Introduction to PI Connector for UFL

PI Connector for UFL is used to transfer contextual and time-series data from textual data sources, such as ASCII and Unicode (UTF-8), to the PI System.

PI AF elements and event frames, along with PI points, are created automatically when the connector receives data that pass the filters specified in the configuration INI file.

Operational overview

Once configured, the connector performs the following tasks:

1. The connector either periodically scans for new data in the configured folder, or enables the communication on a REST channel. The communication on the REST channel can be configured in two modes:

   • listening - REST(server) mode

   • actively executing an http/https GET command on given endpoints - REST(client) mode

2. Listening on a REST(server) endpoint means the connector expects data to be sent to an address the connector opens. Data must be sent through https PUT or POST requests.

3. Actively executing the http/https GET command allows for reading from existing REST endpoints by scanning them on a periodic basis.

4. For more information on this topic, see Add data sources to the connector.

5. If new data is available, the connector reads it, filters, and extracts the input from lines based on the logic that is defined in the configuration INI file.

6. After the input is filtered and assigned to variables (declared in the INI file), events are forwarded to PI points, PI AF elements, their attributes, and event frames. If any of these PI entities are found not to exist, the connector creates and then updates them.

7. AF elements and event frames will always be accompanied by a template.

   Note: The connector cannot reference existing PI AF elements that it has not created.

   PI Connector for UFL Architecture Diagram

   

   Data flow example (through the REST(client) channel)