Introduction to PI Connector for Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7

PI Connector for Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 copies contextual and time-series data from Siemens OPC UA (Unified Architecture) server for OpenPCS 7 to OSIsoft PI Data and PI Asset servers. Static OpenPCS 7 variables are mapped to PI Asset Framework elements, dynamic variables are converted to PI points, and conditions with start and end time to PI Event Frames.

Note: For reasons of readability OPC UA server for OpenPCS 7 is referred to as OpenPCS 7 in this user guide.

Before starting, users have an option to read the OpenPCS 7 address space and store it in the form of a .csv file. Consequently, this file can be edited and uploaded back to the connector. The .csv file thus allows for a selection of a subset of OpenPCS 7 objects, which the connector will ultimately replicate to PI.

PI AF elements, attributes, PI points, and Event Frames are created automatically, real-time data is obtained through subscriptions (unsolicited reads); historical data is recovered during start-up or after every communication link re-creation.