Avnu Alliance and OPC Foundation agreed Sept. 30 to collaborate on testing, certification and integrating OPC UA FX via time-sensitive networking (TSN) to enable testable and certified devices with multi-vendor interoperability.

Their agreement combines Avnu’s work in TSN conformance, certification and interoperability programs with OPC UA FX specifications and testing for secure, reliable communications. They plan to help suppliers, system integrators and end users move toward deployable, interoperable systems built with certified TSN components conforming with IEEE/IEC 60802 TSN Profile for Industrial Automation.

As two of the main contributors to the TSN Industrial Automation Conformance Collaboration (TIACC), the two organizations will leverage the Common Test Specification for the IEEE/IEC 60802 TSN profile to validate test tools, and develop joint certification pathways to ensure conformance and interoperability of switches and end stations. By coordinating conformance requirements, acceptance tests and integration scenarios, they plan to accelerate market readiness for OPC UA FX over 60802-based TSN networks, and increase users’ confidence in multi-vendor deployments.

As an early implementation step, Avnu, OPC and other organizations staged a two-day plugfest in Stuttgart, Germany, on Sept. 28-29. Hosted by the University of Stuttgart, the event demonstrated the collaborators’ interoperability, conformance and integration by using TSN, including OPC UA FX over 60802-ready TSN networks. The plugfest was open to all participants with or without devices. Attendees with hardware tested TSN capabilities, new functions and fieldbus integration scenarios, while observers reviewed test setups, and joined technical discussions that helped them plan for future participation.

“This collaboration is intended to help the industrial automation community move from specification development toward practical, multi-vendor device testing, certification and integration with industrial applications,” says Dave Cavalcanti, president of the Avnu Alliance. “By aligning the TSN ecosystem on implementation priorities, testing requirements and capabilities with OPC UA FX integration, we can show a path to testable, certifiable devices that are ready for real deployments that other organizations can follow.”