Add AVEVA Historian as a replication server

If you want to connect from AVEVA Historian to another AVEVA Historian as a next-tier server, follow these steps.

To add AVEVA Historian as a replication server

1. In the Operations Control Management Console, expand a server group and then expand a server.

2. Expand Configuration Editor, expand System Configuration, and then expand Replication.

3. Right-click Replication Servers and select New Replication Server. The New Replication Server dialog box appears.

4. Select AVEVA Historian as the Replication Environment.

5. Configure the basic options for the replication server as follows:

   • Node Name/IP Address
     Type the node name or IP address of the computer where the next-tier Historian resides. (This node name or IP address does not need to be active or accessible when you set up the information for the new replication server.)

   • Description
     Type a description of the server. This description appears in the Operations Control Management Console and in Historian Client reports.

   • Store & Forward path
     Type the store-and-forward path for data for this next-tier replication server. This must be an absolute path on the current computer. Remote paths are not supported for store-and-forward addresses.

   • Replicate Alarms and Events
     This is enabled by default. This replicates alarms and events to the replication server.

     Note that this is a simple replication of alarms and events. Summary replication does not apply.

   • Connection Info
     Type the username and password for the replication server. To specify a Windows domain, prefix the username with the domain name and a backslash. For example: <domain name>\<username>.

   • TCP Port
     Type the TCP port to use for the new replication server. The TCP port is used by the next-tier Historian to receive data from the replication service on the lower-tier Historian. This can be an integer between 1 and 65535. The default is 32565. This port number must match the ReplicationTcpPort system parameter value that is specified on the next-tier Historian. Be sure that you open this port in Windows Firewall. The port must not conflict with any other ports used by other applications on the next-tier Historian.

   • Select whether or not to accept untrusted certificates:

     • Require a trusted certificate: Require a trusted certificate for communication between the IDAS and Historian.

       The server's certificate must be trusted on the IDAS system. If both nodes are connected to the same System Management Server, certificate trust is managed by the System Management Server. If the IDAS system and Historian are not connected to the same System Management Server, when you test the connection, the configurator either prompts you to trust the server's certificate, or logs an error message if it cannot retrieve the certificate information.

     • Accept an untrusted certificate (NOT RECOMMENDED): Allow an untrusted connection.

       Note: Requiring a trusted certificate is strongly recommended. Untrusted connections should only be used in test environments.

6. To test the connection to the new replication server computer, click Test Connection.

   The test succeeds only if:

   • The node name is valid.

   • Valid credentials for an account that has permission on the next-tier node to send replication data are entered.

   • If Use trusted connection is selected, the certificate from the next-tier Historian must be trusted for successful communication between nodes. If both nodes are connected to the same System Management Server, certificate trust is managed for you by the System Management Server. If the next-tier Historian is not connected to the same System Management Server, the configurator prompts you to trust the next-tier Historian's certificate.

     If the test fails, see the ArchestrA Logger entries on both the lower-tier and next-tier historians for more information.

7. Click Next. The New Replication Server - Advanced dialog box appears.

   You can use the default summary and simple replication tag naming schemes, or you can create your own.

8. In the Summary Replication Tag Naming Scheme and Simple Replication Tag Naming Scheme areas, select the replication tag naming scheme to use. Specify a custom naming scheme by selecting Custom and clicking the ellipsis button to the right of the box. The Naming Scheme dialog box appears. For information about configuring the naming scheme, see Specify naming schemes for replication.

9. Configure the remaining advanced settings as follows:

   • Min SF Duration

     Enter the minimum duration in seconds for the replication service to function in store-and-forward mode. The replication service functions in store-and-forward mode for this length of time even if the condition that caused the replication service to function in store-and-forward mode no longer exists. The duration can be an integer from 0 to 3600. Pick a value that provides a smooth transition for store-and-forward operation and prevents the system from repeatedly going in and out of store-and-forward mode.

   • Buffer Count

     Enter the number of 64KB buffers to allocate for the new replication server. This can be an integer from 128 to 2048. You may need to increase the buffer count to accommodate high data rates.

   • SF free space

     Minimum amount of free storage space required for store-and-forward to operate.

   • Compression Enabled

     Select this option to enable compression for the packets sent to the replication server. For guidelines on using compression, see the performance information in the AVEVA System Platform Installation Guide.

   • Bandwidth

     • Select Unlimited to allow unlimited bandwidth to be used by the HCAL to communicate with the Historian.

     • Otherwise, leave it unselected and enter a value in the Kbps box to specify a custom bandwidth. This can be an integer from 10 to 1000000.

       Setting a limit on the bandwidth throttles the amount of data that is sent during operations such as a store-and-forward, an update, or a CSV export. You commonly use this feature when you have a WAN with a low bandwidth. For example, suppose your WAN has a 128kbps bandwidth between the lower-tier and next-tier historians. If you have real-time streaming data that requires 64kbps for normal operation, but the network is down for 8 hours and information is saved for store-and-forward, it will take 8 hours for the data to be uploaded. If you leave this set to Unlimited, it will work fine.

       But if you have 256kbps bandwidth that you must share with other applications, set this to 128kbps to throttle the store-and-forward data and anything that isn’t streaming. This prevents the historian’s operations from choking the other applications for bandwidth. The most common symptom of a problem is that when you come out of store-and-forward and start sending data, the remote desktop is very sluggish and unresponsive. The bandwidth limit also applies to streaming data. However, streaming data will not be throttled, and instead HCAL will be put into store-and-forward mode. For example, if the streaming bandwidth is always 96kbps, and you set the limit at 128kbps, there will be 32kbps remaining for store-and-forward to use. However, if you had a sudden spike and streaming jumped up to 156kbps, it would exceed the limit and force HCAL into store-and-forward mode.

   • High Latency Network

     • Select this option if the connection to the replication server takes place over a high-latency network (ping response times over 500 milliseconds). This option allows for longer connection timeouts. If you use this option, we recommend that you also enable compression.

     • Leave it unselected if you are not expecting connection timeouts, as this setting can negatively affect performance on a low-latency network.

10. Click Finish. The new replication server appears in the replication server list.