Network File Access
The exchange of information via files is still common in automation. Files containing information are used as data packets between systems for asynchronous data exchange. In modern infrastructures, files are also exchanged over the network. The network provides protocols that can be used for secure and authenticated data transfer. The OPC Router's Network File Access plug-in can be used to implement file handling and network-wide file transfer. The plug-in supports FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and SMB (Server Message Block) protocols. FTP can be used to exchange files between file servers in any network, provided they offer a corresponding FTP server service. The SMB protocol is mainly found on Microsoft Windows systems and implements classic drive sharing. The Network File Access plug-in reads, writes, deletes, and moves files. With the OPC Router and its basic components, the data is also processed or generated. Transfer objects are available for data structured as JSON, XML, and CSV. The file contents can be obtained from or transferred to the many OPC Router plug-ins as desired. The Network File Access plug-in provides a simple way to connect systems via their native interfaces.