Linked Servers in Microsoft SQL Server

If you want to relate Historian data with other data in SQL Server tables such as batch events, iFIX Alarms and Events collector, iDownTime data, and any other information that is available in a relational database, you can use the OLE DB provider as a linked server in Microsoft SQL Server. You can also use the OLE DB provider as a linked server if you do not want to duplicate data with an import.

With linked servers, when you query data from Historian, the SQL server fetches the requested data from Historian at the time the query is executed. Data is not duplicated because nothing is imported or stored in the SQL server. The data is simply returned as part of a query, just as any other query on a SQL Server database would return data.

Another advantage of using the OLE DB provider as a linked server is that you do not need to install Historian in the client machines. For example, a client tool such as Microsoft Query Analyzer can be used to retrieve Historian product data over the network on a computer with no Historian software installed.