External data

The External Data Manager allows you to interface with tag data in external databases. It contains tag collections. Each tag collection connects to a single external database. Currently, AVEVA Process Simulation supports connections to OSIsoft PI Data Archive and PI Asset Framework servers only. Please see the OSIsoft PI System documentation for more information on how to install and configure PI System.

After you add tags to a tag collection, you can then map those tags to model variables within AVEVA Process Simulation.

Concepts

• The External Data Manager contains tag collections.

• The Tag Collection Editor allows you to connect to an external database and add tags to the tag collection.

• The Read/Write External Data window allows you to specify the time window for the data that you want to read from the external database and to manage the data transfer between the external database, the tag collection, and the associated model variables.

• AVEVA Process Simulation uses the time-weighted average of the data in the time window when it imports the tag data. If the external database does not contain any data for a tag within the specified time window, the tag value remains blank.

Actions

• Create and edit a tag collection.

• Connect to an OSIsoft PI Data Archive server.

• Connect to an OSIsoft PI Asset Framework server.

• Add tags to a tag collection.

• Search tags in the external database.

• Map tags to AVEVA Process Simulation model variables.

• Export the tag mapping configuration to a .csv file.

• Import a tag mapping configuration (.csv) file.

• Change the time selection for a tag collection.

• Specify the minimum and maximum value for a tag.

• Specify the data clipping option for tag values that are outside the minimum and maximum range for a tag.

• Read in tag values from an external database.

• Screen new tag values read in from an external database.

• Apply screened tag values from an external database to AVEVA Process Simulation model variables.

• Update the Last Good Value data for tags after you have applied the screened tag values to the model variables and validated that the simulation converges without problems.

• Get model variables for output tags and apply them to the tag values.

• Write the tag values for the output tags back to the external database.