{"id":4098,"date":"2017-12-20T21:47:35","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T13:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/help\/?page_id=4098"},"modified":"2025-05-08T15:40:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T07:40:59","slug":"creating-a-tag-datasource","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oihelp.corporate.ifs.com\/help\/p2-server\/connecting-your-data\/creating-a-tag-datasource\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a Tag Datasource"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Before you can get data into IFS OI Server, you must define a datasource. A datasource is a connection that allows IFS OI Server to retrieve data from an external system, such as an historian, database, accounting system, etc.<\/p>\n

Each datasource retrieves data from one source system. You need to define a connection for each system you want to connect to.\u00a0When defining a datasource, there are some technical terms to be aware of. This article\u00a0explains how to create a datasource, and the terms that relate to tag\u00a0datasources (e.g. data stored in an historian\u00a0database, such as PI).<\/p>\n

You can add a datasource using IFS OI Server Management or the Import\/Export spreadsheet.<\/p>\n

Server Management<\/h2>\n

Step 1. Create the Datasource<\/h3>\n

In IFS OI Server Management, adding a datasource is performed through the Configuration\u00a0\"\"<\/strong>\u00a0menu option.<\/p>\n

1. Open IFS OI Server Management, and click the Configuration\u00a0<\/strong>icon.<\/p>\n

2. Select the Datasources<\/strong> \"\"\u00a0option from the middle panel.<\/p>\n

3. Click the Create New Datasource<\/strong>\u00a0button.<\/p>\n

If you are updating a datasource, click the name of the datasource instead.<\/p>\n

\"create-datasource\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Step 2. Configure a Connection<\/h3>\n

The configuration parameters are different depending on the type of datasource you are configuring. For a tag\u00a0datasource, the parameters are as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Parameter<\/strong><\/td>\nDescription and example<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Name<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

The name that this datasource will be known by, to be used in other applications such as IFS OI Explorer<\/a>. In the example below, the list of datasources appears in IFS OI Explorer when adding a dataset to a page.<\/p>\n

\"adddatasource\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Description<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

Detailed information on the external system that this datasource connects to. A good description helps to address any ambiguities when there are several datasources with similar names.<\/p>\n

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

Discovery Prefix<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n\n

A prefix that is attached to the start of the tag name, usually used as a shorthand way of identifying the datasource. E.g. rel-
\nNote: This setting was added in P2 Server v 4.5.0.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

Default Tag Scan Rate<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

Used to estimate the number of data points a tag fetch will return, when performing\u00a0raw<\/strong>\u00a0fetches<\/strong>. This property is used to reflect the collection interval of the underlying tag in the datasource.<\/p>\n

It is important to choose the lowest Scan Rate that is being used by tags in the source system. E.g. If this is set to 1 day on a datasource which also contains 30-second tags, then a user may cause the system to become unresponsive by performing large raw fetches for the 30-second tags.<\/p>\n

If there is a mixture of tags, or specific tags that use a higher Scan Rate (e.g. daily scan rate), then we recommend configuring the Scan Rate on those specific tags and leaving the datasource at the lowest Scan Rate that is being used by tags in the source system. The Scan Rate calculation for raw fetches (see above) will by preference use the tag\u2019s Scan Rate, and then fall back to this Default Tag Scan Rate, if the Scan Rate is not configured.<\/p>\n

Note: This setting was added in P2 Server v 4.5.3.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

Data Type<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

The format of data retrieved by the datasource. For time series\u00a0data stored in historians, you should choose \"Tag\".<\/p>\n

\"tagdatatype\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Adaptor<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

The type of connection that is used by the datasource to retrieve the data.<\/p>\n

\"adaptorpi\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Time Zone<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

The time zone applicable for the location of the source system. Choose \"Geographical Timezone\" if you want the system to automatically obey daylight savings, otherwise choose \"Fixed Offset\" to specify the difference in hours and minutes from UTC.<\/p>\n

Example: If your\u00a0source data timestamps are in UTC, you should use a Fixed Offset with 0 hours. The adaptor will use the Time Zone setting in the datasource to offset the timestamps (to UTC) for consumption elsewhere (e.g. charts or calculations).<\/p>\n

Geographical Timezone<\/strong><\/em>: Begin typing the name of the time zone<\/a> you are looking for. This field uses predictive text, so choose one of the items that appears in the list.<\/p>\n

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

Fixed Offset<\/strong><\/em>: Specify the offset from UTC\/GMT<\/a>\u00a0(e.g. + 08 00).\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

Adaptor Pool Size<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

The adaptor pool hosts a number of adaptors (datasource connections), which can be called upon to retrieve data. You need to specify the minimum and maximum adaptor pool size by moving the sliders left and right.
\nIf your external system only allows one active connection at a time, set both minimum and maximum to 1. Default: Min=2, Max=8.<\/p>\n

For more information on adaptor pool sizes, see \u201cDatasources and Adaptors<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Initialisation Timeout<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

Applies to the initialisation of an adaptor, when it first connects to a datasource. This is the same as the Init_Timeout setting used in P2 Explorer 2.6.x. \u00a0Note: This setting was added in P2 Server v 4.5.2.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

Request Timeout<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

Applies to all other operations against the datasource, such as tag fetch. It is similar to the Submit_Timeout setting used in P2 Explorer 2.6.x.<\/p>\n

Note: This setting was added in P2 Server v 4.5.2.<\/em><\/p>\n

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

Data Object Discovery Timeout<\/strong><\/td>\n\n

The Request Timeout parameter has been split into two parameters to allows a longer timeframe to be set for discovering tags on large systems, and a short timeframe for fetching actual tag data.\u00a0If you had previously set the Request Timeout to a longer period due to the time it was taking to complete a Tag Discovery, then set Data Object Discovery Timeout to this larger value and reduce the Request Timeout value.\u00a0We recommend setting the data fetch parameter (Request Timeout) to 60 seconds to reduce the load on system resources.\u00a0 This means that any request for data will be terminated after 60 seconds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Step 3. Configure the Adaptor<\/h3>\n

The Adaptor Parameters depend on the adaptor that has been selected.<\/p>\n

The tag adaptors currently available are:<\/p>\n