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Universal File and Stream Loader Interface

Version 3.1.0.10Revision C

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Published: 08/2010

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Table of Contents

Terminology....................................................................................................................ix

Chapter 1. Introduction...................................................................................................1Reference Manuals OSIsoft...............................................................................2Supported Features...........................................................................................2Diagram of Hardware Connection......................................................................6

Chapter 2. Principles of Operation................................................................................9Interface Startup................................................................................................9Runtime Operations.........................................................................................10PlugIn Principles..............................................................................................11

ASCII Files.............................................................................................11Serial.....................................................................................................12POP3.....................................................................................................12BatchFL.................................................................................................12

Use of PI SDK..................................................................................................13

Chapter 3. Installation Checklist..................................................................................15Data Collection Steps.......................................................................................15Interface Diagnostics........................................................................................16

Chapter 4. Interface Installation...................................................................................17Naming Conventions and Requirements..........................................................17Interface Directories.........................................................................................18

PIHOME Directory Tree.........................................................................18Interface Installation Directory...............................................................18

Interface Installation Procedure.......................................................................18Installing Interface as a Windows Service........................................................18Installing Interface Service with PI Interface Configuration Utility....................19

Service Configuration............................................................................19Installing Interface Service Manually.....................................................22

Chapter 5. Digital States...............................................................................................23

Chapter 6. PointSource.................................................................................................25

Chapter 7. PI Point Configuration................................................................................27Point Attributes.................................................................................................27

Tag........................................................................................................27PointSource...........................................................................................28PointType...............................................................................................28Location1...............................................................................................28

Universal File and Stream Loader Interface iii

Location2...............................................................................................28Location3...............................................................................................28Location4...............................................................................................28Location5...............................................................................................28InstrumentTag........................................................................................29ExDesc..................................................................................................30Convers.................................................................................................30Scan......................................................................................................30Shutdown...............................................................................................30

Output Points...................................................................................................31

Chapter 8. Startup Command File...............................................................................33Configuring the Interface with PI ICU...............................................................33

UFL Interface page................................................................................35Command-line Parameters..............................................................................38Sample PI_UFL.bat File...................................................................................41

Chapter 9. PI_UFL Configuration (INI) File..................................................................43General............................................................................................................43[INTERFACE]...................................................................................................45

PLUG-IN................................................................................................45[PLUG-IN] – ASCII Files...................................................................................46

ERR.......................................................................................................46IFM........................................................................................................46IFS.........................................................................................................46NEWLINE..............................................................................................47PFN.......................................................................................................48PFN_PREFIX.........................................................................................48PURGETIME.........................................................................................48REN.......................................................................................................49WORDWRAP.........................................................................................49

[PLUG-IN] – Serial Port....................................................................................50BITS.......................................................................................................50COM......................................................................................................50COMDATA.............................................................................................50NEWLINE..............................................................................................50PARITY..................................................................................................51SPEED...................................................................................................51STOPBITS.............................................................................................51

[PLUG-IN] – POP3...........................................................................................52ATTACHMENT_PREFIX.......................................................................52BODY_PREFIX......................................................................................52DATE_PREFIX......................................................................................52FILTER_FROM......................................................................................53FORWARD_TO.....................................................................................53FORWARD_AS_UFLSTREAM..............................................................53FROM_PREFIX.....................................................................................54MAIL_ATTACHMENT............................................................................54MAIL_BODY..........................................................................................54MAIL_DATE...........................................................................................54MAIL_FROM..........................................................................................54MAIL_SUBJECT....................................................................................55PFN.......................................................................................................55PFN_PREFIX.........................................................................................55

Universal File and Stream Loader Interface iv

POP3_COMMAND_WAIT.....................................................................55POP3_PASSWORD..............................................................................56POP3_PORT.........................................................................................56POP3_SERVER....................................................................................57POP3_USER.........................................................................................57SMTP_PORT.........................................................................................57SMTP_SERVER....................................................................................57SUBJECT_PREFIX...............................................................................57

[PLUG-IN] – BatchFL.......................................................................................58ADJUST.................................................................................................58ALIAS....................................................................................................58DATETIME_FORMAT...........................................................................58DATETIME_MONTH_FORMAT............................................................58DIGITAL_SET........................................................................................59ERR.......................................................................................................59FIELD_SEPARATOR............................................................................59IFM........................................................................................................59IFS.........................................................................................................59POINT_TYPE........................................................................................59PURGETIME.........................................................................................59REMOVE_BLANKS...............................................................................59REN.......................................................................................................60SCALE...................................................................................................60SLEEP...................................................................................................60

[SETTING].......................................................................................................61DEB.......................................................................................................61LOCALE.................................................................................................61MAXLOG...............................................................................................62MAXLOGSIZE.......................................................................................62MSGINERROR......................................................................................62OUTPUT................................................................................................63

[FIELD].............................................................................................................65FIELD(n).Name......................................................................................65FIELD(n).Type.......................................................................................65FIELD(n).Format....................................................................................67

[MSG]...............................................................................................................70MSG(n).Name........................................................................................70MSG(n).EPC..........................................................................................70MSG(n).EPC_Inherit..............................................................................71MSG(n).DIGITALSET............................................................................71Message Structure Definitions: [XXXX].................................................72Data Extraction to Fields........................................................................75

Data Manipulation............................................................................................78Arithmetic and Logical Operators...........................................................78Mathematical Functions.........................................................................82String Functions.....................................................................................82DateTime and Time Functions...............................................................83IF Statement..........................................................................................83MSG(n).Action.......................................................................................83

Chapter 10. Graphical User Interface (GUI) Facilitating the INI File Creation.......91

Chapter 11. PI_UFL Redundancy – Failover.............................................................99

Chapter 12. Interface Node Clock............................................................................101

Universal File and Stream Loader Interface v

Table of Contents

Chapter 13. Security..................................................................................................103

Chapter 14. Starting / Stopping the Interface on Windows...................................105Starting Interface as a Service.......................................................................105Stopping Interface Running as a Service.......................................................105

Chapter 15. Buffering................................................................................................107Buffering Principles........................................................................................108Which Buffering Application to Use................................................................108How Buffering Works.....................................................................................109Buffering and PI Server Security....................................................................109Enabling Buffering on an Interface Node with the ICU...................................110

Choose Buffer Type.............................................................................110Buffering Settings................................................................................111Buffered Servers..................................................................................113Installing Buffering as a Service...........................................................116

Chapter 16. Interface Diagnostics Configuration...................................................119Scan Class Performance Point......................................................................119Performance Counters Points........................................................................119

Performance Counters.........................................................................120Performance Counters for both (_Total) and (Scan Class x)...............120Performance Counters for (_Total) only...............................................121Performance Counters for (Scan Class x) only....................................124

Interface Health Monitoring Points.................................................................125Creating Health Monitoring Points Using the PI Tag Configurator.......125

I/O Rate Point................................................................................................129Interface Status Point.....................................................................................132

Chapter 17. For Users of Previous (2.x) Interface Versions..................................135

Appendix A. Error and Informational Messages....................................................139

Appendix B. BatchFL_to_UFl Conversion Utility...................................................141BatchFL_to_UFL Conversion Utility.....................................................142Post Conversion Steps........................................................................144

Appendix C. CSV (Comma Delimited) Data Files...................................................147For Users of the PI Batch File Interface.........................................................147Data File Example..........................................................................................147Configuration File Example with ASCIIFiles PlugIn........................................148Configuration File Example - BatchFL Mode..................................................149Bat File Example (ASCIIFiles PlugIn and BatchFL Mode).............................149Explanation....................................................................................................149

ASCIIFiles PlugIn.................................................................................149BatchFL Mode.....................................................................................150

Appendix D. XML Document Files...........................................................................151Data File Example..........................................................................................151Configuration File Example............................................................................152

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Bat File Example............................................................................................153Explanation....................................................................................................153

Appendix E. Reading Data from Serial Port............................................................155Streams Patterns from Serial Port..................................................................155Configuration File Example............................................................................155Bat File Example............................................................................................156Explanation....................................................................................................156

Appendix F. Reading Data from POP3 Server........................................................157Email Text......................................................................................................157Configuration File Example............................................................................157Bat File Example............................................................................................158Explanation....................................................................................................158

Appendix G. More Advanced Examples..................................................................161Data File Example..........................................................................................161Configuration File Example............................................................................161Point Configuration.........................................................................................162Bat File Example............................................................................................162Explanation....................................................................................................162

Appendix H. ASCII Codes Supported......................................................................165

Appendix I. Tested Operating Systems and Other Components..........................167

Appendix J. Technical Support and Resources.....................................................169Before You Call or Write for Help.........................................................169Help Desk and Telephone Support......................................................169Search Support....................................................................................170Email-based Technical Support...........................................................170Online Technical Support.....................................................................170Remote Access....................................................................................171On-site Service....................................................................................171Knowledge Center...............................................................................171Upgrades.............................................................................................171

Appendix K. Revision History..................................................................................173

Universal File and Stream Loader Interface vii

Terminology

To understand this interface manual, you should be familiar with the terminology used in this document.

BufferingBuffering refers to an Interface Node’s ability to store temporarily the data that interfaces collect and to forward these data to the appropriate PI Servers.

N-Way BufferingIf you have PI Servers that are part of a PI Collective, PIBufss supports n-way buffering. N-way buffering refers to the ability of a buffering application to send the same data to each of the PI Servers in a PI Collective. (Bufserv also supports n-way buffering to multiple PI Server however it does not guarantee identical archive records since point compressions specs could be different between PI Servers. With this in mind, OSIsoft recommends that you run PIBufss instead.)

ICUICU refers to the PI Interface Configuration Utility. The ICU is the primary application that you use to configure and run PI interface programs. You must install the ICU on the same computer on which an interface runs. A single copy of the ICU manages all of the interfaces on a particular computer.

You can configure and run an interface by editing a startup command file. However, OSIsoft discourages this approach. Instead, OSIsoft strongly recommends that you use the ICU for interface management tasks.

ICU ControlAn ICU Control is a plug-in to the ICU. Whereas the ICU handles functionality common to all interfaces, an ICU Control implements interface-specific behavior. Most PI interfaces have an associated ICU Control.

Interface NodeAn Interface Node is a computer on which

the PI API and/or PI SDK are installed, and

PI Server programs are not installed.

PI APIThe PI API is a library of functions that allow applications to communicate and exchange data with the PI Server. All PI interfaces use the PI API.

Universal File and Stream Loader Interface ix

Terminology

PI CollectiveA PI Collective is two or more replicated PI Servers that collect data concurrently. Collectives are part of the High Availability environment. When the primary PI Server in a collective becomes unavailable, a secondary collective member node seamlessly continues to collect and provide data access to your PI clients.

PIHOMEPIHOME refers to the directory that is the common location for PI 32-bit client applications.

On a 32-bit Operating system

A typical PIHOME is C:\Program Files\PIPC.

On a 64-Bit Operating system

A typical PIHOME is C:\Program Files (x86)\PIPC.

PI interfaces reside in a subdirectory of the Interfaces directory under PIHOME.

For example, files for the Modbus Ethernet Interface are in C:\Program Files\PIPC\Interfaces\ModbusE.

This document uses [PIHOME] as an abbreviation for the complete PIHOME or PIHOME64 directory. For example, ICU files in [PIHOME]\ICU.

PIHOME64PIHOME64 will be found only on a 64-bit Operating System and refers to the directory that is the common location for PI 64-bit client applications.

A typical PIHOME64 is C:\Program File\PIPC.

PI interfaces reside in a subdirectory of the Interfaces directory under PIHOME64.

For example, files for a 64-bit Modbus Ethernet Interface would be found in C:\Program Files\PIPC\Interfaces\ModbusE.

This document uses [PIHOME] as an abbreviation for the complete PIHOME or PIHOME64 directory. For example, ICU files in [PIHOME64]\ICU.

PI SDKThe PI SDK is a library of functions that allow applications to communicate and exchange data with the PI Server. Some PI interfaces, in addition to using the PI API, require the use of the PI SDK.

PI Server NodeA PI Server Node is a computer on which PI Server programs are installed. The PI Server runs on the PI Server Node.

PI SMTPI SMT refers to PI System Management Tools. PI SMT is the program that you use for configuring PI Servers. A single copy of PI SMT manages multiple PI Servers. PI SMT runs on either a PI Server Node or a PI Interface Node.

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Pipc.logThe pipc.log file is the file to which OSIsoft applications write informational and error messages. While a PI interface runs, it writes to the pipc.log file. The ICU allows easy access to the pipc.log.

PointThe PI point is the basic building block for controlling data flow to and from the PI Server. For a given timestamp, a PI point holds a single value.

A PI point does not necessarily correspond to a “point” on the foreign device. For example, a single “point” on the foreign device can consist of a set point, a process value, an alarm limit, and a discrete value. These four pieces of information require four separate PI points.

ServiceA Service is a Windows program that runs without user interaction. A Service continues to run after you have logged off from Windows. It has the ability to start up when the computer itself starts up.

The ICU allows you to configure a PI interface to run as a Service.

Tag (Input Tag and Output Tag)The tag attribute of a PI point is the name of the PI point. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the name of a point and the point itself. Because of this relationship, PI System documentation uses the terms “tag” and “point” interchangeably.

Interfaces read values from a device and write these values to an Input Tag. Interfaces use an Output Tag to write a value to the device.

Universal File and Stream Loader Interface xi

Chapter 1. Introduction

This document describes OSIsoft’s Universal File and Stream Loader (PI_UFL) interface to the PI System. It describes how to configure it as well as how to use it effectively.

PI_UFL interface reads data from various ASCII stream data sources. Its modular concept is built on the functionality division – the core part of the interface does the stream parsing and data forwarding to PI, while the actual data reading, which is proprietary to each data source, is implemented in dynamically loaded libraries (DLLs). These data sources must produce readable (ASCII) data; that is, ASCII streams with (repeatable) patterns. The interface parses those patterns and extracts the information the user specifies in a configuration file.

As mentioned above, the interface is shipped with three DLLs, which implement the actual communication to the sources of ASCII text data:

ASCII files: PI_UFL cyclically processes a given directory while looking for file names that match the user defined criteria (the directory and the file name pattern is one of the interface’s parameters). The interface thus scans the specified directory and if a file name matches the specified pattern, it opens the file, reads its content and looks for lines that pass the specified filters. After a file is processed, the interface renames the file and, optionally, deletes it.

Reading data from Serial Ports (RS 232) works similarly. The interface continuously reads the specified serial port and when it encounters a character(s) that signals the end-of-the-line, it stores this line in a (memory) container. In the defined intervals, this memory is emptied and the lines processed, again looking for the specified patterns.

The POP3 PlugIn periodically checks emails sent to the specified POP3 user on the given POP3 server. Emails are downloaded, processed and, finally, they are deleted.

As stated in the previous paragraph, the ASCII streams from the data sources need to be processed and parsed. A mandatory startup parameter the PI_UFL interface needs is therefore the path to the configuration file. This config. (INI) file actually controls how the interface identifies and manipulates the retrieved lines. The basic principle is very simple. The data is examined line by line. Each line is checked to see whether it matches one of the several sets of criteria (filters) and in case a line 'satisfies' a given filter, it is assigned a certain message type and is further broken into fields.

The content of these fields is then assigned to variables, which can take part in arithmetic expressions. The results are finally forwarded to PI.

Note: The PI UFL Interface is a replacement for the PI Batch File interface. Users of the PI Batch File interface should read Appendix B and C before upgrading to PI UFL.

Universal File and Stream Loader Interface 1

The Interface runs on Intel machines with Microsoft Windows operating system. The Interface Node may be either a PI Home or PI Interface node – see the Diagram of Hardware Connection section of this manual for more details.

This document contains the following topics:

Brief design overview

Installation and operation details

PI points configuration details (points that will receive data via this interface)

Configuration file specifications

Supported command line parameters

Examples of various configuration files (including a brief explanation of each presented feature) in Appendices B - G

CAUTION! PI_UFL version 3 is a major rewrite of PI_UFL version 2. See chapter For Users of Previous (2.x) Interface Versions that lists all the changes implemented in PI_UFL 3.

Reference Manuals OSIsoft

PI Server manuals

PI API Installation manual

Supported Features

Feature Support

Part Number PI-IN-OS-UFL-NTI

* Platforms 32-bit Interface 64-bit Interface

Windows XP

32-bit OS Yes No

64-bit OS Yes (Emulation Mode) No

Windows 2003 Server

32-bit OS Yes No


Windows Vista

32-bit OS Yes No


Windows 2008

32-bit OS Yes No


Windows 2008 R2



Feature Support

Windows 7

32-bit OS Yes No


* APS Connector Yes

Point Builder Utility No

ICU Control Yes

PI Point Types Float16 / Float32 / Float64 / Int16 / Int32 / Digital / String

Sub-second Timestamps Yes

Sub-second Scan Classes No

Automatically Incorporates PI Point Attribute Changes

Yes

* Exception Reporting Yes

Outputs from PI No

Inputs to PI: Scan-based / Unsolicited / Event Tags

Scan Based

Supports Questionable Bit Yes

Supports Multi-character PointSource Yes

Maximum Point Count Unlimited

* Uses PI SDK Yes

PINet String Support No

* Source of Timestamps Current time, or from the input stream(s).

* History Recovery Yes

* UniInt-based* Disconnected Startup* SetDeviceStatus

NoNoYes

* Failover Yes, Two independent Interface Instances.

Vendor Software Required on PI Interface Node / PINet Node

No

Vendor Software Required on Foreign Device

No

Vendor Hardware Required No

Additional PI Software Included with Interface

Yes

Device Point Types Not applicable

Serial-Based Interface Yes

* See available paragraphs below for further explanation.

PlatformsThe Interface is designed to run on the above mentioned Microsoft Windows operating systems and their associated service packs.


Introduction

APS ConnectorThe PI_UFL Interface does not use a traditional APS Connector to create PI Points. It does however have the ability to create PI points from the data received and processed if they do not currently exist. See the section MSG(n).EPC for details on how to use this feature.

Exception ReportingPI_UFL implements standard exception reporting, however, several start-up parameters and PI Point attributes will cause the exception spec. parameters NOT to be considered. Following is their short list (see the Startup Command File and Location5 for more details).

Start-up parameters:/lb/lbs/rbo

PI point parameter:Location5

Uses PI SDKThe PI SDK and the PI API are bundled together and must be installed on each PI Interface Node. This Interface specifically makes PI SDK calls to create PI Points, and write PI Annotations.

Source of TimestampsTimestamps are read from the input file or, when not specified, the current (Interface Node local time) is used.

History RecoveryHistory recovery is automatically included with any file-based interface. After the interface has been down for some reason, and, as long as the data files were not deleted, PI_UFL will process them during the 1st scan cycle after the start; no matter how much data is stored in these files and no matter how long the interface has been down.

The same is true for the POP3 PlugIn; provided the emails remain in the specified inbox, the interface will process immediately after start-up.

In case the interface communicates with data sources, which do not persist the data, there is nothing to recover from. This is the case when the interface communicates with a serial port via the Serial PlugIn

UniInt-based1

PI_UFL is NOT a UniInt based interface!

There are several relevant functionality reasons why PI_UFL has not been built on UniInt libraries:

1 UniInt stands for Universal Interface. UniInt is not a separate product or file; it is an OSIsoft-developed template used by developers, and is integrated into many interfaces, including this interface. The purpose of UniInt is to keep a consistent feature set and behavior across as many of OSIsoft’s interfaces as possible.

4

PI_UFL can operate without the PointSource; that is the /ps start-up parameter is NOT required

PI_UFL stores values to PI Annotations

PI_UFL automatically creates new PI Points and Digital Sets/States

PI_UFL is designed with the modular concept of PlugIns

At the time of writing, none of the above listed features were implemented in UniInt.

SetDeviceStatusSince version 3.0.3.16 PI_UFL implements Health Points. One of them is marked by [UI_DEVSTAT] in the ExtendedDescriptor and represents the status of the source device. The following events are written into the Device Status Health Point:

“Starting” – The interface has been started, has initialized the given PlugIn and is waiting for the first scan class.

“Good” – the interface is properly communicating and gets data from a data source (that is, from a directory with files, from a serial port or POP3 server).

“Intf Shutdown” – the interface was shut down.

See more details in chapters Interface Health Monitoring Points and Performance Counters Points.

FailoverSee section PI_UFL Redundancy – Failover for details.

Additional PI SoftwareSee section Graphical User Interface (GUI) Facilitating the INI File Creation for details.

Serial-Based InterfaceThis interface can run with a serial connection when configured with the Serial PlugIn.

Server class machines often have inferior serial ports. Server class machines are not required for most interfaces and should not be used, especially not when serial port connections are required.


Introduction

Diagram of Hardware Connection

The drawing below depicts the basic configuration of the hardware and software components in a typical scenario used with the PI_UFL Interface:

Figure 1. PI_UFL Configuration Diagram – PI Home Node with PI Interface Node

6

Figure 2. Hardware Diagram – All PI Software installed on one node


Chapter 2. Principles of Operation

A brief description of the basic principles has been given in the Introduction chapter. Following paragraphs have more details:

Interface Startup

At startup, the PI_UFL interface checks the correctness of the specified start up parameters and continues with processing of the configuration (.INI) file. As mentioned in the Introduction chapter, the configuration file tells the PI_UFL interface how to extract and interpret data streams from the given data source. After the interface is started, it performs a series of syntax checks on the message parsing constructions and expressions specified in the .INI file – that is, it compiles it. If errors are found, detailed info about them is written to the output log file and the interface halts. Once the configuration file has been read and successfully compiled, the interface accesses the PI Point database according to the specifications found on the startup command line.

The following paragraphs describe various modes depending on the presence of the following startup parameters - /ps and /tm.

If the /ps parameter was specified, all PI points with that PointSource will be loaded into the interface’s memory and this list will be continuously updated through the signup for points’ update mechanism. The same is true for points that fit the /tm pattern.

Both parameters (/ps and /tm) thus define the PI points that are loaded while the interface starts.

If neither of the two was specified, no PI points will be loaded at startup. However, the interface will then 'continuously build' its internal tag list out of the TagNames that appear in the data files as they arrive; that is, the list will be created dynamically.

Note: the /ps (as well as the /tm) startup parameters are optional. In other words, PI_UFL can start without them. Sending data to any PI tag is a feature that differentiates PI_UFL from the majority of OSIsoft interfaces!

When the /ps or /tm are specified, both parameters also make sure the interface will write values only to tags that comply with the given specification; that is, if for instance, the /tm is set and a TagName arrives that does not fit the /tm pattern, the interface will NOT send anything to this tag (neither will it try to create such a tag).

Simultaneous use of /ps and /tm is NOT supported!


Note: If the configuration file specifies values should be sent to PI via the string pattern in the InstrumentTag (see section InstrumentTag ) – such a tag must already be present in the internal interface’s tag-list. In case it is not, events for this tag will be skipped (will NOT be sent to PI). The reason is that PI Point database is not indexed by the InstrumentTag attribute and any on-line searching via this attribute is potentially expensive. The /ps or the /tm are thus required for addressing via the InstrumentTag.

After the configuration steps and checks during the start-up phase are completed, the interface continues with run-time operations:

Runtime Operations

During run-time, the PI_UFL interface checks, at regular time intervals, whether new input streams (that is: files, emails, ASCII streams on a serial port) appear and if yes, the interface reads them and stores the lines in memory. The "check frequency" is specified as the start-up parameter /f=hh:mm:ss on the command line (for more information on command-line parameters, see the Command-line Parameters section of this manual).

Note: The PI_UFL interface supports just ONE scan class; that is, only one /f is recognized.

The data lines in memory, which were read by the configured PlugIn, are consequently processed by the actual interface. The following bullets shortly discuss what important steps the interface runtime operations consist of:

PI_UFL interface checks each input line against the filter declarations given in the configuration file. As soon as the input line 'satisfies' any of the specified filters (see the description of the keyword MSG(n).Filter), the line is assigned a certain message type and is consequently broken into individual fields. These fields can be named and treated as variables; they can optionally take part in expressions. Fields (variables) are finally sent to PI via the StoreInPI() function:

StoreInPI (Tag, InstrumentTag, Timestamp, Value, Status, Questionable, [Annotation])


Following is an example, showing the described principles and used terminology:

[field] field(1).name = “time”field(2).name = “value”field(3).name = “tag”[msg]msg(1).name = “message1”[message1]message1 = C1==”Line containing *”time=C27-C46value=C54-C56 tag=C62-C69…

message1.action = StoreInPi(tag,,time,value,,)

…

Note: The text lines are processed by the INI file as if it were a procedure; and the lines as if they were the input parameters.

If the input message does not satisfy any filter definition, it is skipped and NO error is reported.

PlugIn Principles

Which data source will the interface talk to; that is, which DLL it will load is specified in the PLUG-IN entry of the INI file in section [INTERFACE]. The following bullets list the main features implemented in the three installed DLLs: AsciFiles.DLL, Serial.DLL and POP3.DLL.

ASCII Files

Data files are processed in 'settable order' – they can be sorted according to the creation date, modification date and according to the actual file name. The sorting mode is given via the .INI file (see the description of the IFS keyword).


Line containing Timestamp dd-mmm-yyyy hh:mm:ss Value 123 and Tag Name at fixed positions

Message

time field value field tag field

Principles of Operation

Note: Before the interface opens a data file, it moves it into the directory with the PI_UFL executable and temporarily renames it by prefixing the original name by the underscore and the interface Service ID; then the whole file is read into the memory and the lines are processed. Thus, new files (with the same name) can be copied into the data directory even if the interface is currently processing a file.

After a data file has been processed, it is renamed with a suffix indicating the time of processing.

After the given time period, files which have been processed will be deleted. This purge interval is specified by the PURGETIME keyword in the section [PLUG-IN] of the configuration file. The default purging period is one day (PURGETIME = 1d) and the purge time period represents the interval <time when the file was processed, current time>.

Note: Files, which were given the BAD extension, are not purged.

Serial

The Serial PlugIn opens a COM port using parameters specified in the [INTERFACE] section in the INI file.

After the successful COM port initialization, ASCII characters are 'continuously' collected; in other words, the Serial PlugIn reads them in a separate thread and the collected lines are, at the specified frequency (/f=hh:mm:ss),handed over to the PI_UFL parsing engine for processing.

POP3

The POP3 PlugIn connects to the specified POP3 server as the specified user.

Emails are periodically downloaded (at the specified frequency /f=hh:mm:ss) and handed over to the PI_UFL parsing engine for processing.

The processed emails are then deleted from the POP3 server.

The POP3 PlugIn allows for forwarding the downloaded emails to the specified SMTP server.

Note: The POP3 PlugIn works over a TCP/IP connection using TCP port 110. Communication over the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) on an alternate port 995 (also known as POP3S) is not supported!

BatchFL

In order to simplify the process of migration from the PI BatchFL interface (PI-IN-BF-LAB-NTI) to PI_UFL, version 3.1.0.10 implemented a mode, which allows working with the (fixed) BatchFL data structures without a need to manually create an .INI file. In fact, the PI_UFL GUI (see section Graphical User Interface (GUI) Facilitating the INI File Creation ) can be used for this purpose. See also an examples shown in section Configuration File Example - BatchFL Mode.

12

The BatchFL compatible mode does not require a separate DLL. The logic is implemented within the PI_UFL.EXE.

The main differences between this PlugIn and the ASCII Files PlugIn are as follows:

- the content of the data file is not read into the memory; the data file gets opened and the lines are taken one after the other

- since the data file structure is fixed, the interface bypasses the parsing tree, therefore the performance (ratio of events per second sent to PI) is higher

Note: All operations and evaluations the PI_UFL interface performs are

CASE INSENSITIVE!

The exceptions to this rule are timestamp formats (shown in Table 5 in the chapter describing the Field(n).Format) and pattern based extractions, see sections MSG(n).Filter , Data Extraction.

Use of PI SDK

The scope of tasks PI_UFL interface implements is wide; for some features it also requires functionality, which is only implemented in the PI SDK. The interface therefore maintains two links to the PI Server – one based on PI API, the other on PI SDK. The following tasks are done using the PI SDK:

1. Automatic point(s), digital set(s) and digital state(s) creation.

In other words, if a non-existing PI tag-name appears (in the data file) or a digital tag that does not have the given state in its state table, the PI SDK is used to create these objects automatically.

2. Writing to PI annotations.

Next to the value and status, PI_UFL allows sending the annotations to PI tags.

For more information about both above mentioned features, see the appropriate sections in chapter PI_UFL Configuration (INI) File.

Note: Use of the PI SDK requires that the PI Known Server’s Table contains the PI Server name of the node the interface connects to.

Note: The PI SDK link (connection) is created only when needed. If StoreInPI() is used WITHOUT the Annotation argument and the EPC (Enable Point Creation) keyword IS NOT specified, the interface will only establish the PI API link.

CAUTION! When the PI_UFL interface runs against a High Availability PI Servers, events containing PI Annotations will NOT make it to the non-primary


Principles of Operation

PI Servers. The reason is that neither PI buffer server, nor buffer subsystem support sending annotated events to PI.

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Chapter 3. Installation Checklist

If you are familiar with running PI data collection interface programs, this checklist helps you get the Interface running. If you are not familiar with PI interfaces, return to this section after reading the rest of the manual in detail.

This checklist summarizes the steps for installing this Interface. You need not perform a given task if you have already done so as part of the installation of another interface. For example, you only have to configure one instance of Buffering for every Interface Node regardless of how many interfaces run on that node.

The Data Collection Steps below are required. Interface Diagnostics and Advanced Interface Features are optional.

Data Collection Steps

1. Confirm that you can use PI SMT to configure the PI Server. You need not run PI SMT on the same computer on which you run this Interface.

2. If you are running the Interface on an Interface Node, edit the PI Server’s Trust Table to allow the Interface to write data.

3. Run the installation kit for PI Interface Configuration Utility (ICU) on the interface node if the ICU will be used to configure the interface. This kit runs the PI SDK installation kit, which installs both the PI API and the PI SDK.Run the installation kit for this Interface.

4. Run the installation kit for this Interface. This kit also runs the PI SDK installation kit which installs both the PI API and the PI SDK if necessary.

5. If you are running the Interface on an Interface Node, check the computer’s time zone properties. An improper time zone configuration can cause the PI Server to reject the data that this Interface writes.

6. Run the ICU and configure a new instance of this Interface. Essential startup parameters for this Interface are:

PI Server (/host=host:port)

Scan Class (/f=##:##;##,offset)

Configuration File (/cf=<filespec>)

7. Configure the Interface configuration .INI file. See chapters:

PI_UFL Configuration (INI) File and

Graphical User Interface (GUI) Facilitating the INI File Creation


8. If you will use digital points, define the appropriate digital state sets.

9. Build input tags and, if desired, output tags for this Interface. Important point attributes and their use are:

Location1 is not usedLocation2 is not usedLocation3 is not usedLocation4 is not usedLocation5 specifies if exception reporting is used and/or the archive modeExDesc is not used (except for Health Points).Convers defines the coefficient that multiplies the PI numeric tags.InstrumentTag defines the TagName alias.PointSource defines the PI points that are loaded at interface startup

10. Start the Interface interactively and confirm its successful connection to the PI Server without buffering.

11. Confirm that the Interface collects data successfully.

12. Configure the Interface to run as a Service. Confirm that the Interface runs properly as a Service.

13. Restart the Interface Node and confirm that the Interface restarts.

Interface Diagnostics

1. Configure Scan Class Performance points.

2. Install the PI Performance Monitor Interface (Full Version only) on the Interface Node.

3. Configure Performance Counter points.

4. Configure Health Monitoring points

5. Configure the I/O Rate point.

6. Install and configure the Interface Status Utility on the PI Server Node.

7. Configure the Interface Status point.


Chapter 4. Interface Installation

OSIsoft recommends that interfaces be installed on a PI Interface Nodes instead of directly on the PI Server node. A PI Interface Node is any node other than the PI Server node where the PI Application Programming Interface (PI API) has been installed (see the PI API manual). With this approach, the PI Server need not compete with interfaces for the machine’s resources. The primary function of the PI Server is to archive data and to service clients that request data.

After the interface has been installed and tested, Buffering should be enabled on the PI Interface Node. Buffering refers to either PI API Buffer Server (Bufserv) or the PI Buffer Subsystem (PIBufss). For more information about Buffering see the Buffering section of this manual.

In most cases, interfaces on PI Interface Nodes should be installed as automatic services. Services keep running after the user logs off. Automatic services automatically restart when the computer is restarted, which is useful in the event of a power failure.

The guidelines are different if an interface is installed on the PI Server node. In this case, the typical procedure is to install the PI Server as an automatic service and install the interface as an automatic service that depends on the PI Update Manager and PI Network Manager services. This typical scenario assumes that Buffering is not enabled on the PI Server node. Bufserv can be enabled on the PI Server node so that interfaces on the PI Server node do not need to be started and stopped in conjunction with PI, but it is not standard practice to enable buffering on the PI Server node. The PI Buffer Subsystem can also be installed on the PI Server. See the UniInt Interface User Manual for special procedural information.

Naming Conventions and Requirements

In the installation procedure below, it is assumed that the name of the interface executable is PI_UFL.exe and that the startup command file is called PI_UFL.bat.

When Configuring the Interface ManuallyIt is customary for the user to rename the executable and the startup command file when multiple copies of the interface are run. For example, PI_UFL1.exe and PI_UFL1.bat would typically be used for interface number 1, PI_UFL2.exe and PI_UFL2.bat for interface number 2, and so on. When an interface runs as a service, the executable and the command file must have the same root name because the service looks for its command-line parameters in a file that has the same root name.


Interface Installation

Interface Directories

PIHOME Directory Tree

32-bit InterfacesThe [PIHOME] directory tree is defined by the PIHOME entry in the pipc.ini configuration file. This pipc.ini file is an ASCII text file, which is located in the %windir% directory.

For 32-bit Operating Systems a typical pipc.ini file contains the following lines:[PIPC]PIHOME=C:\Program Files\PIPC

For 64-bit Operating Systems a typical pipc.ini file contains the following lines:[PIPC]PIHOME=C:\Program Files (X86)\PIPC

The above lines define the \Program Files\PIPC directory as the root of the PIHOME directory tree on the C: drive. OSIsoft recommends using \Program Files\pipc as the root directory name. The PIHOME directory does not need to be on the C: drive.

Interface Installation Directory

The interface install kit will automatically install the interface to:PIHOME\Interfaces\PI_UFL\

PIHOME is defined in the pipc.ini file.

Interface Installation Procedure

The PI_UFL Interface setup program uses the services of the Microsoft Windows Installer. Windows Installer is a standard part of Windows 2000 and greater operating systems. To install, run the appropriate installation kit.

32-bit InterfaceUFL_#.#.#.#_.exe

Installing Interface as a Windows Service

The PI_UFL Interface service can be created, preferably, with the PI Interface Configuration Utility, or can be created manually.

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Installing Interface Service with PI Interface Configuration Utility

The PI Interface Configuration Utility provides a user interface for creating, editing, and deleting the interface service:

Figure 3. PI ICU

Service Configuration

Service nameThe Service name box shows the name of the current interface service. This service name is obtained from the interface executable.

IDThis is the service id used to distinguish multiple instances of the same interface using the same executable.

Note: For PI_UFL, the service ID must be a number!



Display nameThe Display Name text box shows the current Display Name of the interface service. If there is currently no service for the selected interface, the default Display Name is the service name with a "PI- " prefix. Users may specify a different Display Name. OSIsoft suggests that the prefix "PI- " be appended to the beginning of the interface to indicate that the service is part of the OSIsoft suite of products.

Log on asThe Log on as text box shows the current Log on as Windows User Account of the interface service. If the service is configured to use the Local System account, the Log on as text box will show LocalSystem. Users may specify a different Windows User account for the service to use.

PasswordIf a Windows User account is entered in the Log on as text box, then a password must be provided in the Password text box, unless the account requires no password.

Confirm passwordIf a password is entered in the Password text box, then it must be confirmed in the Confirm Password text box.

DependenciesThe Installed services list is a list of the services currently installed on this machine. Services upon which this interface is dependent should be moved into the Dependencies list using the

button. For example, if API Buffering is running, then Bufserv should be selected from the list at the right and added to the list on the left. To remove a service from the list of

dependencies, use the button, and the service name will be removed from the Dependencies list.

When the interface is started (as a service), the services listed in the dependency list will be verified as running (or an attempt will be made to start them). If the dependent service(s) cannot be started for any reason, then the interface service will not run.

Note: Please see the PI Log and Windows Event Logger for messages that may indicate the cause for any service not running as expected.

- Add ButtonTo add a dependency from the list of Installed services, select the dependency name, and click the Add button.

- Remove ButtonTo remove a selected dependency, highlight the service name in the Dependencies list, and click the Remove button.

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The full name of the service selected in the Installed services list is displayed below the Installed services list box.

Startup TypeThe Startup Type indicates whether the interface service will start automatically or needs to be started manually on reboot.

If the Auto option is selected, the service will be installed to start automatically when the machine reboots.

If the Manual option is selected, the interface service will not start on reboot, but will require someone to manually start the service.

If the Disabled option is selected, the service will not start at all.

Generally, interface services are set to start automatically.

CreateThe Create button adds the displayed service with the specified Dependencies and with the specified Startup Type.

Remove The Remove button removes the displayed service. If the service is not currently installed, or if the service is currently running, this button will be grayed out.

Start or Stop Service

The toolbar contains a Start button and a Stop button . If this interface service is not currently installed, these buttons will remain grayed out until the service is added. If this interface service is running, the Stop button is available. If this service is not running, the Start button is available.

The status of the Interface service is indicated in the lower portion of the PI ICU dialog.


Status of the ICU Service

installed or uninstalled

Status of the Interface Service


Installing Interface Service Manually

Help for installing the interface as a service is available at any time with the command: PI_UFL.exe -help

Open a Windows command prompt window and change to the directory where the PI_UFL1.exe executable is located. Then, consult the following table to determine the appropriate service installation command.

Windows Service Installation Commands on a PI Interface Node or a PI Server Node with Bufserv implemented

Manual service PI_UFL.exe -install -depend "tcpip bufserv"

Automatic service PI_UFL.exe -install -auto -depend "tcpip bufserv"

*Automatic service with service id

PI_UFL.exe -serviceid X -install -auto -depend "tcpip bufserv"

Windows Service Installation Commands on a PI Interface Node or a PI Server Nodewithout Bufserv implemented

Manual service PI_UFL.exe -install -depend tcpip

Automatic service PI_UFL.exe -install -auto -depend tcpip

*Automatic service with service id

PI_UFL.exe -serviceid X -install -auto -depend tcpip

*When specifying service id, the user must include an id number.

Check the Microsoft Windows Services control panel to verify that the service was added successfully. The services control panel can be used at any time to change the interface from an automatic service to a manual service or vice versa.

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Chapter 5. Digital States

For more information regarding Digital States, refer to the PI Server documentation.

Digital State SetsPI digital states are discrete values represented by strings. These strings are organized in PI as digital state sets. Each digital state set is a user-defined list of strings, enumerated from 0 to n to represent different values of discrete data. For more information about PI digital tags and editing digital state sets, see the PI Server manuals.

An interface point that contains discrete data can be stored in PI as a digital tag. A Digital tag associates discrete data with a digital state set, as specified by the user.

System Digital State SetSimilar to digital state sets is the system digital state set. This set is used for all tags, regardless of type to indicate the state of a tag at a particular time. For example, if the interface receives bad data from an interface point, it writes the system digital state bad input to PI instead of a value. The system digital state set has many unused states that can be used by the interface and other PI clients. Digital States 193-320 are reserved for OSIsoft applications.

PI_UFL and Digital StatesPI_UFL interface uses the /des=# startup parameter, where # is the number from the PI System digital state set, in case it is NOT possible to translate a string into the particular digital state (e.g. the arrived string does not exist in the corresponding digital set).

Note: Along with the automatic tag and digital sets creation, PI_UFL is also able to dynamically extend the digital sets; that means, it will automatically add new digital states at run-time. See section [MSG] later in the manual.


Chapter 6. PointSource

The PointSource is a unique, single or multi-character string that is used to identify the PI point as a point that belongs to a particular interface. For example, the string Boiler1 may be used to identify points that belong to the MyInt Interface. To implement this, the PointSource attribute would be set to Boiler1 for every PI Point that is configured for the MyInt Interface. Then, if /ps=Boiler1 is used on the startup command-line of the MyInt Interface, the Interface will search the PI Point Database upon startup for every PI point that is configured with a PointSource of Boiler1. Before an interface loads a point, the interface usually performs further checks by examining additional PI point attributes to determine whether a particular point is valid for the interface. For additional information, see the /ps parameter. If the PI API version being used is prior to 1.6.x or the PI Server version is prior to 3.4.370.x, the PointSource is limited to a single character unless the SDK is being used.

PI_UFL differentiates from other OSISoft interfaces in its ability to operate on all tags that exist in the PI Point database. Moreover, the interface automatically creates PI tags as it encounters a TagName that cannot be located in the PI Point database; more about creating points can be found in chapter [MSG] later in the manual.

At the beginning of this document, in the chapter on Principles of Operation, it was shortly described how the interface behaves in relation to the startup parameters /ps and /tm. Both are meant to optimize the runtime performance in terms of minimizing the access to the PI Point database as well as they restrict sending data to the specified tags.

Note: As the interface maintains its internal cache of tags, which consists of names that were already used in data files, the run-time performance overhead stemming from accessing the PI point database is not that significant and the interface can easily operate without the startup parameters /ps, /tm.

Case-sensitivity for PointSource AttributeThe PointSource character that is supplied with the /ps command-line parameter is not case sensitive. That is, /ps=U and /ps=u are equivalent.

Reserved Point SourcesSeveral subsystems and applications that are shipped with PI are associated with default PointSource characters. The Totalizer Subsystem uses the PointSource character T, the Alarm Subsystem uses G and @, Random uses R, RampSoak uses 9, and the Performance Equations Subsystem uses C. Do not use these PointSource characters or change the default point source characters for these applications. Also, if a PointSource character is not explicitly defined when creating a PI point; the point is assigned a default PointSource character of Lab (PI 3). Therefore, it would be confusing to use Lab as the PointSource character for an interface.


Note: It is not recommended to use a point source character that is already associated with another interface program.


Chapter 7. PI Point Configuration

The PI point is the basic building block for controlling data flow to and from the PI Server. A single point is configured for each measurement value that needs to be archived.

Point Attributes

Use the point attributes below to define the PI Point configuration for the Interface, including specifically what data to transfer.

Tag

The Tag attribute (or TagName) is the name for a point. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the name of a point and the point itself. Because of this relationship, PI documentation uses the terms “tag” and “point” interchangeably.

Follow these rules for naming PI points:

The name must be unique on the PI Server.

The first character must be alphanumeric, the underscore (_), or the percent sign (%).

Control characters such as linefeeds or tabs are illegal.

The following characters also are illegal: * ’ ? ; { } [ ] | \ ` ‘ “

LengthDepending on the version of the PI API and the PI Server, this Interface supports tags whose length is at most 255 or 1023 characters. The following table indicates the maximum length of this attribute for all the different combinations of PI API and PI Server versions.

PI API PI Server Maximum Length

1.6.0.2 or higher 3.4.370.x or higher 1023

1.6.0.2 or higher Below 3.4.370.x 255

Below 1.6.0.2 3.4.370.x or higher 255

Below 1.6.0.2 Below 3.4.370.x 255Table 1. TagName Length

If the PI Server version is earlier than 3.4.370.x or the PI API version is earlier than 1.6.0.2, and you want to use a maximum tag length of 1023.


PointSource

The PointSource is a unique, single or multi-character string that is used to identify the PI point as a point that belongs to a particular interface. For additional information, see the /ps command-line parameter and the PointSource section.

While the PI_UFL interface may collect data without regard to the PointSource, this attribute is NOT required to be set when creating the point. However, it is recommended to assign a certain PointSource to a point that is known to receive data through the PI_UFL interface. For additional information, see the /ps command-line parameter described in the Command-line Parameters section of the manual.

PointType

Typically, the types of values read from the data files do not need to correspond to PI point types. For example, integer values read from a file can be sent to a Float32 point or to Digital PI tags. Similarly, a float value read from a file can be sent to integer or Digital PI tags, although the values will be usually truncated. The following types are supported: float16, float32, float64, int16, int32, digital, string.

For more information on the individual point types, see PI Data Archive for NT and UNIX.

Note: Blob and Timestamp types are NOT supported by the PI_UFL interface!

Location1

Location1 is not used by this interface.

Location2


Location3


Location4


Location5

Note: Location5 is only taken into account when NO bulk calls are made. In other words, neither /lb nor /lbs start-up parameters are set.


Note: When StoreInPI() does have the annotation parameter (PI SDK calls), the exception reporting does NOT occur!

Exception specification parameters are neither taken into account when /lb,/lbs start-up parameters are used or Location5 = 1 or 2.

Location5 determines how the value will be sent to PI. Two modes are recognized:

In-order data: newvalue.timestamp >= prevvalue.timestamp

Out-of-order data: newvalue.timestamp < prevvalue.timestamp

The table below summarizes the supported options:

Location5 Behavior

0 In-order data – the interface does the exception reporting in the standard way. Out-of-order data is supported, but existing archive values cannot be replaced; there will be the -109 error in the pimessagelog when the same timestamp is used.

1 In-order data – the interface gives up the exception reporting – each retrieved value is sent to PI;Out-of-order data – the existing archive values (same timestamps) will be replaced and new events will be inserted. For PI3.3+ servers the existing snapshot data (the current value of a tag) is replaced. For PI3.2 (or earlier) systems the snapshot values cannot be replaced. In this case the new value is added and the old value remains.

Note: When there are more events in the PI archive at the same timestamp, only one event is overwritten – the first in the succession.

2 If the data comes in-order – the behavior is the same as with Location5=1 Out-of-order data – values are always inserted; that is, multiple values at the same timestamp can occur.

Table 2. Location5 Settings

InstrumentTag

LengthDepending on the version of the PI API and the PI Server, this Interface supports an InstrumentTag attribute whose length is at most 32 or 1023 characters. The following table indicates the maximum length of this attribute for all the different combinations of PI API and PI Server versions.

PI API PI Server Maximum Length1.6.0.2 or higher 3.4.370.x or higher 1023

1.6.0.2 or higher Below 3.4.370.x 32

Below 1.6.0.2 3.4.370.x or higher 32

Below 1.6.0.2 Below 3.4.370.x 32


PI Point Configuration

ExDesc

LengthDepending on the version of the PI API and the PI Server, this Interface supports an Extended Descriptor attribute whose length is at most 32 or 1023 characters. The following table indicates the maximum length of this attribute for all the different combinations of PI API and PI Server versions.

PI API PI Server Maximum Length

1.6.0.2 or higher 3.4.370.x or higher 1023

1.6.0.2 or higher Below 3.4.370.x 80

Below 1.6.0.2 3.4.370.x or higher 80

Below 1.6.0.2 Below 3.4.370.x 80

Performance Points The extended descriptor is checked for the string "PERFORMANCE_POINT ". If this character string is found, PI_UFL treats this point as a performance point. See the section called Scan Class Performance Points.

Convers

Coefficient applied against the value of the PI numeric tags; that is: float16, float32, float64, int16, int32.

Their value is multiplied by the Convers parameter.

Scan

By default, the Scan attribute has a value of 1, which means that scanning is turned on for the point. Setting the scan attribute to 0 turns scanning off. If the scan attribute is 0 when the interface starts, a message is written to the pipc.log and the tag is not loaded by the interface. There is one exception to the previous statement.

If any PI Point is removed from the interface while the interface is running (including setting the scan attribute to 0), SCAN OFF will be written to the PI Point regardless of the value of the Scan attribute. Two examples of actions that would remove a PI Point from an interface are to change the point source or set the scan attribute to 0. If an interface specific attribute is changed that causes the tag to be rejected by the interface, SCAN OFF will be written to the PI point.

Shutdown

The Shutdown attribute is 1 (true) by default. The default behavior of the PI Shutdown subsystem is to write the SHUTDOWN digital state to all PI points when PI is started. The timestamp that is used for the SHUTDOWN events is retrieved from a file that is updated by the Snapshot Subsystem. The timestamp is usually updated every 15 minutes, which means that the timestamp for the SHUTDOWN events will be accurate to within 15 minutes in the event of a power failure. For additional information on shutdown events, refer to PI Server manuals.

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Note: The SHUTDOWN events that are written by the PI Shutdown subsystem are independent of the SHUTDOWN events that are written by the interface when the /stopstat=Shutdown command-line parameter is specified.

SHUTDOWN events can be disabled from being written to PI when PI is restarted by setting the Shutdown attribute to 0 for each point. Alternatively, the default behavior of the PI Shutdown Subsystem can be changed to write SHUTDOWN events only for PI points that have their Shutdown attribute set to 0. To change the default behavior, edit the \PI\dat\Shutdown.dat file, as discussed in PI Server manuals.

Bufserv and PIBufSSIt is undesirable to write shutdown events when buffering is being used. Bufserv and PIBufSS are utility programs that provide the capability to store and forward events to a PI Server, allowing continuous data collection when the Server is down for maintenance, upgrades, backups, and unexpected failures. That is, when PI is shutdown, Bufserv or PIBufSS will continue to collect data for the interface, making it undesirable to write SHUTDOWN events to the PI points for this interface. Disabling Shutdown is recommended when sending data to a Highly Available PI Server Collective. Refer to the Bufserv or PIBufSS manuals for additional information.

Output Points

This Interface does NOT support Output Points!


Chapter 8. Startup Command File

Command-line parameters can begin with a / or with a -. For example, the /ps=U and -ps=U command-line parameters are equivalent.

For Windows, command file names have a .bat extension. The Windows continuation character (^) allows for the use of multiple lines for the startup command. The maximum length of each line is 1024 characters (1 kilobyte). The number of parameters is unlimited, and the maximum length of each parameter is 1024 characters.

The PI Interface Configuration Utility (PI ICU) provides a tool for configuring the Interface startup command file.

Configuring the Interface with PI ICU

Note: PI ICU requires PI 3.3 or greater

The PI Interface Configuration Utility provides a graphical user interface for configuring PI interfaces. If the interface is configured by the PI ICU, the batch file of the interface (PI_UFL.bat) will be maintained by the PI ICU and all configuration changes will be kept in that file and the module database. The procedure below describes the necessary steps for using PI ICU to configure the PI_UFL Interface.

From the PI ICU menu, select Interface, then New Windows Interface Instance from EXE..., and then Browse to the PI_UFL.exe executable file. Then, enter values for Point Source and Interface ID#. A window such as the following results:


"Interface name as displayed in the ICU (optional)" will have PI- pre-pended to this name and it will be the display name in the services menu.

Click on Add.

The following display should appear:

Note that in this example the Host PI System is mkellyD630. To configure the interface to communicate with a remote PI Server, select ‘Interface => Connections…’ item from PI ICU menu and select the default server. If the remote node is not present in the list of servers, it can be added.

Once the interface is added to PI ICU, near the top of the main PI ICU screen, the Interface Type should be PI_UFL. If not, use the drop-down box to change the Interface Type to be UFL.

Click on Apply to enable the PI ICU to manage this copy of the Interface UFL.


The next step is to make selections in the interface-specific tab (i.e. UFL) that allow the user to enter values for the startup parameters that are particular to the PI UFL Interface.

To set up the interface as a Windows Service, use the Service page. This page allows configuration of the interface to run as a service as well as to starting and stopping of the interface. The interface can also be run interactively from the PI ICU. To do that go to menu, select the Interface item and then Start Interactive.

For more detailed information on how to use the above-mentioned and other PI ICU pages and selections, please refer to the PI Interface Configuration Utility User Manual. The next section describes the selections that are available from the UFL page. Once selections have been made on the PI ICU GUI, press the Apply button in order for PI ICU to make these changes to the interface’s startup file.

UFL Interface page

Since the startup file of the PI_UFL Interface is maintained automatically by the PI ICU, use the UFL page to configure the startup parameters and do not make changes in the file manually. The following is the description of interface configuration parameters used in the PI ICU Control and corresponding manual parameters.


Startup Command File

UFLThe PI UFL ICU Control for PI ICU has 1 section. A yellow text box indicates that an invalid value has been entered, or that a required value has not been entered.

Configuration FileEnter the name of the INI file to use with this instance of the interface or click on the browse

button . The command line equivalent is /cf=<UNC Path>.

Send data to PI ArchiveLaBoratory. If this parameter is present, the interface will store the data directly to the PI Archive. In case some events already exist at the given timestamp, they will be by default replaced. See the /am at the beginning of this table on how to change the mode. This archive mode is then used for all tags (regardless of Location5 of individual tags). The command line equivalent is /lb.

Note: Usage of /lb and /lbs has several consequences:

- when set, the events are cached in the interface and the cache is flushed (events are sent to PI) before each scan class or when the cache is full (see the /ws /wd for more details). The consequence of this logic is that the interface cannot “react” on a run-time error like for example “Target Date In Future” or “Point does not Exist”, when it comes to storing the problematic line to MSGINERROR file. In other words, the interface cannot store the “erroneous” lines into the MSGINERROR file, because these errors are “discovered” only when the buffer is flushed) and, at this time, it is already too late to assign the problematic events to the original input lines.

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- thanks to the caching, the event ratio (number of events sent to PI per second) is much higher compared to event by event execution

- /lb or /lbs and setting of Location5 also cause no exception filtering occurs

Laboratory SnapshotsLaBoratory Snapshot. Events are sent to PI through the PI Snapshot in bulks. The event ratio is then significantly faster comparing to the event-by-event sending, which occurs when neither /lbs nor /lb are present. The command line equivalent is /lbs.

Archive ModeWhen the PI API bulk calls are configured (see the /lb) the following modes can be specified:

3 (ARCNOREPLACE) add unless event(s) exist at same time (PI 2.x).4 (ARCAPPEND) add event regardless of existing events.5 (ARCREPLACE) add event, replace if event at same time.6 (ARCREPLACEX) replace existing event (fail if no event at time).7 (ARCDELETE) remove existing event.8 (ARCAPPENDX) add event regardless of existing events, with no compression.

The command line equivalent is /am=#, Default: 5 (ARCREPLACE).

Note: This startup parameter does not apply when the values are sent through the PI SDK call (StoreInPI() and it contains the annotation parameter). For PI SDK calls the archive mode is specified through the Location5.

Read Before OverwriteCheck this box to enable the read before overwrite function. This mode of operation will do an archive read first (to see if the value exists at the given timestamp) and will send the new value only if it is different. Also, this mode only works when Location5=1 and neither /lb nor /lbs start up parameters are set. The reason is that /lb and /lbs mean sending data in bulks and some events thus may still not be in PI Archives when the reading occurs. The command line equivalent is /rbo.

Use UTC TimestampsWhen specified; the timestamps read from the data file are forwarded to PI as UTC timestamps. The command line equivalent is /utc.

Ignore Missing Tags Ignore Missing Tags. In case the tag does not exist in PI, do not print any error message. The command line equivalent is /imt.

Run Once and ExitIf present, the interface executes once and exits. For the PlugIn ASCIIFiles it means it processes the existing files in the given directory and exits; for the PlugIn POP3 it processes all the existing emails and exits. For the Serial PlugIn this start-up parameter does not make sense. The command line equivalent is /runonce.

Launch UFLDesigner.exe



This button when clicked will start the UFLDesigner.exe program to help in the configuration of the INI file.

Tag MaskWhen specified, the interface will load all points matching this tag mask prior to run-time operation. This is especially useful:

when using the InstrumentTag to identify the tags to store data in

when it is required to limit the write operations to a subset of tags

The tag mask complies to the PI Tag Search rules; that means, the wildcard characters are * or ?. The command line equivalent is /tm=<TagMaskString>.

Default Error StatusDefault Error Status. This status will be stored in PI when the digital status string cannot be translated. N is the index of the desired state from the PI System Digital Set. The command line equivalent is /des=#.

Note: This startup parameter does closely relate to the MSG(n).DIGITALSET keyword. If the /des=# is present, the interface will NOT try to automatically extend the digital sets when the non-existing state arrives. The specified index (#) to the system digital state will be used instead.

Write Delay (ms)Write Delay, in milliseconds, between two bulk writes to the PI archive. This is used to tune the load on the PI Archive and the network. See also the /ws=# below. The command line equivalent is /wd=#, Default: 10 milliseconds.

Write Size (# events)Write Size. Maximum number of values written in one (bulk) call to the PI Archive.

This parameter can be used to tune (throttle) the load on the PI Archive.

With the PI_UFL, it is possible to load huge amounts of data in a short time; for example, when loading files covering a long time periods, the /ws /wd can be used to throttle the load. The command line equivalent is /ws=#, Default: 10240.

Command-line Parameters

Parameter Description

/am=#Optional

Archive Mode.When the PI API bulk archive calls are configured (see the /lb) ; the following modes can be specified:3 (ARCNOREPLACE) add unless event(s) exist at same time (PI 2.x).4 (ARCAPPEND) add event regardless of existing events.5 (ARCREPLACE) add event, replace if event at same time.6 (ARCREPLACEX) replace existing event (fail if no event at time).7 (ARCDELETE) remove existing event.8 (ARCAPPENDX) add event regardless of existing events, with no compression.

38


Default is 5 (ARCREPLACE).

Note: This startup parameter does not apply when values are sent through the PI SDK call (StoreInPI() contains the annotation parameter). For PI SDK calls the archive mode is specified through the Location5.

/cf=xxx.yyyRequired

The full path pointing to the Configuration File.

/des=#Optional

Default Error Status. This status will be stored in PI when the digital status string cannot be translated. N is the index of the desired state from the PI System Digital Set.

Note: This startup parameter does closely relate to the MSG(n).DIGITALSET keyword. If the /des=# is present, the interface will NOT try to automatically extend the digital sets when the non-existing state arrives. The specified index (#) to the system digital state will be used instead.

/disablecountersOptional

Disable writing to performance counters.

/f=HH:MM:SSOr/f=SSRequired

The /f parameter defines the time period between scans in terms of hours HH, minutes MM, and seconds SS.

Example of one minute scan class: /f=00:01:00

Note: With the PI_UFL interface, only the first instance of the /f flag on the command line is taken into account!

Unlike other OSIsoft interfaces, which are UniInt based, PI_UFL does NOT support offset (to support scans at discrete moments in time)!

/host=host:portRequired

The /host parameter is used to specify the PI Home node. Host is the IP address of the PI Sever node or the domain name of the PI Server node. Port is the port number for TCP/IP communication. The port is always 5450. It is recommended to explicitly define the host and port on the command-line with the /host parameter. Nevertheless, if either the host or port is not specified, the interface will attempt to use defaults. Examples:The interface is running on a PI Interface Node, the domain name of the PI home node is Marvin, and the IP address of Marvin is 206.79.198.30. Valid /host parameters would be:/host=marvin/host=marvin:5450/host=206.79.198.3/host=206.79.198.30:5450




/imtOptional

Ignore Missing Tags. In case the tag does not exist in PI, do not print any error message.

/lbOptional

LaBoratory. Events are written directly to PI Archive in bulks. The event ratio is then significantly faster comparing to the event-by-event sending, which occurs when no /lb neither /lbs is present. The /am is used to specify which archive mode will be used.

/lbsOptional

LaBoratory Snapshot. Events are sent to PI through the PI Snapshot in bulks. The event ratio is then significantly faster comparing to the event-by-event sending, which occurs when neither /lbs nor /lb is present.

/perf=#Default: 8 hoursOptional

The /perf parameter specifies the interval between output of performance summary information in hours. With PI_UFL, this start-up parameter is used in relation to performance counters.

/ps=xRequired

The /ps parameter specifies the point source for the interface. X is not case sensitive and can be any single/multiple character string. For example, /ps=U and /ps=u are equivalent. The point source that is assigned with the /ps parameter corresponds to the PointSource attribute of individual PI Points. The interface will attempt to load only those PI points with the appropriate point source. If the PI API version being used is prior to 1.6.x or the PI Server version is prior to 3.4.370.x, the PointSource is limited to a single character unless the SDK is being used.

/rboOptional

Read Before Overwrite. This mode of operation will do an archive read first (to see if the value exists at the given timestamp) and will send the new value only if it is different. Also, this mode only works when Location5=1 and NO /lb, /lbs start up parameters are set. The reason is that /lb, /lbs means sending data in bulks and some events may still not be in PI Archives when the reading occurs.

Note: In the current PI_UFL version the /rbo does NOT have any effect when events are sent to PI through PI SDK calls!

/runonceOptional

If present, the interface executes once and exits. For the PlugIn ASCIIFiles it means it processes the existing files in the given directory and exits; for the PlugIn POP3 it processes all the existing emails and exits. For the Serial PlugIn this start-up parameter does not make sense.

/tm=xxx*Or/tm="xxx xxx*"Optional

Tag Mask. When specified, the interface will load all points matching this tag mask prior to run-time operation. This is especially useful :- when using the InstrumentTag to identify the tags to store data in - when it is required to limit the write operations to a subset of tagsThe tag mask complies to the PI Tag Search rules; that means, the wildcard characters are * or ?.

/utcOptional

Universal Time CoordinatedWhen specified; the timestamps read from the data file are forwarded to PI as UTC timestamps.

/wd=#Optional

Write Delay, in milliseconds, between two bulk writes to the PI archive. Default is 10ms. Used to tune the load on the PI Archive and the network. See also the /ws=# below.

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/ws=#Optional

Write Size. Maximum number of values written in one (bulk) call to the PI Archive; default is 10240 events per bulk. This parameter can be used to tune (throttle) the load on the PI Archive.

With the UFL, it is possible to load huge amounts of data in a short time; for example, when loading files covering a long time periods, the /ws /wd can be used to throttle the load.

Table 3. PI_UFL start-up Parameters



Sample PI_UFL.bat File

The following is an example file:REM==================================================================REM PI_UFL.batREMREM Sample startup file for the Universal File and Stream LoaderREM InterfaceREM==================================================================REM REM OSIsoft strongly recommends using PI ICU to modify startup files.REM

.\PI_UFL.EXE ^ /host=XXXXXX:5450 ^ /f=00:01:00 ^ /cf="C:\Program Files\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\pi_ufl_cfg.ini"

REMREM End of PI_UFL.bat file

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Chapter 9. PI_UFL Configuration (INI) File

PI_UFL interface uses the configuration file to describe how to interpret the individual input files. The configuration file is referenced by the mandatory startup parameter /cf=full_path. Its content is divided into sections (enclosed in square brackets) and each section can contain any number of parameters (parameters begin with a keyword, followed by the equals sign and a value) underneath. The configuration file thus resembles the structure of a standard Windows INI file2). Refer to Appendices B-D for configuration examples and further discussion. Configuration file examples, data file examples and batch startup files are also included with this interface in the directories

PIHOME\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Examples and PIHOME\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Examples\Data\.

In the following paragraphs we will discuss the individual sections and key definitions in detail:

General

As stated in the Introduction chapter, the configuration file allows the interface to process a variety of ASCII patterns. Examples are comma separated (csv) files, data files with tabular content, inputs with (simple) XML structures, ASCII streams from serial ports and emails from POP3 servers. The interface design assumes the input streams must have a coherent and consistent structure that can be described by means of the configuration file. A repeating part of the input stream is a message; if a particular message is recognized, it is assigned a certain message type. Such a message is further on divided into (one or more) fields, which must be sufficiently described so that the interface can treat them as variables; that is, variables need a data type (DateTime, String, Number,..); some also need a format (e.g. DateTime). See the picture in section Runtime Operations.

For example, a field that contains a date/time string needs further information that tells the interface how to transform this string pattern into a valid timestamp. All these declarations and format specifications must be stated in the configuration file.

Besides the data extraction directives, the configuration file contains additional (optional) sections that influence the interface behavior; e.g., definition of the line termination characters, interface logging, etc. All the configuration file sections and their keywords are detailed in this chapter and more complex examples (with detailed description on how the interface processes them) can be found in the appendices to this document.

2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INI_file


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INI_file

CommentsBoth, comment lines and blank lines can be included in a configuration file. Such comment lines placed in the configuration file are there for the benefit of the person doing the configuration, and for other people who might examine the file later. The PI_UFL interface ignores both, blank lines as well as all characters following a comment character on a line (comment characters within a string, double quotes, are ignored) through the line end. The comment character is the apostrophe ' (ASCII code: 39).

Example of Comment Lines'----------------------------------------------------------------' Get QUANTITY DETAILS'----------------------------------------------------------------

' QTY+46:-140:KWH' ¦-'¦--'¦--'¦--'' ¦ ¦ ¦ +> Units, KWH' ¦ ¦ +> actual quantity' ¦ +> Delivered quantity code' ¦ +> QUANTITY DETAILS

Line ContinuationData in the configuration file can be split over several lines. For this purpose, the line continuation character _ (underscore, ASCII code: 95) must be used.

Example of Line Continuationmessage1.filter = C1=="Line containing *" And _

C56=="DateTime*"

The following paragraphs will give a detailed overview of the individual sections and keywords the INI file consists of.


[INTERFACE]

PI_UFL interface has a modular design. It consists of a generic frame, responsible for parsing the ASCII data patterns and stream handling and of a module that takes care of communication with the PI Server. In addition, the modules for accessing the individual data sources (ASCII files, Serial ports, etc.) are implemented in separate Dynamically Linked Libraries (DLLs). In the [INTERFACE] section of the configuration file, one has to specify the appropriate DLL name, which contains the logic for communication with the given data source. The individual keywords are listed below.

In its basic configuration, PI_UFL interface is shipped as the actual executable PI_UFL.exe and three DLLs. One implements communication with ASCII files ASCIIFiles.dll, the second one with serial ports Serial.dll and the third one implements downloading emails from POP3 servers POP3.DLL. The following keyword is recognized in order to distinguish, which DLL to load:

PLUG-IN

One instance of the interface can only talk to one data source. That means, the interface either scans a directory looking for the ASCII files of the given pattern in their names, or it communicates with (one) serial port or POP3 server.

The following are valid values for the PLUG-IN keyword.

ASCIIFiles.dllBatchFLPOP3.dllSerial.dll

Default setting is ASCIIFiles.dll.

Plug-In Example: Plug-In = ASCIIFiles.dll

Note: The specified DLL has to be in the same directory as the PI_UFL.EXE


PI_UFL Configuration (INI) File

[PLUG-IN] – ASCII Files

In case the ASCIIFiles.dll is specified in the [INTERFACE] section, the following keywords are used to read and process the content of data files:

ERR

File extension in case of an file handling error. If a data file cannot be opened, read or renamed, the interface will try to rename it with the specified suffix.

The default error suffix is ERR.

Note: The renaming schema has changed compared to PI_UFL version 2.x. In PI_UFL 2.x, the data file was suffixed with the specified ERR endings always when there was a problem with reading the content, parsing it as well as sending individual events to PI. This approach proved to be inefficient, because it was difficult to locate a concrete line in the data file, which caused the error. PI_UFL version 3.x offers a separate file, which stores the erroneous lines. See the MSGINERROR for more details.

Err Example: Err = BAD

IFM

Input File Mask. The keyword points to a directory with data files. The file name pattern can contain the wild-card character *, or be without it.

Examples below show some of the supported constructs:

IFM Example:IFM = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Data\data.txt

' or

IFM = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Data\data*.txt

' or

IFM = \\computerName\shareName\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Data\*.txt

Note: This keyword is mandatory.

Note: Only one directory can be used when scanning files for a given interface instance.

IFS

Input File Sort. The order of the data files can be changed by the IFS keyword.

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The interface can read the data files sorted according to:

Creation date (default) IFS=C

Modification date IFS=M

File Name IFS=N

IFS Example: IFS = N

NEWLINE

By default, a stream is read until the carriage return–linefeed (CRLF, ASCII codes: 13 and 10) – the default line termination for ASCII files is encountered. However, it is useful to have the possibility to specify 'whatever' marker for the line end.

The NEWLINE keyword allows the user to specify a different set of line-end character(s):

NEWLINE Example: NEWLINE = "event end>"' orNEWLINE = "STOP" OR "END" OR "EndOfLine"' orNEWLINE = 13,10' orNEWLINE = 13,10 OR 83,84,79,80

The following rules apply:

The NEWLINE keyword is followed by one or more characters (characters can be enclosed in double quotes). The combination of all specified characters is then interpreted as the line end.

Multiple OR-ed strings (enclosed in double quotes)

The string comparisons are case SENSITIVE.

Numbers are interpreted as ASCII codes separated by commas. Between commas, there cannot be any whitespaces.

Multiple successions of ASCII codes (comma separated).

Successions can be OR-ed

It is not possible to combine the characters and ASCII codes; that is, the following definition is NOT valid:

NEWLINE = "event end> 13,10"

The default is CRLF; that is: 13,10

The specified (line-end) characters are excluded from the message.

This way it is possible to configure the non-printable characters or characters that have a special meaning, like a white space, a single quote ', etc.



Note: See Appendix H: ASCII Codes Supported for a list of supported ASCII codes.

The maximum line length supported by PI_UFL interface is 10K (10240) characters!

PFN

Prepend File Name. If this keyword is present, the PlugIn will add the filename as the first line read. The filename is included as the first line in the read stream.

For better filtering of such line, the filename can be prefixed with the specified string pattern. See the keyword Pfn_Prefix below. Default value is false.

PFN Example: ' Data File Name: Data.txt' UFL_Tag1, 01-Feb-2007 15 :00 :00, 123' UFL_Tag2, 01-Feb-2007 15 :00 :00, 456' …' The interface will get :' Data.txt' UFL_Tag1, 01-Feb-2007 15 :00 :00, 123' UFL_Tag2, 01-Feb-2007 15 :00 :00, 456' …PFN = True

PFN_PREFIX

This may be useful when the filename is included with the PFN keyword. It may be of use to add a prefix to distinguish the filename line from the other lines in the data file.

Default value is FileName>

PFN_Prefix Example: ' Data File Name: Data.txt' …' The interface will get:' FileName>Data.txt' …PFN_Prefix = FileName>

PURGETIME

Purge Time. Specify the amount of time to wait before purging processed data files. The time specified is relative to the current (local) time on the Interface Node and is compared against the to-be-purged file processed time. Default is one day – 1d. The minimum value is 1s (one second). The other recognized patterns are:

#s – number of seconds#m – number of minutes#h – number of hours

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#d – number of days

Purgetime Example: Purgetime = 10m

Note: Only those renamed files that were processed without an error will be purged. That is, if the file is renamed with the suffix specified via the ERR keyword, it will NOT be purged!

REN

File extension in case of successful file read. After the file is read, it gets the specified suffix. In addition, the original filename is suffixed with the time of reading; that is, local date-time when the file was processed by the interface.

Note: This suffixed date-time format is not configurable by the user!

The default rename suffix is _OK, and the suffixed date-time format is dd-MMM-yyyy_hh-mm-ss.nnn. See the following example:

REN Example: ' The original file; e.g., data.txt is thus renamed to ' data_20-Jan-2007_10-10-41.416.SUCCREN = SUCC

WORDWRAP

Defines the fixed line size. If defined, it has higher priority than NEWLINE

WORDWRAP Example: ' Data file content:' TagName1 1 TagName2 2 TagName3 3 TagName4 4'' Lines recognized using WORDWRAP=11:' TagName1 1' TagName2 2' TagName3 3' TagName4 4

WORDWRAP = 11

Note: The maximum line length is 10K (10240) characters. Any attempt to define bigger WORDWRAP will end up with WORDWRAP=10240.



[PLUG-IN] – Serial Port

In case the Serial.dll is specified in the [INTERFACE] section, the following keywords are used to configure the specified serial port (RS 232) on the Interface Node.

BITS

Number of bits. Acceptable values: 4,5,6,7,8

Default value is 8.

BITS Example: BITS = 8

COM

The serial port number; default value is 1.

COM Example: COM = 1

COMDATA

Full path to a file storing raw data read from the serial port. When this parameter is specified, the interface stores all incoming characters from the serial port to a file. This is mostly useful for verification and troubleshooting purposes.

ComData Example: ComData = c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\rawdata.txt

NEWLINE

See the NEWLINE description in chapter [PLUG-IN] – ASCII Files.

Note: The NEWLINE keyword for the Serial PlugIn does NOT support the OR operator!

Default value is CRLF; that is: 13,10

NEWLINE Example: NEWLINE = "event end>" ' orNEWLINE = 13

50

PARITY

Acceptable parity patterns are:

EVENODDNOMARKSPACE

Default value is NO.

Parity Example: Parity = even

SPEED

Baud Speed. Default value is 9600.

Speed Example: Speed = 9600

STOPBITS

Number of stop-bits. Acceptable values and matching:

0 = 1 stop bit1 = 1.5 stop bit2 = 2 stop bits

Default value is 0.

StopBits Example: StopBits = 0

Note: In case the Serial Port PlugIn fails to initialize, the interface prints the relevant error codes in the specified OUTPUT file. These errors are Microsoft Windows system error codes and their list can be found on Microsoft support Web sites (search for the results of the Windows function call GetLastError()).

Because the number of possible errors is big, we list just a few that occur most often:

2 – The system cannot find the file specified - the specified serial port probably does not exist.

5 – Access denied – the specified serial port is probably used by some other driver.

87 – The parameter is incorrect – one of the port parameters is not properly specified.



[PLUG-IN] – POP3

The POP3 PlugIn allows connecting to a specified POP3 server and periodically reading emails, which were sent to the specified user. The emails can contain attachments, but both – the email body as well as attachments must be ASCII text. The PlugIn supports emails that comply with MIME format3). After processing, the emails are deleted from the POP3 server. However, there is a backup option available (see the FORWARD_TO keyword).

Note: The POP3 PlugIn works over a TCP/IP connection using TCP port 110. Communication over the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) on an alternate port 995 (also known as POP3S) is not supported.

If the POP3.dll is specified in the [INTERFACE] section, the following keywords are used to configure reading from the POP3 mail server.

ATTACHMENT_PREFIX

This may be useful when the keyword MAIL_ATTACHMENT is defined. Default pattern is [Attachment]:

Attachment_Prefix Example: ' the actual email lines will begin with the following line' [Message Attachment] : ' 4ufl' …Attachment_Prefix = [Message Attachment]:

BODY_PREFIX

This may be useful when the keyword MAIL_BODY is defined. Default pattern is [Body]:

Body_Prefix Example: ' the actual email lines will begin with the following line' [Message Body] : ' 4ufl' …

Body_Prefix = [Message Body]:

DATE_PREFIX

This may be useful when the MAIL_DATE keyword is defined to distinguish the "Date" entry from the other lines in the email. Default pattern is [Date]:

Date_Prefix Example: ' the actual email lines will begin with the following line

3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIME

52

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIME

' [Message Date] :Thu, 15 May 2008 07 :16 :40 +0200 ' …Date_Prefix = [Message Date]:

FILTER_FROM

This keyword causes the emails from specified address(es) to be processed. Emails from other sources will be ignored (but optionally forwarded to the backup address).

If more addresses are needed, they have to be divided by semicolons.

In case this keyword is NOT present, all emails (for the specified user, see the keyword POP3_USER in this section) will be examined by the interface.

Filter_From Example: Filter_From = [email protected];[email protected]

Note: Even if the emails from NOT specified addresses won’t be processed, they will be deleted!

FORWARD_TO

Optionally specify a backup email address. This may be useful when emails need to be available after being processed or in case of errors.

When the keyword (FORWARD_TO) is NOT specified, all emails (for the specified user, see the keyword POP3_USER in this section) will be read, their content parsed and consequently deleted from the specified POP3 server. With FORWARD_TO specifying a concrete email address, the content of the email (including the content of the attachments) is forwarded to this given address.

The SMTP server and port number (through which the email is forwarded) are specified via the keywords SMTP_SERVER and SMTP_PORT.

Default is NO forwarding; see the keyword FORWARD_AS_UFLSTREAM below. In case the forwarding is enabled and no FORWARD_TO is specified, the interface will use the sender’s email address for FORWARD_TO.

Forward_to Example: Forward_To = [email protected]

FORWARD_AS_UFLSTREAM

Enables email forwarding. Default is false – means no forwarding.

Forward_as_Uflstream Example: Forward_As_UflStream = True


mailto:[email protected]





FROM_PREFIX

This may be useful when the MAIL_FROM keyword is defined to distinguish the "From" entry from the other lines in the email. Default pattern is [From]:

From_Prefix Example: ' the actual email lines will begin with the following line ' [Message From]: [email protected]' …From_Prefix = [Message From]:

MAIL_ATTACHMENT

If set to false, the PlugIn will not read the attachments and will not send the attachment- content to the interface for parsing. Default value is true.

Mail_Attachment Example: Mail_Attachment = True

MAIL_BODY

If set to false, the PlugIn will not take the email text lines and will thus not send them to the interface for parsing. Default value is true.

Mail_Body Example: Mail_Body = True

MAIL_DATE

Prepend Date. The date, when the email was sent, will be prepended at the beginning of the email body. Default value is true.

Mail_Date Example: ' the actual email lines will begin with the following line' [Date]: Thu, 15 May 2008 07 :16 :40 +0200' …Mail_Date = True

MAIL_FROM

Prepend From. The address from which the email arrived will be prepended at the beginning of the email body. Default value is true.

Mail_From Example: ' the actual email lines will begin with the following line' [From]: [email protected] ' …

54



Mail_From = True

MAIL_SUBJECT

Prepend Subject. The email Subject will be prepended at the beginning of the email body. Default value is true.

Mail_Subject Example: ' the actual email lines will begin with the following line' [Subject]: 4ufl ' …Mail_Subject = True

PFN

Prepend File Name. When set to true, the name of the attachment will be included as a separate line - as the first line of the attachment content. Default value is false.

PFN Example: ' Attachment File Name: attachedfile.txt' …' [FileName]: attachedfile.txt' first line' …PFN = True

PFN_PREFIX

This may be useful when the attached filename is included with the PFN keyword. The PFN_PREFIX is for distinguishing the filename line from other lines. Default pattern is [FileName]:

PFN_Prefix Example: ' Attachment File Name: attachedfile.txt' …' [Attached File Name]: attachedfile.txt' first line' …PFN_Prefix = [Attached File Name]:

POP3_COMMAND_WAIT

Number of millisecond to wait for the POP3 answer. Default 500 ms. Applicable when the POP3 server response times are long.

POP3_Command_Wait Example: POP3_Command_Wait = 1000



POP3_PASSWORD

Specify the password for the given POP3 user.

POP3_Password Example: POP3_Password = LetMeGo2PI

Note: The interface must be run in interactive mode in order to input the password and store it in the encrypted form. This encrypted password is persisted in the directory where the interface’s .INI file is located and the name of the file is POP3.PWD. In case such a file exists, and there is no password defined in the .INI file, the interface takes the password from this file. This allows starting the interface as a Windows service without the necessity to specify the POP3 password in the .INI file.

Figure 4. Entering the POP3 Password in Interactive Mode

POP3_PORT

Specify the Port number of the POP3 server. Default value is 110.

POP3_Port Example: POP3_Port = 110

56

POP3_SERVER

Address of the POP3 server. You must specify either the direct IP address or the name of the POP3 server. Default value is localhost.

POP3_Server Example: POP3_Server = mail.osisoft.com

POP3_USER

Email account / user name on the POP3 server.

Note: This keyword is mandatory.

POP3_User Example: POP3_User = ufl

SMTP_PORT

Specify the port number of the SMTP server. Default value is 25.

SMTP_Port Example: SMTP_Port = 25

SMTP_SERVER

Address of the SMTP server which is then used to optionally forward incoming emails to. Either direct IP address or the name of the SMTP server can be used. See the FORWARD_TO description for more details. Default value is the specified POP3 server.

SMTP_Server Example: SMTP_Server = mail.osisoft.com

SUBJECT_PREFIX

This may be useful when the MAIL_SUBJECT keyword is defined to distinguish the "Subject" entry from the other lines in the email. Default value is [Subject]:

Subject_Prefix Example: ' the actual email lines will begin with the following line' [Message Subject]: 4ufl ' …

Subject_Prefix = [Message Subject]:



[PLUG-IN] – BatchFL

The BatchFL mode has been designed to simplify migration for existing BatchFL interface users. In addition, because this mode assumes the data-file has a fixed structure, the interface is able to achieve higher throughput of events to PI. The .INI differs from the other PI_UFL PlugIns in the fact that no DLL is needed; the logic for this mode is implemented in PI_UFL.EXE.

In case the BatchFL is specified in the [INTERFACE] section, the following keywords are recognized:

ADJUST

Specifies the number of minutes to adjust the timestamp, i.e.: 60 will add 60 minutes to the timestamp in the data file. –60 will subtract 60 minutes from the timestamp in the data file. Default value is 0.

ADJUST Example: ADJUST = 60

ALIAS

The data file will have an Alias tagname instead of a PI tagname. The interface will search for the alias tag in the Extended Descriptor or Instrument Tag of the points with the specified point source. If the Alias is used, a point source must be specified (/ps=x). Default value is PI tagname is in the data file.

ALIAS Example: Valid values for the ALIAS keyword are E (Extended Descriptor) or I (Instrument Tag).

ALIAS = E

DATETIME_FORMAT

See Table 5. Keywords for Timestamp Parsing in section FIELD(n).Format for detail on how to format date and time string.

DATETIME_MONTH_FORMAT

See the section FIELD(n).Format for details.

DATETIME_FORMAT and DATETIME_MONTH_FORMAT Example: DATETIME_FORMAT = dd-MMM-yyyy hh:mm:ssDATETIME_MONTH_FORMAT = Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,May,Jun.Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec

58

DIGITAL_SET

If the POINT_TYPE is defined as Digital, then the digital set name must be specified. The name will have to be one of the existing digital set names found on the PI home node that the interface is communicating with. Default value is System.

DIGITAL_SET Example: DIGITAL_SET= Existing_Digital_Set

ERR

See the ERR keyword with the ASCIIFiles PlugIn.

FIELD_SEPARATOR

The keyword specifies the field separator between tagname and timestamp, and timestamp and value. This is an optional parameter. If not specified a comma , is used.

FIELD_SEPARATOR Example: FIELD_SEPARATOR = |

IFM

See the IFM keyword with the ASCIIFiles PlugIn.

IFS

See the IFS keyword with the ASCIIFiles PlugIn.

POINT_TYPE

When the interface reads a data line and cannot find the PI point, the interface will make the PI SDK calls to create it. In the BatchFL mode the interface will only be able to create one type of a PI point per instance. In addition, digital type points require the DIGITAL_SET defined. Default value is empty string; that means – no new points will be created.

POINT_TYPE Example: POINT_TYPE = Float32

PURGETIME

See the PURGETIME keyword with the ASCIIFiles PlugIn.

REMOVE_BLANKS

Remove leading and trailing blanks for string type values. Default value is True.



REMOVE_BLANKS Example: REMOVE_BLANKS = True

REN

See the REN keyword with the ASCIIFiles PlugIn.

SCALE

Apply scaling on the data - the UserReal1 point attribute will be read and the value will be multiplied by the value in the data file. This is only for numeric types of PI points.

No scaling will be done if the UserReal1 value equals 0.

Default value is False.

SCALE Example: SCALE = True

SLEEP

Specifies the number of seconds to pause between processing files.

This can be used to throttle the rate that the data files get processed. Default value is 0; that is, no sleep between file processing.

SLEEP Example: SLEEP = 10

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[SETTING]

This section is intended for various (generic) settings which are NOT PlugIn specific.The following keywords are recognized:

DEB

Debug level. The interface maintains its own log file, where it redirects all kinds of messages – errors, as well as debug, or information messages (see the description of the OUTPUT keyword below). The higher the debug level the more detailed is the printout. The following table summarizes what is covered by individual levels:

DeBug Level Meaning

0Default

No debug output.

1 Tasks that are normally performed once; e.g. startup and shutdown messages, points added into the interface’s cache, etc.

2 Same as 1, but with more details.

3 Tasks that are performed regularly; with deb=3, the interface will e.g. print out (raw) data, extracted from the data streams. Raw data obtained from the PlugIn;

4 Tasks that are performed regularly; with deb=4, the interface will e.g. print out data before sending it to PI.

5 High level of reporting; e.g. read scan cycles start and end times; interface internal cache refresh cycles starts and ends times, etc.

6 The most detailed level of reporting, including raw data lines read by PlugIn (before sending them to the main interface frame).

Table 4. PI_UFL Interface Debug Levels

Note: The debug levels are cumulative; that is, the higher levels contain the info covered by the lover levels.

In case the OUTPUT keyword is omitted, the printout is redirected to the pipc.log located in the \PIPC\DAT directory.

DEB Example: DEB = 4

LOCALE

Specifies how the interface transforms the string representation of numbers to the native numeric form; that is, which locale it will use. Thus, different decimal separators can be accepted. The list of all locale codes can be found at:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/0h88fahh.aspx

One can use the long as well as the short form, or directly through the numeric identifier (LCID). All three forms are equivalent. Following examples demonstrate it:


http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/0h88fahh.aspx


LOCALE ExampleLOCALE = "German – Germany" 'long formorLOCALE = "de-de" 'short formorLOCALE = 1031 'LCID

Note: The default Locale is English – United States.

MAXLOG

Maximum number of log files in the circular buffer. The interface starts overwriting the oldest log files when the MAXLOG has been reached. When not specified, the log files will be indexed indefinitely (see the OUTPUT keyword). MAXLOG default value is 1.

MAXLOG Example: MAXLOG = 10

MAXLOGSIZE

Maximum size of the log file in MB. If this parameter is not specified, the default MAXLOGSIZE is 20 MB.

MAXLOGSIZE Example (10 MegaBytes): MAXLOGSIZE = 10

The interface will create a new log-file (during the run-time), when the size reaches the specified number of megabytes.

CAUTION! Since version 3.0.3.16. the default MAXLOGSIZE has changed from 2 GigaBytes to 20 MegaBytes!

MSGINERROR

Defines the full path to the file, which stores not successfully processed messages.

MSGINERROR Example: MSGINERROR = c:\pipc\interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\errors.txt

If, for instance, a certain item (message field) could not be sent to PI, because for instance, the target point did not exists, or there was a bad DateTime format recognized during parsing of the input stream, the corresponding message is appended to the aforementioned file. Such a message is prefixed with the current time and the error code (in square brackets) indicating the reason of the failure. The erroneous messages can be re-processed later on.

Note: Thanks to performance improvements in version 3.1.0.10 the events are by default sent to PI in bulks; that means, the internal caches are utilized. The

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consequence of it is that certain runtime errors are recognized only when the cache is flushed. At this time it is already too late to assign the individual errors to the original data lines. Hence, the MSGINERROR file will not store those messages where the runtime errors occurred during flushing of the caches.

CAUTION! Since version 3.1.0.10, when no MSGINERROR keyword is used, no default error file is created! In addition, a new MSGINERROR file is created per data file. The logic of the new MSGINERROR file creation is the same as for the OUTPUT files (see the MAXLOG and OUTPUT sections). In other words, in case one or more runtime errors occured, a separate MSGINERROR file is produced. The reason for this behavior change is that the recorded run-time errors are immediatelly available for re-processing.

OUTPUT

Defines the path to the interface specific log-file. This keyword works in conjunction with the DEB keyword. Upon startup, the interface always renames the specified log-file and creates the new one. The renaming mechanism suffixes the log-file name by the increasing ordinal number. The following example demonstrates how it works:

OUTPUT Example: Output = c:\pipc\interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\PI_UFL.log

Should the above directory already have the file named pi_ufl.log, the next interface start will rename it to:

c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\PI_UFL.log;1

and the next restart will rename it to .. PI_UFL.log;2

Note: When no OUTPUT keyword is used, all the messages are redirected to the pipc.log file.



Example of the Configuration File Sections'---------------------------------------------------------------[INTERFACE]PLUG-IN = ASCIIFiles.dll

[PLUG-IN]ERR = BADIFM = "C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Data\*.txt"IFS = NPURGETIME = 10d

[SETTING]DEB = 1MAXLOG = 10MAXLOGSIZE = 20MSGINERROR = c:\pipc\interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\errors.txtOUTPUT = c:\pipc\interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\pi_ufl.txtLOCALE = de-de'---------------------------------------------------------------

[FIELD]…

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[FIELD]

The [FIELD] section in the INI file is mandatory and specifies the fields’ name, format and data types.

Note: The [FIELD] section starts the area of the INI file that describes the actual messages. Do not place any of the above stated sections ( [INTERFACE], [PLUG - IN ], [SETTING] ) after the [FIELD] section!

In the [FIELD] section, the following keywords are recognized:

FIELD(n).Name

Depending on the input stream structure, users can specify as many field definitions as necessary. Like the [MSG] section (see the [MSG] chapter below), the fields can remain unnamed (the field’s indexed is taken instead; that is, FIELD(1),FIELD(2),..). However, it is recommended users always give the field a descriptive name and use it in all references to the particular field later on.

FIELD(n).Name Example: FIELD(n).Name = Value1' orFIELD(n).Name = "Value 1"

A valid name starts with a letter (A-Z), followed by letters, digits (0-9) or an underscore characters. Letters are NOT case sensitive and the name with spaces needs to be enclosed in double quotes.

Note: Avoid any names that match the reserved keywords, like "FIELD", "MSG", "TIME"...

FIELD(n).Type

By default each field is of the type string. However, in certain cases, it is required the field is of a certain data type. The following types are supported:

String (default)

DateTime (Replacement for the data type Time used in PI_UFL 2.x; See chapter For Users of Previous (2.x) Interface Versions )

DSTFlag

Int32 (integer type)

Number (float type)

Note: Transformation from string to number works in conjunction with the LOCALE keyword. In addition, the scientific (exponential) notation is also recognized.



Time

Note: DateTime is an instant in time while Time is an interval.Example:DateTime: 30-Mar-2007 08:00:00 Time: 08:00:00

FIELD(n).Type Example: [FIELD]

FIELD(1).Type = String' If no type is specified, the String is the default, data is ' copied "as is", no transformation is done.

FIELD(2).Type = DateTime' This is particularly useful when reading and interpreting ' DateTime (full Timestamp)' strings from an input message. The expected DateTime format ' attribute can be specified via the FIELD(n).Format definition. ' See Table 5 below for more on supported keywords.FIELD(n).Type = DSTFlag' This field type translates into the marker telling whether the ' timestamp is in Standard Time – ST, or in Daylight Savings Time ' – DST. ' The FIELD(n).Type=DSTFlag also requires a FIELD(n).Format ' definition (see the description below in Field Type DSTFlag).

Note: Variables of type DSTFlag will internally be converted into an integer number 0 or 1. Any later calculations specified in the configuration file therefore must treat these variables as Number. Default value is 0, meaning Standard Time. See one of the examples below.

FIELD(4).Type = Number' In this case the input data is converted to a number ' (internally it is Float64).' If the transformation cannot be done, an error is logged.

Note: Certain functions return and/or require the integer representation, use Int32 (instead of Number) in these cases.

FIELD(5).Type = Time' Defines the Time data type. The FIELD(n).Format defines' the pattern. See Table 5 below for more on supported keywords.

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FIELD(n).Format

The field types Time, DateTime and DSTFlag require a format specification. Only one format is allowed per field. If the format in the data file does not match the one specified and the field thus cannot be evaluated the runtime-error occurs.

FIELD(n).Format Example: [FIELD]Field(1).Name = TimestampTimestamp.Type = DateTimeTimestamp.Format = "dd-MMM-yy hh:mm:ss", _"Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec"

Note: The month’s names can be omitted when the month number is used in the timestamp pattern. The default for months’ abbreviations is as specified in the example above; that is, the first three letters of months in English.

The format definition has to be enclosed in double quotes!

Assume an input line containing the following pattern:' Data example:27-Jul-06 13:11:10

As this timestamp pattern matches the format specification shown in the example above, the string pattern is transformed into the DateTime data type.

The following characters are recognized in the time format definition:

Characters in format Accepts the following from the input fileyy Year, two digits.

yyyy Year, four digits.

MM Month, two digits.

M Month, one or two digits.

MMM Month, in string format. The exact spelling of the months is specified by the value of an additional parameter MonthList: "dd-MMM-yy", "MonthsList". In "MonthList", each month has to be ‘named’ and separated by a comma. See examples below this table.The "MonthList" is optional. When not specified, the Us-En months abbreviations "Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec" are assumed.

dd Day of the month, two digits.

d Day of the month, one or two digits.

hh Hour, two digits. By default a 24-hour clock is assumed, unless p or pp is used to specify AM/PM.

h Hour, one or two digits.

m Minutes, one or two digits.

mm Minutes, two digits.

s Seconds, one or two digits.



Characters in format Accepts the following from the input filess Seconds, two digits.

n Tenths of a second.

nn Hundredths of a second

nnn Milliseconds

p A/P for AM/PM. In this case a 12-hour clock is assumed.

pp AM/PM. In this case a 12-hour clock is assumed.

Table 5. Keywords for Timestamp Parsing

Note: The timestamp format string comparison is CASE SENSITIVE !

Note: The format characters listed in the above table can be delimited by whatever (suitable) character; except for the month’s abbreviations, they must be comma delimited. See the pattern examples below:

DateTime and Time Format Strings Example: "dd-MMM-yy hh:mm:ss",_"Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec"

'Foreign Language Example (months abbrev. Are in German):

"dd-MMM-yy hh:mm:ss", _"Jan,Feb,Mär,Apr,Mai,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Okt,Nov,Dez"

'Other timestamp patterns (various delimiters):

"dd.MM.yy hh:mm""dd/MM/yy hh:mm:ss""M/d/yyyy hh:mm:ss.nnn""M_d_yyyy hh_mm_ss_nnn"' …

Instead of a user-defined string format, two predefined numeric representations can be also used:

Format string Accepts the following from the input fileSECONDS_GMT Number of seconds since 1970, in Universal Time

Coordinated (UTC)

SECONDS_LOCAL Number of seconds since 1970, in local time.

Table 6. Numeric TimeStamps

Numeric Timestamps Example: [FIELD]Field(1).Name = TimestampTimestamp.Type = DateTimeTimestamp.Format = "SECONDS_GMT"'The numeric formats allow an input line with timestamps as'numbers; The number below thus translates into'30-May-06 00:00:001148940000

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Field Type “DSTFlag”The optional field type DSTFlag may be used to define the relationship of the timestamp field with Daylight Savings Time (DST). The Format property expects two words, delimited by a comma. The first word maps to a value of 0 (indicating no adjustment to DST), the second one maps to 1, means the time should be adjusted. Either of the two words is expected in the data file at the 'DSTfield' location. The way in which the time correction is applied depends on various scenarios. The example below adds the one hour offset whenever the input data is flagged with the 'summer' keyword. This will be suitable when the Interface Node is NOT configured for the automatic DST adjustment, while the input data may come from a source where the DST adjustment was already done.

Note: If the format property is omitted and the DSTFlag is used, the interface expects 0 or 1 in the input stream.

The following example shows how subtract one hour depending on the presence of the word winter or summer marker in the input data stream.

DSTFlag Example: ' Data file content:' 01-Jun-2007 14:00:00' Summer' …[FIELD]FIELD(1).Name = "TimeStamp"TimeStamp.Type = "DateTime"FIELD(2).Name = "DSTOffset"DSTOffset.Type = "Time"'…FIELD(3).Name = "DSTField"DSTField.Type = "DSTFlag"DSTField.Format = "winter,summer"'…DSTOffset = "01:00:00"If(DSTFlag == 1) Then

TimeStamp = TimeStamp – DSTOffsetEndIf



[MSG]

The PI_UFL interface checks each line against a message filter and, in case the line passes it, the interface accepts the line and assigns it a certain message type. Normally, there is also more than one message type; therefore, more message filters thus need to be specified. In other words, it is expected that at least one message type will be defined in this section.

The [MSG] section is primarily designed to define message names. If the user can work with descriptive message names; the .INI file becomes more readable.

As a result of defining message names a Message Structure Definitions [XXXX] section must be created in the INI file where “XXXX” is either the value of a MSG(n).Name keyword or a generic MSG(n). This section is used to define the data extraction definitions.

When using the UFLDesigner to create an INI file, the UFLDesigner creates generic names of the form MSG_1, MSG_2 etc. and are made automatically when a message type is added. These can be changed to use more descriptive message name.

In addition, the [MSG] section serves a couple of other purposes. As already stated at the beginning of this text, the interface implements the automatic point creation. In the [MSG] section the user can specify which PI point types will be created on a per message basis. The following paragraphs summarize the supported keywords:

MSG(n).Name

Depending on the data file structure, the user can specify as many message names as necessary or the messages can remain unnamed (MSG(1), MSG(2), etc.). Once the name has been entered into the [MSG] section, it can be used in all subsequent references.

A valid name starts with a letter (A-Z), followed by letters, digits (0-9) or an underscore. Letters are NOT case sensitive. Message names are NOT case sensitive and any name with spaces needs to be enclosed in double quotes.

Note: Avoid any message names with a predefined meaning, like "FIELD", "MSG", etc.!

MSG(n).Name Example: [MSG]MSG(1).Name = "HEADER" MSG(2).Name = "DATA LINE"

MSG(n).EPC

Enable Point Creation. The specification is per message! The interface will only create a new PI tag when a line that satisfies the given message filter points to a tag that does not exist. The following PI point data types are supported:

Int16, Int32, Foat16, Float32, Float64, Digital, String

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MSG(n).EPC Example: [MSG]'Point type will be Float32:MSG(1).Epc = "Float32"

'or, if the point type will be Digital; 'the MSG(n).DigitalSet keyword is expected:MSG(2).Epc = "Digital"

'If there is NO MSG(n).DigitalSet keyword specified, 'the interface will create the state out of the arrived 'TagName + _SET (see the description in the relevant section 'below).MSG(2).DigitalSet = "DigSetName"

MSG(n).EPC_Inherit

For the newly created points, inherit (copy) the tag attributes from the referenced tag.

MSG(n).EPC_Inherit Example: [MSG]

'The newly created tag will be created with the same 'attributes as Sinusoid:

MSG(1).Epc_Inherit = "Sinusoid"

Note: MSG(n).EPC and MSG(n).EPC_Inherit are mutually exclusive, use just one per message type.

MSG(n).DIGITALSET

If the MSG(n).EPC keyword (Enable Point Creation; see the description of this keyword above) specifies the Digital point type, the DIGITALSET keyword must define the digital state set, which is used while creating the PI point of the type Digital. In case this digital state set does not exist, the interface will create the needed set out of the TagName – giving it the suffix ‘_SET’. The behavior is thus as follows:

If the keyword MSG(n).DIGITALSTATE is NOT present, and the MSG(n).EPC=Digital, the interface will create the digital set like: TagName + _SET , else it will use the specified set.

MSG(n).DIGITALSET Example: [MSG]MSG(1).DIGITAlSET = "UFL"

Note: The interface will also automatically add new digital states when it does not find a digital state. The automatic state addition is the default behavior; see the /des



startup parameter description later on that disables the automatic digital state creation.

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Message Structure Definitions: [XXXX]

This section is mandatory. That means, one or more message structure definitions [XXXX] must always be specified.

Note: The message structure definitions section will correspond to how the MSG(n) keywords are used above. If the messages are named using the MSG(n).Name keyword then the message structure definitions section will use that “name” to create the [Message Structure Definitions] section. If it is unnamed then the section will be [MSG(n)]. When using the UFLDesigner if the messages are unnamed it will use [MSG_n] as the message structure definitions section name.

MSG(n).FilterThe filter sets the conditions for a line to be recognized as a specific message. At least one message filter definition is therefore required.

Note: Once a match is found, all other message definitions are ignored. The message belongs to the message type whose filter was ‘satisfied’ first.

Message filter definitions are read from top to bottom in the configuration file:

[MSG(1)] …[MSG(2)] …

The evaluation order can be changed via the SetNextMsg() action. See this description later in this document.

MSG(n).Filter = Set Of Filter Conditions Example: The whole filter can consist of one or more filter conditions, which can be AND-ed or OR-ed. Parentheses can be used for grouping.

Each filter condition can be negated by the NOT keyword.

Message filter definitions can thus have the following syntax:MSG(n).Filter = Cx=="Mask"' orMSG(n).Filter = Cx=="Mask 1" OR Cy=="Mask 2"' orMSG(n).Filter = NOT Cx =="Mask 1" AND Cy=="Mask 2" ' …

Where x, y define pattern-starting position.

Note: The mask pattern must be enclosed in double quotes and indexing (x,y) is one based!

The mask pattern evaluation is CASE SENSITIVE!



Mask SyntaxThe following special characters are recognized in the mask string:

Characters in mask declaration

Matches the following in a line from the input file

? Any single character

* Zero or more characters

# Any single digit (0 — 9)

[character list] Any single character in character list. Must be enclosed in square brackets!

[!character list] Any single character not in the character list. Must be enclosed in square brackets!

( ) A section in the pattern declaration that is enclosed in parentheses indicates that this section of the input line must be extracted.

\ To match any of the above mentioned characters with a special meaning, you can either put the character within square brackets [ ] or prefix it with a backslash \. To have a literal match on the slash \ itself, use \\.

Table 7. Message Filter Specification

Example 1. Basic Filter Condition[MSG(1)]MSG(1).Filter = NOT C1=="!*" AND C10=="TAG*" AND C30=="VALUE*"

' In this case, a line matches the filter if:' NOT C1=="!*" line doesn’t start with an exclamation mark !' AND' C10=="TAG*" line, from position 10 on does have the' string TAG followed by any number of characters' AND' C30=="VALUE*" line from position 30 on has the string VALUE' followed by any number of characters' ' The following data line would thus match the filter criteria:' 1234 TAG=mytag VALUE=10.0

Example 2. Filter Condition and Character List [xyz][MSG(1)]' In this case a line satisfies the filter if' any of the characters in square brackets are found

[MSG(1)]MSG(1).Filter = C1=="State.City.[ABC].*"

[MSG(2)]MSG(2).Filter = C1=="Plant.Area.Operation.[XYZ]*"

' MSG(1) filter will then be satisfied with the following: ' State.City.A.*, State.City.B.*, State.City.C.*

' and the MSG(2) filter will like the following: ' Plant.Area.Operation.X.*, Plant.Area.Operation.Y.*,

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' Plant.Area.Operation.Z.*

Example 3. Filter Condition and Character List with ! Operator[MSG(1)]' In this case a line satisfies the filter if ' the character(s) in square brackets are NOT found

MSG(1).Filter = C1=="State.City.[!DEF].*"

[MSG(2)]MSG(2).Filter = C1=="Plant.Area.Operation.[!OPQ]*"



Data Extraction to Fields

Field(n).ValueOnce a line had passed the filter check, it becomes a message; the next step is to break it into smaller units – fields. This is achieved through the Field(n) = construction. Fields (variables) must already be declared in the [Field] Section (see section [FIELD]) and can be referenced either by their names defined in FIELD(n).Name (recommended) or just by the corresponding index Field(n).

Data ExtractionEach part of the message can be assigned to an individual field through a simple assignment.

Field(n) = Cx – CyField(n) will take characters from position x to position y.

Note: x and y positions are included - the positioning is one based

Field(n) = Cx – Cy("Mask")Field(n) = Cx – ("Mask")Field(n) = Cx("Mask") – ("Mask")The Cx-Cy (fixed position) construct can be extended and become the more generic one: Cx("Mask") ; the Cx can even be omitted.

Note: The Cx("Mask")construct is exclusive; in contrast to Cx-Cy, which does take the characters at positions x and y.

The field pattern evaluation is CASE SENSITIVE!

Field(n) = ["(Mask), Mask, Mask"]This is the most complicated, nevertheless the most powerful extraction mechanism. The user can specify a mask in the standard wild-card notation and the message will be divided to fields applying this mask(s) specification. To indicate which part of the message needs to be assigned to a particular field, the parentheses ( ) marker is needed.

Mask SyntaxThe following special characters are recognized as mask patterns:



? Any single character

* Zero or more characters

# Any single digit (0 — 9)

[character string] Any single character in character string. Must be enclosed in square brackets

[!character string] Any single character not in character string.

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Must be enclosed in square brackets

( ) A section in the mask declaration that is enclosed in parentheses ( ) denotes this part of the input line that is taken.

\ To match any of the above mentioned characters with a special meaning, one can either put the character within the square brackets [ ] or prefix it with a backslash \. To have a literal match on a backslash, use \\.

Table 8. Field Filter Specification

Example 1. Field Assignment at Fixed Positions' Field 1 will get the 1st 10 characters from the input lineFIELD(1) = C1 – C10

Example 2. Cx(“Mask”) Construct' Field 2 will get characters at position 11 up to (but NOT ' including) the 1st comma ',' after position 11FIELD(2) = C11 – C11(",")

Example 3. Mask Without Cx specification' Field 3 will start after the 1st comma ',' after position 11 up ' to (but not including) the 1st comma ',' after that FIELD(3) = C11(",") – (",")

Example 4. Mask with [xyz] Construct' Field 4 will get characters starting at position 31 up to (but ' not including) the 1st semi-colon ';' comma ',' or colon ':' ' after position 41FIELD(4) = C31 – C41("[;,:]")

Example 5. Mask with [!xyz] Construct' Field 5 will get characters starting at position 51 up to ' (but not including) the 1st NON-DIGIT after position 51FIELD(5) = C51 – C51("[!0123456789]")

Example 6. Mask and NEWLINE' Field 6 will get characters from Cx("Mask") till ' the end of the lineFIELD(6) = Cx("Mask") – NEWLINE

Example 7. Mask with Parenthesis' Assume the input file is csv (comma separated values),' but the positions of individual fields vary. The mask with' parenthesis is the most suitable method of parsing the message.' REM: The last field (status) is NOT separated by comma; it is ' enclosed in double quotation marks. The example shows how to ' use ' the escape character (back slash \) so that the double ' quotation marks can be used as delimiters. Thus, in addition, ' the quotation marks are stripped (which is mostly desirable).' TagName, Timestamp, Value “Status”



' TagName, Timestamp, Value “Status”' …FIELD(1) = ["(*),*,*\"*\""]FIELD(2) = ["*,(*),*\"*\""]FIELD(3) = ["*,*,(*)\"*\""]FIELD(4) = ["*,*,*\"(*)\""]

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Data Manipulation

Fields (variables) can take part in arithmetic expressions. The following rules must be taken into account when these expressions are set in the INI file:

The resulting value of an expression on the right hand side (of an assignment) is stored into the variable on the left hand side.

The data types of all operands in the expression on the assignment’s right hand side are implicitly converted as needed. E.g., when two operands are added using a ‘+’ operator, both operands are interpreted as numbers.

Arithmetic and Logical Operators

Operator Meaning Data Types Operands* / Multiply and Divide Number,

Time

+ - Add and Subtract. Number, DateTime, Time

& String concatenation. String

AND Logical AND The logical AND will check if both operands are different from 0; if so, the result will be 1 else the result will be 0.

Number

OR Logical OR. The logical OR will check if one or both operands are different from 0; if so, the result will be 1 else the result will be 0

Number

Table 9. Supported Arithmetic Operators

Note: PI_UFL supports arithmetic operators for all numeric data types. And, in addition, it supports the following operator overloads:

DateTime Operator+(x DateTime, y Time)DateTime Operator+(x Time y DateTime)Time Operator+(x Time, y Time)Time Operator-(x DateTime, y DateTime)DateTime Operator-(x DateTime, y Time)Time Operator-(x Time, y Time)Time Operator*(x Int32, y TimeTime Operator*(x Time, y Int32)Time Operator/(x Time, y Int32)

Arithmetic and Logical Operators - Examples

Example 1. Simple Expressions with Arithmetic Operators [FIELD]FIELD(1).Type = "String"FIELD(2).Type = "Number"



[MSG(1)]' Data file content:' 001, Value: 1.23' …' and it is required to create a tagname TAG_001' by means of the '&' and the value needs to be scaled' (multiplied by 100).' …' create the tag name:FIELD(1) = C1 – (",")FIELD(1) = "TAG_" & FIELD(1)' extract the value and scale itFIELD(2) = C12 – NEWLINEFIELD(2) = 100 * FIELD(2)

Example 2. Mathematical Functions[FIELDS]FIELD(1).Type = "Number"FIELD(2).Type = "Number"

[MSG(1)]' Data file content:' Value1: 1.23; Value2: 2.61' …FIELD(1) = ["*(*);*:*"]FIELD(2) = ["*:*;*(*)"]

' Apply ROUND()FIELD(1) = ROUND(FIELD(1))FIELD(2) = ROUND(FIELD(2))

Example 3. String Functions[FIELDS]FIELD(1).Type = "String"

[MSG(1)]' Data file content:' any string' …' It is required to replace the given string pattern ' with the specified string' FIELD(1) = C10 – NEWLINEFIELD(1) = REPLACE(FIELD(1), "Invalid string part", "OK")

Example 4. Sub-Milliseconds [FIELDS]FIELD(1).Type = "DateTime"FIELD(1).Format = "dd-MMM-yyyy hh:mm:ss.nnn"FIELD(2).Type = "Number"

[MSG(1)]' Data file content:' 01-Jul-2006 08:00:00.1234; 123

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' …' PI allows the time precision up to 15 microseconds.

FIELD(1) = C1 – (";")' extract the subsecond part:FIELD(2) = ["*;(*)"]

Example 5. IF Statement (1) [FIELDS]FIELD(1).Type = "Number"FIELD(2).Type = "Number"

[MSG(1)]' Data file content:' 1;2

FIELD(1) = ["(*);*"]FIELD(2) = ["*;(*)"]

IF (FIELD(1) > FIELD(2)) THENFIELD(2)=2*FIELD(2) ELSEFIELD(2)=FIELD(1) ENDIF

Example 6. IF Statement (2)[FIELDS]FIELD(1).Type = "DateTime"FIELD(2).Type = "DateTime"FIELD(3).Type = "Time"

[MSG(1)]' Data file content:' 25-Jan-2007;01-Nov-2007;01:00:00

FIELD(1) = ["(*);*;*"]FIELD(2) = ["*;(*);*"]FIELD(3) = ["*;*;(*)"]

IF (FIELD(1) > FIELD(2)) THEN ' Add one hourFIELD(1) = FIELD(1) + FIELD(3)

ENDIF

Example 7. IF Statement (3)[FIELD]FIELD(1).Type = "String"FIELD(2).Type = "DateTime"FIELD(3).Type = "Number"

[MSG(1)]' Data file content:' Tag1; 23-Oct-2007 01:00:00; 1

FIELD(1) = ["(*);*;*"]



FIELD(2) = ["*;(*);*"]FIELD(3) = ["*;*;(*)"]

' Only store in PI when a valid tagname has been extractedIF (FIELD(1) IS NOT NULL) THEN

StoreInPI(FIELD(1),,FIELD(2),FIELD(3),)ENDIF

Example 8. IF Statement (4)[FIELDS]FIELD(1).Name = "TimeVar"FIELD(1).Type = "Time"FIELD(1).Format = "m"FIELD(2).Name = "TimeOffset"FIELD(2).Type = "Time"FIELD(2).Format = hh:mm:ss"FIELD(3).Name = "DateVar"FIELD(3).Type = "DateTime"FIELD(3).Format = "yyyymmdd"FIELD(4).Name = "TimestampVar"FIELD(4).Type = "DateTime"FIELD(5).Name = "TagNameVar"FIELD(6).Name = "ValueVar1"FIELD(6).Type = "Number"FIELD(7).Name = "ValueVar2"FIELD(7).Type = "Number"' …

' Data file content:' 200,TagName1,kWh,30,' 300,20071201,,1,1.2,1.1,1.12,1.01,…' …

[MSG(1)]MSG(1).NAME = "DataDetails"MSG(2).NAME = "Values"

' …[Values]Values.FILTER = C1=="300*"' There can be multiple expressions in the IF() construct:' …

TimeOffset = "00:30:00"

IF (TimeVar == TimeOffset) THEN TimestampVar = DateVar + TimeVarStoreInPI(TagNameVar,,TimestampVar,ValueVar1,,)TimestampVar = TimestampVar + TimeVarStoreInPI(TagNameVar,,TimestampVar,ValueVar2,,)TimestampVar = TimestampVar + TimeVar' …

ENDIF

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Mathematical Functions

Operator Meaning Data Types OperandsABS Absolute value. Number ABS(x Number)

ACOS, ASIN,ATAN, ATAN2, COS,COSH, SIN,SINH,TAN,TANH

Trigonometric functions. Return value is in radians.

Number ACOS(x Number) …Number ATAN2(x Number, y Number)

CEILING Rounds a number with a fractional portion to the next highest integer.

Number CEILING(x Number)

EXP Exponential value. Number EXP(x Number)

FLOOR Largest integer less than or equal to the given numeric expression.

Number FLOOR(x Number)

LOG,LOG10 Logarithmic value. Number LOG(x Number)

PI 3.14 Number PI()

ROUND Round the value. Number ROUND(x Number)Table 10. Supported Mathematical Functions

String Functions

Operator Meaning Data Types OperandsCONCAT Concatenate two strings. String CONCAT(x String, y String)

INSTR Returns the position of the given occurrence of a specified substring.

Int INSTR(x String, 83ubstring String, start Int, occurrence Int)

LOWER All characters lower-case. String LOWER (x String)

LEFT Leftmost count of characters. String LEFT(x String, n Int)

LEN Number of characters excluding leading and trailing blanks.

Int LEN (x String)

LTRIM Trim the leading blanks. String LTRIM (x String)

REPLACE Find the given string and replace it with the third parameter.

String REPLACE (x String, findWhat String, replaceWith String)

RIGHT Rightmost count of characters. String RIGHT(x String, n Int)

RTRIM Trim the trailing blanks. String RTRIM (x String)

SPACE Character string consisting of n spaces.

String SPACE (n Int)

SUBSTR String consisting of len characters starting at start position.

String SUBSTR(x String, start Int, len Int)

TRIM Trim the leading and ending blanks.

String TRIM (x String)

UPPER All characters upper-case. String UPPER (x String)Table 11. Supported String Functions



DateTime and Time Functions

Operator Meaning Data Types OperandsDAY Extracts the Day from

DateTime.Int32 DAY(x DateTime)

FRACTION Extracts the Subsecond part from DateTime.

Float64 FRACTION(x DateTime)Float64 FRACTION(x Time)

HOUR Extracts the Hour from DateTime.

Int32 HOUR(x DateTime)Int32 HOUR(x Time)

MINUTE Extracts the Minute from DateTime.

Int32 MINUTE(x DateTime)Int32 MINUTE(x Time)

MONTH Extracts the Month from DateTime.

Int32 MONTH(x DateTime)

MONTHNAME Extracts the Month Name from DateTime.

String MONTHNAME(x DateTime)

SECOND Extracts the Second from DateTime and Time.

Int32 SECOND(x DateTime)Int32 SECOND(x Time)

WEEK Extracts the Week from DateTime.

Int32 WEEK(x DateTime)

YEAR Extracts the Year from DateTime.

Int32 YEAR(x DateTime)

Table 12. DateTime and Time Functions

IF Statement

The IF statement can have the following form:IF <condition> THEN <expression(s)> ELSE <expression(s)> ENDIF

orIF <condition> THEN <expression(s)> ENDIF

<condition> ::={[NOT] <predicate> | (<condition>)}[{AND | OR} <condition>][, …]

<predicate> ::=<expression> { = | > | < | >= | <= | <> | != } <expression> |<expression> IS [NOT] NULL

MSG(n).Action

All actions that can be performed on individual messages have to have the following format:

MSG(n).Action = ActionName (Optional Parameters)Below is the list of actions that are implemented:

AppendLines(i)The next i lines (after a line had been identified a message) will be appended.

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This action is useful when data spans several lines in the input file.

Example AppendLinesIt is required to concatenate the data lines below using AppendLines(), because some lines do not have appropriate pattern for the filter:

' Data file content: '' BATCH: B1;' 05-Feb-07 12:00:00;' Mixture1'' UNIT: U1;' 05-Feb-07 12:10:00;' Blue' INI file content:

[MSG]MSG(1).Name = "Batch_MSG"MSG(2).Name = "Unit_MSG"

[Batch_MSG]Batch_MSG.Filter = C1 == "Batch*"Batch_MSG.Action = AppendLines(2)

Batch = ["*(*);*;*"]TimeStamp = ["*:*;(*);*"]Value = ["*:*;*;(*)"]StoreInPI(Batch,,TimeStamp,Value,,)

[Unit_MSG]Unit_MSG.Filter = C1=="Unit*"Unit_MSG.Action = AppendLines(2)

Unit = ["*(*);*;*"]TimeStamp = ["*:*;(*);*"]Value = ["*:*;*;(*)"]StoreInPI(Unit,,TimeStamp,Value,,)

' Results:' BATCH: B1; 05-Feb-07 12:0:00; Mixture1' UNIT: U1; 05-Feb-07 12:10:00; Blue

DateTimeFromJulian(Number)DateTimeFromJulian() converts the number, which represents the interval of time in days and fractions of a day, since January 1. 4713 BC Greenwich noon, to PI Timestamp.

Example DateTimeFromJulian[FIELDS]FIELD(1).Name = "TagName"FIELD(2).Name = "TimeNumber"FIELD(2).Type = "Number"FIELD(3).Name = "Value"FIELD(3).Type = "Number”



'...StoreInPI(TagName,,DateTimeFromJulian(TimeNumber),Value,,)

Now()Now() gets the current local timestamp. The data type Now() returns is DateTime.

Note: Now() returns the same timestamp for all messages from a file. When lines are read from the serial port, it is guaranteed that every line gets unique timestamp!

Example Now' See the description of StoreInPI() below in this chapterStoreInPI (TagName,,Now(),Value,,)

SetNextMsg (MSG, NumberOfMsgs)This construct is useful when one needs to change the preference of a message filter.

The filters of any individual message are applied in the order as they are specified in the INI file; that is, the filter of MSG(1) is applied first, MSG(2) second and so on. SetNextMsg() allows changing this order. Assume for example a line that satisfies filter MSG(1), then, a certain number of rows that come next need to be checked against MSG(2) (not against MSG(1)). SetNextMsg() allows changing the default order of the message filters.

SetNextMsg() will force the next NumberOfMsgs lines to be checked against the filter of the specified MSG. The second parameter – NumberOfMsgs is optional.

If the second parameter is not specified, all consequent lines read from the input file will be checked against the filter of the message MSG until a line is encountered that does not satisfy this filter.

If the second parameter is greater than or equal to 0, then, the next NumberOfMsgs lines will be checked against the filter of the message MSG until a line is encountered that does not satisfy this filter.

The referenced message – MSG, can be identified by its name or by its index:MSG(1).Action = SetNextMsg ("OtherMsg",)

MSG(1).Action = SetNextMsg (3,)

Following example demonstrates how to use SetNextMessage():

SetNextMsg Example: ' Data file content: ' ' Name, Timestamp, Value' Tag1, 05-Feb-07 12:00:00, 1' Tag1, 05-Feb-07 12:10:00, 2'' INI file content:

[FIELD]FIELD(1).NAME = "TagName"FIELD(2).NAME = "Timestamp"Timestamp.TYPE = "DateTime"

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Timestamp.FORMAT = "dd-MMM-yy hh:mm:ss"

FIELD(3).NAME = "Value"FIELD(3).TYPE = "Number"

[MSG]MSG(1).Name = "Description"MSG(2).Name = "Events"

[Description]

Description.Filter = C1=="Name, Timestamp, Value"

' Check the next couple of lines in the context of MSG(2)' until there is a line that does not satisfy the filter

Tag.Action = SetNextMsg ("Events",) [Events]Events.Filter = C1 == "*,*,*"

FIELD(1) = ["(*),*,*"]FIELD(2) = ["*,(*),*"]FIELD(3) = ["*,*,(*)"]

StoreInPI (TagName,,Timestamp,Value,,)

Note: The SetNextMsg() in PI_UFL 2.x could have variable number of parameters (one or two); in PI_UFL version 3.x it must have exactly two!

SkipFile()This will instruct the interface to skip the rest of the lines that arrived in a batch of input stream lines, for example in a data file. SkipFile() can be used when a certain message indicates that the incoming data is actually invalid.

Example SkipFile' Data file content: ' ' Invalid Sample' Name, Timestamp, Value' Tag1, 05-Feb-07 12:00:00, 1' Tag1, 05-Feb-07 12:10:00, 2' ' INI file content:[MSG]MSG(1).Name = "FileValidation"MSG(2).Name = "MSG1"

[FileValidation]FileValidation.Filter = C1=="Invalid*"SkipFile()

[MSG1]



…

SkipLines(i)This will instruct the interface to skip the next i lines from an input stream. SkipLines() can be used to bypass certain number of irrelevant lines.

Example SkipLines' Data file content: ' ' Name, Timestamp, Value' Tag1, 05-Feb-07 12:00:00, 1' Tag1, 05-Feb-07 12:10:00, -1' ...' Tag1, 05-Feb-07 12:20:00, 2' Tag1, 05-Feb-07 12:30:00, 3'...' ' INI file content:

[MSG]MSG(1).Name = "MSG1"

[MSG1]MSG1.Filter = C1=="*,*,*"

FIELD(1) = ["(*),*,*"]FIELD(2) = ["*,(*),*"]FIELD(3) = ["*,*,(*)"]

IF (FIELD(3) < 0) ThenSkipLines(1)

ElseStoreInPI(FIELD(1),, FIELD(2), FIELD(3),,)

EndIf

StoreInPI (Tag, InstrumentTag, Timestamp, Value, Status, Questionable,[Annotation])

This action will send the Timestamp, Value, Status, the Questionable flag and the Annotation to PI for the given PI tag. Certain parameters are optional and can be omitted. The following paragraphs discuss the individual StoreInPI() parameters in more detail:

Tag & InstrumentTag

The function can address a PI tag according to its name – first parameter, or via the InstrumentTag – the function’s second parameter. Either the Tag name or the InstrumentTag must be provided. If both are given, the tag name is used.

Timestamp

The timestamp is in local time; that is, it reflects the time zone and the DST settings of the computer where the PI_UFL interface runs. The Timestamp parameter has to be of type DateTime.

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Note: New data type DateTime has been introduced in PI_UFL version 3.x. It is a change to previous PI_UFL version where the data type was named Time.

If, in PI_UFL 3.x the data type Time is used in StoreInPI() the interface will print-out an error: [StoreInPi] Overload resolution failed for (StoreInPi) argument(s).

An empty "Timestamp" parameter defaults to the current (local) time.

Value

The Value field can be Number or a String.

Note: For digital points, the value can be in both forms – Number as well as String. The former represents the offset into the digital point’s state set; the latter is translated into the corresponding digital code.

Status

The Status field is optional. Status can only be the data type Number. It then represents the code in the PI System digital set. Status has higher priority than the Value. That means, if the Status is not zero, the Value is invalid. See Example 2 below.

Note: For non Digital PI tags, the Status should be a negative number in order to be recognized as the code from the System Digital Set!

Questionable

The Questionable parameter is optional. The questionable flag indicates that there is some reason to doubt the accuracy of the value. The parameter is Numeric. Non-zero values indicate the questionable flag will be set.

Annotation

The Annotation parameter is optional. When the StoreInPI() function has 7 parameters, the interface will use the PI SDK for sending this PI data record. PI Annotations are Variants and PI_UFL will store them as variant of the type: String , Number or DateTime (variant type VT_BSTR, VT_R8 or VT_DATE), depending on the PI_UFL variable type, that is, the corresponding field type defined in section [FIELD].

Note: Some parameters can remain empty, but the commas must be included. The user must supply the commas so that the interface ‘knows’ which parameters were used. See the Example 1 below.

Return Value

The StoreInPI() returns 0 if the operation was successful, otherwise it returns a code from the corresponding PI API or PI SDK call. For example -11046, which means – target date in future. The user can check the return code for success in the configuration file, and perform an action based on the result. (See Example 2 below).The MSG(n).Action token can thus be replaced with an ordinary variable as shown in Example 2 below.



Note: The construction MSG_NAME.ACTION=StoreInPI() is still supported, however, one can assign the result of StoreInPI() to a variable directly, as shown in Example 3 below.

Example 1. StoreInPI' Write a value of FIELD(1) to the tag 'test:001'' using current timeStoreInPi ("test:001",,,FIELD(1),,)

Example 2. StoreInPI' Write a value of FIELD(1) to the tag 'test:001'' using current time. The status is used to indicate ' the value is bad (-255 represents the code ' from the PI system digital Set)FIELD(1) = ["*,(*),*"]IF( FIELD(1) > 200 ) Then

FIELD(2) = -255Else

FIELD(2) = 0EndifStoreInPi ("test:001",,,FIELD(1),FIELD(2),)

Example 3. StoreInPI' Write the "full" PI data record. In this case, the StoreInPI() ' will be made using PI SDK (a value is present at the Annotation ' position) ' ' INI file content:[FIELD]FIELD(1).NAME = "PI_TAG"FIELD(1).Type = "String"FIELD(2).NAME = "PI_TIMESTAMP"FIELD(2).Type = "DateTime"FIELD(2).FORMAT = "yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss"FIELD(3).NAME = "PI_VALUE"FIELD(3).Type = "Number"FIELD(4).NAME = "PI_STATUS"FIELD(4).Type = "Number"FIELD(5).NAME = "PI_QFLAG"FIELD(5).Type = "Number"FIELD(6).NAME = "PI_ANNOTATION"FIELD(6).Type = "String"FIELD(7).NAME = "RESULT"FIELD(7).Type = "Number"

[MSG]MSG(1).Name = "Msg1"

[Msg1]Msg1.Filter = C1=="-"'' Field filters'Result = StoreInPI(PI_TAG,, _

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PI_TIMESTAMP, _PI_VALUE, _PI_STATUS, _PI_QFLAG, _PI_ANNOTATION)

' The Result value can then be checked in the IF construct.IF( RESULT <> 0) Then

StoreInPI("UFL_Error_Tag",,,Result,,)EndIf


Chapter 10. Graphical User Interface (GUI) Facilitating the INI File Creation

The above chapter about the PI_UFL INI file shows that the Interface flexibility is immense. On the other hand, the more features an interface has, the more difficult and less self-intuitive is to configure it. In order to address this, the GUI facilitating an INI File creation has been created. The utility, which is installed together with the interface, allows creating a simple INI file, just by "mouse-clicking", selecting options from the predefined lists and going through simple wizards. In addition, many features can also be added manually as well as an existing INI files can be modified.

Note: The parsing and extraction routines used in the GUI are the same as in the PI_UFL Interface; therefore, the .INI created through the GUI is guaranteed to work with the interface seamlessly.

It would contradict the purpose of the GUI if we start describing the utility in detail; therefore, the next section will depict just several screenshots, which show how to click the GUI through in order to get a workable .INI file.

In order to simplify the description to the maximum possible extent, the used data file will resemble the simple structure, which can be processed by the OSIsoft’s Batch File Interface; that means, a comma separated list of items consisting of :TagName, TimeStamp, Value, Status TagName, TimeStamp, Value, Status


The GUI can be also launched from the PI Interface Configuration Utility (ICU):

When started through the ICU, the referenced .INI file (if it already exists) will be automatically loaded or, the new (empty) .INI opened:


The GUI executable is located in the PI_UFL interface directory; subdirectory GUI; that is:

\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\GUI\UFLDesigner.exe.

In order to create a workable INI file, the following steps need to be taken:

1. If a new .INI file needs to be created, the corresponding PlugIn (ASCIIFiles, Serial or POP3) must be selected:

Note: Once the PlugIn is selected, the GUI does not allow changing it!

2. Depending on the selected PlugIn (ASCIIFiles, Serial or POP3) in the General window, window number one, the PlugIn related parameters need to be specified. The entries in this window reflect the keywords listed in the [INTERFACE] section in the previous chapter.



3. Defining the variables in the Variables window (window number two).

The individual variables are added by clicking the green plus sign in the top-left corner. The variable can be named and its type specified.

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4. Next window defines the message types. Adding a new message type occurs in window number three – Message Types; the green plus sign again adds the new message type. In the Message Types window one can name the message, define the message filter and add several parameters, which reflect the keywords listed in section [MSG].

Provided the data file is loaded into the GUI, selecting the given message type and pressing the Test Filter button selects only those lines, which pass the specified message filter.



5. In the window number four – Data Extraction, users can work with the defined message types and extract and assign the concrete parts of the message to variables. Pressing the green plus sign will guide you through a wizard like dialog sequences. These steps resemble the MS Excel dialogs for importing text data into the spreadsheet:

Three basic modes allowing what type of message division will be used:

Various delimiters are supported in the Delimited mode:

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Variables can be assigned by drag and dropping them to the column headers:

6. The last, number five window Action allows defining what actions can be done with the messages and variables. The most important action is to specify the StoreInPI() function. The individual parameters of this function can be also dragged and dropped:



Pressing the Preview INI File icon and consequently Parse INI File finishes the INI file creation.

Since PI_UFL version 3.1.0.10, the GUI has been extended of the mode, which allows the INI file creation for the BatchFL mode (see section [PLUG-IN] – BatchFL ). Because this mode expects a fixed data structure, neither variables (fields) nor message types can be created and the corresponding GUI windows are disables. However, the INI can be created from the BatchFL’s interface BAT file.

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Chapter 11. PI_UFL Redundancy – Failover

The PI_UFL interface does not implement any specific redundancy/failover logic; however, it has been tested in scenarios where there were two instances of PI_UFL running against one or two sources of data in parallel. The following paragraphs describe briefly these scenarios:

Two PI_UFL Instances Against One Directory with Data FilesTwo interface instances processing data files in one directory; such a configuration basically means that the one instance, which takes the given data file first, will also process it.

The configuration of both PI_UFL instances must be identical. It is recommended to use the /lb start-up parameter (see section Command-line Parameters for details), which means - writing directly to PI Archive and no exception reporting.

Two PI_UFL Instances against Separate Directories with same Data FilesIn such a scenario it is recommended to set the /rbo (Read Before Overwrite) start-up parameter as well as the /lb (see section Command-line Parameters for details).

In both above mentioned scenarios the interface instances are independent; that means, no dedicated synchronization of both UFL instances. This type of redundancy is actually based on the fact that the data is persisted in files or emails, which the interface processes and then renames. The main advantage is above all simplicity.

Note: The first scenario can be used also with the POP3 PlugIn. The Serial PlugIn can’t be used against one COM port (first scenario); however, running two interfaces against two different COM ports (with identical data) is possible.


Chapter 12. Interface Node Clock

Make sure that the time and time zone settings on the computer are correct. To confirm, run the Date/Time applet located in the Windows Control Panel. If the locale where the interface node resides observes Daylight Saving Time, check the box marked “Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes”. For example,

In addition, make sure that the TZ environment variable is not defined. All of the currently defined environment variables can be viewed by opening a Command Prompt window and typing set. That is,C:> set

Confirm that TZ is not in the resulting list. If it is, run the System applet of the Control Panel, click the Environment Variables button under the Advanced Tab, and remove TZ from the list of environment variables.


Chapter 13. Security

The PI Firewall Database and the PI Proxy Database must be configured so that the interface is allowed to write data to the PI Server. See "Modifying the Firewall Database" and "Modifying the Proxy Database" in the PI Server manuals.

Note that the Trust Database, which is maintained by the Base Subsystem, replaces the Proxy Database used prior to PI version 3.3. The Trust Database maintains all the functionality of the proxy mechanism while being more secure. See "Trust Login Security" in the chapter "Managing Security" of the PI Server System Management Guide.

If the interface cannot write data to the PI Server because it has insufficient privileges, a -10401 error will be reported in the pipc.log file. If the interface cannot send data to a PI2 Server, it writes a -999 error. See the section Appendix A: Error_and_Informational_Messages for additional information on error messaging.

PI Server v3.3 and Higher

Security configuration using piconfigFor PI Server v3.3 and higher, the following example demonstrates how to edit the PI Trust table:C:\PI\adm> piconfig@table pitrust@mode create@istr Trust,IPAddr,NetMask,PIUsera_trust_name,192.168.100.11,255.255.255.255,piadmin@quit

For the above,

Trust: An arbitrary name for the trust table entry; in the above example,a_trust_name

IPAddr: the IP Address of the computer running the Interface; in the above example,192.168.100.11

NetMask: the network mask; 255.255.255.255 specifies an exact match with IPAddr

PIUser: the PI user the Interface to be entrusted as; piadmin is usually an appropriate user

Security Configuring using Trust EditorThe Trust Editor plug-in for PI System Management Tools 3.x may also be used to edit the PI Trust table.


See the PI System Management chapter in the PI Server manual for more details on security configuration.

PI Server v3.2For PI Server v3.2, the following example demonstrates how to edit the PI Proxy table:C:\PI\adm> piconfig@table pi_gen,piproxy@mode create@istr host,proxyaccountpiapimachine,piadmin@quit

In place of piapimachine, put the name of the PI Interface node as it is seen by PI Server.


Chapter 14. Starting / Stopping the Interface on Windows

This section describes starting and stopping the interface once it has been installed as a service.

Starting Interface as a Service

If the interface was installed a service, it can be started from PI ICU, the services control panel or with the command:PI_UFL.exe -start

To start the interface service with PI ICU, use the button on the PI ICU toolbar.

A message will inform the user of the status of the interface service. Even if the message indicates that the service has started successfully, double check through the Services control panel applet. Services may terminate immediately after startup for a variety of reasons, and one typical reason is that the service is not able to find the command-line parameters in the associated .bat file. Verify that the root name of the .bat file and the .exe file are the same, and that the .bat file and the .exe file are in the same directory. Further troubleshooting of services might require consulting the pipc.log file, Windows Event Viewer, or other sources of log messages. See the section Appendix A: Error_and_Informational_Messages for additional information.

Stopping Interface Running as a Service

If the interface was installed a service, it can be stopped at any time from PI ICU, the services control panel or with the command:PI_UFL.exe -stop

The service can be removed by:PI_UFL.exe -remove

To stop the interface service with PI ICU, use the button on the PI ICU toolbar.


Chapter 15. Buffering

Please read the following note before you consider turning on any buffering on an interface node hosting the PI_UFL interface:

Note: PI_UFL is not a “classic OSIsoft interface”, which usually periodically copies current values from a DCS (Distributed Control System) and stores them in PI; hence, the characteristics of the “UFL like” data collection requires considering using Buffering from various angles:

Data redundancy

1. With ASCII files, the data is actually "buffered" on the hard drive, in addition, any failure while reading or sending events to PI Archive is accompanied by either marking the given file with a certain suffix (indicating this file needs to be reprocessed later on) or storing the line, which did not make it to PI in a separate place (see section MSGINERROR for more details).

2. The POP3 data source is relatively similar to ASCII files, because the FORWARD_TO allows “copying” the emails to the specified address and any data loss can thus be recovered from the backed-up location.

3. Finally, the Serial PlugIn, through the keyword COMDATA allows for storing the incoming streams in a file, which, again, can be reprocessed in case the interface encounters problems.

In general, PI_UFL offers means for reprocessing the not delivered events to PI manually.

PI_UFL implements features, which do not work with Buffering

1. PI_UFL uses PI SDK for sending events with Annotations; as PI SDK bypasses Buffering, the annotated events will not make it to PI when PI server is not available.

2. PI point and Digital Sets/States automatic creation is also implemented through PI SDK calls; point #1 therefore also applies here.

3. Sending annotated events to a collective (HA) will end up with annotated events not making it to the non-primary PI Servers.

4.The /rbo start-up parameter causes the interface reads an event from the PI Archive every time before it attempts to store a new one (at a given timestamp) in PI. With Buffering in place (and at times when PI Server is not available) this configuration won’t work.


5. PI_UFL maintains its internal cache of PI Points and Digital Sets/States and keeping this cache in sync with PI means polling the PI Server. As Buffering is a component, which is one-directional (from an interface to PI Server), the polling will generate runtime errors when PI Server is down or not reachable.

The features and scenarios described above are not meant to imply PI_UFL should NOT be used with Buffering; it is just useful to think about them when the question of using buffering and PI_UFL arises. In the majority of cases PI Buffering and PI_UFL will work smoothly.

Buffering Principles

Buffering refers to an Interface Node’s ability to temporarily store the data that interfaces collect and to forward these data to the appropriate PI Servers. OSIsoft strongly recommends that you enable buffering on your Interface Nodes. Otherwise, if the Interface Node stops communicating with the PI Server, you lose the data that your interfaces collect.

The PI SDK installation kit installs two buffering applications: the PI Buffer Subsystem (PIBufss) and the PI API Buffer Server (Bufserv). PIBufss and Bufserv are mutually exclusive; that is, on a particular computer, you can run only one of them at any given time.

If you have PI Servers that are part of a PI Collective, PIBufss supports n-way buffering. N-way buffering refers to the ability of a buffering application to send the same data to each of the PI Servers in a PI Collective. (Bufserv also supports n-way buffering, but OSIsoft recommends that you run PIBufss instead.)

Which Buffering Application to Use

You should use PIBufss whenever possible because it offers better throughput than Bufserv. In addition, if the interfaces on an Interface Node are sending data to a PI Collective, PIBufss guarantees identical data in the archive records of all the PI Servers that are part of that collective.

You can use PIBufss only under the following conditions:

the PI Server version is at least 3.4.375.x; and all of the interfaces running on the Interface Node send data to the same PI Server or to the same PI Collective.

If any of the following scenarios apply, you must use Bufserv:

the PI Server version is earlier than 3.4.375.x; or the Interface node runs multiple interfaces, and these interfaces send data to multiple PI Servers that are not part of a single PI Collective.

If an Interface Node runs multiple interfaces, and these interfaces send data to two or more PI Collectives, then neither PIBufss nor Bufserv is appropriate. The reason is that PIBufss and Bufserv can buffer data only to a single collective. If you need to buffer to more than one PI Collective, you need to use two or more Interface Nodes to run your interfaces.

It is technically possible to run Bufserv or PIBufss on the PI Server Node. However, OSIsoft does not recommend this configuration.


How Buffering Works

A complete technical description of PIBufss and Bufserv is beyond the scope of this document. However, the following paragraphs provide some insights on how buffering works.

When an Interface Node has Buffering enabled, the buffering application (PIBufss or Bufserv) connects to the PI Server. It also creates shared memory storage.

When an interface program makes a PI API function call that writes data to the PI Server (for example, pisn_sendexceptionqx()), the PI API checks whether buffering is enabled. If it is, these data writing functions do not send the interface data to the PI Server. Instead, they write the data to the shared memory storage that the buffering application created.

The buffering application (either Bufserv or PIBufss) in turn reads the data in shared memory, and if a connection to the PI Server exists, sends the data to the PI Server; or if there is no connection to the PI Server, continues to store the data in shared memory (if shared memory storage is available) or writes the data to disk (if shared memory storage is full).

When the buffering application re-establishes connection to the PI Server, it writes to the PI Server the interface data contained in both shared memory storage and disk.

(Before sending data to the PI Server, PIBufss performs further tasks such as data validation and data compression, but the description of these tasks is beyond the scope of this document.)

When PIBufss writes interface data to disk, it writes to multiple files. The names of these buffering files are PIBUFQ_*.DAT.

When Bufserv writes interface data to disk, it writes to a single file. The name of its buffering file is APIBUF.DAT.

As a previous paragraph indicates, PIBufss and Bufserv create shared memory storage at startup. These memory buffers must be large enough to accommodate the data that an interface collects during a single scan. Otherwise, the interface may fail to write all its collected data to the memory buffers, resulting in data loss. The buffering configuration section of this chapter provides guidelines for sizing these memory buffers.

When buffering is enabled, it affects the entire Interface Node. That is, you do not have a scenario whereby the buffering application buffers data for one interface running on an Interface Node but not for another interface running on the same Interface Node.

Buffering and PI Server Security

After you enable buffering, it is the buffering application—and not the interface program—that writes data to the PI Server. If the PI Server’s trust table contains a trust entry that allows all applications on an Interface Node to write data, then the buffering application is able write data to the PI Server.

However, if the PI Server contains an interface-specific PI Trust entry that allows a particular interface program to write data, you must have a PI Trust entry specific to buffering. The following are the appropriate entries for the Application Name field of a PI Trust entry:


Buffering

Buffering Application Application Name field for PI TrustPI Buffer Subsystem PIBufss.exe

PI API Buffer Server APIBE (if the PI API is using 4 character process names)APIBUF (if the PI API is using 8 character process names)

To use a process name greater than 4 characters in length for a trust application name, use the LONGAPPNAME=1 in the PIClient.ini file.

Enabling Buffering on an Interface Node with the ICU

The ICU allows you to select either PIBufss or Bufserv as the buffering application for your Interface Node. Run the ICU and select Tools > Buffering.

Choose Buffer Type

To select PIBufss as the buffering application, choose Enable buffering with PI Buffer Subsystem. To select Bufserv as the buffering application, choose Enable buffering with API Buffer Server. If a warning message such as the following appears, click Yes.

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Buffering Settings

There are a number of settings that affect the operation of PIBufSS and Bufserv. The Buffering Settings section allows you to set these parameters. If you do not enter values for these parameters, PIBufSS and Bufserv use default values.

PIBufssFor PIBufSS, the paragraphs below describe the settings that may require user intervention. Please contact OSIsoft Technical Support for assistance in further optimizing these and all remaining settings.

Primary and Secondary Memory Buffer Size (Bytes)This is a key parameter for buffering performance. The sum of these two memory buffer sizes must be large enough to accommodate the data that an interface collects during a single scan. A typical event with a Float32 point type requires about 25 bytes. If an interface writes data to 5,000 points, it can potentially send 125,000 bytes (25 * 5000) of data in one scan. As a result, the size of each memory buffer should be 62,500 bytes.

The default value of these memory buffers is 32,768 bytes. OSIsoft recommends that these two memory buffer sizes should be increased to the maximum of 2000000 for the best buffering performance.

Send rate (milliseconds)Send rate is the time in milliseconds that PIBufss waits between sending up to the Maximum transfer objects (described below) to the PI Server. The default value is 100. The valid range is 0 to 2,000,000.


Buffering

Maximum transfer objectsMaximum transfer objects is the maximum number of events that PIBufss sends between each Send rate pause. The default value is 500. The valid range is 1 to 2,000,000.

Event Queue File Size (Mbytes)This is the size of the event queue files. PIBufss stores the buffered data to these files. The default value is 32. The range is 8 to 131072 (8 Mbytes to 128 Gbytes). Please see the section entitled, “Queue File Sizing” in the pibufss.chm file for details on how to appropriately size the event queue files.

Event Queue PathThis is the location of the event queue file. The default value is [PIHOME]\DAT.

For optimal performance and reliability, OSIsoft recommends that you place the PIBufss event queue files on a different drive/controller from the system drive and the drive with the Windows paging file. (By default, these two drives are the same.)

BufservFor Bufserv, the paragraphs below describe the settings that may require user intervention. Please contact OSIsoft Technical Support for assistance in further optimizing these and all remaining settings.

Maximum buffer file size (KB)This is the maximum size of the buffer file ([PIHOME]\DAT\APIBUF.DAT). When Bufserv cannot communicate with the PI Server, it writes and appends data to this file. When the buffer file reaches this maximum size, Bufserv discards data.

The default value is 2,000,000 KB, which is about 2 GB. The range is from 1 to 2,000,000.

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Primary and Secondary Memory Buffer Size (Bytes)This is a key parameter for buffering performance. The sum of these two memory buffer sizes must be large enough to accommodate the data that an interface collects during a single scan. A typical event with a Float32 point type requires about 25 bytes. If an interface writes data to 5,000 points, it can potentially send 125,000 bytes (25 * 5000) of data in one scan. As a result, the size of each memory buffer should be 62,500 bytes.

The default value of these memory buffers is 32,768 bytes. OSIsoft recommends that these two memory buffer sizes should be increased to the maximum of 2000000 for the best buffering performance.

Send rate (milliseconds)Send rate is the time in milliseconds that Bufserv waits between sending up to the Maximum transfer objects (described below) to the PI Server. The default value is 100. The valid range is 0 to 2,000,000.

Maximum transfer objectsMax transfer objects is the maximum number of events that Bufserv sends between each Send rate pause. The default value is 500. The valid range is 1 to 2,000,000.

Buffered Servers

The Buffered Servers section allows you to define the PI Servers or PI Collective that the buffering application writes data.

PIBufssPIBufss buffers data only to a single PI Server or a PI Collective. Select the PI Server or the PI Collective from the Buffering to collective/server drop down list box.

The following screen shows that PIBufss is configured to write data to a standalone PI Server named starlight. Notice that the Replicate data to all collective member nodes check box is disabled because this PI Server is not part of a collective. (PIBufss automatically detects whether a PI Server is part of a collective.)


Buffering

The following screen shows that PIBufss is configured to write data to a PI Collective named admiral. By default, PIBufss replicates data to all collective members. That is, it provides n-way buffering.

You can override this option by not checking the Replicate data to all collective member nodes check box. Then, uncheck (or check) the PI Server collective members as desired.

BufservBufserv buffers data to a standalone PI Server, or to multiple standalone PI Servers. (If you want to buffer to multiple PI Servers that are part of a PI Collective, you should use PIBufss.)

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If the PI Server to which you want Bufserv to buffer data is not in the Server list, enter its name in the Add a server box and click the Add Server button. This PI Server name must be identical to the API Hostname entry:

The following screen shows that Bufserv is configured to write to a standalone PI Server named etamp390. You use this configuration when all the interfaces on the Interface Node write data to etamp390.

The following screen shows that Bufserv is configured to write to two standalone PI Servers, one named etamp390 and the other one named starlight. You use this configuration when some of the interfaces on the Interface Node write data to etamp390 and some write to starlight.


Buffering

Installing Buffering as a Service

Both the PIBufss and Bufserv applications run as a Service.

PI Buffer Subsystem ServiceUse the PI Buffer Subsystem Service page to configure PIBufss as a Service. This page also allows you to start and stop the PIBufss service.

PIBufss does not require the logon rights of the local administrator account. It is sufficient to use the LocalSystem account instead. Although the screen below shows asterisks for the LocalSystem password, this account does not have a password.

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API Buffer Server ServiceUse the API Buffer Server Service page to configure Bufserv as a Service. This page also allows you to start and stop the Bufserv Service

Bufserv version 1.6 and later does not require the logon rights of the local administrator account. It is sufficient to use the LocalSystem account instead. Although the screen below shows asterisks for the LocalSystem password, this account does not have a password.


Buffering

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Chapter 16. Interface Diagnostics Configuration

The Interface Point Configuration chapter provides information on building PI points for collecting data from the device. This chapter describes the configuration of points related to interface diagnostics.

Scan Class Performance Point

A Scan Class Performance Point measures the amount of time (in seconds) that this Interface takes to complete a scan. The Interface writes this scan completion time to millisecond resolution. Scan completion times close to 0 indicate that the Interface is performing optimally. Conversely, long scan completion times indicate an increased risk of missed or skipped scans. To prevent missed or skipped scans, you should distribute the data collection points among more interface instances.

Note: You can only configure one Performance Point for this Interface, because it supports just one scan class.

The following pattern must be written into the ExtendedDescriptor of a numeric PI point in order to set-up a performance point: [PERFORMANCE_POINT]

It is required to restart the Interface in order to write values to the Scan Class Performance Point.

Performance Counters Points

When running as a Service, this Interface exposes performance data via Windows Performance Counters. Such data include items like:

the amount of time that the Interface has been running;

the number of points the Interface has added to its point list;

the number of tags that are currently updating among others

There are two types or instances of Performance Counters that can be collected and stored in PI Points. The first is (_Total) which is a total for the Performance Counter since the interface instance was started. The other is for individual Scan Classes (Scan Class x) where x is a particular scan class defined for the interface instance that is being monitored.

OSIsoft's PI Performance Monitor Interface is capable of reading these performance values and writing them to PI points. Please see the Performance Monitor Interface for more information.


Note: Since the PI_UFL Interface is not a UniInt Based interface, the ICU cannot be used to create Performance Counters Points. To use any of the following Performances Counters the PI point used by the PI Performance Monitor Interface to monitor these counters will have to be created manually.

Creating Performance Counters Points Using the PI Tag ConfiguratorIn order to make it easy to create the Performance Counters Points the interface install kit include a sample PI Tag Configurator spreadsheet PI_UFL_Sample_PerformanceCounters.xlsx

Before using this spreadsheet you will have to make some changes. These changes are listed in comment within the spreadsheet. The OSIsoft PI Tag Configurator and Microsoft Excel also required. You can get the PI Tag Configurator from the OSIsoft Download Center at the following URL:

http://techsupport.osisoft.com/Techsupport/NonTemplates/Download%20Center/DownloadCenter.aspx?download_file=A21A6DBE-D57E-4E79-8A14-3A449CCF403D

Note: The PI Performance Monitor Interface - and not this Interface - is responsible for updating the values for the Performance Counters Points in PI. So, make sure that the PI Performance Monitor Interface is running correctly.

Performance Counters

In the following lists of Performance Counters the naming convention used will be:

"PerformanceCounterName" (.PerformanceCountersPoint Suffix)

The tagname created by the ICU for each Performance Counter point is based on the setting found under the Tools Options Naming Conventions Performance Counter Points. The default for this is "sy.perf.[machine].[if service] " followed by the Performance Counter Point suffix.

Performance Counters for both (_Total) and (Scan Class x)

“Point Count” (.point_count)A .point_count Performance Counters Point is available for each Scan Class of this Interface as well as a Total for the interface instance.

The .point_count Performance Counters Point indicates the number of PI Points per Scan Class or the total number for the interface instance. This point is similar to the Health Point [UI_SCPOINTCOUNT] for scan classes and [UI_POINTCOUNT] for totals.

The ICU uses a naming convention such that the tag containing “(Scan Class 1)” (for example, “sy.perf.etamp390.E1(Scan Class 1).point_count” refers to Scan Class 1, “(Scan Class 2)” refers to Scan Class 2, and so on. The tag containing “(_Total)” refers to the sum of all Scan Classes.




“Scheduled Scans: % Missed” (.sched_scans_%missed)A .sched_scans_%missed Performance Counters Point is available for each Scan Class of this Interface as well as a Total for the interface instance.

The .sched_scans_%missed Performance Counters Point indicates the percentage of scans the Interface missed per Scan Class or the total number missed for all scan classes since startup. A missed scan occurs if the Interface performs the scan one second later than scheduled.

The ICU uses a naming convention such that the tag containing “(Scan Class 1)” (for example, “sy.perf.etamp390.E1(Scan Class 1).sched_scans_%missed” refers to Scan Class 1, “(Scan Class 2)” refers to Scan Class 2, and so on. The tag containing “(_Total)” refers to the sum of all Scan Classes.

“Scheduled Scans: % Skipped” (.sched_scans_%skipped)A .sched_scans_%skipped Performance Counters Point is available for each Scan Class of this Interface as well as a Total for the interface instance.

The .sched_scans_%skipped Performance Counters Point indicates the percentage of scans the Interface skipped per Scan Class or the total number skipped for all scan classes since startup. A skipped scan is a scan that occurs at least one scan period after its scheduled time. This point is similar to the [UI_SCSKIPPED] Health Point.

The ICU uses a naming convention such that the tag containing “(Scan Class 1)” (for example, “sy.perf.etamp390.E1(Scan Class 1).sched_scans_%skipped” refers to Scan Class 1, “(Scan Class 2)” refers to Scan Class 2, and so on. The tag containing “(_Total)” refers to the sum of all Scan Classes.

“Scheduled Scans: Scan count this interval” (.sched_scans_this_interval)A .sched_scans_this_interval Performance Counters Point is available for each Scan Class of this Interface as well as a Total for the interface instance.

The .sched_scans_this_interval Performance Counters Point indicates the number of scans that the Interface performed per performance summary interval for the scan class or the total number of scans performed for all scan classes during the summary interval. This point is similar to the [UI_SCSCANCOUNT] Health Point.

The ICU uses a naming convention such that the tag containing “(Scan Class 1)” (for example, “sy.perf.etamp390.E1(Scan Class 1).sched_scans_this_interval” refers to Scan Class 1, “(Scan Class 2)” refers to Scan Class 2, and so on. The tag containing “(_Total)” refers to the sum of all Scan Classes.

Performance Counters for (_Total) only

“Device Actual Connections” (.Device_Actual_Connections)The .Device_Actual_Connections Performance Counters Point stores the actual number of foreign devices currently connected and working properly out of the expected number of foreign device connections to the interface. This value will always be less than or equal to the Expected Connections.


Interface Diagnostics Configuration

“Device Expected Connections” (.Device_Expected_Connections)The .Device_Expected_Connections Performance Counters Point stores the total number of foreign device connections for the interface. This is the expected number of foreign device connections configured that should be working properly at runtime. If the interface can only communicate with 1 foreign device then the value of this counter will always be one. If the interface can support multiple foreign device connections then this is the total number of expected working connections configured for this Interface.

“Device Status” (.Device_Status)The .Device_Status Performance Counters Point stores communication information about the interface and the connection to the foreign device(s). The value of this counter is based on the expected connections, actual connections and value of the /PercentUp command line option. If the device status is good then the value is ‘0’. If the device status is bad then the value is ‘1’. If the interface only supports connecting to 1 foreign device then the /PercentUp command line value does not change the results of the calculation. If for example the Interface can connect to 10 devices and 5 are currently working then the value of the /PercentUp command line parameter is applied to determine the Device Status. If the value of the /PercentUp command line parameter is set to 50 and at least 5 devices are working then the DeviceStatus will remain good (i.e. have a value of zero).

“Interface up-time (seconds)” (.up_time)The .up_time Performance Counters Point indicates the amount of time (in seconds) that this Interface has been running. At startup the value of the counter is zero. The value will continue to increment until it reaches the maximum value for an unsigned integer. Once it reaches this value then it will start back over at zero.

“Log file message count” (.log_file_msg_count)The .log_file_msg_count Performance Counters Point indicates the number of messages that the Interface has written to the log file. This point is similar to the [UI_MSGCOUNT] Health Point.

“PI Status” (PI_Status)The .PI_Status Performance Counters Point stores communication information about the interface and the connection to the PI Server. If the interface is properly communicating with the PI server then the value of the counter is ‘0’. If the communication to the PI Server goes down for any reason then the value of the counter will be ‘1’. Once the interface is properly communicating with the PI server again then the value will change back to ‘0’.

“Points added to the interface” (.pts_added_to_interface)The .pts_added_to_interface Performance Counter Point indicates the number of points the Interface has added to its point list. This does not include the number of points configured at startup. This is the number of points added to the interface after the interface has finished a successful startup.

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“Points edited in the interface”(.pts_edited_in_interface)The .pts_edited_in_interface Performance Counters Point indicates the number of point edits the Interface has detected. The Interface detects edits for those points whose PointSource attribute matches the Point Source parameter and whose Location1 attribute matches the Interface ID parameter of the Interface.

“Points Good” (.Points_Good)The .Points_Good Performance Counters Point is the number of points that have sent a good current value to PI. A good value is defined as any value that is not a system digital state value. A point can either be Good, In Error or Stale. The total of Points Good, Points In Error and Points State will equal the Point Count. There is one exception to this rule. At startup of an interface, the Stale timeout must elapse before the point will be added to the Stale Counter. Therefore the interface must be up and running for at least 10 minutes for all tags to belong to a particular Counter.

“Points In Error” (.Points_In_Error)The .Points_In_Error Performance Counters Point indicates the number of points that have sent a current value to PI that is a system digital state value. Once a point is in the In Error count it will remain in the In Error count until the point receives a new, good value. Points in Error do not transition to the Stale Counter. Only good points become stale.

“Points removed from the interface” (.pts_removed_from_interface)The .pts_removed_from_interface Performance Counters Point indicates the number of points that have been removed from the Interface configuration. A point can be removed from the interface when one of the tag properties for the interface is updated and the point is no longer a part of the interface configuration. For example, changing the point source, location 1, or scan property can cause the tag to no longer be a part of the interface configuration.

“Points Stale 10(min)” (.Points_Stale_10min)The .Points_Stale_10min Performance Counters Point indicates the number of good points that have not received a new value in the last 10 min. If a point is Good, then it will remain in the good list until the Stale timeout elapses. At this time if the point has not received a new value within the Stale Period then the point will move from the Good count to the Stale count. Only points that are Good can become Stale. If the point is in the In Error count then it will remain in the In Error count until the error clears. As stated above, the total count of Points Good, Points In Error and Points Stale will match the Point Count for the Interface.

“Points Stale 30(min)” (.Points_Stale_30min)The .Points_Stale_30min Performance Counters Point indicates the number of points that have not received a new value in the last 30 min. For a point to be in the Stale 30 minute count it must also be a part of the Stale 10 minute count.

“Points Stale 60(min)” (.Points_Stale_60min)The .Points_Stale_30min Performance Counters Point indicates the number of points that have not received a new value in the last 60 min. For a point to be in the Stale 60 minute count it must also be a part of the Stale 10 minute and 30 minute count.



“Points Stale 240(min)” (.Points_Stale_240min)The .Points_Stale_240min Performance Counters Point indicates the number of points that have not received a new value in the last 240 min. For a point to be in the Stale 240 minute count it must also be a part of the Stale 10 minute, 30 minute and 60 minute count.

Performance Counters for (Scan Class x) only

“Device Scan Time (milliseconds)” (.Device_Scan_Time)A .Device_Scan_Time Performance Counter Point is available for each Scan Class of this Interface.

The .Device_Scan_Time Performance Counters Point indicates the number of milliseconds the Interface takes to read the data from the foreign device and package the data to send to PI. This counter does not include the amount of time to send the data to PI. This point is similar to the [UI_SCINDEVSCANTIME] Health Point.

The ICU uses a naming convention such that the tag containing “(Scan Class 1)” (for example, “sy.perf.etamp390.E1 (Scan Class 1).device_scan _time” refers to Scan Class 1, “(Scan Class 2) refers to Scan Class 2, and so on.

“Scan Time (milliseconds)” (.scan_time)A .scan_time Performance Counter Point is available for each Scan Class of this Interface.

The .scan_time Performance Counter Point indicates the number of milliseconds the Interface takes to both read the data from the device and send the data to PI. This point is similar to the [UI_SCINSCANTIME] Health Point.

The ICU uses a naming convention such that the tag containing “(Scan Class 1)” (for example, “sy.perf.etamp390.E1(Scan Class 1).scan_time” refers to Scan Class 1, “(Scan Class 2)” refers to Scan Class 2, and so on.

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Interface Health Monitoring Points

Interface Health Monitoring Points provide information about the health of this Interface.

Creating Health Monitoring Points Using the PI Tag Configurator

In order to make it easy to create the Health Monitoring Points the interface install kit include a sample PI Tag Configurator spreadsheet PI_UFL_Sample_HealthPoints.xlsx

Before using this spreadsheet you will have to make some changes. These changes are listed in comment within the spreadsheet. The OSIsoft PI Tag Configurator and Microsoft Excel also required. You can get the PI Tag Configurator from the OSIsoft Download Center at the following URL:


[UI_IF_INFO]The [UI_IF_INFO] Health Point is the Interface Information Point. This point provides information for all interfaces that connect to a PI Server. The value of this point is a string that indicates:

the node name on which an interface is running

the IP address on which an interface is running

an interface’s executable name

an interface’s Point Source parameter

an interface’s Interface ID parameter

an interface’s Scan Classes

the number of points in an interface’s point list

the number of messages to interface specific log that an interface has written

the number of seconds that an interface has been running

An example value for the Interface Information Point is:ifnodename | 192.168.8.72 | PI_UFL | UFL | ID N/A |

1 Scan Class: 5 | Points 10 | Message Count 31 | Up Time 1234

This Interface updates the value of the Interface Information Point every 30 minutes.

[UI_HEARTBEAT]The [UI_HEARTBEAT] Health Point indicates whether the Interface is currently running. The value of this point is an integer that increments continuously from 1 to 15. After reaching 15, the value resets to 1.

The fastest scan class frequency determines the frequency at which the Interface updates this point:





Fastest Scan Frequency Update frequencyLess than 1 second 1 second

Between 1 and 60 seconds, inclusive

Scan frequency

More than 60 seconds 60 seconds

If the value of the [UI_HEARTBEAT] Health Point is not changing, then this Interface is in an unresponsive state.

[UI_DEVSTAT]The [UI_DEVSTAT] Health Point provides an indication of the connection status between the Interface and the data source. The possible values for this string point are:

Starting – The Interface remains in this state until it has successfully initialized the given PI_UFL PlugIn.

Good – This value indicates that the Interface was able to connect to all of the devices referenced in the Interface’s point configuration. A value of Good does not mean that all tags are receiving good values, but it is a good indication that there are no hardware or network problems.

Intf Shutdown – The Interface has shut down.

[UI_SCINFO]The [UI_SCINFO] Health Point provides scan class information. The value of this point is a string that indicates

the number of scan classes;

the update frequency of the [UI_HEARTBEAT] Health Point

the scan class frequency

An example value for the [UI_SCINFO] Health Point is: 1 | 5 | 120

The Interface updates the value of this point at startup and then each 8 hours.

[UI_IORATE]The [UI_IORATE] Health Point indicates the sum of the number of scan-based input values the Interface collects before it performs exception reporting.

The Interface updates this point at the same frequency as the [UI_HEARTBEAT] point. The value of this [UI_IORATE] Health Point may be zero. A stale timestamp for this point indicates that this Interface has stopped collecting data.

[UI_MSGCOUNT]The [UI_MSGCOUNT] Health Point tracks the number of messages that the Interface has written to the interface specific log file since start-up. In general, a large number for this point indicates that the Interface is encountering problems or has been/is run with high debug level. You should investigate the cause of these problems by looking in the corresponding log file.

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The Interface updates the value of this point every 60 seconds. While the Interface is running, the value of this point never decreases.

[UI_OUTPUTRATE]

[UI_OUTPUTBVRATE]

[UI_TRIGGERRATE]

[UI_TRIGGERBVRATE]These four (above stated) Health Points are NOT implemented in PI_UFL interface!

[UI_SCIORATE]This Health Point indicates the number of events that the Interface has collected. If the current value of this point is between zero and the corresponding [UI_SCPOINTCOUNT] point, inclusive, then the Interface executed the scan successfully. If a [UI_SCIORATE] point stops updating, then this condition indicates that an error has occurred and the tags for the scan class are no longer receiving new data.

The Interface updates the value of a [UI_SCIORATE] point after the completion of the associated scan.

[UI_SCBVRATE]This Health Point indicates the number System Digital State values that the Interface has collected. The Interface updates the value of a [UI_SCBVRATE] point after the completion of the scan.

[UI_SCSCANCOUNT]

Represents the number of scans that the Interface has performed. The Interface updates the value of this point at the completion of the associated scan. The Interface resets the value of this point to zero after the interval defined by the /perf start-up parameter.

[UI_SCSKIPPED]Represents the number of scans that the Interface was not able to perform before the scan time elapsed and before the Interface performed the next scheduled scan.

The Interface updates the value of this point each time it skips a scan. The value represents the total number of skipped scans. The Interface resets the value of this point to zero after the interval defined by the /perf start-up parameter.

[UI_SCPOINTCOUNT]This Health Point monitors the number of tags in a Scan Class. The Interface updates the [UI_SCPOINTCOUNT] Health Point when it performs the scan.



[UI_SCINSCANTIME]Represents the amount of time (in milliseconds) the Interface takes to read data from the device, fill in the values for the tags, and send the values to the PI Server.

The Interface updates the value of this point at the completion of the scan.

[UI_SCINDEVSCANTIME]Represents the amount of time (in milliseconds) the Interface takes to read data from the device and fill in the values for the tags.

Normally, the value of a [UI_ SCINDEVSCANTIME] point is a fraction of the corresponding [UI_SCINSCANTIME] point value. You can use these numbers to determine the percentage of time the Interface spends communicating with the device compared with the percentage of time communicating with the PI Server.

If the [UI_SCSKIPPED] value is increasing, the [UI_SCINSCANTIME] points along with the [UI_SCINSCANTIME] points can help identify where the delay is occurring: whether the reason is communication with the device, communication with the PI Server, or elsewhere.

The Interface updates the value of this point at the completion of the scan.

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I/O Rate Point

An I/O Rate point measures the rate at which the Interface writes data to its input tags. The value of an I/O Rate point represents a 10-minute average of the total number of values per minute that the Interface sends to the PI Server.

When the Interface starts, it writes 0 to the I/O Rate point. After running for ten minutes, the Interface writes the I/O Rate value. The Interface continues to write a value every 10 minutes. When the Interface stops, it writes 0.

The ICU allows you to create one I/O Rate point for each copy of this Interface. Select this Interface from the Interface drop-down list, click IO Rate in the parameter category pane, and check Enable IORates for this Interface.

As the preceding picture shows, the ICU suggests an Event Counter number and a Tagname for the I/O Rate Point. Click the Save button to save the settings and create the I/O Rate point. Click the Apply button to apply the changes to this copy of the Interface.

You need to restart the Interface in order for it to write a value to the newly created I/O Rate point. Restart the Interface by clicking the Restart button:

(The reason you need to restart the Interface is that the PointSource attribute of an I/O Rate point is Lab.)



To confirm that the Interface recognizes the I/O Rate Point, look in the pipc.log for a message such as:

PI-ModBus 1> IORATE: tag sy.io.etamp390.ModbusE1 configured.

To see the I/O Rate point’s current value (snapshot), click the Refresh snapshot button:

Enable IORates for this InterfaceThe Enable IORates for this interface check box enables or disables I/O Rates for the current interface. To disable I/O Rates for the selected interface, uncheck this box. To enable I/O Rates for the selected interface, check this box.

Event CounterThe Event Counter correlates a tag specified in the iorates.dat file with this copy of the interface. The command-line equivalent is /ec=x, where x is the same number that is assigned to a tag name in the iorates.dat file.

TagnameThe tag name listed under the Tagname column is the name of the I/O Rate tag.

Tag StatusThe Tag Status column indicates whether the I/O Rate tag exists in PI. The possible states are:

Created – This status indicates that the tag exist in PI

Not Created – This status indicates that the tag does not yet exist in PI

Deleted – This status indicates that the tag has just been deleted

Unknown – This status indicates that the PI ICU is not able to access the PI Server

In FileThe In File column indicates whether the I/O Rate tag listed in the tag name and the event counter is in the IORates.dat file. The possible states are:

Yes – This status indicates that the tag name and event counter are in the IORates.dat file

No – This status indicates that the tag name and event counter are not in the IORates.dat file

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SnapshotThe Snapshot column holds the snapshot value of the I/O Rate tag, if the I/O Rate tag exists in PI. The Snapshot column is updated when the IORates/Status Tags tab is clicked, and when the Interface is first loaded.

Right Mouse Button Menu Options

CreateCreate the suggested I/O Rate tag with the tag name indicated in the Tagname column.

DeleteDelete the I/O Rate tag listed in the Tagname column.

RenameAllow the user to specify a new name for the I/O Rate tag listed in the Tagname column.

Add to FileAdd the tag to the IORates.dat file with the event counter listed in the Event Counter Column.

SearchAllow the user to search the PI Server for a previously defined I/O Rate tag.



Interface Status Point

The PI Interface Status Utility (ISU) alerts you when an interface is not currently writing data to the PI Server. This situation commonly occurs

if the monitored interface is running on an Interface Node, but the Interface Node cannot communicate with the PI Server; or

the monitored interface is not running, but it failed to write at shutdown a System state such as Intf Shut.

The ISU works by periodically looking at the timestamp of a Watchdog Tag. The Watchdog Tag is a tag whose value a monitored interface (such as this Interface) frequently updates. The Watchdog Tag has its excdev, excmin, and excmax point attributes set to 0. So, a non-changing timestamp for the Watchdog Tag indicates that the monitored interface is not writing data.

Please see the Interface Status Interface to the PI System for complete information on using the ISU. PI Interface Status runs only on a PI Server Node.

If you have used the ICU to configure the PI Interface Status Utility on the PI Server Node, the ICU allows you to create the appropriate ISU point. Select this Interface from the Interface drop-down list and click Interface Status in the parameter category pane. Right click on the ISU tag definition window to bring up the context menu:

Click Create to create the ISU tag.

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Use the Tag Search button to select a Watchdog Tag. (Recall that the Watchdog Tag is one of the points for which this Interface collects data.)

Select a Scan frequency from the drop-down list box. This Scan frequency is the interval at which the ISU monitors the Watchdog Tag. For optimal performance, choose a Scan frequency that is less frequent than the majority of the scan rates for this Interface’s points. For example, if this Interface scans most of its points every 30 seconds, choose a Scan frequency of 60 seconds. If this Interface scans most of its points every second, choose a Scan frequency of 10 seconds.

If the Tag Status indicates that the ISU tag is Incorrect, right click to enable the context menu and select Correct.

Note: The PI Interface Status Utility - and not this Interface - is responsible for updating the ISU tag. So, make sure that the PI Interface Status Utility is running correctly.


Chapter 17. For Users of Previous (2.x) Interface Versions

The PI_UFL interface version 3.x is a complete rewrite. The goal was to merge the BatchFL interface (PI-IN-BF-LAB-NTI) and the Message Logger interface (PI-IN-OS-ML-NTI), because the functionality of these interfaces overlapped. In addition, the new PI_UFL interface has been designed so that it consists of the reusable frame and the data source specific PlugIns implemented as DLLs. All stream oriented data can thus be interfaced in the unified way; regardless if the data comes from ASCII files in directories, from ASCII files located on FTP servers, or if the data is read from serial ports or emails. The syntax for the message/field description and the consequent expression evaluation (configuration file) will remain the same. Any new ‘stream oriented’ interface will thus only require a proprietary PlugIn (DLL) that will implement the communication with the given stream producer. To achieve this, a couple of configuration parameters (of the existing PI_UFL interface) had to be modified. In addition, it was necessary to change the existing startup parameters' location. Some parameters were moved from the PI_UFL.BAT file to the configuration file.

Users of the previous PI_UFL versions who want to upgrade their existing installations should carefully read the following paragraphs:

PI_UFL.BAT ChangesThe major change (against the previous PI_UFL version – 2.3.0.14) occurred with start-up parameters. Some parameters were moved from the PI_UFL.BAT to the configuration file, and some were renamed. The following table lists all the startup parameters supported in the older versions and documents those that changed their location, or have a modified name:

Old Parameter Name New Parameter Name Location / RemarkNew start-up parameter /am BAT file.

Since version 3.0.3

/cf=xxx.yyy Unchanged

/db deb=n Moved to INI file; section [SETTING]

/des Unchanged

New start-up parameter /disablecounters BAT file. Since version 3.1.0

New start-up parameter /ec BAT file.Since version 3.0.3

/err err Moved to INI file; section [PLUG-IN]

/f=hh:mm:ss Unchanged


Old Parameter Name New Parameter Name Location / Remark/host=host Unchanged

/id No longer Supported

New start-up parameter /imt Supported since 3.1.0

/if ifm Moved to INI file; section [PLUG-IN]

/ifs ifs Moved to INI file; section [PLUG-IN]

/lb Unchanged BAT fileAlso, see description of Location5.

New start-up parameter /lbs Supported since 3.1.0

/output output Moved to INI file; section [SETTING]

/ps Unchanged

New start-up parameter /perf=# BAT file.Since version 3.1.0

/pu purgetime Moved to INI file; section [PLUG-IN]

New start-up parameter /rbo BAT file

/ren ren Moved to INI file; section [PLUG-IN]

New start-up parameter /runonce BAT file

/test No longer supported

/tm Unchanged

/utc Unchanged

New start-up parameter /wd BAT fileSupported since version 3.0.3

New start-up parameter /ws BAT fileSupported since version 3.0.3


Configuration File ChangesIn PI_UFL 3.x version, the configuration file not only defines the definitions for parsing the messages, it also contains some of the interface’s start-up parameters. The above table explicitly lists which parameters moved from the .BAT file to the configuration file. The chapter PI_UFL Configuration (INI) File contains full description of individual sections with keywords. Users only have to make sure, the sections [INTERFACE], [PLUG-IN] and [SETTING] are defined at the beginning of the configuration file; the sections [FIELD] or [MSG] then have to follow.

Note: The most important change in the messages and fields description part of the config. file is related to data types. PI_UFL 3.x has much stricter data type control. The new data type Time has been introduced and the new name DateTime replaced the name Time used in the previous PI_UFL versions. In the 3.x+ the Time data type is real Time and DateTime describes the full timestamp. Therefore, existing INI files (used with PI_UFL version 2.x) have to be changed so that Time needs to be replaced with DateTime; that is:

FIELD(1).NAME= "PI_TimeStamp"' FIELD(1).Type= "Time"' needs to be replaced with FIELD(1).Type= "DateTime"

The following bullets summarize the other important changes/enhancements:

The Now() function was added.

The StoreInPI() function has been enhanced to support the Annotation parameter. It also returns a value indicating success or failure of the operation.

StoreInPIDST() is no longer supported.

New functionality has been added regarding the automatic tag and digital set/state creation. See the MSG(n).EPC and MSG(n).DigitalSet keywords.

The IF (Expression) THEN construct was added.

Messages in error are now stored by default in a file specified by the MSGInError keyword.

The processed file renaming logic has been changed. Reading the data files is the responsibility of the PlugIn. The PlugIn is not aware about any success or failure when sending the data to PI or of any other run-time (parsing) error. In version 3.x the file is not given the Err suffix when there was runtime error. The Err is only used when the file cannot be open or read.

Note: Examples showing the above listed changes are given in Appendixes to this document. See the Appendixes B – F below.


For Users of Previous (2.x) Interface Versions

Changes in Point Attributes In PI_UFL 3.x, the following attributes from the PI Point Database are interpreted differently. See their description in the corresponding section in this document.

Convers – this parameter is now applied as a coefficient against the numeric tags

Location5 – defines whether exception reporting is used, or what archive writing mode is applied

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Appendix A.Error and Informational Messages

All messages are sent to the standard output, and, depending whether the output keyword is specified or not, interface will log the messages to the output file or to the PIPC.log.

Each message has the following formatdd-MMM-yy hh:mm:ss [PI_UFL] [Msg type] Message

where

dd-MMM-yy hh:mm:ss

is the date time the message occurred.

Msg type Is the type of the message:

[Info], [Error], [Warning], [PL_Info], [PL_Error], [PL_Warning]The PL prefix stands for PlugIn and indicates the message was printed from the PlugIn DLL.

Message Message Body.

Note: Should the consequent message be the same as the previous one, the interface stops printing them after 10 identical occurrences.


Appendix B.BatchFL_to_UFl Conversion Utility

The PI_UFL Interface now supports a BatchFL Plug-In. To facilitate the migration from the BatchFL interface to the PI_UFL interface a conversion utility was developed.

Note: The PI_UFL interface does not support using a tag number instead of a tagname or alias tagname in the data files. (/TN) If your BatchFL interface depends on this feature you should continue using the BatchFL interface and not convert to PI_UFL.

Note: If you have used either the /EC or /OO command line parameters with the BatchFL interface it is imparative you refer to the Post Conversion Steps section below for detailed instructions.

Any errors encountered while using this utility will be displayed in a text box displayed to the user.

If the ICU is open when this utility is used it will be necessary to exit the ICU and reenter it before you will see the new interface instance created by the utility.

The new utility has the following functions.

1. If the “Unregister BatchFL Interface (Recommended)” check box is checked it will unregister the BatchFL interface instance in the ICU which is being converted . This check box will already be checked since it is the recommended way of using this utility. Leaving the BatchFL instance in the ICU could cause problems if both the BatchFL and PI_UFL interfaces are configured for the same PI Points and data source.

2. If will also delete any service associated with the BatchFL interface instance being unregistered if the“Unregister BatchFL Interface (Recommended)” check box is checked.

3. It will create a new PI_UFL#.bat file from the BatchFL batch file command line and store this in the PI_UFL interface INI subdirectory.

4. It will create a new PI_UFL#.ini file from the BatchFL batch file command line and store this in the PI_UFL interface directory.

5. If will register a new PI_UFL# interface instance using the new batch and ini file created.


BatchFL_to_UFL Conversion Utility

To use this utility:

1. Navigate to the [PIHOME]\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Utility\ directory.

2. Double click the BatchFL_to_UFL.exe file. The following windows will appear.


3. Browse using the “…” browse button to select the BatchFL batch file to convert. The window will change to show what will be created, the old BatchFL command line and the new UFL command line.

4. Click the Convert to UFL button. The following dialog will appear indicating that a new ICU interface instance for this BatchFl interface batch file was created and the names used for the new PI_UFL interface instance.

5. Once it has been converted, select another batch file to convert or click the Exit button to end the program.

6. Open the ICU and select the instance created by the utility to make further changes to the configuration.


BatchFL_to_UFl Conversion Utility

Post Conversion Steps

Since the BatchFL and PI_UFL interfaces differ slightly in their implementation of the command line parameters the best possible conversion has been done using this utility. However in a few instances there are things which might cause the converted interface instance to need further configuration.

“Unregister BatchFL Interface (Recommended)” checked1. The newly create PI_UFL interface instance will retain the /EC=# command line

parameter used by the BatchFL interface instance. The IORate PI Tag associated with this event counter will be named “sy.io.node.BatchFL#” if the standard naming convention was used to create this tag. If you wish to rename this tag so it is more closely aligned with the new PI_UFL interface instance follow the steps below:

1. Start the ICU

2. Select the new PI_UFL interface instance

3. Then select the IO Rate section

4. Click on the Rename button, this will open a dialog where you can rename the tag. The suggested way to change this tag is to remove the BatchFL# and replace this with PI_UFL# using the service ID # used when this instance was created by the utility.

Example: sy.io.xyz.BatchFL1 - Old IO Rates Tag from BatchFL instance sy.io.xyz.PI_UFL2 - New IO Rates Tag for PI_UFL instance

2. If this interface is to be run as a service one will have to be created using the ICU. See the section Installing Interface Service with PI Interface Configuration Utility for details.

“Unregister BatchFL Interface (Recommended)” uncheckedIf you have unchecked this box then you have decided to keep the BatchFL interface instance in the ICU and Module Database, its associated IO Rates Tag and service as well as the new PI_UFL interface instance which will use the same PI points and data sources.

The ramifications of doing so are as follows:

1. If both the BatchFL and PI_UFL interface instance are allowed to run simultaneously

a. They will both be competing for the same data source files

b. and sending data to the same PI tags.

2. The BatchFL will retain its IO Rates tag and event counter if used, however, the new PI_UFL interface instance will not have an IO Rates tag or event counter unless one is created using the ICU.

3. The BatchFL interface instance will retain any service created for its interface instance, however, the new PI_UFL interface instance will not have a service unless one is created using the ICU. If making a service for the new PI_UFL interface instance first make sure the service for the BatchFL interface instance

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that was converted is changed to “Manual” and not left in “Automatic”. This will help prevent both the BatchFL and PI_UFL interface instances from running simultaneously during a reboot.

Out Of Order Data used in BatchFL instanceIf the BatchFL interface instance depended on Out Of Order data the PI_UFL interface does not have a command line parameter which matches the BatchFL interface. Any Out of Order processing is control by location5 for each PI Tag. The user will have to make the necessary changes to each PI Tag they wish to process that might have Out of Order data. Please see the point attribute Location5 section in the PI Point Configuration section for detail on this value. In order to use Out of Order data the command line parameters /LB and /LBS cannot be used. Make sure the conversion did not include these in the batch file if you wish to process Out of Order data.


Appendix C.CSV (Comma Delimited) Data Files

For Users of the PI Batch File Interface

The interface installation kit distributes examples that show the ability of the PI_UFL interface to process files covered by the BatchFl interface (PI-IN-BF-LAB-NTI).

Please consult the examples found under:[PIHOME]\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Examples

Example5BatchFl01.ini




and the corresponding data files found in:[PIHOME]Interfaces\PI_UFL\Examples\Data

Example5BatchFl01.dat




Examples one till three show how to process the BatchFL data file structure with the ASCII Files PlugIn. Example four (Example5BatchFl04) shows the configuration file for the BatchFL mode. You will need to modify the paths (and possibly the timestamp formatting) in the configuration files for these to work properly.

Next to the above mentioned BatchFl examples, the following sections show the data stream extract, the configuration file and the .BAT file together with a short explanation for both – that is ASCIIFiles PlugIn as well as the BatchFL mode:

Data File ExampleBATCHFL-1,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.1BATCHFL-2,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.2BATCHFL-3,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.3BATCHFL-4,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.4BATCHFL-5,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.5BATCHFL-6,17-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.6BATCHFL-7,17-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.7BATCHFL-8,17-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.8BATCHFL-9,17-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.9


BATCHFL-0,17-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.0


Configuration File Example with ASCIIFiles PlugIn‘ BatchFl.ini‘ Shows that PI_UFL interface covers the 151tructures ‘ processed by the BatchFl interface

[INTERFACE]PLUG-IN = ASCIIFiles.dll

[PLUG-IN]ERR = BADIFM = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Data\*.txtIFS = NPURGETIME = 8h

[SETTING]DEB = 1MAXLOG = 10MAXLOGSIZE = 20MSGINERROR = c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\errors_batchfl.outOUTPUT = c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\pi_ufl_batchfl.out

‘-----------------------------------------------------[FIELD]FIELD(1).NAME = “TagName”FIELD(1).TYPE = “String”

FIELD(2).NAME = “Timestamp”FIELD(2).TYPE = “DateTime”FIELD(2).FORMAT = “dd-MMM-yy hh:mm:ss”, _“Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec”

FIELD(3).NAME = “Value”FIELD(3).TYPE = “Number”

[MSG] MSG(1).NAME = “BatchFL”‘ Enable the point creation; that is, all new points will be ‘ automatically created. See the appropriate chapter for more ‘ detailed explanationMSG(1).EPC = “Float32”

[BatchFL]‘ Message filter. If the data file contains a valid message on ‘ each line, no filter is necessary. BatchFL.FILTER = C1==”*”‘ Positions of the individual fields:TagName = [“(*),*,*”]Timestamp = [“*,(*),*”]Value = [“*,*,(*)”]‘ Send value to PIStoreInPi(TagName,, Timestamp, Value,,,)


For Users of Previous (2.x) Interface Versions

Configuration File Example - BatchFL Mode[INTERFACE]PLUG-IN = BatchFL

[PLUG-IN]IFM = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Data\*.txtIFS = NREN=_OKERR = BADPURGETIME = 1mADJUST = 0POINT_TYPE = Float32REMOVE_BLANKS=TrueSCALE=FalseSLEEP=60

[SETTING]DEB = 4MAXLOG = 10MAXLOGSIZE = 20MSGINERROR = c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\batchfl.errOUTPUT = c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\batchfl.outLOCALE=en-us

Bat File Example (ASCIIFiles PlugIn and BatchFL Mode)PI_UFL.EXE ^/host=piserver1 ^/f=00:01:00 ^/cf=c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\ini\BatchFL.ini

Explanation

ASCIIFiles PlugIn

A comma delimited data file is a rather simple case for the PI_UFL interface. There is only one message type and messages consist of only one line. Separating the fields from each other is also easy, because the comma (delimiter) serves as the ‘search string’.

In the configuration file we use names for a message – BatchFL and for the fields TagName, Timestamp, Value. This makes the file more readable.

A valid data line is recognized based on the timestamp format (BatchFL.FILTER = C1==”*,??-???-?? ??:??:??,* “).

The field containing a TagName is read in first. It is positioned between column 1 and the first occurrence of the comma (TagName = C1 – (“,”)).

Second field – the Timestamp; the date/time format uses 3 characters month abbreviations, so it is important to know in which language they are given. The second parameter of the Format attribute explicitly names them.

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Finally the Value; the Value field starts after the comma, which follows the Timestamp, and ends with the line itself.

At the very end, the data is sent to a PI tag (StoreInPi() function). Once this is completed, the interface starts a new iteration with the next data line..; until the data file reaches its end.

Note: The PI_UFL thus covers much ‘wider spectrum’ of data files than the BatchFL interface. In other words, the data file structure does not have to be strictly orthogonal; i.e., ‘column oriented’.

BatchFL Mode

As described in section BatchFL, PI_UFL interface version 3.1 implemented a new mode – the BatchFL mode; PI_UFL interface relies on the fact that the data file structure is fixed. The above example shows how the corresponding INI file looks like. There is neither [FIELD] nor [MSG] section; they are not needed, because the interface expects a fixed data file structure.


Appendix D. XML Document Files

XML files can be relatively complex; however, it does not mean PI_UFL cannot parse them. Simple XML structures like below are easily parse-able by the means PI_UFL offers. All what is needed is to write a suitable .INI file. As always, first step is to define a line. In case the XML file has lines ended with CRLF (ASCII codes: 13 and 10), the line division can remain and the content treated as ordinary ASCII file. When needed, the NEWLINE keyword allows for the definition of multiple line-ends (see the NEWLINE section in this document) and the XML content can be broken into lines, which end for instance, with the xml end tags: NEWLINE = “</TZ>” OR “</TS>” OR “</PV>”

Data File Example

<?xml version=”1.0” encoding=”UTF-8” ?> <MS ID=”EXAMPLE”>

<MP UOM=”KG/H” FCSID=”36”><TZ>GMT+1</TZ> <M Q=”ok” ST=”300”>

<TS DST=”no”>2004,01,22,12,00,00</TS> <PV>17940</PV>

</M></MP><MP UOM=”KG/H” FCSID=”37”>

<TZ>GMT+1</TZ> <M Q=”ok” ST=”300”>

<TS DST=”no”>2004,01,22,12,00,00</TS> <PV>52320</PV>

</M></MP><MP UOM=”KG/H” FCSID=”68”>

<TZ>GMT+1</TZ> <M Q=”ok” ST=”300”>

<TS DST=”no”>2004,01,22,12,00,00</TS> <PV>1618776</PV>

</M></MP>

</MS>


Configuration File Example‘ xml.ini‘ Shows that PI_UFL interface can parse the XML files[INTERFACE]PLUG-IN = ASCIIFiles.dll

[PLUG-IN]ERR = BADIFM = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Data\*.xmlIFS = NPURGETIME = 1d

[SETTING]DEB = 4MAXLOG = 10MAXLOGSIZE = 20MSGINERROR = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\errors_xml.outOUTPUT = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\pi_ufl_xml.out‘-------------------------------------------------------------[FIELD]FIELD(1).NAME = “TAG_ID”FIELD(2).NAME = “TIMEZONE”FIELD(3).NAME = “TIMESTAMP”FIELD(3).TYPE = “DateTime”FIELD(3).FORMAT = “yyyy,MM,dd,hh,mm,ss”FIELD(4).NAME = “DST”FIELD(4).Type = “DSTFlag”FIELD(4).Format = “no,yes”FIELD(5).NAME = “UOM”FIELD(6).NAME = “STATUS”FIELD(6).Type = “Number”FIELD(7).NAME = “QUALITY”FIELD(8).NAME = “VALUE”FIELD(9).NAME = “TIMEONEHOUR”FIELD(9).TYPE = “Time”FIELD(9).FORMAT = “hh:mm:ss”‘-------------------------------------------------------------‘ Five messages are recognized:[MSG]MSG(1).NAME = “XML_LINE_MP”MSG(2).NAME = “XML_LINE_TZ”MSG(3).NAME = “XML_LINE_MQ”MSG(4).NAME = “XML_LINE_TS”MSG(5).NAME = “XML_LINE_PV”MSG(5).EPC = “Float32”‘-------------------------------------------------------------‘ TAG_ID and Unit of Measure[XML_LINE_MP]XML_LINE_MP.FILTER= C1==”*<MP*”UOM = [“*\”(*)\”*\”*\”*”]TAG_ID = [“*\”*\”*\”(*)\”*”]TAG_ID = “XML-“ & TAG_ID‘-------------------------------------------------------------‘ Time Zone Info


[XML_LINE_TZ]XML_LINE_TZ.FILTER = C1==”*<TZ>*”TIMEZONE = C1(“>”)-(“<”)‘-------------------------------------------------------------‘ Quality and Status[XML_LINE_MQ]XML_LINE_MQ.FILTER = C1==”*<M Q=*”QUALITY = [“*\”(*)\”*\”*\”*”]STATUS = [“*\”*\”*\”(*)\”*”]

‘ 300 means OK => transform it to Status = 0 for PI STATUS = STATUS-300‘-------------------------------------------------------------‘ Timestamp Info[XML_LINE_TS]XML_LINE_TS.FILTER = C1==”*<TS*”DST = [“*\”(*)\”*”]TIMESTAMP = [“*\”*>(*)<*”]TIMEONEHOUR = “01:00:00”If(DST == 1) Then TIMESTAMP = TIMESTAMP – TIMEONEHOUREndIf

‘-------------------------------------------------------------‘ Process Value[XML_LINE_PV]XML_LINE_PV.FILTER = C1==”*<PV>*”VALUE = [“*>(*)<*”]

StoreInPI(TAG_ID,,TIMESTAMP,VALUE,STATUS,)

Bat File ExamplePI_UFL.EXE ^/host=piserver1 ^/f=00:01:00 ^/cf=C:\pipc\Interfaces\pi_ufl\ini\xml.ini ^/lb

Explanation

The UFL interface does NOT replace the true XML interface (PI-IN-OS-XML-NTI); however, it can easily be used to read data out of (simple) XML files. Below is why PI_UFL can process XML files with a simple structure:

Values can be read out of elements and element attributes, because they are clearly marked and named – XML is a structured ASCII file. An XML tag (such as <TZ>) can thus easily be used as (message) filter condition.

An element value is framed by the tag start and the tag end: <PV>1618776</PV>.

Element attributes (e.g. <M Q=”ok” ST=”300”>) can also be referenced and used as for example the PI status, timestamp or annotation.


XML Document Files

As XML structures are kept together in consecutive lines, the PI_UFL interface can find the top element of an XML structure (in the PI_UFL terminology a message) and then can refer to the following lines via the action SetNextMsg(). Second approach, which requires the fixed order of XML lines, declares a set of messages that help to assemble the needed info. In this example, the latter approach was used.

For better readability, the example configuration file gives names for each message as well as for the individual fields. As already stated, before a value can be sent to PI, additional information has to be assembled from different lines, e.g. the PI status needs to be taken from an XML tag <M Q=”ok” ST=”300”> etc.

This example also trusts that the order of the XML lines is fixed; there is therefore a message per line of interest (only one StoreInPi() call is configured, because we assemble the value for its parameters for more than one messages. This is possible, because the lifetime of field does not end with a message type – fields are global variables.)

There are two things of interest in the first message declaration (XML_LINE_MP). First, the mask for reading (UOM) needs an escape character for being able to search for a double quote character (\”) (that is because the double quotes normally frame the mask itself). Second, the PI TagName is a combination of the prefix (“XML-“) and the actual field contents. In the second message - XML_LINE_TZ the Time zone information is extracted, nevertheless, in this example, there is no real use for it.

The message (XML_LINE_MQ) allows subtracting 300 from the status field, in order to get a suitable PI status value for the StoreInPI() action. For simplicity, the simple mapping to the PI System digital state table (with an offset of 300) is assumed. (The quality attribute (message) is read in but not used any further.)

In message (XML_LINE_TS), the timestamp is extracted and corrected for the Daylight Savings Time (DST). Note that this correction is only necessary if the computer (that runs the UFL interface) has the DST switched off (“Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes” is unchecked). Finally, in XML_LINE_PV, a value is read and StoreInPi() executed, as all the needed attributes are already available.

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Appendix E. Reading Data from Serial Port

The interface installation kit distributes examples that show the ability of the PI_UFL interface to process serial port streams covered by the PI Message Logger interface (PI-IN-OS-ML-NTI).

Please consult the example found under:[PIHOME]\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Examples

Example4MsgLgNt.ini

and the corresponding data file found in:[PIHOME]Interfaces\PI_UFL\Examples\Data

Example4MsgLgNt.dat

Next to the above mentioned PI Message Logger example, the following sections show the data stream extract, the configuration file and the .BAT file together with a short explanation:

Streams Patterns from Serial PortMSGLGNT-1,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.1MSGLGNT-2,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.2MSGLGNT-3,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.3

Configuration File Example‘ MsglgNT.ini‘ Shows that PI_UFL interface covers the 159tructures ‘ processed by the PI Message Logger interface

[INTERFACE]PLUG-IN = serial.dll

[PLUG-IN]BITS = 1 COM = 1COMDATA = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\comdata.outPARITY = ODDSPEED = 9600STOPBITS = 1

[SETTING]DEB = 4MAXLOG = 5MAXLOGSIZE = 20


MSGINERROR = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\errors.out

OUTPUT = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\PI_UFL.out‘-----------------------------------------------------

[FIELD]FIELD(1).NAME = “TagName”FIELD(1).TYPE = “String”FIELD(2).NAME = “Timestamp”FIELD(2).TYPE = “DateTime”FIELD(3).NAME = “Value”FIELD(3).TYPE = “Number”

[MSG]MSG(1).NAME = “MsglgNT”

[MsglgNT]MsglgNT.FILTER = C1==”M*”

Tagname = C1 – (“,”)Timestamp = C1(“,”)-(“,*”)Value = [“*,*,(*)”]

‘ Send value to PIStoreInPi(TagName,, Timestamp, Value,,)

Bat File ExamplePI_UFL.EXE ^/host= piserver1 ^/f=00:00:10 ^/cf=c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\ini\MsglgNT.ini

Explanation

The configuration of the PI Message Logger Interface significantly differs from the principles implemented in PI_UFL. However, streams coming from ASCII files are not different from streams obtained from serial ports – they can be parsed, information can be extracted and finally send to PI. The configuration file thus has to specify the serial port specific parameters – in the above example defined in the section [PLUG-IN]. The section [INTERFACE] specifies the PlugIn name – Serial.DLL.


Appendix F. Reading Data from POP3 Server

The interface installation kit distributes examples that show the ability of the PI_UFL interface to process emails.

Please consult the example found under:[PIHOME]\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Examples

Example8Pop3.ini

and the corresponding data file found in:[PIHOME]Interfaces\PI_UFL\Examples\Data

Example48Pop3.dat

The following sections show the original email, the INI file (interface configuration file) and the .BAT file together with a short explanation:

Email TextTagname: sinusoid, Timestamp: 01-Jun-2008 09:00:00, Value: 50, Tagname: sinusoid, Timestamp: 01-Jun-2008 10:00:00, Value: 60,

Configuration File Example‘ POP3.ini

[INTERFACE]PLUG-IN = POP3.dll

[PLUG-IN]POP3_SERVER = pop3.osisoft.comPOP3_USER = uflSMTP_SERVER = smtp.osisoft.comFORWARD_TO = [email protected]_AS_UFLSTREAM = trueFILTER_FROM = [email protected];[email protected]_FROM = trueFROM_PREFIX = [From]:MAIL_DATE = trueDATE_PREFIX = [Date]:MAIL_SUBJECT = TrueSUBJECT_PREFIX = [Subject]:MAIL_BODY = trueBODY_PREFIX = [Body]:MAIL_ATTACHMENT = trueATTACHMENT_PREFIX = [Attachment]:


mailto:[email protected];[email protected]


PFN = truePFN_PREFIX = [Attached File Name]:

[SETTING]DEB = 4MAXLOG = 10MAXLOGSIZE = 10MSGINERROR = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\pop3.errOUTPUT = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\pop3.out

‘-----------------------------------------------------

[FIELD]FIELD(1).NAME = “Tagname”FIELD(1).TYPE = “String”FIELD(2).NAME = “Value”FIELD(2).TYPE = “Number”FIELD(3).NAME = “Timestamp”FIELD(3).TYPE = “DateTime”FIELD(3).FORMAT = “dd-MMM-yyyy hh:mm:ss”,_“Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec” [MSG]

‘ Only one message type

MSG(1).NAME = “DataLine” [DataLine]

‘ Any line that contains the Tagname: pattern is considered a valid message

DataLine.Filter = C1==”*Tagname:*”

‘ Three variables:

Tagname = [“*Tagname: (*),*”]Timestamp = [“*Timestamp: (*),*”]Value= [“*Value: (*),*”]

‘ Send the events to PI Archive

StoreInPI(Tagname,,Timestamp,Value,,)

Bat File ExamplePI_UFL.EXE ^/host= piserver1 ^/f=00:00:10 ^/cf=c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\ini\POP3.ini ^/lb


Explanation

The interface will (periodically – each 10 sec) read emails from the specified POP3 server, which were sent to the given user. The actual data lines can be either in the email body or in the attachment or both places. This is specified through the keywords MAIL_BODY and MAIL_ATTACHMENT. In this case, the interface will extract the lines from the email body and send the events to the given PI tag.


Appendix G.More Advanced Examples

Examples showing more structured input data files.

Data File ExampleS 05.07.200314:40:21Pt=422 Reaktor-B 0303301905D 13 NGScalib 9000 30.00 34.50C Al1 7.36881 % Al 2.4380 10.0 1.0191 0.0000 8000C P 41.15004 ppm P 0.0707 30.0 1.0095 0.0000 8000C Ca 2.19745 % Ca 4.3559 10.0 1.0004 0.0000 8000C Pb 21.69290 ppm Pb 0.1271 100.0 0.9978 0.0000 8000C Si* 98.03407 % Si 8000

Configuration File Example‘ XRF.ini‘ ------------------------------------------------------‘[INTERFACE]PLUG-IN = ASCIIFiles.dll

[PLUG-IN]ERR = BADIFM = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Data\*.xrfIFS = NPURGETIME = 8h

[SETTING]DEB = 4MAXLOG = 20MAXLOGSIZE = 10MSGINERROR = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\errors_xrf.outOUTPUT = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\PI_UFL_xrf.out‘-------------------------------------------------------------[FIELD]FIELD(1).NAME = “InstrumentTag”FIELD(2).NAME = “InstrumentTagPrefix”FIELD(3).NAME = “PI_Timestamp”FIELD(3).TYPE = “DateTime”FIELD(3).FORMAT = “dd.MM.yyyyhh:mm:ss”FIELD(4).NAME = “Value”FIELD(4).TYPE = “Number”FIELD(5).Name = “Resource”‘-------------------------------------------------------------


[MSG]‘ File consists of two messages.MSG(1).NAME = “S_Line”MSG(2).NAME = “C_Line”MSG(2).EPC = “Float32”‘-------------------------------------------------------------[S_Line]‘ FilterS_Line.FILTER = C1==”S*” AND C28 == “Reaktor*”‘ Variables PI_Timestamp = C3 – C21Resource = C28 – C37‘ LogicIF(Resource == “Reaktor-A”) THEN

InstrumentTagPrefix = “T42_C100A_PRFA_BETT_”ELSE

IF(Resource == “Reaktor-B”) THENInstrumentTagPrefix = “T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_”

ELSEInstrumentTagPrefix = “UNDEFINED_”

ENDIFENDIF‘-------------------------------------------------------------[C_Line]‘ Value lines:C_Line.FILTER = C1==”C*”‘ Variables InstrumentTag = InstrumentTagPrefix & C3 – C3(“ “)Value = C8-C16‘ ActionStoreInPI(,InstrumentTag, PI_Timestamp, Value,,)

Point ConfigurationTag InstrumentTagT42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Al T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Al1T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Ca T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_CaT42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Cl T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Cl‘…

Bat File ExamplePI_UFL.EXE ^/ps=U ^/host=piserver1 ^/f=00:00:10 ^/cf=c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\ini\xrf.ini ^/lb

Explanation

Two message names are defined – “S_Line” and “C_Line”, which will be used later on in message definitions: [S_Line] and [C_Line] rather than [MSG(1)] and [MSG(2)].


The field names are InstrumentTag, PI_Timestamp, Value and InstrumentTagPrefix.

As Field(3) represents the PI timestamp, it must be defined more specifically via the type and format keywords. The date/time string has a two digit day a two digit month and a four digit year, separated by dots. Hour, minute and second, separated by colons.

A message is recognized if the first character in the line is an “S” (followed by anything (*)) or a “C” (followed by anything (*)). This means that the interface will process:S 05.07.200315:52:21Pt=422 Reaktor-B 0303301905

andC Al1 6.36881 % Al 2.4380 10.0 1.0191 0.0000 8000

but notD 13 NGScalib 9000 30.00 34.50

If the line has passed the filter, the fields are extracted. Depending on whether this line has “Reaktor-A”, “Reaktor-B”, .. at position 28, the InstrumentTagPrefix is set.

In the [C_Line] section, the field InstrumentTag is composed as a combination of a prefix and the characters starting in column 3 up to (but not including) the first space after column 3:InstrumentTag = InstrumentTagPrefix & C3 – C3(“ “)

For the first C line, this results in

“T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_” & “Al1”, which is “T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_ Al1”.

Finally, the Value is sent to PI by means ofStoreInPI(,InstrumentTag, PI_Timestamp, Value,,)

The tag to send the Value to is determined by its InstrumentTag (first parameter of StoreInPI is left blank). Per the tag configuration (see above), it is the tag T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Al


Appendix H. ASCII Codes Supported

ASCII Symbol ASCII Symbol ASCII Symbol ASCII Symbol0 NUL 32 (space) 64 @ 96 `1 SOH 33 ! 65 A 97 a2 STX 34 “ 66 B 98 b3 ETX 35 # 67 C 99 c4 EOT 36 $ 68 D 100 d5 ENQ 37 % 69 E 101 e6 ACK 38 & 70 F 102 f7 BEL 39 ‘ 71 G 103 g8 BS 40 ( 72 H 104 h9 TAB 41 ) 73 I 105 i

10 LF 42 * 74 J 106 j11 VT 43 + 75 K 107 k12 FF 44 , 76 L 108 l13 CR 45 - 77 M 109 m14 SO 46 . 78 N 110 n15 SI 47 / 79 O 111 o16 DLE 48 0 80 P 112 p17 DC1 49 1 81 Q 113 q18 DC2 50 2 82 R 114 r19 DC3 51 3 83 S 115 s20 DC4 52 4 84 T 116 t21 NAK 53 5 85 U 117 u22 SYN 54 6 86 V 118 v23 ETB 55 7 87 W 119 w24 CAN 56 8 88 X 120 x25 EM 57 9 89 Y 121 y26 SUB 58 : 90 Z 122 z27 ESC 59 ; 91 [ 123 {28 FS 60 < 92 \ 124 |29 GS 61 = 93 ] 125 }30 RS 62 > 94 ^ 126 ~31 US 63 ? 95 _ 127 �


Appendix I. Tested Operating Systems and Other Components

PI_UFL interface version 3.x was compiled and tested using the following software versions:

Intel Platform OnlyOperating System Windows XP Professional SP2

Windows 2003 Server SP1Windows VistaWindows 2008 Server SP1Windows 7

C-Compiler PI_UFL version 3.0.0.32 has been compiled with:MS VC++ 2003PI_UFL version 3.0.1.13 has been compiled with:MS VC++ 2005PI_UFL version 3.0.2.5 has been compiled with:MS VC++ 2005, SP1PI_UFL version 3.0.3.16 and 3.1.0.10 has been compiled with:MS VC++ 2008, SP1

PI Server PI_UFL version 3.0.0.32 has been tested against:3.4 - Build 370.76PI_UFL version 3.0.1.13 has been tested against:3.4 - Build 375.38PI_UFL version 3.0.2.5 has been tested against:3.4 - Build 375.80PI_UFL version 3.0.3.16 has been tested against:3.4 - Build 375.80PI_UFL version 3.1.0.10 has been tested against:3.4 - Build 380.35

PI API PI_UFL version 3.0.0.32 has been tested with:1.6.0.2PI_UFL version 3.0.1.13 has been tested with:1.6.1.10PI_UFL version 3.0.2.5 and 3.0.3.16 has been tested with:1.6.1.10PI_UFL version 3.1.0.10 has been tested with:1.6.1.17


Intel Platform OnlyPI SDK PI_UFL version 3.0.0.32 has been tested with:

1.3.3.304PI_UFL version 3.0.1.13 has been tested with:1.3.5.343PI_UFL version 3.0.2.5 has been tested with:1.3.5.343PI_UFL version 3.0.3.16 has been tested with:1.3.6.363PI_UFL version 3.1.0.10 has been tested with:1.3.8.388


Appendix J. Technical Support and Resources

You can read complete information about technical support options, and access all of the following resources at the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site:

http://techsupport.osisoft.com (http://techsupport.osisoft.com)

Before You Call or Write for Help

When you contact OSIsoft Technical Support, please provide:

Product name, version, and/or build numbers

Computer platform (CPU type, operating system, and version number)

The time that the difficulty started

The log file(s) at that time

Help Desk and Telephone Support

You can contact OSIsoft Technical Support 24 hours a day. Use the numbers in the table below to find the most appropriate number for your area. Dialing any of these numbers will route your call into our global support queue to be answered by engineers stationed around the world.

Office Location Access Number Local Language OptionsSan Leandro, CA, USA 1 510 297 5828 English

Philadelphia, PA, USA 1 215 606 0705 English

Johnson City, TN, USA 1 423 610 3800 English

Montreal, QC, Canada 1 514 493 0663 English, French

Sao Paulo, Brazil 55 11 3053 5040 English, Portuguese

Frankfurt, Germany 49 6047 989 333 English, German

Manama, Bahrain 973 1758 4429 English, Arabic

Singapore 65 6391 181186 021 2327 8686

English, MandarinMandarin

Perth, WA, Australia 61 8 9282 9220 English


http://techsupport.osisoft.com/

Support may be provided in languages other than English in certain centers (listed above) based on availability of attendants. If you select a local language option, we will make best efforts to connect you with an available Technical Support Engineer (TSE) with that language skill. If no local language TSE is available to assist you, you will be routed to the first available attendant.

If all available TSEs are busy assisting other customers when you call, you will be prompted to remain on the line to wait for the next available TSE or else leave a voicemail message. If you choose to leave a message, you will not lose your place in the queue. Your voicemail will be treated as a regular phone call and will be directed to the first TSE who becomes available.

If you are calling about an ongoing case, be sure to reference your case number when you call so we can connect you to the engineer currently assigned to your case. If that engineer is not available, another engineer will attempt to assist you.

Search Support

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Search Support.

Quickly and easily search the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site’s Support Solutions, Documentation, and Support Bulletins using the advanced MS SharePoint search engine.

Email-based Technical Support

[email protected]

When contacting OSIsoft Technical Support by email, it is helpful to send the following information:

Description of issue: Short description of issue, symptoms, informational or error messages, history of issue

Log files: See the product documentation for information on obtaining logs pertinent to the situation.

Online Technical Support

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Contact us > My Support > My Calls.

Using OSIsoft’s Online Technical Support, you can:

Enter a new call directly into OSIsoft’s database (monitored 24 hours a day)

View or edit existing OSIsoft calls that you entered

View any of the calls entered by your organization or site, if enabled

See your licensed software and dates of your Service Reliance Program agreements



Remote Access

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Contact Us > Remote Support Options.

OSIsoft Support Engineers may remotely access your server in order to provide hands-on troubleshooting and assistance. See the Remote Access page for details on the various methods you can use.

On-site Service

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Contact Us > On-site Field Service Visit.

OSIsoft provides on-site service for a fee. Visit our On-site Field Service Visit page for more information.

Knowledge Center

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Knowledge Center.

The Knowledge Center provides a searchable library of documentation and technical data, as well as a special collection of resources for system managers. For these options, click Knowledge Center on the Technical Support Web site.

The Search feature allows you to search Support Solutions, Bulletins, Support Pages, Known Issues, Enhancements, and Documentation (including user manuals, release notes, and white papers).

System Manager Resources include tools and instructions that help you manage: Archive sizing, backup scripts, daily health checks, daylight savings time configuration, PI Server security, PI System sizing and configuration, PI trusts for Interface Nodes, and more.

Upgrades

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Contact Us > Obtaining Upgrades.

You are eligible to download or order any available version of a product for which you have an active Service Reliance Program (SRP), formerly known as Tech Support Agreement (TSA). To verify or change your SRP status, contact your Sales Representative or Technical Support (http://techsupport.osisoft.com / ) for assistance.


http://techsupport.osisoft.com/

Appendix K.Revision History

Date Author Comments

Dec-06 Mfreitag PI_UFL Version 3.0 Manual Draft.

Mar-07 Mfreitag Manual review for PI_UFL version 3.0.0.29

16-Mar-2007 Janelle Version 3.0.0.29, Revision A: update manual to latest skeleton (2.5.2), update hardware diagrams

30-Mar-2007 Mfreitag Version 3.0.0.30, Accommodated changes recommended in 3.0.0.29 Revision A.

07-Jun-2007 Janelle, Mfreitag

Version 3.0.0.31

26-Jun-2007 Mfreitag Version 3.0.0.31, Revision A: corrected the /ps and /tm description

17-Jul-2007 Mfreitag Version 3.0.0.31, Revision B: added the section about the Scan, IO Rate Tag and Performance Point; Incorporated changes suggested by Mkelly

30-Jul-2007 Mkelly Version 3.0.0.31, Revision C: Added Serial Based interface to support features table. Updated headers and footers.

05-Sep-2007 Mfreitag Version 3.0.0.32 added Table 1in section Performance Considerations.Updated the list of supported OS.

Mar-2008 Mfreitag Version 3.0.1.13 – PLIs., WORDWRAP keyword, new functions INSTR(), YEAR(), MONTH(),DAY().. Reformulated examples description in chapter Appendixes A-D

Jul-2008 Mfreitag POP3 PlugIn

23-July-2008 Janelle Version 3.0.2.5 Revision A: updated to latest skeleton; fixed headers

Jul-2008 Mfreitag Version 3.0.2.5 Revision B. Added a paragraph to the Buffering chapter.

31-July-2008 Janelle Version 3.0.2.5 Revision C: added note to indicate that POP3S is not supported by the POP3 PlugIn.

20-May-2009 Mfreitag Version 3.0.3.16 updated to latest interfaces skeleton; fixed headers; added the Health Points and the GUI chapters, new start-up parameter switches, changed the cross-references to hyperlinks and several other minor fixes.

15-Jun-2009 Mkelly Version 3.0.3.16 Revision A, Fixed header, footers, section break. Fixed broken hyperlinks. Rebuilt TOC.


Date Author Comments

18-Jun-2009 Mkelly Version 3.0.3.16 Revision B; Updated ICU Control section and its screenshots.

19-Jun-2009 Mfreitag Version 3.0.3.16 Revision C; Removed several screenshots, added some page-breaks; rebuilt TOC.

19-Jun-2009 Mkelly Version 3.0.3.16 Revision D; Added section on creating Health Points using PI Tag Configurator; rebuilt TOC.

01-Apr-2010 Mfreitag Version 3.1.0.10 Using the Word 2007 skeleton.

07-May-2010 Mkelly Version 3.1.0.10 Revision A. Updated to current formatting styles and skeleton 3.0.27. Rearrange the INI file section keywords in alphabetic order.

12-May-2010 Mfreitag Version 3.1.0.10 Revision B. Added the BatchFL mode example removed the references to Windows 2000.

11-Jun-2010 MKelly Version 3.1.0.10 Revision C. Updated the BatchFL_to_UFL Conversion Utility appendix with new information and screenshots.


Documents

Universal File and Stream Loader Interfacecdn.osisoft.com/interfaces/2173/PI_UFL_3.1.0.10.doc · Web viewREM Sample startup file for the Universal File and Stream Loader REM Interface