Push Data to the OSIsoft PI System - By Ewon Flexy

13/07/2023 Đăng bởi: CÔNG TY TNHH AUTOMATION & CONTROL

OSIsoft has been at the forefront of digital transformation for over 30 years. A broad set of industries leverage this data/asset management system to manage their facility. The visibility this system provides allows users to gain deeper insights into their operations enabling more efficient cost-effective operation.

Accessing machine and sensor data is not always straightforward. Many legacy machines don’t have support for standard Ethernet based IT interfaces. In fact, many legacy systems support only a serial interface. In those instances, a bridge between the legacy serial interface and the OSIsoft PI System must be created. Traditionally this has been done using an industrial PC and a PI Interface. More recently OSIsoft has introduced several new paths to access data and they include:

The Solution

The Ewon Flexy’s Java based communication engine can interact with the PI System using PI Web API and OSIsoft Message Framework. A Flexy Java application for the PI Web API interface is available upon request (click here to make the request). The application leverages authentication certificates and TLS to create a secure encrypted link between the Flexy gateway and the data server. The solution can be upgraded to include auto population of Asset Framework Elements to simplify deployment.

Any feature Flexy supports natively is now available for your PI Data Archive. Key features include:

Tag Management
Drivers for industrial protocols including Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP, Uni-Telway, EtherNet/IP, DF1, FINS TCP, FINS Hostlink, ISO TCP, PPI, MPI, Profibus, Mitsubishi FX, Hitachi EH, ASCII
Remote VPN support for user access and remote service support
Local webserver to presenting real-time information

HMS Industrial Networks has introduced cellular, WiFi and wired connectivity solutions for OSIsoft PI System without the need for a PI interface or PI connector. The connectivity solution for the PI Historian leverages the Web API to push data directly to the PI System

What can you do with Flexy once it is connected to the OSIsoft PI System?

Here are some examples:


Connect individual sensors directly to the PI System. It is common to find a pressure sensor or a flow meter in a system with a manually monitored digital display. Integrating this and other sensor values into the time series database creates a documented history with no human error.	Pressures sensors like the Rosemount 3051T support Profibus and can be integrated using the Flexy 205 MPI Fieldbus extension card supporting Profibus. The extension card also works with Profibus based PLCs.	Because Flexy can support multiple interfaces and up to 3 data access cards it is very cost effective. A single Flexy can connect multiple machines and many individual sensors simultaneously.