Frequently Asked Questions about OPC Labs Software

Is it possible to pay for the product via money transfer to a bank account?

Yes, this is possible, with a pre-paid invoice. Please email us your purchase order (please use the product names/codes/prices from www.opclabs.com/Purchase), stating your company details. E-mail message is sufficient, we do not require a formalized document. We will then send you a commercial invoice, together with instructions for international bank transfer.

You can also initiate an online payment on our Purchase pages through the MyCommerce service, and select a Wire transfer when asked for the payment type. This way, you will receive a proforma invoice automatically and immediately.

When we receive your purchase order, we can also send you a 30-day temporary license immediately. After the invoice is paid, we will send you a permanent license for the product.

Do you have a demo version available?

Yes. It is the downloadable software that you find on our Web site, and it automatically installs itself with a "trial license". You can utilize all features of the product without limitations. The live OPC data only "go through" for 30 minutes. After that, the application that uses the component needs to be restarted in order to obtain valid data again, and so over, if needed.

If you need run time longer than 30 minutes for testing out the product, explain your situation and ask us for an evaluation license key, which has the run-time limitation lifted, and is instead limited by an absolute day in the future. We will provide you with the evaluation license key free of charge.

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What is your versioning policy?

We typically release 2 to 4 new versions per year, with added functionality. Between the version releases, if a major problem is found, we also release new builds. When you purchase the product, your license is for any build of the version that is current at the time of the purchase, any older version, or any version that we release up to 60 days after the date of purchase. We normally fix bugs only in the latest version of the software.

If you need a new version that is not covered by your license, you need to purchase a version upgrade, which is currently priced at 85% of the new license price, unless you have also purchased Upgrade Assurance (see below) with your product. If you are in the upgrade assurance period, version upgrades are free of charge.

What is the 1/2/3/4/5/6 years Upgrade Assurance?

With it, you are entitled to all new versions of the software we release during the chosen period, free of charge. The upgrade assurance term can later be extended.

Note: All customers may freely download and use new builds (with bug fixes) of the same version they have purchased, even without having purchased the upgrade assurance. Note that we do not normally make bug fixes to older versions if there is already a new version released.

Do you have a list of released versions, and how do I download them?

You can find a table of software versions, together with their release dates, requirements, download links, and summary of changes, here.

How long do you offer security fixes for your versions (i.e. without upgrades to a new version)?

We only provide bugfixes or security fixes to the current version. If such fix is necessary, it is labeled as a new build of the same version.

Do you ensure the backward compatibility of bugfixes, security fixes or even feature-upgrades (i. e. do we need to adapt our code to modified interfaces)?

The bugfixes or security fixes do not change the API.

There is never an API change inside the same version.

New versions (with feature upgrades) are generally backward compatible. We keep breaking changes to minimum, but cannot completely avoid them. If they happen, they are usually in less-used parts, and the changes needed in your code are trivial. Such changes are documented in the "What's New" document that comes with a new version - you can access those documents from the Knowledge Base - Version Table.

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I have purchased the product, but will start using it only after some time. Do I have to install the license immediately?

No.

What happens if I activate the license, and the hard disk then crashes or is accidentally reformatted?

Restoration of licenses is easy. If your hard disk crashes or is accidentally reformatted, there is no "activation counter" that would penalize you. You do not "lose" the license; simply locate the original license key and reinstall it to a new disk or computer. License transfer is easy, too: You do not need to deactivate a license on one computer first in order to install it onto a second computer.

If I choose a lower product edition, can I upgrade to a higher edition later?

Yes, you can do that at any time, and only for the difference in the costs of the two editions. For the edition upgrade, however, you must own a license to the current software version, so if you do not have that (and are not covered by Upgrade Assurance), you will have to perform a version upgrade first (currently at 85% of the new license price).

How does your licensing scheme check the number of users or computers?

Such conditions are not technically enforced. The license keys are neither "tied" to computers, nor do the software instances communicate between them or to anybody about their license usage. It is your legal responsibility to use software in line with the conditions of the license type you have purchased.

It is good to know that in "Single Developer + Runtime Free" license, "Developer" is a person, not a computer. The developer can install the software (and the license key) on any number of computers he/she need for the development, and doing so is perfectly compliant with the license terms.

Do you offer a "source code" license type?

Unfortunately not.

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Is the product well documented, and where are the examples?

All our products are extensively documented. The documentation is available online. QuickOPC reference documentation can also integrate with Visual Studio.

When you install the product using the setup program, it installs example code with it. Many examples are also included directly in the documentation. If you prefer to use NuGet, we have NuGet packages which contain the sample code, too.

How do you provide technical support?

Use our Online Forums for all technical issues. We reply to every post. Make sure you choose the right category, properly distinguishing the product, the platform (such .NET or COM), and the communication technology (such as OPC UA or OPC Classic). Rules for forums posts.

There is no guaranteed or paid support option. We support all our customers to the best of our capabilities. You can also use our support if you have not made the purchase yet. Support for older versions of the software is limited.

I have a technical support issue which contains information that I do not want to become public on the Online Forums. What should I do?

Post the general part of the issue on the Online Forums as normally, indicating that there are confidential parts pending. We will then initiate an email conversation with the confidential parts, while keeping the general part public.

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What are the benefits of using QuickOPC, in comparison to other libraries?

There are many - see the dedicated Benefits page (in our Knowledge Base).

Will QuickOPC reconnect automatically if the OPC server is rebooted?

Yes. If the QuickOPC client loses connection to the OPC server unexpectedly, it will attempt to reconnect automatically after a configurable delay. In OPC "Classic", for example, this delay (in milliseconds) is in EasyDAClient.ClientParameters.ClientReconnectDelay property that you can configure as needed. Note that in some similar situations (such as when the OPC server explicitly asks the clients to disconnect - which may also be the case with some OPC server during ordinary system shutdown, or when it indicates server failure through GetServerStatus), different delays apply, but the principle remains the same; QuickOPC will always attempt to reconnect. This is one of the features that distinguishes QuickOPC from other tools.

I bought QuickOPC unlimited runtime, do I still need to install a runtime license on each computer I deploy to?

Yes. With "Single Developer + Runtime Free License", you use the same license file for "runtimes" as provided for the developer's machine. Suggested related reading is the "Application Deployment" chapter in the "Concepts" document. The license installation is usually done using License Manager.

Is a simulation OPC server included with QuickOPC?

Yes. Our own simulation server (a "Kit Server") is included for OPC Data Access and for OPC Alarms&Events. For OPC Unified Architecture, test servers (from OPC Foundation) are provided on the Internet. You can therefore immediately test any examples, or prototypes of your own code, without having to install any 3rd-party tool.

Are there separate products for OPC-DA, OPC-A&E, OPC UA, and so on?

No. We have separate (but integrated) software components for the various OPC specifications, but they are all delivered as a single product. When you buy QuickOPC, you will always receive components for all supported OPC specs, regardless of the QuickOPC license type. This also preserves your investment in case you need to start e.g. with OPC "Classic" (COM/DCOM-based) servers, but plan to use OPC Unified Architecture in the future.

How is it with OPC interoperability and compliance of the products?

OPC products are internally tested with wide range of OPC servers and clients. As an active member of the OPC Foundation, we also test our products regularly and intensively on the so-called OPC Interoperability Workshops (results are available on the OPC Foundation Website) and PlugFests.

QuickOPC is certified for OPC-UA compliance by the official OPC testing laboratory. QuickOPC also holds other OPC compliance logos.

Where is the list of OPC Specifications, OPC UA Profiles supported, and other such material important for evaluating suitability of the toolkit?

You can find this information in the User's Guide under following links:

• Supported OPC Specifications
• Supported OPC UA Profiles
• Supported OPC UA Services
• Supported OPC UA Security Policies

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How do you publish security vulnerabilities? Can you ensure to publish known vulnerabilities within a certain time?

Relevant vulnerabilities are posted on our Knowledge Base in the Security Bulletins category, with whatever info necessary to deal with them.

The products combine our own code and some libraries - mainly, the OPC UA .NET stack from OPC Foundation. We generally update our product to the latest version of the UA stack (or other libraries), but there may be some lag. The version of the UA stack used within a particular software version is listed in the documentation, and you can track the UA stack for any issues. If a really critical issue appears, we would react and take over the fixed stack ASAP.

Severe security vulnerabilities in other parts of the code are less likely (because the code does not make the direct communication), but of course still possible. If reported to us, we deal with them in the same "industry standard way", that is, address them in reasonable time (which is usually several weeks), and then publish them, together the with the mitigation or resolution.

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