-Server (showed up under the 'local' node). The UaGateway can successfully connect to the DA-Server (see attached screenshot).

Next, we started the Unified Automation UaExpert. In UaExpert we added the UaGateway Server and established a connection to it. If we then look at the 'Address Space' window we see below the 'Objects' node an entry for the 'Merz.OPC_SAIA_S-BUS.1.' server, but no items are shown.

We would be glad for any hints what could be wrong.

Notes:
- Its running on Windows 7 prof. 64bit.
- UaGateway is registered to run as auser with Administrative privileges, UAC is disabled.
- When I Stop Ua-Gateway, and then start it again, I see in ProcessExplorer that an instance of the corresponding DA-Server gets started (SBCSBus.exe and SCommDrv52.exe).
- Attached is a trace-file of the UA-Gateway.

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Support Team
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Re: UaGateway connects to DA-Server, but no items are found

Post by Support Team »

Hi,

The connection establishment to the server works fine and we cannot see any unexpected error or behaviour during connect.

But a call to BrowseOPCItemIDs always returns S_False (0x1) which means no browse results returned.
We call the method without any filter and with OPC_BRANCH and with OPC_LEAF on root. We have no idea what can go wrong here inside the server.

Code: Select all

12:08:07.051Z|4|1590* CALL IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace::BrowseOPCItemIDs
12:08:07.051Z|4|1590* DONE IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace::BrowseOPCItemIDs [hr=0x1]
12:08:07.051Z|4|1590* CALL IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace::BrowseOPCItemIDs
12:08:07.052Z|4|1590* DONE IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace::BrowseOPCItemIDs [hr=0x1]
Do you have a way to check the server log?

Best Regards,
Unified Automation Support Team

Dominik
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Re: UaGateway connects to DA-Server, but no items are found

Post by Dominik »

Please follow these steps:
1. Stop OPC server, be sure in task manager that OPC server process is stopped
2. Start registry editor and carefully delete all entries in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\MERZ
3. Start OPC server´s configuration tool with privileges “As administrator” and mark your configuration as registered

All entries from OPC server (configuration, license) has to be written into HKLM location.
********************
Reason:
The problem with browsing can be caused by wrong registration of OPC servers´s configuration *.sbcfg file.
The correct place where path to *.sbcfg file has to be stored in windows registry is here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\MERZ\Merz SBC OPC S-Bus Server
The HKLM location is used only when you start configuration tool with administrator privileges (“Run as administrator”)

If you start program as standard user then Windows will redirect HKLM to per-user location
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\MERZ\Merz SBC OPC S-Bus Server

You can get more information about it here
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/window ... ualization

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Re: UaGateway connects to DA-Server, but no items are found

Post by Support Team »

Thank you for the answers.

To make this very clear, there are two steps for troubleshooting:

1) when connecting the UaGateway to an underlying COM DA Server, and the Configuration Tool shows ServerStatus: "connected", everything is just fine (correct configuration, no isuues with permissions, UaGateway is happy, underlying server is up and running, so far so good). Only if the ServerStatus is: "Trying Reconnect", you have an issue/missconfiguration between UaGateway and DA Server.

2) However if 1) says "connected", and if you browse into the entry node (where UaGateway mappes the address space of the underlying server) and you can still see NO Items here (empty folder), there must be an issue between the COM DA Server and the real data source (has nothing to do with the UaGateway).

Reason mostly is caused by misconfigured COM DA Server, which itself is again only wrapper on an underlying component being (not) connected to the data source, hence the OPC DA Server may be just fine, but istself has no access to the real data source. In this case you must check the configuration of this underlying DA Server.
Best regards
Unified Automation Support Team

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