Create and configure your PI Vision database

This page explains how to use the PI Vision Database options on the PI Vision Administration website. It is important to note that the PI Vision Database options cannot be used with all database types and authentication methods. Refer to the Capabilities & Limitations section below for more information.

Capabilities & Limitations

On-premises SQL Server database - Windows Integrated Security authentication

The PI Vision Database options on the PI Vision Administration website provide the most functionality when you use an on-premises SQL Server PI Vision database with Windows Integrated Security to connect PI Vision web services to the PI Vision database. With this database configuration, you can use the PI Vision Database options to perform any of the tasks below.

• Create a new PI Vision database, such as for a new installation of PI Vision.

• Change the PI Vision database that you are connected to.

• Verify if you have a successful connection to your PI Vision database.

• Manually upgrade your database after you upgrade your version of PI Vision. This is needed only if the installer's automated process for upgrading your database failed.

• Change the encryption settings for your PI Vision database. It may be necessary to change your encryption settings when upgrading from a version of PI Vision older than 2025 to version 2025 or later.

• Finish setting up your database after you use the Go.ps1 script to create your database. Using the Go.ps1 script is an alternative method to using only the PI Vision Database options on the Administration website to create your database, however you still need to complete the PI Vision Database options after running the script.

On-premises SQL Server database - SQL authentication

If you have an on-premises SQL Server PI Vision database and the PI Vision application pools use SQL authentication to connect to their PI Vision database at runtime, you cannot use the PI Vision Database options on the PI Vision Administration website to create your database, upgrade your database, or change the database options. With SQL authentication, you can use the PI Vision Database page only to verify if you have a successful connection to your PI Vision database by checking if the SQL Server and Database areas both have a green checkmark next to them.

To create or upgrade your database use the Go.ps1 script. To change any of the database connection settings, Modify the web.config file.

Cloud-based databases

If you use Azure SQL Database or Amazon RDS for SQL Server for your PI Vision database, your ability to use the PI Vision Database options on the Administration website are limited as outlined below.

• When using either cloud-based database platform with any authentication method, to create or upgrade your database you must use the Go.ps1 script. You cannot use the PI Vision Database options on the Administration website to do so.

• When using Azure SQL Database, to update any of your database settings you must Modify the web.config file. You cannot use the PI Vision Database options on the Administration website to do so.

• When using Amazon RDS for SQL Server PI Vision database where the PI Vision application pools use SQL authentication to connect to their PI VIsion database, you must Modify the web.config file to update any of your database settings. You cannot use the PI Vision Database options on the Administration website to do so.

• When using Amazon RDS for SQL Server PI Vision database where the PI Vision application pools use Windows Integrated Security to connect to their PI VIsion database, you can use the PI Vision Database options on the Administration website to update any of your database settings.

• When using either cloud-based database platform with any authentication method, you can use the PI Vision Database page on the Administration website to verify if you have a successful connection to your PI Vision database by checking that the SQL Server and Database areas both have a green checkmark next to them.

Prerequisites

To use the PI Vision Database options on the Administration website to create, connect to, or upgrade a database, you need to meet the following requirements:

• The PI Vision database is located on the PI Vision application server.

• You must log onto the PI Vision Administration website using Windows Authentication and, depending on the task you want to complete, your user account must have the Required SQL permissions.

  Note: If your configuration does not meet the conditions above, follow the instructions in Run the Go.ps1 script to configure the PI Vision database. Then, return to the Administration website to complete the PI Vision Database options.

Create a new database, switch to a different database, or change your database settings

Warning: Before you attempt to follow the procedure below, carefully review the Capabilities & Limitations section at the top of this page to check if your database configuration supports the task that you want to peform.

Follow the steps below if you need to create a new PI Vision database, change the PI Vision database that your instance of PI Vision is connected to, or change your database encryption settings.

If you are creating a new database for a new installation of PI Vision, you must run the PI Vision installer before following the steps below to create the database. A single SQL Server instance can host both the PI Vision database and the PI AF database, or different SQL Server instances can host each database. For best performance, PI Vision needs a dedicated database; do not select the PI AF database to store PI Vision data.

1. In your web browser, navigate to the PI Vision Administration website.

   By default, this site is located at: https://webServer/PIVision/Admin where webServer is the name of the PI Vision web server.

   Note: If you access the PI Vision Administration website from a browser that is running locally on the PI Vision application server, then you must run the browser as an administrator. To do this, right-click the browser’s shortcut icon and then select Run as Administrator.

2. On the Overview page, select Manage Configuration next to the PI Vision Database table, or select Configuration in the navigation tree at left and then choose the PI Vision Database tab.

   

3. In the Server name field, specify the Microsoft SQL Server instance that you want to host a new PI Vision database or the instance where the existing PI Vision database that you want to connect to is located.

   You can type the server name directly in the field, such as .\sqlexpress or you can place your cursor in the field to automatically populate a list of servers to choose from. The list of servers includes only those that are on the local network running SQL Server Browser to advertise their presence.

4. In the Encryption field, select how you want encryption to be handled for traffic between PI Vision and the PI Vision database. The available options, Optional, Mandatory, and Strict, along with Trust server certificate and Host name in certificate reflect the same encryption options that Microsoft offers in SQL Server Management Studio.

   For security best practices, AVEVA recommends that you select either:

   Mandatory and do not select Trust server certificate

   -OR-

   Strict

   Some additional information about each option:

   Optional - Allows traffic to be unencrypted if necessary to connect. This option is the least secure and is not recommended.

   Mandatory - All traffic uses TLS encryption. This option is available with various versions of SQL Server and allows you to use the Trust server certificate field if necessary to work around TLS certificate issues.

   Strict - The highest level of security where all traffic uses TLS encryption and you must have a trusted TLS certificate (the Trust server certificate option cannot be used). This option works only with SQL Server version 2022 or later.

   Trust server certificate - Allows you to use a TLS certificate that is not trusted, such as a self-signed certificate. If you selected Mandatory encryption, by selecting Trust server certificate the connection is less secure than if you leave it unselected and install a trusted certificate, but your connection is still encrypted.

   Host name in certificate - Allows you to specify a different, but expected, Common Name (CN) or Subject Alternate Name (SAN) in the server certificate for the server to which you are connecting. This option can be left blank, so that certificate validation ensures that the CN or SAN in the certificate matches the server name to which you're connecting. This field can be used when the server name doesn't match the CN or SAN, for example, when using DNS aliases. This option is not available if you selected Trust server certificate, as using Trust server certificate means that the certificate will be trusted regardless of whether the server name matches the CN or SAN.

5. Select the Test Connection button.

   If a green checkmark appears on the page next to SQL Server, then you successfully connected to the server and you can proceed to the next step.

   If an error message appears, refer to the message for details on what caused the error. Changing your encryption settings to use less secure options may result in a successful connection, however you must evaluate if that security level is adequate for your organization. For example, if the connection errors when using Mandatory encryption, selecting Trust server certificate may result in a successful connection.

   Note: You are not required to use the Test Connection button. Alternatively, you can proceed to complete all of the fields on the page and a success or error confirmation message appears after you select Save.

6. In the Database field, if you want to create a new database, enter a unique name for the database. If you are connecting to an existing database, enter the name of that database.

   If you used the Test Connection button and successfully connected to the server, you can place your cursor in the Database field and a list of all of the databases that exist on the server appears, allowing you to select one instead of entering the database name manually.

7. Select Save.

   As shown below, a message appears to confirm success. Also, when the server and database are properly set up and connected, two green check marks appear on the page next to SQL Server and Database.

   

   Note: If the message indicates that the database was not successfully created or connected, refer to the alternative process Run the Go.ps1 script to configure the PI Vision database.

Verify the connection to your PI Vision database

On the Administration website, the Configuration > PI Vision Database page allows you to check if PI Vision currently has a successful connection to your PI Vision database. At any time, you can follow the steps below to check your connection status as well as to view logs that can help you diagnose an unsuccessful database connection.

8. In your web browser, navigate to the PI Vision Administration website.

   By default, this site is located at: https://webServer/PIVision/Admin where webServer is the name of the PI Vision web server.

   Note: If you access the PI Vision Administration website from a browser that is running locally on the PI Vision application server, then you must run the browser as an administrator. To do this, right-click the browser’s shortcut icon and then select Run as Administrator.

9. On the Overview page, select Manage Configuration next to the PI Vision Database table, or select Configuration in the navigation tree at left and then choose the PI Vision Database tab.

10. Review the icons next to SQL Server and Database.

    If your PI Vision database is properly set up and connected, two green check marks appear on the page next to SQL Server and Database.

    If your PI Vision database is not properly set up and connected, a warning icon appears next to SQL Server and/or Database.

11. If a warning icon appears, to help find the reason for the unsuccessful database connection, review the OSIsoft-PIVisualization/Admin log files that can be found on your PI Vision application server computer. For more information about accessing the log files, refer to View the message logs.

12. If your database uses Windows Integrated Security for authentication with the PI Vision database, you can make any necessary changes to the settings on the PI Vision Database page of Administration website in order to get a successful database connection.

    If your database does not use Windows Integrated Security for authentication with the PI Vision database, you must Modify the web.config file to update your database settings. After making changes, you can return to the PI Vision Database page of Administration website to check if your database connection is successful.

Upgrade your database

Important: You can upgrade your database following the procedure below only if you use an on-premises SQL Server database with Windows Integrated Security. For more information, refer to the Capabilities & Limitations section at the top of this page.

This section explains how to use the PI Vision Database page of the Administration website to upgrade your database. When you run the PI Vision installer to upgrade your version of PI Vision, your database is typically upgraded automatically by the installer. When that process is successful, you do not need to complete the steps below. However, in some cases, the installer is not able to upgrade your database, such as if the user running the installer does not have sufficient permission to modify the database. If that occurs, follow the steps below to upgrade the database.

Note: Refer to the Prerequisites section above for details on what database permissions your Windows user account needs in order to be allowed to upgrade your PI Vision database.

13. In your web browser, navigate to the PI Vision Administration website.

    By default, this site is located at: https://webServer/PIVision/Admin where webServer is the name of the PI Vision web server.

    Note: If you access the PI Vision Administration website from a browser that is running locally on the PI Vision application server, then you must run the browser as an administrator. To do this, right-click the browser’s shortcut icon and then select Run as Administrator.

14. On the Overview page, select Manage Configuration next to the PI Vision Database table; or select Configuration in the navigation tree at left and then choose the PI Vision Database tab.

15. To confirm that your database was not yet successfully upgraded, verify that a warning icon appears in the Database area as shown below.

    

16. Select Save.

17. A pop-up message appears asking if you want to upgrade your database. Select OK.

    

18. If the upgrade is successful, a confirmation message appears and a green checkmark appears in the Database area as shown below.

    

    Note: If the message does not indicate the database was upgraded successfully, use a script on SQL Server. Refer to Run the Go.ps1 script to configure the PI Vision database.