Learn about AVEVA™ PI Server 2018

AVEVA™ PI Server 2018 offers the most secure and reliable version of the AVEVA™ PI System™. The PI System collects, stores, and manages data from your plant or processes, and is comprised of the components described below.

Data sources

Data sources are the instruments that generate data. They can connect to interface nodes in various ways. PI Performance Equations and Totalizer are also considered data sources, even though they may be hosted on a PI Server.

Interfaces and connectors

PI interfaces get data from external data sources and send it to the PI Server. Each data source needs a PI interface that can interpret it. There are over 400 interfaces. Similar to PI interfaces, PI connectors collect data from sensors and control systems. PI connectors require minimal configuration and simplify data collection by scanning for a specific device protocol, collecting PI points, and automatically creating a PI Asset Framework model for your asset.

PI Server

The PI Server is the heart of the PI System. PI Server includes these two main components:

• Data Archive

  Data Archive receives or retrieves data and serves it in real time throughout the PI System and your entire information infrastructure. With Data Archive, everyone works from a common set of real-time data. Operators, engineers, managers, and other plant personnel use client applications to connect to the PI Server and view manufacturing data from the data archives or external data storage systems.

  This distributed data collection architecture is scalable, robust, and flexible.

• PI Asset Framework (PI AF)

  PI AF lets you define consistent representations of organizational assets or equipment. PI AF uses these representations in simple or complex analyses that yield critical and actionable information.

Developer tools

Developer tools support the development of custom applications on top of the PI System, as well as the integration of PI System data with other applications and business systems such as Microsoft Office or SQL Server, enterprise resource planning systems, reporting and analytics platforms, web portals, and geospatial and maintenance systems.

PI API

The PI Application Programming Interface (PI API) provides a programmatic interface to PI information from Data Archive. PI API also provides utilities for data collection interfaces and user application development. Code written with the PI API is portable across multiple hardware and software environments.

PI AF SDK

The PI AF Software Development Kit (PI AF SDK or AF SDK) provides programmatic access to PI Server data (Data Archive and PI AF).

Client applications

Operators, engineers, managers, and other plant personnel use a variety of client applications to connect to Data Archive, PI AF, and PI application servers to view plant data. AVEVA PI Vision, PI ProcessBook, PI DataLink, and PI WebParts are all client applications.