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EDWartens UK

Free course · IIoT

Industrial DataOps: OPC UA, MQTT and Unified Namespace

Plant data architecture for IT/OT engineers: the ISA-95 pyramid and why it is being replaced by an event-driven Unified Namespace, OPC UA information models, subscriptions and security, OPC UA servers on S7-1500 and CODESYS, MQTT QoS, retained messages and last will, a Mosquitto broker, Sparkplug B, edge gateways, UNS topic and payload design, industrial DataOps and OEE, a Telegraf, InfluxDB and Grafana historian, and TLS, ACLs and IEC 62443 zones.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Intermediate
Modules
14
Video
18 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Explain why plants move from point-to-point integration to a Unified Namespace; read and build OPC UA information models; configure OPC UA subscriptions and security and enable the server on an S7-1500 or CODESYS controller; use MQTT QoS, retained messages, persistent sessions and last will correctly; run and secure a Mosquitto broker; read and write Sparkplug B topics and explain its state management; design an edge gateway and scale raw PLC values; design an ISA-95 topic hierarchy and payload convention; build reusable data models and derived KPIs such as OEE; historise UNS data with Telegraf, InfluxDB and Grafana; and secure the data path with TLS, ACLs and IEC 62443 zones and conduits.

  • Explain why a Unified Namespace beats point-to-point integration, using the ISA-95 levels
  • Browse and model OPC UA address spaces, and configure subscriptions, deadbands and SignAndEncrypt security
  • Enable and test the OPC UA server on an S7-1500 in TIA Portal and on a CODESYS controller with UaExpert
  • Choose MQTT QoS, retained messages, persistent sessions, keep alive and last will for each kind of message
  • Run Eclipse Mosquitto with users, ACLs and TLS, and size its offline queue
  • Read and write Sparkplug B topics and explain births, deaths, bdSeq and seq
  • Design an edge gateway, an ISA-95 topic tree and a payload convention, and compute OEE once from the namespace
  • Historise UNS data with Telegraf, InfluxDB and Grafana, and draw IEC 62443 zones and conduits for the data path

Software

All free: Eclipse Mosquitto, MQTT Explorer, UaExpert (free OPC UA client, registration needed), Node-RED, the CODESYS Development System with CODESYS Control Win (demo mode), Telegraf, InfluxDB 3 Core and Grafana. Optional: TIA Portal with PLCSIM Advanced for the S7-1500 server, Kepware Server (2 hour demo mode, restartable) and Ignition Maker Edition (free for personal, non-commercial use).

Hardware

None. A laptop with 8 GB of RAM runs every exercise; a Raspberry Pi or a real S7-1500 or CODESYS controller is optional.

Syllabus

14 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1From the automation pyramid to a Unified Namespace4 lessonsLab
  2. 2OPC UA fundamentals: the address space and information models3 lessons
  3. 3OPC UA communication: services, subscriptions, security and PubSub3 lessonsLab
  4. 4OPC UA servers on real controllers: S7-1500 and CODESYS4 lessons
  5. 5MQTT fundamentals: brokers, clients and topics6 lessons
  6. 6MQTT reliability: QoS, sessions, retained messages and last will7 lessonsLab
  7. 7Running a broker: Mosquitto, authentication and MQTT Explorer3 lessons
  8. 8Sparkplug B: state-aware MQTT for operational technology7 lessons
  9. 9Edge gateways: getting PLC data into the namespace6 lessonsLab
  10. 10Designing the Unified Namespace: topic hierarchy and payloads5 lessons
  11. 11Industrial DataOps: models, contextualisation and governance3 lessons
  12. 12Historian and dashboards: Telegraf, InfluxDB and Grafana4 lessons
  13. 13Securing the data path: TLS, access control and IEC 62443 zones3 lessonsLab
  14. 14Final assessment1 lesson

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Practise in the labOptionalTry a task from the module in the EDWartens Lab, in your browser.
  5. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

EDWartens Lab

Practise this in the EDWartens Lab

Practise the plant side of your data path: place every device on its level of the plant model, then split and lock down the network the data crosses.

Works alongside Industrial DataOps: OPC UA, MQTT and Unified Namespace. The Lab is ot security practice in your browser: no install, no hardware, free to use. Sign in as a learner and it opens with your account.

Open the free lab See the Lab
OT security: Defend a plant network.

Levels to try with this course

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Why practise in a lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

  • Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
  • The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
  • Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for Industrial DataOps: OPC UA, MQTT and Unified Namespace

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

  • HiveMQ

    the MQTT Essentials series (publish/subscribe, topics, QoS, persistent sessions, retained messages, last will, keep alive), the Sparkplug Essentials series and its Node-RED demo, the UNS Essentials lessons, the Architecting a Unified Namespace webinar, the MQTT security Q&A and the smart-factory UNS demo in the final

  • Industry40tv

    the Fundamentals of OPC UA series: how OPC UA works, information models and companion specifications, client/server communication, technology mapping and security, and PubSub over MQTT

  • UMH

    the Unified Namespace Basics series: the automation pyramid, event-driven architecture, the ISA-95 topic hierarchy, sending data to a broker, contextualisation and protocol converters

  • 4.0 Solutions

    Walker Reynolds on what the Unified Namespace is, an enterprise UNS example and the software categories used to build one

  • HighByte

    the webinars on industrial DataOps and data contextualisation and on how OPC UA accelerates a UNS

  • InfluxData

    the introduction to Telegraf, monitoring MQTT devices with Telegraf, and running Telegraf, InfluxDB 3 and Grafana in Docker

  • AutomationStation

    setting up the S7-1500 OPC UA server with UaExpert diagnostics, and configuring a Mosquitto 2 broker with user authentication

  • System-Restored

    the S7-1500 OPC UA standard server tutorial in TIA Portal

  • WAGO Germany

    configuring an OPC UA server and an OPC UA client in CODESYS 3.5

  • Jim's Garage

    the Mosquitto broker explanation and setup

  • BINARYUPDATES

    the MQTT Explorer tutorial

  • Steve Cope

    the beginners guide to MQTT Sparkplug

  • Fusion Automate

    the Kepware IoT Gateway MQTT agent lesson

  • Edge Signal

    the OPC UA server to cloud MQTT gateway demo

  • RealPars

    using Node-RED and MQTT on a PLCnext controller as an edge gateway

  • Thetips4you

    the full InfluxDB, Telegraf and Grafana setup for beginners

  • Shawn Hymel

    getting started with the Mosquitto broker with SSL/TLS certificates

  • SolutionsPT

    the webinar on network security zones and conduits

Questions

About this course

What is a Unified Namespace (UNS)?
A Unified Namespace is a single, organised place, usually an MQTT broker with an ISA-95 topic tree, where every system publishes and reads the current state of the plant. Instead of wiring each system to every other, each connects once, and historians, MES and analytics subscribe to what they need. This course teaches how to design, build and secure one.
Who is this industrial DataOps course for?
It is for automation, controls, SCADA and MES engineers, and for IT engineers moving into operational technology, who are asked to get plant data to SCADA, MES, historians and analytics. It suits anyone aiming at IIoT engineer, IT/OT integration or industrial data architect roles.
OPC UA or MQTT: which one should I learn?
Both, because they do different jobs: OPC UA gives structured, secure access to controllers and machines, and MQTT distributes that data to many consumers through a broker. Most Unified Namespace designs read PLCs over OPC UA at the edge and publish to MQTT, which is exactly the path this course follows.
Does the course cover MQTT Sparkplug B?
Yes. A full module covers the Sparkplug B topic namespace, the Protobuf payload, birth and death certificates, bdSeq and seq numbering and rebirth requests, and the design module compares a Sparkplug-based namespace with a plain MQTT and JSON namespace so you can choose, or bridge the two.
What software do I need, and is it free?
Everything needed is free: Eclipse Mosquitto, MQTT Explorer, UaExpert, Node-RED, CODESYS with its Windows soft PLC in demo mode, Telegraf, InfluxDB 3 Core and Grafana. TIA Portal with PLCSIM Advanced, Kepware Server and Ignition Maker Edition are optional. A laptop with 8 GB of RAM is enough, and no hardware is required.
Is the course free to learn, and how long does it take?
Yes, every module, the notes, worked problems, practice tasks, project and final assessment are free to learn. It takes about 18 hours at your own pace, of which about 12.7 hours is video; the optional project takes about 14 hours more.
What certificate do I get, and how is it verified?
You get a verifiable certificate of completion from EDWartens when you finish every module and pass the 15-question final at 60 percent. It carries a unique certificate number and a QR code that open a public verification page showing the course, the modules covered and your final score. It is not an OPC Foundation, Eclipse Sparkplug, ISA/IEC 62443 or vendor credential.
Which standards does the course follow, and where are these skills used?
It is built on IEC 62541 (OPC UA), ISO/IEC 20922 and OASIS MQTT 5.0, ISO/IEC 20237 (Sparkplug 3.0), IEC 62264 (ISA-95) and IEC 62443 for zones and conduits, explained in our own words. The same architecture is being adopted by manufacturers, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and utility plants in Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Gulf.

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module