{"id":11438,"date":"2018-01-09T15:34:22","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T07:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/help\/?page_id=11438"},"modified":"2024-06-28T15:09:02","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T07:09:02","slug":"configuring-entities","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oihelp.corporate.ifs.com\/help\/p2-server\/configuring-your-system\/configuring-entities\/","title":{"rendered":"Configuring Entities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article applies to IFS OI Server versions 4.5.1 and later. For more, see Release History<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article describes how to create entities using IFS OI Server Management or the Import\/Export spreadsheet. For general information on entities, see: \u00a0Entities, the Backbone of all Data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Every now and then, you will need to add a new asset to your system. In IFS OI Server, these are known as entities<\/em>. Configuring an entity is a crucial\u00a0step in setting up a system to model your assets. You can configure an entity using Server Management or the Import\/Export spreadsheet.<\/p>\n

<\/i>BEST PRACTICE<\/span><\/p>\n

Before you start, spend some time thinking about where this entity sits in your asset model<\/a>, which templates<\/a> you want to use, and what are the attribute<\/a>\u00a0values you want to retrieve.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Server Management<\/h2>\n

In IFS OI Server Management, fully configuring an entity requires 4 main steps, all performed through the Entities menu option:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Adding the entity.<\/li>\n
  2. Assigning the templates.<\/li>\n
  3. Configuring the attribute values.<\/li>\n
  4. Assigning the primary templates.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The only prerequisite is that you must have already created the templates you intend to use.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Prerequisite Step<\/strong>: Creating Templates and Attributes<\/a><\/p>\n

    Adding the Entity<\/h3>\n

    1. Open IFS OI Server Management, and click the Entities\u00a0\"entity-icon-sm\"<\/strong>\u00a0icon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    2. Click Create New Entity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Note: If you want to edit an existing entity, select\u00a0it from the list below the Create button.<\/p>\n

    <\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

    3. Give the entity a name<\/strong>, display name<\/strong>, and a description<\/strong>. Note that the name cannot contain reserved characters.\u00a0For the description, it's often useful to provide a broader explanation\u00a0of the asset that is represented by this entity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Related: Reserved Characters & Keywords<\/a><\/p>\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n

    4. Click the Save<\/strong> button in the top right corner.<\/p>\n

    After you have saved, the Assigned Templates<\/strong> menu item\u00a0becomes active.<\/p>\n

    Assigning the Templates<\/h3>\n

    Related: Templates<\/a>, Attributes - An Overview<\/a><\/p>\n

    For this next step, you must have already created a\u00a0template<\/a>. You will now assign a template to this entity. This will enable all of the attributes associated with that template to be passed on to the entity. The entity will then be responsible for populating the attributes with actual values for that specific entity.<\/p>\n

    Refresher<\/strong>: The primary<\/em> template of an entity defines its primary use, or type. E.g. A well that produces oil can be assigned the Oil Producing Well template.\u00a0
    \nTemplates that are assigned, but are not primary, are known as secondary<\/em> templates. Secondary templates are often used to store information that is not presented to users.\u00a0
    \nTemplates are also time-aware<\/em>, which means that templates are assigned for periods of time. Only one template can be the primary template for any particular point in time.<\/p>\n

    Before you move to the next step, make sure you know what all your applicable templates are, and which is to be primary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    5. Click Assigned Templates<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    6. Click the Add<\/strong> button next to Templates<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n

    7. Add as many templates as you need. Only templates that have already been added to the system will be available. Each template you add is known as a template instance<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    First, select them from the drop-down list, and then assign date ranges for when they apply. Date ranges may overlap. As you add the templates, you will notice the Timeline<\/em> being updated.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

    8. Click the Save<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n

    Video<\/h4>\n

    <\/i> Watch the video below [0:30] to see how to add templates.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\r\n\t

    Configuring Attribute Values<\/h3>\n

    You will notice that the template instances now have a drop-down arrow next to each of them.<\/p>\n

    This is where you configure where the attributes will retrieve their values from for this entity.\u00a0So while a Water Injection\u00a0Well<\/em>\u00a0may already have an attribute for Bottom Hole Pressure<\/em>, the entity still needs to pull that attribute value from somewhere. This is where you configure that.<\/p>\n

    Note: If you want your templates and attributes to be time-aware, you should assign the template date ranges and save them before assigning attribute values. Otherwise, an error will occur when inserting the attribute values due to clashing dates. For time-aware templates and attributes, skip straight to\u00a0Time Awareness<\/a> below.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    You will need to perform the following step for each template instance, if you want the attribute to produce a value.<\/p>\n

    9. Click the drop-down arrow next to the template.<\/p>\n

    The template section expands to show the fast editor for assigning attributes. On the left of the screen is a list of tags and calculations, and on the right is the list of attributes in the template.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    10.\u00a0Assign a tag or calculation to an attribute by dragging and dropping from the left to the right.<\/p>\n

    Note: By assigning attribute values this way, IFS OI Server will take the current value of the tag and will assign it to the attribute with an undefined time range.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Video<\/h4>\n

    <\/i> Watch the video below [0:46] to see how to to assign tags to attributes, using the fast editor.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\r\n\t

     <\/p>\n

    11. When you have finished configuring your attribute values, click Save<\/strong> in the top right corner.
    \nYou have now configured simple attribute values.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Time Awareness<\/h4>\n

    If you need to add time awareness to your templates and attributes, you will need to use the full editor for assigning attributes.<\/p>\n

    Refresher<\/strong>:\u00a0Templates<\/em> are assigned to an entity for a\u00a0period of time<\/em>, and\u00a0an entity can have multiple templates assigned to it over its lifetime. For example, Hunter may now be an oil producing well, but it may be converted into a water injection well in the future when it stops producing oil. The system stores the time of this transition so it knows when it was an oil producer and when it became a water injector.\u00a0When a template is assigned to an entity for a period of time, this is known as a\u00a0template instance<\/em><\/strong>.
    \nSimilarly, attribute values<\/strong> can be time aware<\/em>, in that you can define different values for an attribute for different periods of time. The main use of this is when you decide to change the tag that is supplying the value. For example: The attribute value of THP!Actual is initially assigned a tag, Well1THP<\/em>.\u00a0 At some point in time, we create a new tag Well1THP-A<\/em>\u00a0that has a more accurate calculation and we want to use this new tag from now on.
    \nGenerally, if your templates and attributes have only one time period (starting at null<\/em> and ending at null<\/em>) they are not considered to be time-aware.<\/p>\n

    First, ensure that your templates are time-aware by assigning date ranges to them, and remember to save before proceeding. Note how the timeline changes as you add the dates.<\/p>\n

    <\/i> Watch the video below [0:16] for a reminder of how to make templates time aware.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\r\n\t

     <\/p>\n

    The steps for assigning time-aware attribute values<\/strong> will be shown in the next video. Here are the key points:<\/p>\n