Dual OPC client bridging
Reads from one OPC server and writes to another in real time.
PiBridge is OPC bridge software that connects two distinct OPC servers so data can transfer between them seamlessly. Built by PiControl Solutions, PiBridge is a dual OPC client: it reads from one OPC server and writes to another, translating differences in communication protocol and data structure along the way. It is compatible with both OPC-DA and OPC-UA, works across different networks, sites, and control-system vendors, and requires no proprietary middleware.
Process plants rarely run one OPC server. A DCS historian, a third-party SCADA package, and a cloud analytics platform each speak OPC on their own terms, and the disparities in protocol and tag structure between them quietly block information sharing. PiBridge removes that structural gap so data moves without custom integration code or a middleware layer to maintain.
PiBridge bridges two OPC servers so process data, whether historized values, live tags, or alarm states, moves from one system to another without a custom integration project. It runs on standard Windows hardware, requires no proprietary middleware, and connects OPC-DA and OPC-UA servers across networks, sites, and control-system vendors. Because it sits alongside PiOPCServer and PiLogger in PiControl's monitoring lineup, teams can validate connectivity, bridge live data, and log it, all with the same OPC foundation.
Reads from one OPC server and writes to another in real time.
Translates differing communication protocols and data structures between servers.
Select input and output OPC servers, transfer frequency, and tags to bridge.
Bridges a significant number of tags without a redesign as data volumes grow.
Bridges legacy and modern OPC servers on either side of the connection.
Connects OPC servers directly, without a separate integration layer to license or maintain.
Plants running more than one OPC server, from a DCS historian, a third-party SCADA system, or a second site on a separate network, use PiBridge to consolidate that data without rebuilding either system. PiBridge reads live values from one OPC server and writes them into another, so downstream applications see a single, consistent data source within industrial process control systems.
PiControl's own monitoring and optimization products, including APROMON and PiLogger, connect through OPC. When the data they need lives on a different OPC server than the one they're licensed against, PiBridge bridges the gap so those tools, and any third-party analytics or reporting platform, get the live tags they need without a second connection.
PiBridge's feature set is built for one outcome: data that moves cleanly between two OPC servers, at any scale, without a custom integration project.
Connects to two independent OPC servers at once, reading from one and writing to the other.
Eliminates the need for a custom driver or a separate integration project between systems that don't natively talk to each other.
Translates differences in communication protocol and data structure between the two OPC servers.
Removes the single biggest barrier to sharing data between OPC servers from different vendors or generations.
Select input and output OPC servers, set transfer frequency, and choose specific tags to bridge.
Cuts setup time from a multi-week integration effort to a configuration task controls engineers handle themselves.
Supports configuration of a significant number of tags for large data volumes.
Handles everything from a handful of critical loops to plant-wide tag counts without a redesign.
Bridges legacy OPC-DA servers to modern OPC-UA servers, or connects two servers on the same standard.
Protects existing OPC-DA investments while supporting a plant's move to OPC-UA.
Bridges OPC servers directly across networks and sites, without a separate integration layer.
Fewer moving parts to license, patch, and support over the life of the connection.
OPC was built to standardize how industrial systems exchange data, but two OPC servers from different vendors, generations, or sites rarely connect cleanly on their own. Each server carries its own communication protocol, tag and data-structure conventions, and configuration model, and those disparities routinely block the information sharing and collaborative operations that OPC was meant to enable.
Two OPC servers can each be standards-compliant and still fail to exchange data cleanly, because addressing schemes, tag naming, and update behavior differ enough that a client built for one server misreads or drops values from the other.
Without a purpose-built bridge, connecting two OPC servers becomes a custom scripting or middleware project, one that has to be re-scoped every time a new server, site, or tag list gets added.
A one-off, hand-built bridge might handle a dozen tags. It rarely holds up when a plant needs hundreds or thousands of tags moving reliably between two OPC servers, and every added tag multiplies the maintenance burden.
PiBridge removes the structural problem: a dedicated dual OPC client that resolves protocol and data-structure disparities, a configuration interface built for the task instead of a general-purpose scripting environment, and tag scalability designed in from the start, so data flows seamlessly between two OPC servers, fostering efficiency, collaboration, and safety.
PiBridge is one part of PiControl's OPC-based monitoring lineup: software that gets data connected, logged, and watched across the plant.
Once PiBridge has consolidated tags from two OPC servers, PiLogger captures PV, setpoint, and controller-output trends at sub-second resolution for tuning analysis and root-cause troubleshooting.
PiOPCServer is a simulation OPC server with an embedded real-time PID loop, used to validate an OPC client and generate test data before a PiBridge deployment goes live.
With data consolidated through PiBridge, APROMON watches PID and APC loops continuously for oscillation, valve degradation, and tuning drift across every OPC server PiBridge connects.
Plants across every sector PiControl serves run more than one OPC server, and PiBridge connects them without a custom integration project.
PiBridge is deployed across industrial plants worldwide to bridge OPC-DA and OPC-UA servers spanning different vendors, networks, and sites, and it underpins data feeds for PiControl's own monitoring and optimization software. Read more in our customer success stories.
Request the PiBridge installer and licensing details for your plant or facility.
See PiBridge bridge two OPC servers live and watch tags move from one system to another in real time. A PiControl engineer will map the demo to the servers and tag counts relevant to your plant, and walk through licensing and deployment options.