Configure, add, register and synchronize interface instances

Configure the existing interface instances:

1. Register the existing interface instances with PI APS.

2. Configure the Points not in PI rule for these instances to Skip search for new points so that these instances do not search for available points.

3. Configure PI Point Edits and PI Points That No Longer Exist on the Data Source rules as appropriate for your needs.

Add a new interface instance and register it with PI APS.

This PI APS instance will search for available points in the data source.

Configure the rules for the new interface instance:

1. Set the Points Not in PI rule to Store in Available Points database.

   You must set Points Not in PI to Store in Available Points database until after you have reviewed available points for the interface and hidden any points that are existing points in the other interface instances (step 5).

2. Set the rules for PI Point Edits and PI Points That No Longer Exist on the Data Source to either automatic options or stored in the APSPoints database.

Synchronize the new interface instance.

Use the PI APS Configuration Utility to review the available points. Hide the available points that are existing points in the other interface instances.

Optional: Reconfigure the instance that searches for available points to Create automatically mode for the Points Not in PI rule.

When deciding whether to reconfigure the Points Not in PI rule, the main trade-off is between minimizing delay in creating PI points for new data source tags and maintaining an even distribution of points over the interface instances. When the PI APS instance that searches for available points is configured to Create automatically for Points Not in PI, PI APS immediately creates a new existing point when an available point is first discovered. Because only one instance is searching for new data source tags, however, the number of points assigned to that interface instance tends to grow while the other instances lose points. Over time, existing points can become unevenly distributed over the interface instances. See Move existing points to another instance for a procedure to redistribute PI points.

If addition and deletion of data source tags occurs frequently enough that uneven distribution is likely to be a recurring problem, consider configuring the PI APS instance that searches for available points to Store in Available Points database for Points Not in PI. With this configuration setting, the PI APS instance searches for available points but the points are not automatically created in PI Server. An administrator must review the available points, assign them to interface instances, and create the points. See Create PI points manually for a procedure. The advantage of using this configuration setting is that each PI point is always assigned to the appropriate interface instance, which comes at the price of being a manual process.

Because manual intervention is an integral aspect of selecting Store in Available Points database for Points Not in PI, the synchronization schedule for the PI APS instance that searches for available points should be configured accordingly. See Synchronization Schedule dialog box. Choosing to synchronize manually minimizes the resources used by PI APS by only synchronizing on demand when an administrator is prepared to review available points. If automatic synchronization is preferred, or necessary because the instance also has existing points that need to be synchronized, set the period to roughly the same period as the administrator plans to review available points. If a shorter period is configured, extra synchronizations that are not reviewed occur and the resources consumed are wasted.