Configuration at runtime

PI Web API stores configuration data in the PI System. This enables the system to scale horizontally by having multiple PI Web API instances behind a network load balancer share a common configuration space, as described in Cluster management.

You can configure several properties, either in the RESTful interface or in PI System Explorer.

Configuration with the RESTful interface

PI Web API contains resources under /piwebapi/system/configuration to view, add, modify, and remove configuration items. Consult PI Web API online help for information about how to interact with these resources.

Configuration with PI System Explorer

You can also modify configuration values directly in PI System Explorer. In the Elements pane, you navigate to the Configuration database on the PI AF server that you selected when installing PI Web API.

In the element hierarchy, the PI Web API configuration is stored under OSIsoft > PI Web API > Configuration Instance Name. By default, your configuration instance name is the hostname of the server on which you have installed PI Web API.

You add or modify configuration values in the Attributes tab on the System Configuration element. As you set the Properties field for each configuration attribute to Configuration Item, the icon is displayed, as shown in the following illustration. When all configuration values are completed, click Check In on the PI System Explorer toolbar or press CTRL+S to register configuration changes in the PI AF database.

Note: Not all attributes described in this section are available by default.

Sample System Configuration attributes

Built-in Help

Beginning with PI Web API 2021 SP1, built-in help is available with the EnableBuiltInHelp configuration setting. If the EnableBuiltInHelp setting is set to false, the PI Web API built-in help system is disabled and accessing the built-in help redirects you to the equivalent documentation webpage. This setting is set to false by default.