To make any machine work with an operating system, the most important thing is the communication protocol. As fast the data and information are secured, standardized, and exchanged between devices, machines, servers, and in a different industry, more smoothly the machines will work at a fast pace but it has been a constant challenge in Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT).
The Architecture Model which is referred to for Industry 4.0 is RAMI 4.0 (Reference Architecture Model Industries) as per the IEC 62541, a standard in OPC Unified Architecture i.e. OPC UA is recommended as one of the few sources of implementation in the communication layer.
In Industry 4.0 communication, the basic prerequisite for OPC UA is Internet Protocol (IP). So, it must be Industry 4.0 capable which is only OPC UA capable i.e. integrate via a gateway. The information is modeled explicitly with an emphasized OPC UA.
Source:- Elektronik Praxis