Connect OPC UA clients and servers through firewalls without a VPN

Carry OPC UA traffic over WebSockets to connect OPC UA clients and servers across networks and firewalls.

$100 · Free trial · 30 minutes

OPC UA × EasyIoT

Your OPC UA servers on EasyIoT dashboards, live, in minutes.

The OPC UA WebSocket Bridge links PLCs, SCADA servers and KEPServerEX to EasyIoT . Install it once on a Windows machine in your plant network, point it at your OPC UA servers, and every EasyIoT dashboard can browse tags, show live values and write setpoints, encrypted and with no code.

  • ✓ No code, no OPC UA client in the browser
  • ✓ Encrypted end to end
  • ✓ Automatic backup-server failover
  • ✓ Many plants from one service

Why the bridge

The missing link between the plant floor and the web.

EasyIoT builds dashboards in the browser. OPC UA lives in the plant, behind firewalls, certificates and binary protocols a browser cannot speak. The bridge closes that gap, so your engineers spend their time on dashboards rather than on plumbing.

Live from day one

Values are pushed by OPC UA subscriptions the moment they change, never polled. A gauge on EasyIoT moves when the machine moves.

Secure by design

Encrypted wss:// to the dashboard, Sign & Encrypt to the plant, a login per connection, and plant passwords that never leave the bridge.

Always on

A Windows service that starts with the machine, reconnects on its own, and fails over to your backup OPC UA server when the main one stops answering.

Managed from a browser

Add servers, test them, trust certificates, watch status lights and manage users from a web interface, with an audit trail of every sensitive change.

How it works

One bridge between your plant and every dashboard.

The bridge keeps one OPC UA session per server and shares it among every dashboard that is open. The EasyIoT page in each viewer's browser opens an encrypted WebSocket straight to the bridge, so live values travel inside your own network.

What you can build

Every EasyIoT widget can speak OPC UA.

Once the bridge is set on a dashboard's Data tab, any widget that takes a topic also takes an OPC UA node id, such as ns=2;s=Line1.Speed , and EasyIoT's own tag browser lists what the server offers.

Control-room screens

Gauges, values and trends for every line, updating live from the PLC.

OPC UA tag monitor

A table of tags with value, data type and timestamp, picked from the tag browser.

Plant status at a glance

The OPC UA Status widget shows connected, connecting or server down, and disconnected.

Operator controls

Buttons that write setpoints and commands back to the plant, within the rights the OPC UA server grants.

Equipment, 3D and maps

Tank levels, pump states, 3D models and asset maps driven by live tag values.

Several plants

One bridge serves many OPC UA servers, each on its own port, for as many dashboards as you need.

Quick start

From OPC UA server to EasyIoT dashboard.

You need a Windows machine that can reach your OPC UA server, administrator rights on it, and an EasyIoT account. About fifteen minutes. Click any picture to see it full size.

1. Install and connect to the plant

  • 1 Run Setup Run OPCUAWebSocketBridge-Setup-1.0.0.exe as an administrator. On the Ports page keep the defaults unless another program uses them: administration on 5000 (HTTP) and 5443 (HTTPS), connections on 5001–5020 . Setup checks that the ports are free, installs the Windows service and opens the firewall. Setup: choose the ports.
  • 2 Create the administrator and activate the license Open http://localhost:5000 and create the first administrator. There is no default password. On the License page, send your Machine ID to your supplier and paste the activation key you receive. Without a license you can evaluate everything, but each connection stops 30 minutes after it starts. First run: create the administrator. License: send the Machine ID, paste the key.
  • 3 Add your OPC UA server and test it On Connections , choose Add a connection . Enter a Name , a Client-facing port such as 5001 , and the Server address . Add a Backup server address if the plant has a redundant server. Press Test now : the light turns green when the server answers, and a failed test names the problem and the fix. For a secured server, set the Security tab and trust its certificate on the Certificates page. Add the server, press Test now: green means it answers.

2. Open it to EasyIoT

  • 4 Turn on encryption (wss://) EasyIoT is served over https , and browsers only let an https page open an encrypted socket. Set Browser transport to wss:// only , or Both to keep ws:// for local pages on a second port. The line under the field shows the address dashboards use. Browser transport: wss:// only.
  • 5 Make the browsers trust the bridge's certificate On Certificates → Browser encryption , either upload your company's certificate or choose one installed in Windows (browsers that trust your company accept it at once), or keep the self-signed one, press Download certificate (.cer) and install it on each viewing PC under Trusted Root Certification Authorities . The address viewers use must be in Names it covers ; add it under Extra names if not. The certificate, the names it covers, and the download button.
  • 6 Allow EasyIoT, set a login, and start On the Behaviour tab, set Allowed browser origins to https://easyiot.autonexiot.com . On the Security tab, set Client login to Required with a user name and password for your dashboards. Save, then press Start : the state turns Connected . Allow EasyIoT as a browser origin. Client login: Required, with a user name and password. Started: Connected, with a green light for the server. Optional: check the values before you build. Open http://localhost:5000/ , choose Browse tags , tick a few tags and add them: they update live, and their node ids are the ones EasyIoT will use. Live tags in the bridge's own page, with their node ids.

3. Build the dashboard

  • 7 Point the dashboard at the bridge In EasyIoT , open your dashboard's Data tab → OPC UA Bridge and fill in: EasyIoT field Value Protocol wss:// (encrypted) Bridge Host The bridge machine's name or IP, as covered by its certificate, e.g. bridge01.plant.local Port The connection's wss:// port, e.g. 5001 Path /opcua Username / Password The client login from step 6 Update every (ms) The update rate for this dashboard, e.g. 500 Press Connect & Preview . The pill reads Live when the bridge is connected and its OPC UA server is up.
  • 8 Pick tags and bind widgets Open the OPC UA Tags browser in EasyIoT's left panel. Select a widget and press Use beside a tag, or type a node id such as ns=2;s=Line1.Speed where the widget asks for a topic. Add an OPC UA Monitor for a live tag table and an OPC UA Status light. Save and share the dashboard.

If EasyIoT cannot connect: open https://<bridge-host>:<port>/ in the same browser. A certificate warning there is the reason: the certificate is not trusted, or does not cover that host name. Also check that the viewing PC can reach the bridge on that port, and that https://easyiot.autonexiot.com is an allowed origin. Some browsers ask before letting a website reach devices on your local network; allow it.

Live values stay on your network. The EasyIoT page runs in the viewer's browser and connects directly to the bridge, so each viewer's PC needs network access to the bridge machine. To view dashboards from outside the plant, publish the bridge's wss:// port through your VPN or reverse proxy, never as an unencrypted port.

Advice

Getting the most out of it.

What works well in production, and what to stay away from.

Do

Every dashboard and every viewer shares it. Add connections per server, never per dashboard.

It is trusted everywhere already, so no viewer installs anything. Keep the self-signed one for pilots.

Sign & Encrypt with a dedicated OPC UA user that may write only what dashboards should write. The server enforces it.

500–1000 ms suits most dashboards; faster only where people really watch fast changes.

Test both addresses and trust both certificates. Put an OPC UA Status widget on key dashboards.

C:\ProgramData\OpcUaWsBridge holds the configuration, license and certificates. Treat it as a credential.

Avoid

The browser blocks it from an https page, and it would carry values and passwords in the clear.

List https://easyiot.autonexiot.com and your own sites only.

A development shortcut. In production, trust each server's certificate on the Certificates page.

Setup and the Bridge Manager check them for you; if the service will not start, the Event Log names the port.

Reach it from outside through a VPN or reverse proxy with TLS, not an open port.

Requirements

What you need.

The bridge machine

Network

Editions

A license is issued for one machine and may limit how many connections run at once. Evaluation runs every feature, with each connection stopping 30 minutes after it starts.

Put your plant on EasyIoT today.

Install the bridge, connect your OPC UA server, and build your first live dashboard in under fifteen minutes.

Contact us