benthos-umh

Welcome to the benthos-umh repository! This is a version of benthos maintained by the United Manufacturing Hub (UMH) to provide seamless shopfloor integration with the Unified Namespace (MQTT/Kafka). Our goal is to enhance the integration of IT and OT tools for engineers while avoiding vendor lock-in and streamlining data management processes.

Description

benthos-umh is a Docker container designed to facilitate seamless shopfloor integration with the Unified Namespace (MQTT/Kafka). It is part of the United Manufacturing Hub project and offers the following features:

• Simple deployment in Docker, docker-compose, and Kubernetes
• Can connect to an OPC-UA server, browses selected nodes, and forwards all sub-nodes in 1-second intervals
• Can connect to an S7 server, and read pre-defined addresses from it
• Supports a wide range of outputs, from the Unified Namespace (MQTT and Kafka) to HTTP, AMQP, Redis, NATS, SQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, or AWS S3. Check out the official benthos output library
• Fully customizable messages using the benthos processor library: implement Report-by-Exception (RBE) / message deduplication, modify payloads and add timestamps using bloblang, apply protobuf (and therefore SparkplugB), and explore many more options
• Integrates with modern IT landscape, providing metrics, logging, tracing, versionable configuration, and more
• Entirely open-source (Apache 2.0) and free-to-use

We encourage you to try out benthos-umh and explore the broader United Manufacturing Hub project for a comprehensive solution to your industrial data integration needs.

Usage

Standalone

To use benthos-umh in standalone mode with Docker, follow the instructions below (using OPC UA as an exampke).

1. Create a new file called benthos.yaml with the provided content

   ---
   input:
     opcua:
       endpoint: 'opc.tcp://localhost:46010'
       nodeIDs: ['ns=2;s=IoTSensors']
   
   pipeline:
     processors:
       - bloblang: |
           root = {
             meta("opcua_path"): this,
             "timestamp_ms": (timestamp_unix_nano() / 1000000).floor()
           }
   
   output:
     mqtt:
       urls:
         - 'localhost:1883'
       topic: 'ia/raw/opcuasimulator/${! meta("opcua_path") }'
       client_id: 'benthos-umh'

2. Execute the docker run command to start a new benthos-umh container docker run --rm --network="host" -v '<absolute path to your file>/benthos.yaml:/benthos.yaml' ghcr.io/united-manufacturing-hub/benthos-umh:latest

With the United Manufacturing Hub (Kubernetes & Kafka)

To deploy benthos-umh with the United Manufacturing Hub and its OPC-UA simulator, use the provided Kubernetes manifests in UMHLens/OpenLens.

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: benthos-1-config
  namespace: united-manufacturing-hub
  labels:
    app: benthos-1
data:
  benthos.yaml: |-
    input:
      umh_input_opcuasimulator: {}
    pipeline:
      processors:
        - bloblang: |
            root = {
              meta("opcua_path"): this,
              "timestamp_ms": (timestamp_unix_nano() / 1000000).floor()
            }
    output:
      umh_output:
        topic: 'ia.raw.${! meta("opcua_path") }'
---
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: benthos-1-deployment
  namespace: united-manufacturing-hub
  labels:
    app: benthos-1
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: benthos-1
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: benthos-1
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: benthos-1
          image: "ghcr.io/united-manufacturing-hub/benthos-umh:latest"
          imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
          ports:
            - name: http
              containerPort: 4195
              protocol: TCP
          livenessProbe:
            httpGet:
              path: /ping
              port: http
          readinessProbe:
            httpGet:
              path: /ready
              port: http
          volumeMounts:
            - name: config
              mountPath: "/benthos.yaml"
              subPath: "benthos.yaml"
              readOnly: true
      volumes:
        - name: config
          configMap:
            name: benthos-1-config

OPC UA

The plugin is designed to browse and subscribe to all child nodes within a folder for each configured NodeID, provided that the NodeID represents a folder. It features a recursion depth of up to 10 levels, enabling thorough exploration of nested folder structures. The browsing specifically targets nodes organized under the OPC UA 'Organizes' relationship type, intentionally excluding nodes under 'HasProperty' and 'HasComponent' relationships. Additionally, the plugin does not browse Objects represented by red, blue, or green cube icons in UAExpert.

Subscriptions are selectively managed, with tags having a DataType of null being excluded from subscription. Also, by default, the plugin does not subscribe to the properties of a tag, such as minimum and maximum values.

Datatypes

The plugin has been rigorously tested with an array of datatypes, both as single values and as arrays. The following datatypes have been verified for compatibility:

• Boolean
• Byte
• DateTime
• Double
• Enumeration
• ExpandedNodeId
• Float
• Guid
• Int16
• Int32
• Int64
• Integer
• LocalizedText
• NodeId
• Number
• QualifiedName
• SByte
• StatusCode
• String
• UInt16
• UInt32
• UInt64
• UInteger
• ByteArray
• ByteString
• Duration
• LocaleId
• UtcTime
• Variant
• XmlElement

There are specific datatypes which are currently not supported by the plugin and attempting to use them will result in errors. These include:

• Two-dimensional arrays
• UA Extension Objects
• Variant arrays (Arrays with multiple different datatypes)

Authentication and Security

In benthos-umh, security and authentication are designed to be as robust as possible while maintaining flexibility. The software automates the process of selecting the highest level of security offered by an OPC-UA server for the selected Authentication Method, but the user can specify their own Security Policy / Security Mode if they want (see further below at Configuration options)

Supported Authentication Methods

• Anonymous: No extra information is needed. The connection uses the highest security level available for anonymous connections.
• Username and Password: Specify the username and password in the configuration. The client opts for the highest security level that supports these credentials.
• Certificate (Future Release): Certificate-based authentication is planned for future releases.

Metadata outputs

The plugin provides metadata for each message, that can be used to create a topic for the output, as shown in the example above. The metadata can also be used to create a unique identifier for each message, which is useful for deduplication.

Metadata	Description
opcua_path	The sanitized ID of the Node that sent the message. This is always unique between nodes
opcua_parent_path	The sanitized ID of the Node defined in the input. This is useful if the given node is a folder, and the plugin is browsing all child nodes. If the node is not a folder, the value is equal to opcua_path
opcua_tag_path	A dot-separated path to the tag, excluding the parent path, created by joining the BrowseNames. This is useful for creating a key name in the processor nicer than the output of opcua_path

Taking as example the following OPC-UA structure:

Root
└── ns=2;s=FolderNode
    ├── ns=2;s=Tag1
    ├── ns=2;s=Tag2
    └── ns=2;s=SubFolder
        ├── ns=2;s=Tag3
        └── ns=2;s=Tag4

Subscribing to ns=2;s=FolderNode would result in the following metadata:

opcua_path	opcua_parent_path	opcua_tag_path
ns_2_s_FolderNode.Tag1	ns_2_s_FolderNode	Tag1
ns_2_s_FolderNode.Tag1	ns_2_s_FolderNode	Tag2
ns_2_s_FolderNode.SubFolder.Tag3	ns_2_s_FolderNode	SubFolder.Tag3
ns_2_s_FolderNode.SubFolder.Tag4	ns_2_s_FolderNode	SubFolder.Tag4

Note that the value of opcua_path actually depends on the specific node ID of the tag, and the value of opcua_tag_path is created by joining the BrowseNames of the nodes.

Configuration Options

The following options can be specified in the benthos.yaml configuration file:

input:
  opcua:
    endpoint: 'opc.tcp://localhost:46010'
    nodeIDs: ['ns=2;s=IoTSensors']
    username: 'your-username'  # optional (default: unset)
    password: 'your-password'  # optional (default: unset)
    insecure: false | true # optional (default: false)
    securityMode: None | Sign | SignAndEncrypt # optional (default: unset)
    securityPolicy: None | Basic256Sha256 | Aes256Sha256RsaPss | Aes128Sha256RsaOaep # optional (default: unset)
    subscribeEnabled: false | true # optional (default: false)

Endpoint

You can specify the endpoint in the configuration file. Node endpoints are automatically discovered and selected based on the authentication method.

input:
  opcua:
    endpoint: 'opc.tcp://localhost:46010'
    nodeIDs: ['ns=2;s=IoTSensors']

Node IDs

You can specify the node IDs in the configuration file (currently only namespaced node IDs are supported):

input:
  opcua:
    endpoint: 'opc.tcp://localhost:46010'
    nodeIDs: ['ns=2;s=IoTSensors']

Username and Password

If you want to use username and password authentication, you can specify them in the configuration file:

input:
  opcua:
    endpoint: 'opc.tcp://localhost:46010'
    nodeIDs: ['ns=2;s=IoTSensors']
    username: 'your-username'
    password: 'your-password'

Security Mode and Security Policy

Security Mode: This defines the level of security applied to the messages. The options are:

• None: No security is applied; messages are neither signed nor encrypted.
• Sign: Messages are signed for integrity and authenticity but not encrypted.
• SignAndEncrypt: Provides the highest security level where messages are both signed and encrypted.

Security Policy: Specifies the set of cryptographic algorithms used for securing messages. This includes algorithms for encryption, decryption, and signing of messages. Some common policies include Basic256Sha256, Aes256Sha256RsaPss, and Aes128Sha256RsaOaep.

While the security mode and policy are automatically selected based on the endpoint and authentication method, you have the option to override this by specifying them in the configuration file:

input:
  opcua:
    endpoint: 'opc.tcp://localhost:46010'
    nodeIDs: ['ns=2;s=IoTSensors']
    securityMode: SignAndEncrypt
    securityPolicy: Basic256Sha256

Insecure Mode

Setting this to true will overwrite any configured securityMode and securityPolicy!

If the most secure endpoint selected by benthos-umh is not working or the server's security implementation is lacking, you can bypass encryption by setting insecure: true. This will use the Security Mode "None".

input:
  opcua:
    endpoint: 'opc.tcp://localhost:46010'
    nodeIDs: ['ns=2;s=IoTSensors']
    insecure: true

Pull and Subscribe Methods

Benthos-umh supports two modes of operation: pull and subscribe. In pull mode, it pulls all nodes every second, regardless of changes. In subscribe mode, it only sends data when there's a change in value, reducing unnecessary data transfer.

Method	Advantages	Disadvantages
Pull	- Provides real-time data visibility, e.g., in MQTT Explorer. - Clearly differentiates between 'no data received' and 'value did not change' scenarios, which can be crucial for documentation and proving the OPC-UA client's activity.	- Results in higher data throughput as it pulls all nodes every second, regardless of changes.
Subscribe	- Data is sent only when there's a change in value, reducing unnecessary data transfer.	- Less visibility into real-time data status, and it's harder to differentiate between no data and unchanged values.

input:
  opcua:
    endpoint: 'opc.tcp://localhost:46010'
    nodeIDs: ['ns=2;s=IoTSensors']
    subscribeEnabled: true

S7comm

This input is tailored for the S7 communication protocol, facilitating a direct connection with S7-300, S7-400, S7-1200, and S7-1500 series PLCs.

For more modern PLCs like the S7-1200 and S7-1500 the following two changes need to be done to use them:

1. "Optimized block access" must be disabled for the DBs we want to access
2. In the "Protection" section of the CPU Properties, enable the "Permit access with PUT/GET" checkbox

Configuration

input:
  s7comm:
    tcpDevice: '192.168.0.1' # IP address of the S7 PLC
    rack: 0                  # Rack number of the PLC. Defaults to 0
    slot: 1                  # Slot number of the PLC. Defaults to 1
    batchMaxSize: 480         # Maximum number of addresses per batch request. Defaults to 480
    timeout: 10             # Timeout in seconds for connections and requests. Default to 10
    addresses:               # List of addresses to read from
      - "DB1.DW20"     # Accesses a double word at location 20 in data block 1
      - "DB1.S30.10"   # Accesses a 10-byte string at location 30 in data block 1

Configuration Parameters

• tcpDevice: IP address of the Siemens S7 PLC.
• rack: Identifies the physical location of the CPU within the PLC rack.
• slot: Identifies the specific CPU slot within the rack.
• batchMaxSize: Maximum count of addresses bundled in a single batch request. This affects the PDU size.
• timeout: Timeout duration in milliseconds for connection attempts and read requests.
• addresses: Specifies the list of addresses to read. The format for addresses is <area>.<type><address>[.extra], where:
  • area: Specifies the direct area access, e.g., "DB1" for data block one. Supported areas include inputs (PE), outputs (PA), Merkers (MK), DB (DB), counters (C), and timers (T).
  • type: Indicates the data type, such as bit (X), byte (B), word (W), double word (DW), integer (I), double integer (DI), real (R), date-time (DT), and string (S). Some types require an 'extra' parameter, e.g., the bit number for X or the maximum length for S.

Output

Similar to the OPC UA input, this outputs for each address a single message with the payload being the value that was read. To distinguish messages, you can use meta("s7_address") in a following benthos bloblang processor.

Testing

We execute automated tests and verify that benthos-umh works:

• (WAGO PFC100, 750-8101, OPC UA) Connect Anonymously
• (WAGO PFC100, 750-8101, OPC UA) Connect Username / Password
• (WAGO PFC100, 750-8101, OPC UA) Connect and get one float number
• (Siemens S7-1200, TODO, S7) Connect and get one word
• (Beckhoff, CX8190, ADS) Connect and get

These tests are executed with a local github runner called "hercules", which is connected to a isolated testing network.

ads

Input for Beckhoffs ads protocol. Supports batch reading and notifications. Beckhoff recommends not using more than about 500 notifications due to the impact of the controller. This input only supports symbols and not direct addresses

---
input:
  ads:
    targetIP: '192.168.3.70'        # IP address of the PLC
    targetAMS: '5.3.69.134.1.1'     # AMS net ID of the target
    targetPort: 48898               # Port of the target internal gateway
    runtimePort: 801                # Runtime port of PLC system
    hostAMS: '192.168.56.1.1.1'     # Host AMS net ID. Usually the IP address + .1.1
    hostPort: 10500                 # Host port
    readType: 'interval'            # Read type, interval or notification
    maxDelay: 100                   # Max delay for sending notifications in ms
    cycleTime: 100                  # Cycle time for notification handler in ms
    intervalTime: 1000              # Interval time for reading in ms
    upperCase: true                 # Convert symbol names to all uppercase for older PLCS
    logLevel: "disabled"            # Log level for ADS connection
    symbols:                        # List of symbols to read from
      - "MAIN.MYBOOL"               # variable in the main program
      - "MAIN.MYTRIGGER:0:10"       # variable in the main program with 0ms max delay and 10ms cycleTime
      - "MAIN.SPEEDOS"
      - ".superDuperInt"            # Global variable
      - ".someStrangeVar"

pipeline:
  processors:
    - bloblang: |
        root = {
          meta("symbol_name"): this,
          "timestamp_ms": (timestamp_unix_nano() / 1000000).floor()
        }

output:
  stdout: {}

logger:
  level: ERROR
  format: logfmt
  add_timestamp: true

Connection to ADS

When conneting to a ADS device you connect to a router which then routes the traffic to the correct device using the AMS net ID. There are basically 2 ways for setting up the connection. One is to use the Twincat connection manager locally on the host, scan for the device and add a connection using the correct credentials for the PLC. The other way is to logon to the PLC using the Twincat system manager and add a static route from the PLC to the client. This is the preferred way when using benthos on a Kubernetes cluster since you have no good way of installing the connection manager.

Configuration Parameters

• targetIP: IP address of the PLC
• targetAMS: AMS net ID of the target
• targetPort: Port of the target internal gateway
• runtimePort: Runtime port of PLC system, 800 to 899. Twincat 2 uses 800 - 850 and Twincat 3 is recommended to use 851-899. Twincat 2 usually have 801 as default and Twincat 3 uses 851
• hostAMS: Host AMS net ID. Usually the IP address + .1.1
• hostPort: Host port
• readType: Read type for the symbols. Interval means benthos reads all symbols at a specified interval and notification is a function in the PLC where benthos sends a notification request to the PLC and the PLC adds the symbol to its internal notification system and sends data whenever there is a change.
• maxDelay: Default ax delay for sending notifications in ms. Sets a maximum time for how long after the change the PLC must send the notification
• cycleTime: Default cycle time for notification handler in ms. Tells the notification handler how often to scan for changes. For symbols like triggers that is only true or false for 1 PLC cycle it can be necessary to use a low value.
• intervalTime: Interval time for reading in ms. For reading batches of symbols this sets the time between readings
• upperCase: Converts symbol names to all uppercase for older PLCs. For Twincat 2 this is often necessary.
• logLevel: Log level for ADS connection sets the log level of the internal log function for the underlying ads library
• symbols: List of symbols to read from in the format function.variable:maxDelay:cycleTime, eg. "MAIN.MYTRIGGER:0:10" is a variable in the main program with 0ms max delay and 10ms cycle time, "MAIN.MYBOOL" is a variable in the main program with no extra arguments so it will use the default max delay and cycle time. ".superDuperInt" is a global variable variable with no extra arguments. All global variables must start with a <.> eg. ".someStrangeVar"

Output

Similar to the OPC UA input, this outputs for each address a single message with the payload being the value that was read. To distinguish messages, you can use meta("symbol_name") in a following benthos bloblang processor.

Development

Quickstart

Follow the steps below to set up your development environment and run tests:

git clone https://github.com/united-manufacturing-hub/benthos-umh.git
cd serverless-stack
nvm install
npm install
sudo apt-get install zip
echo 'deb [trusted=yes] https://repo.goreleaser.com/apt/ /' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/goreleaser.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install goreleaser
make
npm test

Additional Checks and Commands

Gitpod and Tailscale

By default when opening the repo in Gitpod, everything that you need should start automatically. If you want to connect to our local PLCs in our office, you can use tailscale, which you will be prompted to install. See also: https://www.gitpod.io/docs/integrations/tailscale

For Go Code

1. Linting: Run make lint to check for linting errors. If any are found, you can automatically fix them by running make format.

2. Unit Tests: Run make test to execute all Go unit tests.

For Other Code Types (Including Config Files)

1. Benthos Tests: Use npm run test to run all Benthos tests for configuration files. Note: We currently do not have these tests. Learn more.

2. Linting: Run npm run lint to check all files, including YAML files, for linting errors. To automatically fix these errors, run npm run format.

License

All source code is distributed under the APACHE LICENSE, VERSION 2.0. See LICENSE for more information.

Contact

Feel free to provide us feedback on our Discord channel.

For more information about the United Manufacturing Hub, visit UMH Systems GmbH. If you haven't worked with the United Manufacturing Hub before, give it a try! Setting it up takes only a matter of minutes.