Standard and High-Availability Configuration Options

You have wide flexibility in configuring the Historian system. Since Historian can support a fully distributed architecture, you can spread the data collection, server, administration, and client data retrieval functions across many different nodes in a network, or you can install all the components on a single computer.

Since the Historian API is the basic building block for connectivity, all Historian functions, including data collection, administration, and data retrieval, use the Historian API.

You can connect the Historian API to a local Historian server in the same manner as to a remote Historian server by simply providing the name of the server. This name must be the computer name or the IP address of the target Historian server, and the server must have a TCP/IP connectivity. If you use the computer name of the server rather than the IP address, the IP address must be available to the client through DNS, a WINS server, or through the local host table.

It is recommended that you install the Historian server on a central dedicated server. Next, install data collectors on each data source, and point them back to the central Historian server by specifying the appropriate server computer name. Install a separate data collector for each type of collection interface used in your system.

You can also have mirroring of stored data on multiple nodes to provide high levels of data reliability. Data mirroring also involves the simultaneous action of every insert, update, and delete operations that occur on any node.

You can install various types of collectors on a single computer, subject to constraints described in Install Collectors Using the Installer.