Working with Tags
Understanding Tag names
Historian tag names vary according to the type of collector. By default, the tag name is the source address prepended with a string.
It is recommended that tag names use only characters available for folders and file names to avoid the problems (limitations) with some clients and filtering. You can use tag names that contain the characters & and + in the Non-Web Historian Administrator.
iFIXCollector Tagnames
Node.Tag.Field
whereNode
, by default, is the name of the SCADA node, the data source. This field is configurable, however.Tag
is the database tag.Field
is the database field.
NODE8.WATER-_SWITCH.F_CV
NODE2.MASH_LEVEL.B_CUALM
USGBS1.FIC101.F_CV
USGBS1.FT102.A_LAALM
where -
NODE8
,NODE2
, andUSGBS1
are the names of the iFIX SCADA nodes. -
WATER_SWITCH
,MASH_LEVEL
,FIC101
, and FT102 are the names of the database tags. 4F_CV
means single floating point, current value.B_CUALM
means current alarm status.A_LAALM
means analog input, latched alarm.
OPC or Simulation Collector Tagnames
ComputerName.ItemID
ComputerName
, by default, is the name of the machine on which the collector is installed. This field is configurable, however.ItemID
is the data point being polled.
Calculation collector Tagnames
There is no specified format for Historian tags for a Calculation collector. We recommend that you select a consistent naming convention so the tags are easily and clearly identifiable. You should avoid using spaces and other special characters or reserved words used in SQL or VBScript. This applies to any tag being used as a source tag in the formula.
Server-to-Server Collector Tagnames
Add Multiple Tags from a Collector Using Historian Administrator
About this task
Procedure
Adding Uncollected Tags from a Collector
Procedure
Add Tags from a Collector Using the Web Admin Console
About this task
Procedure
Adding Tags for Collectors with Hierarchical Browsing
About this task
Procedure
Manually Adding Tags
- for creating a calculation tag.
- for holding values that are added using the Excel Add-In or custom SDK application.
- for testing purposes.
For example, if you are currently not connected to a collector, the browse is slow, or is not supported, and if you want to configure tags associated with that collector, you can add them manually.
When adding a tag manually, you must manually configure the fields for the tag that the Add Tag Manually window does not include. For instance, when you add a tag manually, the Data Type field does not automatically populate after you select a Source Address. You must manually set the data type from the Collection section after you add the tag. Use caution when selecting the data type. If you select the wrong data type, you most likely will get incorrect data or you could even lose data. It does not use the collector default settings, such as those for archive and collector compression, as it would with the browse and pick.
Add a Tag Using Historian Administrator
Before you begin
- Add an instance of the collector that you want to use to collect the tag data.
- Create a data store in which you want to store the tag data.
Procedure
Add a Tag Using the Web Admin Console
About this task
The dynamic collector update feature ensures that any modifications done to the tag configuration do not affect all the tags in a collector. Only the tags that stop data collection will record zero data and bad quality without restarting the collector. In other words, the tags that do not stop data collection do not record bad data samples to the collection.
- OPC Collector
- iFIX collector
- Calculation collector
- Simulation Collector
- Server to Server Collector
- PI Collector
- PI Distributor
For a tag to stop and restart the collection without restarting the collector, you must enable the On-line Tag Configuration Changes option in the Advanced section of the Collector Maintenance page. By default, the On-line Tag Configuration Changes option is enabled.
If you disable the On-line Tag Configuration Changes option, any changes you make to the tags do not affect collection until after you restart the collector. To restart the collector, you must stop and start the collector service or executable. Restarting the collector stops and restarts the tag(s) collection and records bad data samples to the collection.
All the collector configuration changes done within a 30 second time frame are batched up to let you update/modify a small set of tags at a time to collect the modified data faster.
Follow these steps to add a new tag manually from the Web Administrator:
Procedure
Add a Source Address Using the Web Admin Console
Procedure
Copy a Tag
About this task
Procedure
-
To copy a tag using Historian Administrator:
-
To copy a tag using the Web Admin console:
Search for Tags
Procedure
-
To search for tags using Historian Administrator:
-
To search for tags using the Web Admin console:
Remove Tags Using Historian Administrator
About this task
Procedure
- To remove a tag using Historian Administrator:
- To remove a tag using the Web Admin console:
Browse a Data Source for New Tags
Before you begin
About this task
Procedure
-
To browse for new tags using Historian Administrator:
-
To browse for new tags using the Web Admin console:
About Configuring Collector Options
- Start at the Collector Maintenance page in Historian Administrator. You can access the Collector Maintenance page in several ways:
- Select the Collectors link in any of the major pages in Historian Administrator.
- Select the collector name in the Collectors section of Historian Administrator Main page. This displays the page with the specific collector already selected.
- To make a change in a configurable parameter, enter the value in the appropriate field and select Update. For more information, refer to Historian Administrator.
- Go to the Collectors page. This displays the list of available collectors and their status. You can edit the collector configurable parameters.
- From the Collector Maintenance page or the Collector page, select the various tabs to display parameters of various types for the specific collector you have selected.
For more information, refer to Historian Web Administrator Help.
.
About Collector Redundancy
Historian includes support for collector redundancy, which decreases the likelihood of lost data due to software or hardware failures. Implementing collector redundancy ensures that collection of your data remains uninterrupted. Collector redundancy makes use of two or more collectors, gathering data from a single source. For more information, refer to the Collector Redundancy.
Collect Vendor Attributes
About this task
Procedure
-
To collect vendor attributes using Historian Administrator:
-
To collect vendor attributes using the Web Admin console:
Collector Spare Configuration
- In case of OSI PI distributor, data is read from the Historian tag displayed in the Tag Source Address field and sent to the OSI PI tag name displayed in the Spare 1 field. To control the source and destination tags, change the Tag Source Address and Spare 1 field. You can add or update configurations in Spare 2 to Spare 5 fields. Note: Do not add or update any configurations to Spare 1 field from Excel Add-In, Trend Client, Web Admin console or Historian Administrator.
- In case of Server to Server and Server to Server Distributor collectors, you can add or update Spare 1 to Spare 4 fields, but the Spare 5 field is used only for internal purposes. Note: Do not add or update any configurations in the Spare 5 field from Excel Add-In, Trend Client, Web Admin console or Historian Administrator as the data may get corrupted or over written.