Plant data historians and databases are third-party software products of companies that are not affiliated with SIMSCI. The historian is just a software application. When it also supports an address on a specific computer to which users may connect, it becomes a server. PRO/II is able to connect to a data historian server if (1) it can locate the server connection over a computer network, and (2) both programs understand a common data format and communications protocol.
Typically, this is accomplished with two interface software programs: one for PRO/II and the other for the data historian. PRO/II communicates with its interface program, which communicates with the historian interface program, which in turn communicates with the data historian. The PRO/II side interface is automatically installed when PRO/II is installed.
The interface is a one-way transfer from the historian server to PRO/II. The use of different tags to read the raw data is supported. The ability to extract data from the server system is possible because the interface programs implement a generalized time stamp and tag name protocol. After a connection is made to the server, users can browse the list of available tags. A connection may be established to only one data server at a time. Multiple simultaneous or concurrent connections are not supported.
Each tag must have a value associated with it. Tagged vales are up[dated when the server connection is made or changed; or when the start and end times are specified or changed.
Supported Interfaces
For meaningful data transfer to occur, both PRO/II and the data server must understand and use the same data format and communications protocols. Specific interfaces built into PRO/II allow connection to any one of several data historians. Refer to Tag Data Supported Interfaces for more information about the historians that are supported by PRO/II.
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