PI point configuration

The PI point is a time-stamped record of a single set of measurements (for example, tank temperature). Configure PI points to allow PI Interface for OPC DA to transmit the data from OPC server to Data Archive.

Note: To populate Data Archive with the points that are defined in your OPC server, use PI OPC Client Tool or OPCtoCSV to export OPC items to an Excel file (.csv), then use the PI Builder Microsoft Excel add-in to load the tags into the Data Archive. For details, see Export OPC items to PI Builder.

If outputs to the OPC server are not needed, configure the interface instance to disable outputs from the Data Archive. If outputs are needed, configure an output point allowlist for the interface instance.

Note: Disabling outputs or configuring an output point allowlist defends against accidental or malicious changes to the control system. For more information, see Best practices.

PI points for PI Interface for OPC DA require the following minimum point attributes to be configured:

• Point name (tag)

• Point source (pointsource)

• Data type (pointtype)

• Interface instance (location1)

• PI point type: advised, event, or polled (location3)

• Scan class (location4)

• OPC ItemID (instrumenttag)

Depending on the type of point you are creating, additional attribute configurations might be required.