Create a collective

To create a Data Archive collective, ensure the prerequisites have been met, as described in Prerequisites for collective creation, then follow these steps on the computer that will be the primary server:

Note: Before you begin, note the version of the primary collective member and versions of the secondary members must match.

1. Close any clients connected to the primary Data Archive server, such as PI SMT.

2. Click Start > All Programs > PI System > PI Collective Manager.

3. In Collective Manager, select File > Create New Collective.

   The Create New Collective wizard prompts you for the information described in the following steps.

4. Check the boxes to verify that you have a backup of the server that will be the primary Data Archive server, and that all interfaces can communicate with all servers that will be in the collective.

   Note: You can configure interfaces to communicate with servers in the collective after you create the collective.

5. Specify whether the primary server is newly installed or an existing Data Archive server.

   For existing Data Archive servers, the wizard automatically gives the collective the same name as the Data Archive server. This enables you to continue to use existing clients and interfaces without reconfiguration.

6. Select the primary server in the Collective Primary field.

   If the Data Archive server that you want is not in the dropdown list, you can add it by following the steps in Add a PI Data Archive server to the Servers menu.

7. Select one or more secondary servers.

   If you prefer, you can create the collective with the primary server only, and add secondary servers later. For more information, see Add a secondary server to a Data Archive collective.

   Note: If a server that you want to add to the collective is not listed, use PI Connection Manager to connect to the server and then follow the steps in Add a PI Data Archive server to the Servers menu.

8. Specify which archives you want copied to the secondary servers.

   If future data archives are available, you can select all or no future archives on the Future archives tab.

   Note: We recommend that you copy over all archives when you create a new collective or add a member server to a collective.

9. Verify your selections.

10. Optionally, click the Advanced Options button to set an alternative directory for the historical archive files on the secondary server and the replication frequency.

    If you are using future data archives, you also have the option to set the future data archive directory. To do this, click Advanced Options and under Member Servers, select the secondary server that you want to set.

11. Click Next to create the collective.

    If the Server ID Mismatch window informs you about a new ID, click OK to accept the new ID. This happens if PI Collective Manager creates a new server ID for the primary server to match the new collective name.

After you have created the collective, check that it is correctly set up by following the steps in After collective creation.