YANG to OPC UA Model Mapping

This project defines methods and tools to support interoperability between YANG models and OPC UA models. The project includes the pyang plugin, which facilitates the generation of an OPC UA Model Design XML file from a YANG file. Subsequently, the generated model design XML file can be compiled using OPC UA Model compilers to produce OPC UA NodeSet2 XML files.

Overview

Private 5G networks, also referred to as Non-Public Networks, have become the de facto technology for driving Industry 4.0, delivering a revolutionary user experience by linking objects, machines, and individuals. However, deploying private 5G networks in industrial settings poses significant challenges, including the complexity of their setup, the specialized technical expertise required for their management, and the lack of support for interoperability and manageability using existing industrial applications or Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). OPC UA (Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture) serves as a platform-independent standard for industrial automation device and system communication. The Open Radio Access Network Working Group 10 has defined Yet Another Next Generation (YANG) as a standard method for managing 5G network systems. The project's goal is to facilitate interoperability between private 5G network systems and OPC UA-based industrial applications by supporting the generation of OPC UA information models from the YANG data models. By converting the YANG data models to OPC UA models, any network devices exposing YANG data models can be managed using existing industrial applications based on OPC UA, enabling YANG/NETCONF devices to operate independently without modification and seamlessly integrate with OPC UA-based industrial applications for management.

OPC UA NodeSet2 XML generation from YANG Model

Generation of the OPC UA Information model from the YANG schema involves a two-step approach. First, the YANG file is passed to the pyang opc-ua plugin to generate the OPC UA model design XML file that conforms to the schema defined in the UA Model Design.XSD. Then, the OPC UA model design XML file is passed to the OPC foundation model compiler to generate the OPC UA NodeSet2 XML Files.

Step 1: YANG to OPC UA Model Design File Generation

$ pyang -f opc_ua inputfiles/simple-example.yang -o generatedfiles/simple-example-model.xml

Step 2: OPC UA Model Design to OPC UA NodeSet2 XML File generation

$ /app/Opc.Ua.ModelCompiler.exe -console -d2 generatedfiles/simple-example-model.xml -cg generatedfiles/uamodel-generatedfiles/simple-example-model.csv -o2 generatedfiles/uamodel-generatedfiles/

OPC UA – pyang plugin

Static YANG to OPC UA Model Design Generator is developed based on open-source component pyang. A new plugin called opcua plugin is created to generate the OPC UA model design file from the YANG File. The opc-ua pyang plugin logic for the generation of OPC UA model design file is based on the YANG to OPC UA mapping developed by the authors. This opcua plugin code will be delivered to pyang project once it is fully validated with all scenarios.

Procedure to use the opc ua pyang plugin till the code to delivered to pyang repo

Install Pyang in your workspace

$ pip install pyang

Clone the pyang repository to your workspace

$ git clone https://github.com/mbj4668/pyang.git $ cd pyang

Copy the opc ua plugin(https://github.com/DevarajSambandan/yangopcua/blob/main/plugin/opc_ua.py) file from this yangopcua repository to your cloned workspace under pyang/plugins folder then run following command to update the opcua plugin into pyang installed in your workspace.

$ pip install -e .

YANG to OPC UA Model Design File Generation

$ pyang -f opc_ua "input yang file" -o output "opc ua model design xml file"