Command-line parameters

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Last UpdatedOct 27, 2026
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PI System
PI Interface for OPC Alarms and Events 1.7.2
Interfaces

See the PI Universal Interface (UniInt) Framework user guide for details regarding other command-line parameter

Before the interface starts, a file containing the configuration parameters must be created. The command-line arguments need to be modified to run in the site-specific environment. The PI ICU is the preferred method for modifying this file.

At startup, the interface interprets the command-line arguments. The command-line arguments define the point source, scan frequency, and many options specifying how to communicate with the OPC AE server. All arguments must begin with a slash character (/), have a space between them, and have no spaces within the argument. The arguments are not case sensitive. A point source, scan class, and OPC AE server must be defined for the interface to start.

Note: Microsoft has implemented security updates for DCOM in the Windows Operating Systems. The minimum Authentication-Level required is “Packet Integrity.” For additional information, refer to the DCOM Server Security Bypass knowledge article

The PI Interface for OPC Alarms and Events DCOM Authentication-Level can be set by adding the following command line parameters to the “Additional Parameters.”

/DA= (Default Authentication) = DEFAULT, NONE, CONNECT, CALL, PKT (Packet), PKT_INTEGRITY (Packet Integrity), PKT_PRIVACY (Packet Privacy)

/DI= (Default Impersonation) = DEFAULT, ANONYMOUS, IDENTIFY, IMPERSONATE, DELEGATE

Parameter	Description
/AI=# Optional Default: /ai=-1	The /ai flag is used to specify the index into the vendor specific array that holds the Area name. Some OPC AE servers specify the area separate from the source name (i.e. DeltaV) in the event data. In those cases, the element index is needed for event processing. For more information see Area index
/ARC Optional Default: none	The /arc flag is used to specify that the data is to bypass the snapshot and be written directly to the archive.
/BACKUPNODE=name Required if interface not loaded on the OPC AE Backup Server node; otherwise optional.	Use this parameter to specify the node where the Backup OPC AE Server resides. For example, /BACKUPNODE=FACT1NODE where FACT1NODE is the name of the computer (node name) where the Backup OPC AE Server runs. When no node is specified then the Backup OPC AE Server is presumed by the interface to exist on the interface node.
/BSERVER=name Optional Default: none	Use this parameter to specify the backup OPC AE Server to use. For example, /BSERVER=DELTAV.OPCEVENTSERVER.1 where DELTAV.OPCEVENTSERVER.1 is the name of the Backup OPC AE Server as registered on that machine. If the local server name has embedded spaces, enclose the name in double quote. For example: /BSERVER="Server name with spaces"
/BTM=# Optional Default: /BTM=0	The requested buffer time. The buffer time is in milliseconds and tells the server how often to send event notifications. This is a minimum time - do not send event notifications any faster than the buffer time unless it is greater than 0, a value of 0 for buffer time means that the server should send event notifications as soon as it gets them. This parameter, along with the max size (/MXE) parameter, is used to improve communications efficiency between client and server. This parameter is a recommendation from the client, and the server is allowed to ignore the parameter. In some instances the default value will not function correctly, in this case, try using a value of 10000 (10 sec). If this is successful try changing this parameter to enhance performance for a particular setup.
/CacheMode Required Default: Not Defined	Required for disconnected startup operation. If defined, the /CacheMode startup parameter indicates that the interface will be configured to utilize the disconnected startup feature.
/CachePath=path Optional Default: Not Defined	Used to specify a directory in which to create the point caching files. The directory specified must already exist on the target machine. By default, the files are created in the same location as the interface executable. If the path contains any spaces, enclose the path in quotes. Examples: /CachePath=D:\PIPC\Interfaces\CacheFiles /CachePath=D:/PIPC/Interfaces/CacheFiles /CachePath=D:/PIPC/Interfaces/CacheFiles/ Examples with space in path name: /CachePath=”D:\Program Files\PIPC\MyFiles” /CachePath=”D:/Program Files/PIPC/MyFiles” /CachePath=”D:/Program Files/PIPC/MyFiles/”
/CacheSynch=# Optional Default: 250 ms	Note: Care must be taken when modifying this parameter. This value must be less than the smallest scan class period defined with the /f parameter. If the value of the /CacheSynch parameter is greater than the scan class value, input scans will be missed while the point cache file is being synchronized. The optional /CacheSynch=# startup parameter specifies the time slice period in milliseconds (ms) allocated by UniInt for synchronizing the interface point cache file with the PI Data Archive. By default, the interface will synchronize the point cache if running in the disconnected startup mode. UniInt allocates a maximum of # ms each pass through the control loop synchronizing the interface point cache until the file is completely synchronized. Synchronization of the point cache file can be disabled by setting the value /CacheSynch=0. The minimum synchronization period when cache synchronization is enabled is 50ms Whereas, the maximum synchronization period is 3000ms (3s). Period values of 1 to 49 will be changed by the interface to the minimum of 50ms and values greater than 3000 will be set to the maximum interval value of 3000ms. Default: 250 ms Range: {0, 50 – 3000} time in milliseconds Example: /CacheSynch=50 (use a 50ms interval) /CacheSynch=3000 (use a 3s interval) /CacheSynch=0 (do not synchronize the cache)
/CS=tagname Optional Default: none	The string tag into which should be written the name of the currently active OPC AE Server.
/DA=option Default: CONNECT	(Optional) Configures default authentication level, part of DCOM security settings for the interface. This parameter sets the interface-specific authentication level required to verify the identity of the OPC server during calls. Valid values are as follows: DEFAULT NONE CONNECT(default) CALL PKT PKT_INTEGRITY PKT_PRIVACY Use this setting with the /DIparameter. If you set /DIand omit /DA, CONNECTis used. If neither /DAnor /DIis configured, the interface uses the default permissions on the client machine.
/DB=# Optional Default: none	This is included to allow some minimal debugging to help determine what is coming from the server. See Debugging for more information.
/DI=level Default:	(Optional) Sets the interface-specific impersonation level to be granted to an OPC server to perform processing tasks on behalf of the interface. Default Impersonation level is one of the DCOM security settings for the interface. Valid authority levels are: ANONYMOUS IDENTIFY(default) IMPERSONATE DELEGATE Use with the /DAparameter. If you specify the /DA parameter and omit /DI, the default IDENTIFYis used. If neither parameter is set, the interface uses the computer’s default DCOM security settings.
/DT=tagname Optional Default: none	The name of the tag to be used with /DB=4. If this tag is not specified, the interface will use the first tag for which it receives a value.
/ec=# Optional	The first instance of the /ec parameter on the command-line is used to specify a counter number, #, for an I/O Rate point. If the # is not specified, then the default event counter is 1. Also, if the /ec parameter is not specified at all, there is still a default event counter of 1 associated with the interface. If there is an I/O Rate point that is associated with an event counter of 1, each copy of the interface that is running without /ec=#explicitly defined will write to the same I/O Rate point. This means either explicitly defining an event counter other than 1 for each copy of the interface or not associating any I/O Rate points with event counter 1. Configuration of I/O Rate points is discussed in the section called I/O Rate Point. For interfaces that run on Windows nodes, subsequent instances of the /ec flag may be used by specific interfaces to keep track of various input or output operations. One must consult the interface- specific documentation to see whether subsequent instances of the /ec flag have any effect. Subsequent instances of the /ec flag can be of the form /ec, where is any ASCII character sequence. For example, /ecinput=10, /ecoutput=11, and /ec=12 are legitimate choices for the second, third, and fourth event counter strings.
/EVC1=#, EVC2=#, EVC3=#, …/EVC32=# Required if location2 is specified and event category is not 1.	Use this parameter to specify which event categories and event attributes are to be supported. Each argument specifies a different event category and its requested attributes. For example, if event category 1 has attributes 1 through 10, but attributes 3, 5 and 7 are the only requested arguments, then /EVC1=1,3,5,7 . The argument number does not need to relate to the event category; the user can specify /EVC2=10,1,2,3 . The supported event categories and attributes are printed out using the configuration tool. (Refer to section – PI Point Configuration Tool. Note: There is a limit of 32 attributes per event category.
/FT=# Optional Default: /FT=10	The number of seconds to try to connect, before switching to the Backup OPC AE Server.
/HIGHSEV=# Optional By default, filtering by severity is disabled	The /highsev flag is used with the /lowsev flag to specify a range for the Severity value. If both of these parameters are specified, the interface will sign up to only receive values from the Server whose severity falls into the specified range. If multiple severity levels are necessary, the user must run multiple instances of the interface because the signup to filter by severity affects all tags configured for the interface instance. The allowable range for the /highsev flag is 1 to 1000, inclusive and the value of the /highsev flag must be greater than the value of the /lowsev flag. Severity limits are defined within each OPC AE Server.
/host=host:port Required	The /host parameter specifies the PI Data Archive node. Host is the IP address or the domain name of the PI Data Archive node. Port is the port number for TCP/IP communication. The port is always 5450. It is recommended to explicitly define the host and port on the command-line with the /host parameter. Nevertheless, if either the host or port is not specified, the interface will attempt to use defaults. Examples: The interface is running on an interface node, the domain name of the PI Data Archive node is Marvin, and the IP address of Marvin is 206.79.198.30. Valid /host parameters would be: /host=marvin /host=marvin:5450 /host=206.79.198.30 /host=206.79.198.30:5450
/id=x Highly Recommended	The /id parameter is used to specify the interface identifier. The interface identifier is a string that is no longer than 9 characters in length. UniInt concatenates this string to the header that is used to identify error messages as belonging to a particular interface. See the Appendix A: Error and Informational Messages for more information. UniInt always uses the /id parameter in the fashion described above. This interface also uses the /id parameter to identify a particular interface copy number that corresponds to an integer value that is assigned to Location1. For this interface, use only numeric characters in the identifier. For example, /id=1
/is=x Optional By default, expect OPC_STATUS_RUNNING	Ignore Status, ignore the state returned by the OPC server. Some OPC servers do not return OPC_STATUS_RUNNING when ready. If the interface hangs on startup and PI OPC Client tool displays an OPC server state other than RUNNING, set /is=Y and report the issue to your OPC server vendor. Default: N Options: Y or N
/LOWSEV=# Optional By default, filtering by severity is disabled	The /lowsev flag is used with the /highsev flag to specify a range for the Severity value. If both of these parameters are specified, the interface will sign up to only receive values from the Server whose severity falls into the specified range. If multiple severity levels are necessary, the user must run multiple instances of the interface because the signup to filter by severity affects all tags configured for the interface instance. The allowable range for the /lowsev flag is 1 to 1000, inclusive and the value of the /lowsev flag must be less than the value of the /highsev flag. Severity limits are defined within each OPC AE Server.
/MXE=# Optional Default: /MXE=0	The requested maximum number of events that will be sent in a single notification. A value of 0 means that there is no limit to the number of events that will be sent in a single callback. Note that a value of /MXE greater than 0 may cause the server to call the event more frequently than specified with the /BTM when a large number of events are being generated in order to limit the number of events to the max size. In some instances the default value will not function correctly, in this case, try using a value of 1000. If this is successful try changing this parameter to enhance performance for a particular setup.
/NODE=nodename Required if interface not loaded on the OPC AE Server node; otherwise optional.	Use this parameter to specify the node the OPC AE Server resides. For example, /NODE=FACT1NODE where FACT1NODE is the name of the computer (node name) where the OPC Server AE runs. When no node is specified then the OPC AE Server it is presumed by the interface that the server exists on the interface node.
/NT=Y or N Optional Default: N	No Timeout, write I/O Timeout to PI tags when the connection to the OPC AE Server is lost. Set to Y to disable writing. If the interface is configured to use a backup OPC AE Server, then consider turning this option off by specifying NT=Y.
/ps=x Required	The /ps parameter specifies the point source for the interface. X is not case sensitive and can be anysingle or multiple character string. For example, /ps=P and /ps=p are equivalent. The length of X is limited to 100 characters by UniInt. X can contain any character except ‘*’ and ‘?’. The point source that is assigned with the /ps parameter corresponds to the PointSource attribute of individual PI Points. The interface will attempt to load only those PI points with the appropriate point source. If the PI API version being used is prior to 1.6.x or the PI Data Archive version is prior to 3.4.370.x, the PointSource is limited to a single character unless the SDK is being used.
/rd=# Optional Default: 5 seconds	Reconnect Delay, how many seconds to wait before trying to reconnect to the OPC AE Server. Used after failed connection attempt and need to retry connection.
/rf Optional Default: none	Specifies whether the interface will request a Refresh from the OPC AE server. If supported by the OPC AE server the server will send any conditional data it has in its queue.
/SERVER=srvname Required	Use this parameter to specify the OPC AE Server to use. For example, /SERVER=DELTAV.OPCEVENTSERVER.1 where DELTAV.OPCEVENTSERVER.1 is the name of the OPC AE Server as registered on that machine. If the server name has embedded spaces, enclose the name in double quote. For example: /SERVER="Server name with spaces"
/ST=tagname Optional Default: none	Use this parameter to define a PI tag that will get the status of the OPC AE server. This must be a digital state tag, set up for manual input as though it is a lab tag. Possible values are the following. 0 = OPC_PLACE_HOLDER 1 = OPC_STATUS_RUNNING 2 = OPC_STATUS_FAILED 3 = OPC_STATUS_NOCONFIG 4 = OPC_STATUS_SUSPENDED 5 = OPC_STATUS_TEST Note that if the server returns any value other than those listed above, a 0 is sent to PI. If only the values shown above are defined for the states in the digital set, OPC_STATUS_RUNNING will be archived by default. Therefore define a state to represent the value of zero to handle this situation.
/stopstat=digstate Optional Default = no digital state written at shutdown.	If /stopstat=digstate is present on the command line, then the digital state, digstate, will be written to each PI Point when the interface is stopped. For a PI Data Archive, digstate must be in the system digital state table. UniInt will use the first occurrence of digstate found in the table. If /stopstat=digstate is not specified on the command line, then no digital states will be written when the interface is shut down. Note: The /stopstat parameter is disabled If the interface is running in a UniInt failover configuration as defined in the UniInt Failover Configuration section of this manual. Therefore, the digital state, digstate, will not be written to each PI Point when the interface is stopped. This prevents the digital state being written to PI Points while a redundant system is also writing data to the same PI Points. The /stopstat parameter is disabled even if there is only one interface active in the failover configuration. Examples: /stopstat=shutdown /stopstat=”Intf Shut” The entire digstate value should be enclosed within double quotes when there is a space in digstate.
/SW=# Optional Default: uses values of /FT=# if not specified.	The number of seconds to wait for RUNNING status, before switching to the Backup OPC AE Server.
/TS=c Optional Default: /TS=N	Use this parameter to specify whether the Interface gets time stamps for the data from the Interface, or whether it time stamps the data when it receives it. Some OPC AE servers are able to provide the time stamp for when they read the data from the device, while others are not. If the server is able to provide valid time stamps, use /TS=Y. Using /TS=A causes the interface to adjust the timestamps to match the time on the PI Data Archive.
/UFO_ID=# Required for UniInt Interface Level Failover Phase 1 or 2	Failover ID. This value must be different from the Failover ID of the other interface in the failover pair. It can be any positive, non-zero integer.
/UFO_Interval=# Optional Default: 5000 Valid values are 1000-20000.	Failover Update Interval Specifies the heartbeat Update Interval in milliseconds and must be the same on both interface computers. This is the rate at which UniInt updates the Failover Heartbeat tags as well as how often UniInt checks on the status of the other copy of the interface.
/UFO_OtherID=# Required for UniInt Interface Level Failover Phase 1 or 2	Other Failover ID. This value must be equal to the Failover ID configured for the other interface in the failover pair.
/UFO_Sync=path/[fi lename] Required for UniInt Interface Level Failover Phase 2 synchronization. Any valid pathname / any valid filename The default filename is generated as executablename_pointsour ce_interfaceID.dat	The Failover File Synchronization Filepath and Optional Filename specify the path to the shared file used for failover synchronization and an optional filename used to specify a user defined filename in lieu of the default filename. The path to the shared file directory can be a fully qualified machine name and directory, a mapped drive letter, or a local path if the shared file is on one of the interface nodes. The path must be terminated by a slash ( / ) or backslash ( \ ) character. If no terminating slash is found, in the /UFO_Sync parameter, the interface interprets the final character string as an optional filename. The optional filename can be any valid filename. If the file does not exist, the first interface to start attempts to create the file. Note: If using the optional filename, do not supply a terminating slash or backslash character. If there are any spaces in the path or filename, the entire path and filename must be enclosed in quotes. Note: If you use the backslash and path separators and enclose the path in double quotes, the final backslash must be a double backslash (\\). Otherwise the closing double quote becomes part of the parameter instead of a parameter separator. Each node in the failover configuration must specify the same path and filename and must have read, write, and file creation rights to the shared directory specified by the path parameter. The service that the interface runs against must specify a valid logon user account under the “Log On” tab for the service properties.
/UFO_Type=type Required for UniInt Interface Level Failover Phase 2.	The Failover Type indicates which type of failover configuration the interface will run. The valid types for failover are HOT, WARM, and COLD configurations. If an interface does not supported the requested type of failover, the interface will shut down and log an error to the log file stating the requested failover type is not supported.
/UI=# Optional Default: /ui=-1	The /ui flag is used to specify the index into the vendor specific array that holds the Unit name. Some OPC AE servers specify the unit separate from the source name (i.e. DeltaV) in the event data. In those cases the element index is needed for event processing. For more information see Unit index
/UST Optional Default: (blank)	For performance reasons, some users may wish to discard the sub-second portion of the timestamps being passed to PI and only send whole integer seconds. This will mean that PI will require less space, and possibly less CPU, to store the same amount of data. The fractional part of the second is simply truncated. Specify the /UST flag in order to archive sub-second portion of timestamps. Do not specify the /UST flag in order to discard subseconds.
/WC Optional Default: (blank)	The /wc flag is used to specify whether the wildcard character (“*”) is in use in any of the tags configured for use by the interface. If any of the interface tags use wildcards, the /wc flag should be specified on the command line. If wildcards are not in use, do not specify the /wc flag.

Parameter

Description

/AI=#

Optional

Default: /ai=-1

The /ai flag is used to specify the index into the vendor specific array that holds the Area name.

Some OPC AE servers specify the area separate from the source name (i.e. DeltaV) in the event data. In those cases, the element index is needed for event processing. For more information see Area index

/ARC

Optional Default: none

The /arc flag is used to specify that the data is to bypass the snapshot and be written directly to the archive.

/BACKUPNODE=name

Required if interface not loaded on the OPC AE Backup Server node; otherwise optional.

Use this parameter to specify the node where the Backup OPC AE Server resides. For example,

/BACKUPNODE=FACT1NODE

where FACT1NODE is the name of the computer (node name) where the Backup OPC AE Server runs. When no node is specified then the Backup OPC AE Server is presumed by the interface to exist on the interface node.

/BSERVER=name

Optional Default: none

Use this parameter to specify the backup OPC AE Server to use. For example,

/BSERVER=DELTAV.OPCEVENTSERVER.1

where DELTAV.OPCEVENTSERVER.1 is the name of the Backup OPC AE Server as registered on that machine.

If the local server name has embedded spaces, enclose the name in double quote. For example:

/BSERVER="Server name with spaces"

/BTM=#

Optional

Default: /BTM=0

The requested buffer time. The buffer time is in milliseconds and tells the server how often to send event notifications. This is a minimum time - do not send event notifications any faster than the buffer time unless it is greater than 0, a value of 0 for buffer time means that the server should send event notifications as soon as it gets them. This parameter, along with the max size (/MXE) parameter, is used to improve communications efficiency between client and server. This parameter is a recommendation from the client, and the server is allowed to ignore the parameter.

In some instances the default value will not function correctly, in this case, try using a value of 10000 (10 sec). If this is successful try changing this parameter to enhance performance for a particular setup.

/CacheMode

Required

Default: Not Defined

Required for disconnected startup operation. If defined, the

/CacheMode startup parameter indicates that the interface will be configured to utilize the disconnected startup feature.

/CachePath=path

Optional

Default: Not Defined

Used to specify a directory in which to create the point caching files. The directory specified must already exist on the target machine. By default, the files are created in the same location as the interface executable.

If the path contains any spaces, enclose the path in quotes. Examples:

/CachePath=D:\PIPC\Interfaces\CacheFiles

/CachePath=D:/PIPC/Interfaces/CacheFiles

/CachePath=D:/PIPC/Interfaces/CacheFiles/

Examples with space in path name:

/CachePath=”D:\Program Files\PIPC\MyFiles”

/CachePath=”D:/Program Files/PIPC/MyFiles”

/CachePath=”D:/Program Files/PIPC/MyFiles/”

/CacheSynch=#

Optional Default: 250 ms

Note: Care must be taken when modifying this parameter. This value must be less than the smallest scan class period defined with the /f parameter. If the value of the /CacheSynch parameter is greater than the scan class value, input scans will be missed while the point cache file is being synchronized.

The optional /CacheSynch=# startup parameter specifies the time slice period in milliseconds (ms) allocated by UniInt for synchronizing the interface point cache file with the PI Data Archive. By default, the interface will synchronize the point cache if running in the disconnected startup mode. UniInt allocates a maximum of # ms each pass through the control loop synchronizing the interface point cache until the file is completely synchronized.

Synchronization of the point cache file can be disabled by setting the value /CacheSynch=0. The minimum synchronization period when cache synchronization is enabled is 50ms Whereas, the maximum synchronization period is 3000ms (3s). Period values of 1 to 49 will be changed by the interface to the minimum of 50ms and values greater than 3000 will be set to the maximum interval value of 3000ms.

Default: 250 ms

Range: {0, 50 – 3000} time in milliseconds

Example: /CacheSynch=50 (use a 50ms interval)

/CacheSynch=3000 (use a 3s interval)

/CacheSynch=0 (do not synchronize the cache)

/CS=tagname

Optional Default: none

The string tag into which should be written the name of the currently active OPC AE Server.

/DA=option

Default: CONNECT

(Optional) Configures default authentication level, part of DCOM security settings for the interface. This parameter sets the interface-specific authentication level required to verify the identity of the OPC server during calls. Valid values are as follows:

DEFAULT

NONE

CONNECT(default)

CALL

PKT

PKT_INTEGRITY

PKT_PRIVACY

Use this setting with the /DIparameter. If you set /DIand omit

/DA, CONNECTis used. If neither /DAnor /DIis configured, the interface

uses the default permissions on the client machine.

/DB=#

Optional Default: none

This is included to allow some minimal debugging to help determine what is coming from the server. See Debugging for more information.

/DI=level

Default:

(Optional) Sets the interface-specific impersonation level to be granted to an OPC server to perform processing tasks on behalf of the interface. Default Impersonation level is one of the DCOM security settings for the interface. Valid authority levels are:

ANONYMOUS

IDENTIFY(default)

IMPERSONATE

DELEGATE

Use with the /DAparameter. If you specify the /DA parameter and omit /DI, the default IDENTIFYis used. If neither parameter is set,

the interface uses the computer’s default DCOM security settings.

/DT=tagname

Optional Default: none

The name of the tag to be used with /DB=4. If this tag is not specified, the interface will use the first tag for which it receives a value.

/ec=#

Optional

The first instance of the /ec parameter on the command-line is used to specify a counter number, #, for an I/O Rate point. If the # is not specified, then the default event counter is 1. Also, if the /ec parameter is not specified at all, there is still a default event counter of 1 associated with the interface. If there is an I/O Rate point that is associated with an event counter of 1, each copy of the interface that is running without /ec=#explicitly defined will write to the same I/O Rate point. This means either explicitly defining an event counter other than 1 for each copy of the interface or not associating any I/O Rate points with event counter 1. Configuration of I/O Rate points is discussed in the section called I/O Rate Point.

For interfaces that run on Windows nodes, subsequent instances of the /ec flag may be used by specific interfaces to keep track of various input or output operations. One must consult the interface- specific documentation to see whether subsequent instances of the

/ec flag have any effect. Subsequent instances of the /ec flag can be of the form /ec*, where * is any ASCII character sequence. For example, /ecinput=10, /ecoutput=11, and /ec=12 are legitimate choices for the second, third, and fourth event counter strings.

/EVC1=#, EVC2=#, EVC3=#, …/EVC32=#

Required if location2 is specified and event category is not 1.

Use this parameter to specify which event categories and event attributes are to be supported. Each argument specifies a different event category and its requested attributes. For example, if event category 1 has attributes 1 through 10, but attributes 3, 5 and 7 are the only requested arguments, then /EVC1=1,3,5,7 . The argument number does not need to relate to the event category; the user can specify /EVC2=10,1,2,3 . The supported event categories and attributes are printed out using the configuration tool. (Refer to section – PI Point Configuration Tool.

Note: There is a limit of 32 attributes per event category.

/FT=#

Optional

Default: /FT=10

The number of seconds to try to connect, before switching to the Backup OPC AE Server.

/HIGHSEV=#

Optional

By default, filtering by severity is disabled

The /highsev flag is used with the /lowsev flag to specify a range for the Severity value. If both of these parameters are specified, the interface will sign up to only receive values from the Server whose severity falls into the specified range. If multiple severity levels are necessary, the user must run multiple instances of the interface because the signup to filter by severity affects all tags configured for the interface instance.

The allowable range for the /highsev flag is 1 to 1000, inclusive and the value of the /highsev flag must be greater than the value of the /lowsev flag. Severity limits are defined within each OPC AE Server.

/host=host:port

Required

The /host parameter specifies the PI Data Archive node.

Host is the IP address or the domain name of the PI Data Archive node.

Port is the port number for TCP/IP communication. The port is always 5450. It is recommended to explicitly define the host and port on the command-line with the /host parameter.

Nevertheless, if either the host or port is not specified, the interface will attempt to use defaults.

Examples:

The interface is running on an interface node, the domain name of the PI Data Archive node is Marvin, and the IP address of Marvin is 206.79.198.30. Valid /host parameters would be:

/host=marvin

/host=marvin:5450

/host=206.79.198.30

/host=206.79.198.30:5450

/id=x

Highly Recommended

The /id parameter is used to specify the interface identifier. The interface identifier is a string that is no longer than 9 characters in length. UniInt concatenates this string to the header

that is used to identify error messages as belonging to a particular

interface. See the Appendix A: Error and Informational Messages for more information.

UniInt always uses the /id parameter in the fashion described above. This interface also uses the /id parameter to identify a particular interface copy number that corresponds to an integer value that is assigned to Location1. For this interface, use only numeric characters in the identifier. For example,

/id=1

/is=x

Optional

By default, expect OPC_STATUS_RUNNING

Ignore Status, ignore the state returned by the OPC server. Some OPC servers do not return OPC_STATUS_RUNNING when ready. If the interface hangs on startup and PI OPC Client tool displays an OPC server state other than RUNNING, set /is=Y and report the issue to your OPC server vendor.

Default: N Options: Y or N

/LOWSEV=#

Optional

By default, filtering by severity is disabled

The /lowsev flag is used with the /highsev flag to specify a range for the Severity value. If both of these parameters are specified, the interface will sign up to only receive values from the Server whose severity falls into the specified range. If multiple severity levels are necessary, the user must run multiple instances of the interface because the signup to filter by severity affects all tags configured for the interface instance.

The allowable range for the /lowsev flag is 1 to 1000, inclusive and the value of the /lowsev flag must be less than the value of the /highsev flag. Severity limits are defined within each OPC AE Server.

/MXE=#

Optional

Default: /MXE=0

The requested maximum number of events that will be sent in a single notification. A value of 0 means that there is no limit to the number of events that will be sent in a single callback. Note that a value of /MXE greater than 0 may cause the server to call the event more frequently than specified with the /BTM when a large number of events are being generated in order to limit the number of events to the max size.

In some instances the default value will not function correctly, in this case, try using a value of 1000. If this is successful try changing this parameter to enhance performance for a particular setup.

/NODE=nodename Required if interface not loaded on the OPC AE

Server node; otherwise

optional.

Use this parameter to specify the node the OPC AE Server resides. For example,

/NODE=FACT1NODE

where FACT1NODE is the name of the computer (node name) where the OPC Server AE runs. When no node is specified then the OPC AE Server it is presumed by the interface that the server exists on the interface node.

/NT=Y or N

Optional

Default: N

No Timeout, write I/O Timeout to PI tags when the connection to the OPC AE Server is lost. Set to Y to disable writing.

If the interface is configured to use a backup OPC AE Server, then consider turning this option off by specifying NT=Y.

/ps=x

Required

The /ps parameter specifies the point source for the interface. X is not case sensitive and can be anysingle or multiple character string. For example, /ps=P and /ps=p are equivalent. The length of X is limited to 100 characters by UniInt. X can contain any character except ‘*’ and ‘?’.

The point source that is assigned with the /ps parameter corresponds to the PointSource attribute of individual PI Points. The interface will attempt to load only those PI points with the appropriate point source.

If the PI API version being used is prior to 1.6.x or the PI Data Archive version is prior to 3.4.370.x, the PointSource is limited to a single character unless the SDK is being used.

/rd=#

Optional

Default: 5 seconds

Reconnect Delay, how many seconds to wait before trying to reconnect to the OPC AE Server. Used after failed connection attempt and need to retry connection.

/rf

Optional Default: none

Specifies whether the interface will request a Refresh from the OPC AE server. If supported by the OPC AE server the server will send any conditional data it has in its queue.

/SERVER=srvname

Required

Use this parameter to specify the OPC AE Server to use. For example,

/SERVER=DELTAV.OPCEVENTSERVER.1

where DELTAV.OPCEVENTSERVER.1 is the name of the OPC AE Server as registered on that machine.

If the server name has embedded spaces, enclose the name in double quote. For example:

/SERVER="Server name with spaces"

/ST=tagname Optional Default: none

Use this parameter to define a PI tag that will get the status of the OPC AE server. This must be a digital state tag, set up for manual input as though it is a lab tag. Possible values are the following.

0 = OPC_PLACE_HOLDER

1 = OPC_STATUS_RUNNING

2 = OPC_STATUS_FAILED

3 = OPC_STATUS_NOCONFIG

4 = OPC_STATUS_SUSPENDED

5 = OPC_STATUS_TEST

Note that if the server returns any value other than those listed above, a 0 is sent to PI. If only the values shown above are defined for the states in the digital set, OPC_STATUS_RUNNING will be archived by default. Therefore define a state to represent the value of zero to handle this situation.

/stopstat=digstate

Optional

Default = no digital state written at shutdown.

If /stopstat=digstate is present on the command line, then the digital state, digstate, will be written to each PI Point when the interface is stopped. For a PI Data Archive, digstate must be in the system digital state table. UniInt will use the first occurrence of digstate found in the table.

If /stopstat=digstate is not specified on the command line, then no digital states will be written when the interface is shut down.

Note: The /stopstat parameter is disabled If the interface is running in a UniInt failover configuration as defined in the UniInt Failover Configuration section of this manual. Therefore, the digital state, digstate, will not be written to each PI Point when the interface is stopped. This prevents the digital state being written to PI Points while a redundant system is also writing data to the same PI Points. The /stopstat parameter is disabled even if there is only one interface active in the failover configuration.

Examples:

/stopstat=shutdown

/stopstat=”Intf Shut”

The entire digstate value should be enclosed within double quotes when there is a space in digstate.

/SW=#

Optional

Default: uses values of

/FT=# if not specified.

The number of seconds to wait for RUNNING status, before switching to the Backup OPC AE Server.

/TS=c Optional Default: /TS=N

Use this parameter to specify whether the Interface gets time stamps for the data from the Interface, or whether it time stamps the data when it receives it. Some OPC AE servers are able to provide the time stamp for when they read the data from the device, while others are not. If the server is able to provide valid time stamps, use /TS=Y. Using /TS=A causes the interface to adjust the timestamps to match the time on the PI Data Archive.

/UFO_ID=#

Required for UniInt Interface Level Failover Phase 1 or 2

Failover ID. This value must be different from the Failover ID of the other interface in the failover pair. It can be any positive, non-zero integer.

/UFO_Interval=#

Optional Default: 5000 Valid values are

1000-20000.

Failover Update Interval

Specifies the heartbeat Update Interval in milliseconds and must be the same on both interface computers.

This is the rate at which UniInt updates the Failover Heartbeat tags as well as how often UniInt checks on the status of the other copy of the interface.

/UFO_OtherID=#

Required for UniInt Interface Level Failover Phase 1 or 2

Other Failover ID. This value must be equal to the Failover ID configured for the other interface in the failover pair.

/UFO_Sync=path/[fi lename]

Required for UniInt Interface Level Failover Phase 2 synchronization.

Any valid pathname / any valid filename

The default filename is generated as executablename_pointsour ce_interfaceID.dat

The Failover File Synchronization Filepath and Optional Filename specify the path to the shared file used for failover synchronization and an optional filename used to specify a user defined filename in lieu of the default filename.

The path to the shared file directory can be a fully qualified machine name and directory, a mapped drive letter, or a local path if the shared file is on one of the interface nodes. The path must be terminated by a slash ( / ) or backslash ( \ ) character. If no terminating slash is found, in the /UFO_Sync parameter, the interface interprets the final character string as an optional filename.

The optional filename can be any valid filename. If the file does not exist, the first interface to start attempts to create the file.

Note: If using the optional filename, do not supply a terminating slash or backslash character.

If there are any spaces in the path or filename, the entire path and filename must be enclosed in quotes.

Note: If you use the backslash and path separators and enclose the path in double quotes, the final backslash must be a double backslash (\\). Otherwise the closing double quote becomes part of the parameter instead of a parameter separator.

Each node in the failover configuration must specify the same path and filename and must have read, write, and file creation rights to the shared directory specified by the path parameter.

The service that the interface runs against must specify a valid logon user account under the “Log On” tab for the service properties.

/UFO_Type=type

Required for UniInt Interface Level Failover Phase 2.

The Failover Type indicates which type of failover configuration the interface will run. The valid types for failover are HOT, WARM, and COLD configurations.

If an interface does not supported the requested type of failover, the interface will shut down and log an error to the log file stating the requested failover type is not supported.

/UI=#

Optional

Default: /ui=-1

The /ui flag is used to specify the index into the vendor specific array that holds the Unit name.

Some OPC AE servers specify the unit separate from the source name (i.e. DeltaV) in the event data. In those cases the element index is needed for event processing. For more information see Unit index

/UST

Optional Default: (blank)

For performance reasons, some users may wish to discard the sub-second portion of the timestamps being passed to PI and only send whole integer seconds. This will mean that PI will require less space, and possibly less CPU, to store the same amount of data. The fractional part of the second is simply truncated.

Specify the /UST flag in order to archive sub-second portion of timestamps.

Do not specify the /UST flag in order to discard subseconds.

/WC

Optional Default: (blank)

The /wc flag is used to specify whether the wildcard character (“*”) is in use in any of the tags configured for use by the interface. If any of the interface tags use wildcards, the /wc flag should be specified on the command line.

If wildcards are not in use, do not specify the /wc flag.

PI Interface for OPC Alarms and Events

Command-line parameters

Table of Contents

Command-line parameters

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