What's New in 5.6

Version 5.6 shortens the path from a blank project to a running system: The Solution Gallery provides fully configured solutions that you simply need to parameterize. In addition, several steps are no longer part of the configuration process—OPC data points can be determined at runtime, addresses are generated from a base path, and items in the internal OPC UA server can be created at runtime. This page describes a typical use case for each new feature, along with the configuration steps, prerequisites, and reference pages. At the end, you’ll find what’s changing for existing projects .

New Feature	What is it for?
Solution Gallery	Adopt preconfigured projects instead of recreating them
Your Own Solutions	Deploy proven solutions and share them within the company
OPC Data Points at Runtime	Read and write without configuring the data point list
Items in the OPC UA Server at Runtime	Describe read-only items, creating new items
Status display with filter and export	Narrowing down and exporting messages, and identifying special cases in the connection status
Additional new features	Extending and upgrading licenses, pronubes connection

Solution Gallery

Use Case: A configuration that has existed in a similar form many times before—such as OPC UA integrated into a database, with notifications in case of faults—should be available without anyone having to configure it from scratch.

Here’s how to configure it:

1. Open the Solution Gallery. It displays preconfigured projects and subprojects along with their descriptions.
2. Click Use Solution. The dialog lists the parameters used to adapt the solution to your environment—the help icon next to each parameter explains what to enter.
3. Click OK to confirm. The solution is imported into your configuration and can then be further customized just like any other project.

Prerequisites and Limitations: The Solution Gallery provided by inray is available without any additional settings. The environment variable OR_SOLUTION_GALLERY controls which sources are loaded; each source is the URL of a ZIP file with a valid Solution Gallery structure.

Reference: Solution Gallery · Connecting Sources

Custom Solutions

Use Case: A project configuration that has proven effective in-house should be made available to other locations or customer projects without anyone having to copy it.

Here’s how to set it up: Creating a solution involves three steps—selecting appropriate project components, transferring the files into the specified Solution Gallery structure, and defining the variable values as parameters so that the solution remains reusable across different projects. Provide the finished structure as a ZIP file and enter its URL at OR_SOLUTION_GALLERY.

Reference: Create a solution · Solution Gallery structure

{#opc-dynamisch} OPC data points at runtime

Use Case: The decision about which data points to read is made only during operation—for example, because a database or a higher-level system provides the list. Previously, every address had to be specified in the dialog.

Here’s how to configure it: Drag OPC Dynamic Read or OPC Dynamic Write into the flow. In the dialog, do not configure a data point list; instead, configure only the OPC connection. The flow passes the addresses at runtime.

Reference: OPC Dynamic Read · OPC Dynamic Write

{#opc-server-schreiben} items in the OPC UA server at runtime

Use Case: A value needs to be written to the OPC Router’s internal OPC UA server, even though the item is stored there as read-only—or the item does not yet exist because operational use will determine which items are needed.

How to configure this: Use the OPC Server Write Transfer Object. It also handles items stored as read-only and creates items in the address space at runtime as needed.

Reference: OPC Server Write Transfer Object

Status Display with Filter and Export

Use Case: After an outage, you want to review what the service reported—and the results should be sent to someone who does not have access to the router.

Here’s how to do it: In the service status event log, filter the messages by severity—Info, Warning, Error, Critical—or search using free text. Click Download to export the displayed entries as an Excel file. The plug-in status can also be filtered by message type and downloaded.

Two additional colors in the connection status: A purple transfer point indicates a transfer that runs via Store and Forward —it appears as soon as the transfer is complete and the data is temporarily stored, regardless of whether it has already been retransmitted. A yellow transfer point indicates a transfer that was classified as a warning, such as when a query transfer object was aborted due to an empty result; you can specify whether such a case is classified as yellow or red in the query section of the transfer object.

Reference: Service status · Plug-in status · Flow status

More New Features

Renew and Upgrade Your License. The licensing section now explicitly describes both options: When renewing, the same license—with the same OPC Router ID—is renewed in the license portal; the new key is automatically added to your account and does not need to be entered. Expanding your license to include plug-ins, add-ons, or a higher license tier follows the same process. It also explains what happens at the end of a subscription: configuration and diagnostic functions are deactivated, while any production processes already running will continue temporarily. The license tiers are also broken down with their respective scopes. Reference: Licensing · License Tiers

pronubes: automatic login and automatic connection. If the Automatic Login in Remote Management option is enabled, a user who is registered in pronubes Management and in the router logs in without having to re-enter credentials. Regardless of this, the OPC Router can establish a connection to a pronubes Management tenant on its own upon startup—it will then automatically appear in that tenant’s inbox without requiring manual registration. This is configured via environment variables, which is particularly important for container installations. Reference: pronubes Connectivity · Configurable Environment Variables

What’s Changing for Existing Projects

• The Solution Gallery loads from configurable sources. Without OR_SOLUTION_GALLERY, it uses the gallery provided by inray; if you enter your own sources, they will override the default.
• Once imported, a solution becomes your project. It is integrated into the configuration and maintained there—subsequent changes to the source solution are not automatically propagated.
• The connection status now includes two new colors. Purple and yellow were not previously used there: Anyone who automatically evaluates the status or uses screenshots as a reference has not yet accounted for them.
• An expired subscription stops service, but does not immediately halt operations. Configuration and diagnostic functions are disabled, but ongoing production continues temporarily—be sure to renew in a timely manner.