This is normal, and the OPCUA communications can be filtered out later. Note that Wireshark will record ALL traffic (not just OPC-UA) on the network interface that is selected. Starting the captureĬhoose the correct Interface in Wireshark, and hit the “Start” button. The port can be found at the end of the OPC UA server’s endpoint URL. Then, under the “Protocols” section, find the “OpcUa” protocol and make sure to enter the port that your OPC UA server uses. In Wireshark, go to “Edit -> Preferences” to open up the Preferences Window:

In order to make sure Wireshark actually captures the data, it has to be told which port to listen on. This will allow troubleshooting of strange or unexpected behavior between the client and server. As long as the communication is not encrypted (meaning that no security is used), it is fairly easy to capture and analyze the conversation. Wireshark has a built-in filter for OPC UA, which will allow the capture of communications between OPC UA clients and servers. The following article discusses in detail how to use Wireshark for analyzing OPC UA packets for troubleshooting purposes. One of the easiest ways we’ve found here at Software Toolbox to analyze the communication between an OPC UA client and server is to use Wireshark.

As more and more companies are making the switch from OPC-DA to OPC UA, it is becoming increasingly important to be able to troubleshoot OPC UA communications.

Wireshark example