lmxopcua/CLAUDE.md

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Project Goal

Build an OPC UA server on .NET Framework 4.8 (32-bit) that exposes AVEVA System Platform (Wonderware) Galaxy tags via the MXAccess toolkit. The server mirrors the Galaxy object hierarchy as an OPC UA address space, translating between contained-name browse paths and tag-name runtime references.

Architecture Overview

Data Flow

1. Galaxy Repository DB (ZB) — SQL Server database holding the deployed object hierarchy and attribute definitions. Queried at startup and on change detection to build/rebuild the OPC UA address space.
2. MXAccess COM API — Runtime data access layer. Subscribes to Galaxy tag attributes for live read/write. Requires a dedicated STA thread with a Win32 message pump for COM callbacks.
3. OPC UA Server — Exposes the hierarchy as browse nodes and attributes as variable nodes. Clients browse via contained names but reads/writes are translated to tag_name.AttributeName format for MXAccess.

Key Concept: Contained Name vs Tag Name

Galaxy objects have two names:

• contained_name — human-readable name scoped to parent (used for OPC UA browse tree)
• tag_name — globally unique system name (used for MXAccess read/write)

Example: browsing TestMachine_001/DelmiaReceiver/DownloadPath translates to MXAccess reference DelmiaReceiver_001.DownloadPath.

See gr/layout.md for the full mapping and target OPC UA structure.

Data Type Mapping

Galaxy mx_data_type values map to OPC UA types (Boolean, Int32, Float, Double, String, DateTime, etc.). Array attributes use ValueRank=1 with ArrayDimensions from the Galaxy attribute definition. Full mapping in gr/data_type_mapping.md.

Change Detection

Poll galaxy.time_of_last_deploy in the ZB database to detect redeployments, then rebuild the address space. See gr/build_layout_plan.md for the step-by-step plan.

Reference Implementation

An existing MXAccess client implementation is at: C:\Users\dohertj2\Desktop\scadalink-design\lmxproxy\src\ZB.MOM.WW.LmxProxy.Host

Key patterns from that codebase:

• StaComThread — Dedicated STA thread with Win32 message pump (GetMessage/DispatchMessage loop). All MXAccess COM objects must be created and called on this thread. Uses PostThreadMessage(WM_APP) to marshal work items.
• LMXProxyServer COM object — Register(clientName) returns a connection handle. AddItem(handle, address) + AdviseSupervisory(handle, itemHandle) for subscriptions. OnDataChange/OnWriteComplete events for callbacks.
• Reconnect — Stored subscriptions are replayed after reconnect. A probe tag subscription monitors connection health.
• COM cleanup — Marshal.ReleaseComObject() on disconnect. Event handlers must be unwired before unregister.

MXAccess Documentation

mxaccess_documentation.md in the project root contains the full ArchestrA MXAccess Toolkit User's Guide. Key API: ArchestrA.MxAccess namespace, LMXProxyServer class. The toolkit DLLs are in Program Files (x86)\ArchestrA\Framework\bin.

Galaxy Repository Database

Connection: sqlcmd -S localhost -d ZB -E (Windows Auth). See gr/connectioninfo.md.

The gr/ folder contains:

• queries/ — SQL for hierarchy extraction, attribute lookup, and change detection
• ddl/tables/ and ddl/views/ — Schema definitions
• schema.md — Full table/view reference
• build_layout_plan.md — Step-by-step plan for building the OPC UA address space from DB queries
• gr/CLAUDE.md — Detailed guidance for working within the gr/ subfolder

Key tables: gobject (hierarchy/deployment), template_definition (object categories), dynamic_attribute (user-defined attributes), primitive_instance (primitive-to-attribute links), galaxy (change detection).

Build Commands

dotnet restore ZB.MOM.WW.LmxOpcUa.slnx
dotnet build ZB.MOM.WW.LmxOpcUa.slnx
dotnet test ZB.MOM.WW.LmxOpcUa.slnx                          # all tests
dotnet test tests/ZB.MOM.WW.LmxOpcUa.Tests                    # unit tests only
dotnet test tests/ZB.MOM.WW.LmxOpcUa.IntegrationTests         # integration tests only
dotnet test --filter "FullyQualifiedName~MyTestClass.MyMethod"  # single test

Build & Runtime Constraints

• Language: C#, .NET Framework 4.8, x86 (32-bit) platform target — required for MXAccess COM interop
• MXAccess requires a deployed ArchestrA Platform on the machine running the server
• COM apartment: MXAccess objects must live on an STA thread with a message pump

Library Preferences

• Logging: Serilog with rolling daily file sink
• Unit tests: xUnit + Shouldly for assertions
• Service hosting: TopShelf (Windows service install/uninstall/run as console)
• OPC UA: OPC Foundation UA .NET Standard stack (https://github.com/opcfoundation/ua-.netstandard) — NuGet: OPCFoundation.NetStandard.Opc.Ua.Server

OPC UA .NET Standard Documentation

Use the DeepWiki MCP (mcp__deepwiki) to query documentation for the OPC UA .NET Standard stack: https://deepwiki.com/OPCFoundation/UA-.NETStandard. Tools: read_wiki_structure, read_wiki_contents, and ask_question with repo OPCFoundation/UA-.NETStandard.

Testing

Use the dotnet OPC UA CLI tool at tools/opcuacli-dotnet/ for manual testing against the running OPC UA server. Supports connect, read, write, subscribe, and browse commands. See tools/opcuacli-dotnet/README.md for usage details.

cd tools/opcuacli-dotnet
dotnet run -- connect -u opc.tcp://localhost:4840
dotnet run -- browse -u opc.tcp://localhost:4840 -r -d 3
dotnet run -- read -u opc.tcp://localhost:4840 -n "ns=2;s=SomeNode"
dotnet run -- subscribe -u opc.tcp://localhost:4840 -n "ns=2;s=SomeNode" -i 500

OPC PLC Sample Server

A test OPC UA server is available at tools/opcsampleserver/ (Azure IoT OPC PLC). It generates simulated data nodes (slow, fast, anomaly, GUID) on opc.tcp://localhost:50000. Must run from the publish directory or use the provided batch scripts. Requires --unsecuretransport flag for the CLI tool to connect. See tools/opcsampleserver/README.md for full details.

# Start the test server
cd tools/opcsampleserver/publish && dotnet opcplc.dll --pn=50000 --autoaccept --unsecuretransport --sn=5 --sr=10 --st=uint --fn=5 --fr=1 --ft=uint

# Or use the batch script
tools/opcsampleserver/start-server.bat