THE STANDARD / UNS FRAMEWORK

The UNS Framework standard

Describe your factory and its data in shared YAML files. Use these definitions to agree names, document equipment, and give applications a common map of the namespace.

New to the idea? Start with how a Unified Namespace works. Looking for software to run? Explore fn-uns, the reference implementation.
On this page 4 sections
Describe what you haveWhat the definitions coverUse the standard in a first projectCore Definitions

Describe what you have

A definition file records what a site contains and how its data is named. For example, a machine belongs to a cell and has sensors with known meanings. Teams can review these files together and applications can read the same structure.

The standard describes the system. Connecting equipment, translating messages, and running applications are implementation work. The files alone do not deploy a broker or make existing systems compatible.

The example below shows the namespace and site definitions. The complete example puts all the definitions together.

# uns.yml — describe your namespace
version: '1.0'
uns:
name: 'UNS Framework'
region: 'UK'
timezone: 'UTC'
topic_structure: 'version/site/area/...'
topic_standard: 'ISA95'
information_model: 'User Defined'
 
# site.yml — describe your factory
site:
- name: UK
id: UK
area:
- name: Area 1
line:
- name: Line 1
cell:
- name: Cell 1

What the definitions cover

Your factory

Sites, areas, lines, cells, equipment, and sensors describe where a signal originates.

Your data connections

Producers, consumers, functions, brokers, and databases describe how systems exchange and use data.

Your shared conventions

Namespace settings record the topic structure and information model. Agree those conventions before mapping incoming machine signals.

Use the standard in a first project

Start with one machine. Record its location, the signals you need, and their meanings. Review that description with operations and engineering before expanding it to more equipment.

Follow the YAML walkthrough to create a small factory model, or use the definitions below to look up individual fields.

Core Definitions

The UNS Framework configuration encompasses sites, areas, lines, cells, equipment, sensors, functions, producers, consumers, MQTT brokers, and databases — everything described in YAML.

View all definitions →