Dynamic

OPC UA vs OPC Classic

Developers should learn OPC UA when working on industrial automation, IoT, or smart manufacturing projects that require standardized communication between heterogeneous systems, such as PLCs, SCADA, MES, and cloud platforms meets developers should learn opc classic when working on industrial automation, manufacturing execution systems (mes), or supervisory control and data acquisition (scada) projects that require integration of legacy equipment or systems relying on windows-based communication. Here's our take.

🧊Nice Pick

OPC UA

Developers should learn OPC UA when working on industrial automation, IoT, or smart manufacturing projects that require standardized communication between heterogeneous systems, such as PLCs, SCADA, MES, and cloud platforms

OPC UA

Nice Pick

Developers should learn OPC UA when working on industrial automation, IoT, or smart manufacturing projects that require standardized communication between heterogeneous systems, such as PLCs, SCADA, MES, and cloud platforms

Pros

  • +It is essential for ensuring data integrity, security, and scalability in environments with diverse equipment from multiple vendors, and it supports use cases like predictive maintenance, remote monitoring, and data analytics
  • +Related to: industrial-automation, iot-protocols

Cons

  • -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

OPC Classic

Developers should learn OPC Classic when working on industrial automation, manufacturing execution systems (MES), or supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) projects that require integration of legacy equipment or systems relying on Windows-based communication

Pros

  • +It is essential for scenarios involving real-time monitoring, data logging, and control of industrial processes where interoperability between diverse devices from multiple vendors is critical, though it is being gradually replaced by OPC UA in modern implementations
  • +Related to: opc-ua, industrial-automation

Cons

  • -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. OPC UA is a protocol while OPC Classic is a platform. We picked OPC UA based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

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The Bottom Line
OPC UA wins

Based on overall popularity. OPC UA is more widely used, but OPC Classic excels in its own space.

Disagree with our pick? nice@nicepick.dev