Integrations

OPC UA to Sparkplug B, without a script.

Read the OPC UA nodes with MaestroHub and publish them as Sparkplug B metrics, with MaestroHub acting as the Edge Node: birth and death certificates, Protocol Buffers payloads and sequence numbers are handled for you.

The flow

One value, from the machine to Sparkplug B. Illustrative.

OPC UAindustrial protocolns=2;s=Line2.State

MaestroHub

Line 2 state · Running · Good

named, unit, quality
origin stamped
buffered on disk

Sparkplug BMQTT specificationspBv1.0/Plant1/DDATA/Edge1/Line2

Why do it with MaestroHub

More than a pipe from OPC UA to Sparkplug B.

Sparkplug done right

Birth, death and sequence handling are built in, so SCADA sees a well-behaved edge node.

Any source, not only OPC UA

S7, Modbus and Allen-Bradley values can be published as Sparkplug metrics the same way.

Context before it leaves

Values carry names and units from the namespace before they become metrics.

What lands in Sparkplug B

An example. You choose the fields in the pipeline.

metric	value	datatype	timestamp
Line2/State	Running	String	2026-10-03T06:00:01Z

Set it up in three steps

1
Connect OPC UA
Add the OPC UA server, browse its address space and pick the nodes, or add hundreds at once with bulk creation.
2
Give the values meaning
Map each value to a topic in the namespace with its name, unit and schema. Quality and origin are stamped on every value.
3
Deliver to Sparkplug B
Add a Sparkplug B publish output; MaestroHub acts as the Edge Node and handles birth, death and sequence numbers.

Before you start

What each side needs, from the connector documentation.

OPC UA

The server address, built as opc.tcp://host:port/path. The standard OPC UA port is 4840.
For any Security Policy other than None, a client certificate: paste your own (RSA keys only) or let MaestroHub generate a self-signed one.
If you use the auto-generated certificate, the OPC UA server administrator must trust it on the server.
A username and password when the server does not allow Anonymous access.

Example settings

Server Hostname: opcua.example.com
Port: 4840
Security Policy: Basic256Sha256
Security Mode: SignAndEncrypt
Certificate Mode: Auto-generate (self-signed)
Authentication Type: UsernamePassword

OPC UA connector documentation

Sparkplug B

An MQTT broker hostname and port (1883 by default), with scheme tcp, ssl, ws or wss.
A Group ID and an Edge Node ID that is unique within the group. Together they identify this MaestroHub instance.
Broker username and password if the broker requires them.

Example settings

Broker: broker.example.com
Port: 1883
Scheme: tcp
Group ID: factory-floor
Edge Node ID: edge-node-01
Device ID (Publish Device Data): sensor-01

Sparkplug B connector documentation

Things to know

Pitfalls and limits the documentation calls out, so they don't surprise you on site.

OPC UA

Security Policy and Security Mode must agree. Policy None requires Mode None. Any other policy requires Sign or SignAndEncrypt.
Node identifiers need a namespace index and a type prefix (i=, s=, g=, b=). Namespace 0 is typically standard nodes, 2 and up custom nodes. Browse a small scope first to find the exact IDs.
On Monitor functions, set the sampling interval equal to or faster than the publishing interval, or changes can be missed. Subscriptions are recreated automatically after a lost connection or a session timeout.

Limits

Manual client certificates support RSA keys only. Auto-generated certificates are RSA 2048-bit and valid for 365 days.
Monitor functions cannot be created through Quick Add. Use the full Function Builder.

Sparkplug B

Numbers saved in the function's metrics are published as Double, whatever integer type the editor shows. Integer types are published only when the value arrives as an integer at run time, for example through a parameter.
SparkPlug B connections need exclusive scaling, because birth and death certificates and sequence numbers must be managed by one instance.
NDEATH is set as the Last Will automatically, and a DBIRTH is sent on the first data message for each device. On the trigger, NDEATH and DDEATH frames always carry quality bad.

Limits

The Subscribe function is a passive listener, not a Host Application. It does not publish STATE messages, request rebirths or send NCMD or DCMD commands.
Only one Discover session can run on a connection at a time.

What teams use it for

Feeding Sparkplug SCADA

Ignition or other Sparkplug-aware systems receive clean metrics.

Report by exception

Only changes are sent, with state awareness on reconnect.

Edge to cloud bridges

Sparkplug brokers carrying plant data to central systems.

Ways to connect OPC UA to Sparkplug B

In general terms. Check any specific product for its own details.

Compare a custom script, a flow tool, a cloud vendor's edge service and MaestroHub

Swipe sideways to see every column

	A custom script	A flow tool	A cloud vendor's edge service	MaestroHub
Talks OPC UA	A library you choose	Community plug-ins	Depends on the vendor	Built in, one of 90+ connectors
Names, units and schema	You write it	You build it	Partly, in the vendor's model	One governed namespace
Quality on every value	You write it	You build it	Depends on the vendor	Built in, carried through calculations
Where each value came from	You write it	You build it	Depends on the vendor	Stamped on every value
Survives a network outage	You build it	You build it	Usually, to that vendor's cloud	On disk, per destination, in order
Several destinations at once	One script each	Yes, flow by flow	Mostly that vendor's cloud	Any mix, each with its own buffer
Permissions and audit	You build it	You build it	Cloud account permissions	Roles, single sign-on, audit trail
AI agents can use the data	You build it	You build it	Depends on the vendor	Through the MCP server

Questions

How do I publish OPC UA data as Sparkplug B?

Do I need to write code to connect OPC UA to Sparkplug B?

No. You configure the OPC UA connection and the Sparkplug B output in MaestroHub and join them with a pipeline. Transformations can be added where you need them.

Where does MaestroHub run for this?

On your own infrastructure next to the machines: an edge box, a virtual machine or Kubernetes. Nothing has to leave your network.

Why not just write a script for OPC UA to Sparkplug B?

A script works on day one. The cost comes later: decoding and naming values, handling bad quality, buffering through outages, keeping credentials safe, and doing it again for the next machine and the next destination. MaestroHub does those once, for every connector.

What else can OPC UA data go to?

More than 90 connectors are included in every edition, among them historians, databases, cloud warehouses, message brokers and business systems, so the same values can feed several destinations at once.

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