What type of datbase does the PI system uses?
What type of datbase does the PI system uses?
Hi Anthony:
I suspect you are curious if the PI Server's data is a SQL database or a similar relational database. The PI Server's "database" is referred to as the PI Archive. The PI Archive "database" is a unique data storage tool that stores timestamps and values for process information. The PI "System" as it is often referred to at OSIsoft is the Asset Framework Database (AF). This is a database in the traditional sense stored and accessed using Microsoft SQL server.
The definition of terms helps. The PI Archive "database" is where PI Point data is stored. For example the bearing temperature of a pump over time will be stored as timestamps, and values at those specific times. The PI AF Database is a brilliant tool for building a hierarchy of "elements" representing process equipment, plant systems, and many other frameworks of capital equipment (assets).
Hello Anthony,
The PI System is a suite of software products that are used for data collection, historicizing, finding, analyzing, delivering, and visualizing.
We storage the data in a OSIsoft proprietary Time Series Database.
A Time Series Database (TSDB) is a software system that is optimized for handling time series data, arrays of numbers indexed by time (a datetime or a datetime range).
Hi Anthony:
By the way, OSIsoft provides various tools to allow developers to access the PI Data Archive using SQL Tools. This means even though the archive data is not a SQL database you have the ability, using the tools available, to perform C.R.U.D. operations using SQL commands.
Hello Anthony and James,
Thanks a lot for the explanation James Devine. I wanted to point out that the PI System does not refer only to the Asset Framework Database (AF) but to all the software involved with PI.
Please have a look to the following link, in this link you will find a wide explanation of the PI System, all the elements and examples of them OSIsoft PI System - Real-time data and event infrastructure for the enterprise
James brought a good question about if you were referring to SQL or any other known database. Could you please let us know if you were looking for any database in particular? Were you seeking for a way of accessing to the data stored in the PI Data Archive?
-Carlos.
Hello Anthony,
I wanted to follow up on this thread, please let us which solution solved your query by marking the correct answer.
If you found another answer it would be very interesting for future references!
-Carlos.
This thread is old but very useful. Thanks to the person asking the question, the people answering, and OSIsoft for hosting.
I find this question also very relevant, may it be a proprietary one, it is important to know where persistent our data resides for backup & restore reasons
If you're interested in where your PI Point/Tag data exists for backup and restore purposes, the data is within the archive files on the Data Archive node.
Archive files contain the events, timestamps along with the corresponding tag's PointID and Record Number so that it can match the correct data to the correct tag.
As for backups in our PI Data Archive Backup Best Practices, we always recommend a 2 step backup. Where the first step is backing up the PI Data Archive using our pibackup process with a scheduled task, and then use a 3rd party utility (or if need be the pisitebackup script) to move a copy of the backup to another location such as a network drive or external drive.
Note: to restore the data you not only need the archive files but also the non archive files that are backed up by the pibackup subsystem, since those contain the PI Point configuration information to allow a PI Data Archive to match the data in the archive files to the correct PI Points.
Asset Framework stores the hierarchy information, analyses, and notification information within a SQL database that is configured on installation that is by default named PIFD. We also recommend regular scheduled backups of the PIFD as well. How to perform a full backup of the PI AF SQL database
