Network capability
Communication components should not run locally on the visualisation computer, but should be addressed via a network.
In general:
- VisiWin drivers are not network-compatible.
- OPC servers are specified as network-capable. Up to specification 3.0 (OPC-DA), OPC servers used DCOM (Distributed COM) for their network capability. However, DCOM in particular has proved to be a glaring security gap in the Windows operating system in recent years and is no longer being further developed by Microsoft itself. In practice, the use of these OPC servers in the network must therefore be viewed critically from a security point of view. OPC servers of the newer generation (OPC UA), on the other hand, provide their own communication stack whose security lines can be configured largely independently of the operating system.
| Network constellation * |
Standard runtime (Windows XP) |
Compact runtime (Windows CE) |
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* Visualisations as server/client projects are not listed here. They do not include the network connection between the variable server and the communication component, but between the visualisation interface and the variable server. Of course, this additional network capability can be combined with the options listed above.