Connections to OLEDB data sources

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

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

Use PI OLEDB Provider if you do not use PI AF, or want to use direct Data Archive queries to achieve higher performance, or to access the PI point database, the PI module database, or the PI batch database.

Note: If you have PI SQL Client, PI OLEDB Enterprise, or PI OLEDB Provider installed, you can connect to these data providers. PI SQL Commander Lite then automatically lists registered PI AF servers and Data Archive servers that are registered in the Known Servers Table (KST), which is available through PI System Management Tools (SMT).