node-red-contrib-iiot-opcua-gem 4.3.0
Enhanced Industrial IoT OPC UA toolbox for Node-RED with array support and dynamic enable/disable features - GEM edition
node-red-contrib-iiot-opcua-gem
Enhanced Industrial IoT OPC UA toolbox for Node-RED with extended array handling and dynamic enable/disable features – GEM Edition
This package builds upon the excellent node-red-contrib-iiot-opcua by Klaus Landsdorf.
The GEM edition introduces additional features designed for modern industrial automation scenarios.
🆕 New Features (GEM Edition)
🔧 Dynamic Enable/Disable
The OPCUA-IIoT-Connector now provides a Dynamic Enable field, located directly below the Name field.
This feature allows you to disable nodes using either a fixed value or a dynamic value sourced from an environment variable.
- Leave the field empty to preserve the default Enabled status (all nodes active).
- Use Flexible Values such as
true/false,1/0,on/off,yes/no, or environment variables like${OPCUA_ENABLE}.
📊 Extended Array Support
Full support for multiple OPC UA array data types, with improved handling and type safety:
- Broader Array Coverage: Support for UInt16, UInt32, UInt64, Float, Double, Int16, Int32, Int64, Boolean, String, SByte
- Improved Parsing & Processing: Reliable array read/write operations
- TypeScript Definitions: Stronger typing for development consistency
📦 Installation
npm install node-red-contrib-iiot-opcua-gem
🚀 Quick Start
- Install the package in your Node-RED environment.
- Drag OPC UA IIoT nodes from the palette into your flow.
- Configure the Connector with OPC UA server details.
- (Optional) Set Dynamic Enable for conditional connectivity.
- Deploy and connect.
🔧 Dynamic Enable Configuration
In the OPCUA-IIoT-Connector settings:
- Empty → Uses the global
IIOT_OPCUA_ENABLEenvironment variable - Static values →
true,false,1,0,on,off,yes,no - Environment variables →
${MY_CUSTOM_VAR},${PRODUCTION_MODE}, etc.
Examples:
# Global disable
export IIOT_OPCUA_ENABLE=false
# Custom environment toggle
export PRODUCTION_MODE=true
# Connector Dynamic Enable field: ${PRODUCTION_MODE}
📋 Available Nodes
- OPCUA-IIoT-Connector – Configurable connector with dynamic enable
- OPCUA-IIoT-Inject – Inject values, including arrays
- OPCUA-IIoT-Read – Read scalar and array values
- OPCUA-IIoT-Write – Write scalar and array values
- OPCUA-IIoT-Listener – Monitor node changes
- OPCUA-IIoT-Browser – Explore the address space
- OPCUA-IIoT-Server – Create an OPC UA server
- OPCUA-IIoT-Method-Caller – Execute OPC UA methods
🏭 Use Cases
Industrial Automation
- Production Lines: Conditional OPC UA connectivity to PLCs
- Quality Control: Manage and analyze array-based sensor data
- Environment Control: Toggle nodes based on plant conditions
Development & Testing
- Staging Environments: Enable/disable via environment variables
- Integration Testing: Scripted toggling of OPC UA connections
- Multi-tenant Systems: Environment-variable driven configurations
🛠️ Environment Variables
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
IIOT_OPCUA_ENABLE |
Global enable/disable for all nodes | true |
| Custom variables | ${VARIABLE_NAME} in Dynamic Enable |
- |
Accepted Values: true, false, 1, 0, on, off, yes, no (case-insensitive)
Array Handling
Enhanced reading/writing of arrays with improved error handling and typing.
🔗 Original Project
This project extends node-red-contrib-iiot-opcua by Klaus Landsdorf:
- Repository: https://github.com/BiancoRoyal/node-red-contrib-iiot-opcua
- Documentation: https://noderedplus.de/
🏢 About GEM s.r.l.
Enhancements provided by GEM s.r.l. for industrial IoT and automation.
Lead Developer: Luca Tralli
Company: GEM s.r.l.
📄 License
BSD-3-Clause (same as the original project).
🤝 Contributing
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/my-feature) - Commit your changes (
git commit -m "Add new feature") - Push to your fork (
git push origin feature/my-feature) - Submit a Pull Request
📞 Support
- Report issues via GitHub Issues
- Refer to original documentation for core functionality
- Join discussions in the Node-RED community
🔄 Version History
v4.3.0 (Current)
- ✨ Introduced Dynamic Enable/Disable functionality
- 📊 Added extended array support
- 🏷️ GEM edition branding and docs
- 🔧 Improved TypeScript definitions
Based on node-red-contrib-iiot-opcua v4.2.0.
⚠️ Notice
These modifications have been introduced following the deprecation of the original project.
Users and contributors are encouraged to further improve this library.
Made with ❤️ for the industrial automation community
