Understand differences between latest and older versions of notifications

The notifications feature is based on event frames and does not have an analysis engine like PI Notifications 2012 and earlier versions (henceforth referred to as "legacy" versions). Notification rules leverage PI Analysis Service, as well as other applications that generate event frames, to identify important events in the PI Server, to use event frames as the container for relevant information for the event, and to use annotations on the event frame to store notification history.

The notifications feature is driven by event frames; therefore, some legacy notification features are either different or rendered obsolete. A migration tool is included to enable migration of notifications from your PI Notifications 2012 legacy version to notification rules, thereby preserving the investment you made in your legacy system.

Note: If you choose to migrate, the migration tool converts your legacy notifications into analyses and notification rules.

For more details on the migration tool, see Migration from PI Notifications 2012.

User interface changes from PI Notifications 2012

Notifications in PI Server 2016 R2 (and later versions) is fundamentally different from the legacy PI Notifications 2012, and you cannot share configurations between the two systems.

To configure event-based notifications, you must use the Notification Rules tab in the Elements view of 32-bit or 64-bit PI System Explorer. To manage legacy notifications, you must use the Notifications plug-in.

Note: The notifications feature no longer supports the Microsoft Office Communication Service (OCS) or custom delivery channels. However, using REST-based web services, you may be able to integrate notifications with third-party delivery channels.