Our new PLC offers both Modbus TCP and OPC UA: which should we use?

[HMIDesign]

We are buying a new filling machine, and the machine builder asks which interface we want for monitoring. The PLC supports both Modbus TCP and OPC UA. Our maintenance team knows Modbus from older machines, but the machine builder recommends OPC UA because it is "more modern".
We want to connect the machine to OEE monitoring and possibly to SCADA later. Which option is better for us, and what should we ask the machine builder to deliver so the connection is quick to set up?

[Technical Support]

Both are good industrial protocols; the right choice depends on what your monitoring software supports and what your team can maintain.
Modbus TCP
- Simple and widely supported. Data is read from numbered registers and coils.
- The machine builder must give you a register map: which address holds which value, data type (16/32-bit, float, word order), and scaling.
- Your team already knows it, which matters for troubleshooting at 3 a.m.
OPC UA
- Values are published with names and data types, and security (certificates, user login) is built in.
- Setup needs certificates and endpoint settings, and depends on the OPC UA server configuration in the PLC.
Our recommendation
1. First check which protocols the product you plan to use supports, in its Communication Protocols documentation:
- Proveris OEE: https://greensoft.ai/documentation/p...ion-protocols/
- Omnivex SCADA: https://greensoft.ai/documentation/o...ion-protocols/
2. If Modbus TCP is supported and your team is comfortable with it, it is usually the quickest path for OEE signals (running signal, product counter, reject counter, energy).
3. Whichever you choose, ask the machine builder for:
- The complete signal list with addresses or node names, data types and units.
- Counters that only increase (not reset by the machine program at every batch), or a clear description of when they reset.
- The PLC's IP address and port in your production network.
Background reading:

https://greensoft.ai/blog/modbus-tcp-guide-for-industrial-communication/

https://greensoft.ai/blog/what-is-opc-ua-how-does-the-opc-ua-protocol-work/