Operations
The OPC Router consists of two program components: Web Management, where configuration takes place, and the runtime environment, which executes the flows. In addition, there is the project database. How these components are started and stopped depends on the installation method.
Windows: the three services
The Windows Setup program configures three services, each with the startup type set to “Automatic”:
| Service | |
|---|---|
OPCRouter5-MongoDB | The local project database. |
OPCRouter5-Management | Web Management. Requires the database service. |
OPCRouter5-Service | The runtime that executes the flows. Requires the database and management services. |
These dependencies determine the startup order: when starting, the database runs first, followed by management, then the runtime; when stopping, the order is reversed—OPCRouter5-Service first, then OPCRouter5-Management. The services are managed in the Windows Services Manager.
Immediately after installation, the runtime does not run because no engineering has been completed yet. After the initial engineering configuration—and after every update—start it manually once using the button in the router configuration. After that, it will start automatically with every system boot, and the restart required when going live will occur automatically.
Service Account
If the OPC Router is to access third-party systems using Windows authentication—such as distributed OPC Classic servers or databases with integrated security—the runtime service OPCRouter5-Service must run under a user account that is authorized to access the target system; a dedicated domain account with the minimum required permissions is recommended. Instructions on how to set this up and the permissions the account requires can be found at Windows-Benutzerkonto für Dienste .
Apply Changed Environment Variables
A running service can only access the environment variables that were present at startup. Therefore, after making changes to the system environment variables, restart OPCRouter5-Service and OPCRouter5-Management—see Configurable Environment Variables.
Container: one container for both program components
Web Management, the runtime, and—in the case of the runtime image—the integrated database all run together in the Docker container. Therefore, there are no individually controllable services: the container is started, stopped, and restarted as a whole, for example with docker restart. The container also does not read modified environment variables or replaced certificates until the next startup.
Whether a container restarts after a host restart or a crash is controlled by Docker’s restart policy, not by the OPC Router. In the Docker Compose examples in this manual, it is set to restart: unless-stopped.