Learn about system requirements

To run PI EFGen, your PI AF Server must be version 2010 R3 (2.4) or higher. No specific version of PI Server is required: for best performance and highest stability, use the most recent version. Version 1.3.4.333 of the PI SDK and the PI AF SDK must be installed on the PI EFGen interface node. For best performance and to minimize competition for system resources, install PI EFGen on a dedicated interface node. Ensure that it can access port 5450 on the PI Server node and port 5457 on the PI AF Server node. If you cannot run PI EFGen on a dedicated node, it is preferable to install it on the PI AF Server node rather than the PI Server node, to minimize contention.

To create health points and to read the active points that trigger the start and end times of event frames, PI EFGen requires read/write access to the PI Server. To create event frames and write data to elements and attributes, the interface must be able to connect to the PI AF server.

The user account under which the PI Event Frames Interface Manager runs must be in the local Administrators group. Set the following permissions for the user that runs the interface and all users who need to run the PI Event Frames Interface Manager:

• PI Server permissions (PI SMT: Browse to Security > Database Security)

  • Database security: Enable read/write access for the PIPOINT table

  • Point Database security: Set both PtSecurity and DataSecurity to read/write

  • Enable read access to the active points

• PI AF Server permissions

  • Database: Read/Write

  • Categories: Write

  • Element: Read/Write

  • Element Templates: Write

  • Event frames: Write Data

If you are running PI Server 3.4.380.36 or later, you can take advantage of its support for Windows Integrated Security by running the PI EFGen interface service using a Windows account that has the required permissions on the PI Server. To use Windows Integrated Security, use PI SMT to define a mapping that assigns the Windows user (or group) a PI identity that has the required permissions.

For pre-3.4.380.36 versions of the PI Server, you must create a PI trust for the user that runs the interface and configuration tool. Limit the trust to the hostname or IP address of the interface node and the application name (PIEFGEN.exe for PIEFGen and BIFConfig.exe for the Event Frames Interface Manager).

Installation directories

• PIHOME directory

To configure the [PIHOME] directory, edit the PIHOME entry in the pipc.ini configuration file. This pipc.ini file is an ASCII text file, which is located in the %windir% directory.

For 32-bit operating systems, the recommended setting is as follows:

[PIPC]
PIHOME=C:\Program Files\PIPC

For 64-bit operating systems, the recommended setting is as follows:

[PIPC]
PIHOME=C:\Program Files (x86)\PIPC

Although the preceding examples define the root of the PIHOME directory on the C: drive, the PIHOME directory does not need to be on the C: drive.

• Interface installation directory

  By default, the interface is installed in the following directory:

  %PIHOME%\Interfaces\EFGEN\