Which PI OLEDB Provider should I use?

Both PI OLEDB Enterprise and PI OLEDB Provider provide a relational view of the real-time and configuration data stored in PI Systems.

Use PI OLEDB Enterprise if you want to navigate through the asset hierarchy and access the metadata stored in PI Asset Framework (PI AF), or if you want read-only access to PI AF data references, including PI point data. See also Introduction to PI OLEDB Enterprise.

Note: PI OLEDB Enterprise supports read-only access to PI AF server data. Only the PI AF asset, EventFrame and Data namespaces are exposed.

Use PI OLEDB Provider if you do not use PI AF, want to use direct PI archive queries to achieve higher performance, or access the PI point database, the PI Module Database or the PI Batch Database.

Note: A combination of both data providers may be required, depending on your site's needs and environment.