IEC 62541-10:2025

Overview

IEC 62541-10:2025 - "OPC Unified Architecture - Part 10: Programs" defines the Information Model for Programs in OPC UA. It specifies the NodeClasses, standard Properties, Methods and Events and the associated behavior and information needed to represent and manage Programs in an OPC UA AddressSpace. The document is part of the IEC 62541 series and the fourth edition (2025) replaces the 2020 third edition and introduces a technical revision (notably alignment of the StateMachine table format). An illustrative DomainDownload Program example is provided in Annex A.

Key Topics

• Program Information Model: Definitions of the NodeClasses and object models used to represent Programs in OPC UA.
• Program State Machine: Finite State Machine (FSM) for Programs including states, transitions and stimuli; documented as ProgramStateMachineType.
• Properties, Methods and Events: Standard Properties, Methods (program control methods) and Events (including audit and transition events) associated with program lifecycle and control.
• Result and Diagnostic Data: Structures such as FinalResultData and ProgramDiagnostic2 for program results and diagnostics.
• Security and Lifetime: Security considerations and program lifetime behavior are part of the conceptual model.
• Normative Model Boundaries: The complete AddressSpace model (attributes and NodeClasses) is specified in IEC 62541-3; Services to invoke Methods are specified in IEC 62541-4.
• Illustrative Example: Annex A defines a DomainDownload Program example to show practical modeling patterns.

Applications

IEC 62541-10:2025 is used wherever OPC UA Programs need to be modeled, controlled or audited:

• Device and gateway manufacturers implementing OPC Unified Architecture Programs for firmware update, domain downloads, batch recipes or automated tasks.
• System integrators and automation engineers modeling program lifecycle and state control in distributed control systems (DCS) and industrial control systems (ICS).
• Software developers creating OPC UA servers/clients that must expose or invoke program Methods, and handle Events and diagnostics.
• Asset managers and maintenance teams implementing deterministic program execution, audits and result reporting via OPC UA.
• Cybersecurity and compliance teams reviewing Program security considerations and audit event requirements.

Related standards

• IEC 62541-3 - AddressSpace Model (complete NodeClasses and Attributes)
• IEC 62541-4 - Services (invoking Methods and service-level behavior)
• Other parts of the IEC 62541 OPC UA series for interoperability, information modeling and transport

This part is essential reading for implementers of OPC UA Program models seeking standardized Program lifecycle control, consistent event/audit semantics, and interoperability across devices and enterprise systems. Keywords: IEC 62541-10:2025, OPC Unified Architecture, OPC UA Programs, Program StateMachine, DomainDownload, Information Model, NodeClasses, Methods, Events.