pi interface for universal file and stream loading...

iii

PI Interface for Universal File and Stream Loading (UFL)

Version 3.2.13.x

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PI Interface for Universal File and Stream Loading (UFL)

Copyright: © 2006-2012 OSIsoft, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Published: 09/2012

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PI Interface for Universal File and Stream Loading (UFL) iii

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 1

Reference Manuals ............................................................................................. 2 Supported Operating Systems ............................................................................ 3 Supported Features............................................................................................. 3 Diagram of Hardware Connection ....................................................................... 6

Chapter 2. Principles of Operation .............................................................................. 9

Interface Startup .................................................................................................. 9 Runtime Operations .......................................................................................... 10 PlugIn Principles ................................................................................................ 11

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

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

Chapter 3. Installation Checklist ................................................................................ 15

Data Collection Steps ........................................................................................ 15 Interface Diagnostics ......................................................................................... 16

Chapter 4. Interface Installation ................................................................................. 17

Naming Conventions and Requirements .......................................................... 17 Interface Directories .......................................................................................... 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

Point Attributes .................................................................................................. 27 Tag .......................................................................................................... 27 PointSource ............................................................................................ 27 PointType ................................................................................................ 28 Location1 ................................................................................................ 28 Location2 ................................................................................................ 28 Location3 ................................................................................................ 28 Location4 ................................................................................................ 28

Table of Contents

iv

Location5 ................................................................................................ 29 InstrumentTag ......................................................................................... 30 ExDesc .................................................................................................... 30 Convers ................................................................................................... 30 Scan ........................................................................................................ 30 Shutdown ................................................................................................ 31

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

Chapter 8. Startup Command File ............................................................................. 33

Configuring the Interface with PI ICU ................................................................ 33 UFL Interface page ................................................................................. 35

Command-line Parameters ............................................................................... 39 Sample PI_UFL.bat File .................................................................................... 41

Chapter 9. PI_UFL Configuration (INI) File ................................................................ 43

General .............................................................................................................. 43 [INTERFACE] .................................................................................................... 44

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

ERR ........................................................................................................ 45 IFM .......................................................................................................... 45 NEWLINE ................................................................................................ 46 PFN ......................................................................................................... 47 PFN_PREFIX .......................................................................................... 48 PURGETIME ........................................................................................... 48 REN ........................................................................................................ 48 WORDWRAP .......................................................................................... 49

[PLUG-IN] – Serial Port ..................................................................................... 49 BITS ........................................................................................................ 49 COM ........................................................................................................ 49 COMDATA .............................................................................................. 50 NEWLINE ................................................................................................ 50 PARITY ................................................................................................... 50 SPEED .................................................................................................... 50 STOPBITS .............................................................................................. 51

[PLUG-IN] – POP3 ............................................................................................ 51 ATTACHMENT_PREFIX ........................................................................ 51 BODY_PREFIX ....................................................................................... 52 DATE_PREFIX ....................................................................................... 52 FILTER_FROM ....................................................................................... 52 FORWARD_TO ...................................................................................... 53 FORWARD_AS_UFLSTREAM ............................................................... 53 FROM_PREFIX ...................................................................................... 53 MAIL_ATTACHMENT ............................................................................. 53 MAIL_BODY ........................................................................................... 54 MAIL_DATE ............................................................................................ 54 MAIL_FROM ........................................................................................... 54 MAIL_SUBJECT ..................................................................................... 54 PFN ......................................................................................................... 54 PFN_PREFIX .......................................................................................... 55 POP3_COMMAND_WAIT ...................................................................... 55 POP3_PASSWORD ............................................................................... 55 POP3_PORT .......................................................................................... 56 POP3_SERVER ...................................................................................... 56

PI Interface for Universal File and Stream Loading (UFL) v

POP3_USER .......................................................................................... 56 SMTP_PORT .......................................................................................... 57 SMTP_SERVER ..................................................................................... 57 SUBJECT_PREFIX................................................................................. 57

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

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

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

[MSG] ................................................................................................................ 70 MSG(n).Name ......................................................................................... 70 MSG(n).EPC ........................................................................................... 70 MSG(n).EPC_Inherit ............................................................................... 71 MSG(n).DIGITALSET ............................................................................. 71 Message Structure Definitions: [XXXX] .................................................. 72 Data Extraction to Fields ......................................................................... 74

Data Manipulation ............................................................................................. 77 Variables and NULLs .............................................................................. 77 Arithmetic and Logical Operators ........................................................... 77 Mathematical Functions .......................................................................... 81 String Functions ...................................................................................... 81 DateTime and Time Functions ................................................................ 82 IF Statement ........................................................................................... 83 MSG(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

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

Table of Contents

vi

Chapter 14. Starting / Stopping the Interface ....................................................... 105

Starting Interface as a Service ........................................................................ 105 Stopping Interface Running as a Service ........................................................ 105

Chapter 15. Buffering ............................................................................................. 107

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

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

Chapter 16. Interface Diagnostics Configuration ................................................. 119

Scan Class Performance Points ..................................................................... 119 Performance Counters Points ......................................................................... 119

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

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

I/O Rate Point .................................................................................................. 128 Interface Status Point ...................................................................................... 130

Chapter 17. For Users of Previous (2.x) Interface Versions................................. 133

Appendix A. Error and Informational Messages ................................................... 137

System Errors and PI Errors ........................................................................... 138

Appendix B. BatchFL_to_Ufl Conversion Utility .................................................. 139

BatchFL_to_UFL Conversion Utility...................................................... 140 Post Conversion Steps ......................................................................... 141

Appendix C. CSV (Comma-Delimited) Data Files ................................................. 143

For Users of the PI Batch File Interface .......................................................... 143 Data File Example ........................................................................................... 143 Configuration File Example with ASCIIFiles PlugIn ........................................ 144 Configuration File Example - BatchFL Mode .................................................. 145 Bat File Example (ASCIIFiles PlugIn and BatchFL Mode) .............................. 145 Explanation ...................................................................................................... 145

ASCIIFiles PlugIn .................................................................................. 145 BatchFL Mode ....................................................................................... 146

Appendix D. XML Document Files ......................................................................... 147

Data File Example ........................................................................................... 147 Configuration File Example ............................................................................. 148

PI Interface for Universal File and Stream Loading (UFL) vii

Bat File Example ............................................................................................. 149 Explanation ...................................................................................................... 149

Appendix E. Reading Data from Serial Port .......................................................... 151

Streams Patterns from Serial Port .................................................................. 151 Configuration File Example ............................................................................. 151 Bat File Example ............................................................................................. 152 Explanation ...................................................................................................... 152

Appendix F. Reading Data from POP3 Server ...................................................... 153

Email Text ....................................................................................................... 153 Configuration File Example ............................................................................. 153 Bat File Example ............................................................................................. 154 Explanation ...................................................................................................... 154

Appendix G. More Advanced Examples ................................................................ 155

Data File Example ........................................................................................... 155 Configuration File Example ............................................................................. 155 Point Configuration .......................................................................................... 156 Bat File Example ............................................................................................. 156 Explanation ...................................................................................................... 157

Appendix H. ASCII Codes Supported .................................................................... 159

Appendix I. Tested Operating Systems and Other Components......................... 161

Appendix J. Terminology ....................................................................................... 163

Appendix K. Technical Support and Resources ................................................... 167

Before You Call or Write for Help ......................................................... 167 Help Desk and Telephone Support....................................................... 167 Search Support ..................................................................................... 168 Email-based Technical Support ............................................................ 168 Online Technical Support ..................................................................... 168 Remote Access ..................................................................................... 169 On-site Service ..................................................................................... 169 Knowledge Center ................................................................................ 169 Upgrades .............................................................................................. 169 OSIsoft Virtual Campus (vCampus) ...................................................... 169

Appendix L. Revision History ................................................................................ 171

PI Interface for Universal File and Stream Loading (UFL) 1

Chapter 1. Introduction

This document describes OSIsoft’s PI Interface for Universal File and Stream Loading

(UFL), from here on referred to as the PI_UFL interface or the interface. It describes how to

configure it as well as how to use it effectively.

The 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 configuration (.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 Appendix C before upgrading to PI_UFL.

Introduction

2

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 C - H

Note: PI_UFL version 3 is a major revision 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.

Note: The value of [PIHOME] variable for the 32-bit interface will depend on whether the

interface is being installed on a 32-bit operating system (C:\Program Files\PIPC) or

a 64-bit operating system (C:\Program Files (x86)\PIPC).

The value of [PIHOME64] variable for a 64-bit interface will be C:\Program Files\PIPC on the 64-bit Operating system.

In this documentation [PIHOME] will be used to represent the value for either [PIHOME] or [PIHOME64]. The value of [PIHOME] is the directory which is the common location for PI client applications.

Note: Throughout this manual there are references to where messages are written by the

interface which is the PIPC.log. Starting with version 3.2.13.x of the PI_UFL interface

every message, which the interface prints into the interface specifig log file ( see section OUTPUT ) is also forwarded into the local PI Message Log.

Please note that any place in this manual where it references PIPC.log should now refer to the local PI message log.

See section Appendix_A for more details.

Reference Manuals

OSIsoft

PI Server manuals

PI API Installation manual


Supported Operating Systems

Platforms 32-bit application 64-bit application

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 64-bit OS Yes (Emulation Mode) No

Windows 7 32-bit OS Yes No


The interface is designed to run on the above mentioned Microsoft Windows operating

systems and their associated service packs.

Please contact OSIsoft Technical Support for more information.

Supported Features

Feature Support

Interface Part Number PI-IN-OS-UFL-NTI

* Auto Creates PI Points Yes

Point Builder Utility No

ICU Control Yes

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

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

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

Introduction

4

Feature Support

* UniInt-based

* Disconnected Startup

* SetDeviceStatus

No

No

Yes

* Failover Yes, Two independent Interface Instances.

Vendor Software Required on 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 paragraphs below for further explanation.

Auto Creates PI Points

The 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 Reporting

PI_UFL implements standard exception reporting, however, several start-up parameters and

PI Point attributes will cause the exception spec. parameters NOT to be considered. The

following is a short list (see the Startup Command File and Location5 for more details).

Start-up parameters:

/lb

/lbs

/rbo

PI point parameter:

Location5

Uses PI SDK

The 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 Timestamps

Timestamps are read from the input file or, when not specified, the current (interface node

local time) is used.

History Recovery

History 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 are 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 their data, there is

nothing to recover from. This is the case when the interface communicates with a serial port

via the Serial PlugIn

UniInt-based

Note: PI_UFL is not a UniInt-based interface.

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

libraries:

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.

SetDeviceStatus

Since 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.

Failover

See section PI_UFL Redundancy – Failover for details.

Additional PI Software

See section Graphical User Interface (GUI) Facilitating the INI File Creation for details.

Serial-Based Interface

This 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

6

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


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.

Principles of Operation

10

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])


The following diagram is an example showing the described principles and 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-C46

value=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

12

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 example shown in section Configuration File

Example - BatchFL Mode.


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:

o 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

o 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 the 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:

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.

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 Server, make sure the PI SDK buffering is enabled.


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 the 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.

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) Facilitation 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 purposes are:

Installation Checklist

16

Location1 is not used.




Location5 specifies if exception reporting is used and/or the archive mode.

ExDesc 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 and the buffering application

restart.

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 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) is 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 Manually

It 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

18

Interface Directories

PIHOME Directory Tree

32-bit Interfaces

The [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 root of the PIHOME directory on the C: drive. The PIHOME

directory does not need to be on the C: drive. OSIsoft recommends using the paths shown

above as the root PIHOME directory name.

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.

UFL_#.#.#.#_.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.


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:

Service Configuration

Service name

The Service name box shows the name of the current interface service. This service name is

obtained from the interface executable.

ID

This 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 name

The 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.


20

Log on as

The 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.

Password

If 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 password

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

Password text box.

Dependencies

The 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 Button

To add a dependency from the list of Installed services, select the dependency name, and

click the Add button.

- Remove Button

To remove a selected dependency, highlight the service name in the Dependencies list, and

click the Remove button.

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

Installed services list box.


Startup Type

The 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.

Create

The 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


22

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 Node without 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. It is suggested that this

number correspond to the interface id (/id) parameter found in the interface .bat file.

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.


Chapter 5. Digital States

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

Digital State Sets

PI 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 point. A

digital point associates discrete data with a digital state set, as specified by the user.

System Digital State Set

Similar to digital state sets is the system digital state set. This set is used for all points,

regardless of type, to indicate the state of a point at a particular time. For example, if the

interface receives bad data from the data source, 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 States

PI_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 Attribute

The PointSource character that is supplied with the /ps command-line parameter is not

case sensitive. That is, /ps=P and /ps=p are equivalent.

Reserved Point Sources

Several subsystems and applications that ship 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.

PointSource

26

Note: Do not use a point source character that is already associated with another interface program. However it is acceptable to use the same point source for multiple instances of an interface.


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: * ’ ? ; { } [ ] | \ ` ' "

Length

Depending 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 255

PointSource

The PointSource attribute contains 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.

PI Point Configuration

28

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, timestamp.

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.

PI Point Configuration

30

InstrumentTag

Length

Depending 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.



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

ExDesc

Length

Depending on the version of the PI API and the PI Server, this Interface supports an ExDesc

attribute whose length is at most 80 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.



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

For UniInt-based interfaces, the extended descriptor is checked for the string

“PERFORMANCE_POINT”. If this character string is found, UniInt 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.

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 PIBufss

It 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=M and

-ps=M 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 NewWindows Interface Instance from EXE...,

and then Browse to the PI_UFL.exe executable file. Then, enter values for Host PI System,

Point Source and Interface ID#. A window such as the following results:

Startup Command File

34

“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.

UFL

The PI Interface for Universal File and Stream Loading (UFL) - ICU Control has one section.

A yellow text box indicates that an invalid value has been entered, or that a required value

has not been entered.

Configuration File


36

Enter 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 Archive

LaBoratory. 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.

- due 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 Snapshots

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 are present. The command line equivalent is /lbs.

Archive Mode

When 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, with compression.

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 Overwrite

Check 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 Timestamps

When 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 Exit

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. 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 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 (Aliasing)

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 Status

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. 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.


38

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.

Additional Parameters

This section is provided for any additional parameters that the current ICU Control does not

support.


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.

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.yyy

Required

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.

/disablecounters

Optional

Disable writing to performance counters.

/f=HH:MM:SS

Or

/f=SS

Required

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)!


40


/host=host:port

Required

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=206.79.198.30

/host=206.79.198.30:5450

/imt

Optional

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

/lb

Optional

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 command line parameter is used to specify

which archive mode will be used.

/lbs

Optional

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 hours

Optional

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=x

Optional

The /ps parameter specifies the point source for the interface. X

is not case sensitive and can be any single or multiple character string. For example, /ps=P and /ps=p 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.

/rbo

Optional

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!



/runonce

Optional

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 tags

The tag mask complies to the PI Tag Search rules; that means,

the wildcard characters are * or ?.

/utc

Optional

Universal Time Coordinated

When 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.

/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.

Sample PI_UFL.bat File

The following is an example file:

REM==================================================================

REM PI_UFL.bat

REM

REM Sample startup file for the Universal File and Stream Loader

REM Interface

REM==================================================================

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"

REM

REM End of PI_UFL.bat file


Chapter 9. PI_UFL Configuration (INI) File

The 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 file). Refer to Appendices C-E for configuration examples and

further discussion. Configuration file examples, data file examples and batch startup files are

also included with this interface in these directories:

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

The following paragraphs describe 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.

PI_UFL Configuration (INI) File

44

Comments

Both 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 Continuation

Data 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 Continuation

message1.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]

The 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, the 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.dll

BatchFL

POP3.dll

Serial.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

[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 that follow show some of the supported constructs:


46

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.

Only one directory can be used when scanning files for a given interface instance. When the interface runs as NT service, and the data file resides on a network drive, it is I the IFM uses the UNC (Unified Naming Convention) – as specified in the third example above.IFS

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

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>"

' or

NEWLINE = "STOP" OR "END" OR "EndOfLine"

' or

NEWLINE = 13,10

' or

NEWLINE = 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 the 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


48

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

#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.SUCC

REN = 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


50

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>"

' or

NEWLINE = 13

PARITY

Acceptable parity patterns are:

EVEN

ODD

NO

MARK

SPACE

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 bit

1 = 1.5 stop bit

2 = 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 large, 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 format). 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]:


52

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:


' [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:


' [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 will not be processed, they will be deleted.

mailto:[email protected]



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

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





54

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:


' [From]: [email protected]

' …

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:


' [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.


56

Figure 3. 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

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:


' [Message Subject]: 4ufl

' …

Subject_Prefix = [Message Subject]:


58

[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 2. 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:ss

DATETIME_MONTH_FORMAT =

Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,May,Jun.Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec


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.


60

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


[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

0 (Default) 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 1. PI_UFL Interface Debug Levels

Note: The debug levels are cumulative; that is, the higher levels contain the info covered by the lover levels. Error and Warning messages will always be printed; see section Appendix_A

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

You can use the long as well as the short form, or directly through the numeric identifier

(LCID). All three forms are equivalent. The following examples demonstrate it.

LOCALE Example

LOCALE = "German – Germany" 'long form

or

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


62

LOCALE = "de-de" 'short form

or

LOCALE = 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.

Note: 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 the not successfully processed lines.

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: The referenced MSGINERROR file will behave the same way as the interface specific log (pointed to by the OUTPUT keyword). That is, the MAXLOG and MAXLOGSIZE will be applied.


Note: Because of 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 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.

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.


64

Example of the Configuration File Sections

'---------------------------------------------------------------

[INTERFACE]

PLUG-IN = ASCIIFiles.dll

[PLUG-IN]

ERR = BAD

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

IFS = N

PURGETIME = 10d

[SETTING]

DEB = 1

MAXLOG = 10

MAXLOGSIZE = 20

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

OUTPUT = c:\pipc\interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\pi_ufl.txt

LOCALE = de-de

'---------------------------------------------------------------

[FIELD]

…


[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] section), 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

' or

FIELD(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", etc. In addition, the following characters are NOT supported in field names: ` ' " * ? ; { } [ ] | \ .

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)


66

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 2 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 2 below for more on supported keywords.


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 = Timestamp

Timestamp.Type = DateTime

Timestamp.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 file

yy 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.


68

Characters in format Accepts the following from the input file

ss 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 2. 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 file

SECONDS_GMT Number of seconds since 1970, in Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)

SECONDS_LOCAL Number of seconds since 1970, in local time.

Table 3. Numeric TimeStamps

Numeric Timestamps Example:

[FIELD]

Field(1).Name = Timestamp

Timestamp.Type = DateTime

Timestamp.Format = "SECONDS_GMT"

'The numeric formats allow an input line with timestamps as

'numbers; The number below thus translates into

'30-May-06 00:00:00

1148940000


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:


' 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 – DSTOffset

EndIf


70

[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", and so forth. In addition, the following characters are not supported in message names: ` ' " * ? ; { } [ ] | \

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, Timestamp


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.

In case either the /ps or the /tm is specified in the command line, and the

interface attempts to create a point, which already exists in the PIPoint database, but with a different PointSource - the following error appears:

[-10550] Tag Already Exists in Table

The interface will always try to create tags with the PointSource, which has been specified in the start-up file. The above listed message thus indicates that something is not OK with PointSources.

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).DIGITALSET 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.


72

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.

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).Filter

The 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"

' or

MSG(n).Filter = Cx=="Mask 1" OR Cy=="Mask 2"

' or

MSG(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 Syntax

The 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 4. 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]*"


74

' 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.*,

' 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).Value

Once 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 Extraction

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

Field(n) = Cx – Cy

Field(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 Syntax

The following special characters are recognized as mask patterns:

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 string] Any single character in character string.

Must be enclosed in square brackets

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

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 5. Field Filter Specification

Example 1. Field Assignment at Fixed Positions

' Field 1 will get the 1st 10 characters from the input line

FIELD(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 11

FIELD(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 41

FIELD(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 51


76

FIELD(5) = C51 – C51("[!0123456789]")

Example 6. Mask and NEWLINE

' Field 6 will get characters from Cx("Mask") till

' the end of the line

FIELD(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) = ["*,*,*\"(*)\""]


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.

Variables and NULLs

Fields (variables), when declared, are assigned the value NULL; that means their value is

undefined. See the IF Statement section below how to check if a variable is undefined.

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 6. 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 Time

Time Operator*(x Time, y Int32)

Time Operator/(x Time, y Int32)

Arithmetic and Logical Operators - Examples


78

Example 1. Simple Expressions with Arithmetic Operators

[FIELD]

FIELD(1).Type = "String"

FIELD(2).Type = "Number"

[MSG(1)]


' 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 it

FIELD(2) = C12 – NEWLINE

FIELD(2) = 100 * FIELD(2)

Example 2. Mathematical Functions

[FIELDS]



[MSG(1)]


' 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]


[MSG(1)]


' any string

' …

' It is required to replace the given string pattern

' with the specified string

'

FIELD(1) = C10 – NEWLINE

FIELD(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"



[MSG(1)]


' 01-Jul-2006 08:00:00.1234; 123

' …

' PI allows the time precision up to 15 microseconds.

FIELD(1) = C1 – (";")

' extract the subsecond part:

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

Example 5. IF Statement (1)

[FIELDS]



[MSG(1)]


' 1;2

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

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

IF (FIELD(1) > FIELD(2)) THEN

FIELD(2)=2*FIELD(2)

ELSE

FIELD(2)=FIELD(1)

ENDIF


[FIELDS]



FIELD(3).Type = "Time"

[MSG(1)]


' 25-Jan-2007;01-Nov-2007;01:00:00

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

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

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

IF (FIELD(1) > FIELD(2)) THEN

' Add one hour

FIELD(1) = FIELD(1) + FIELD(3)

ENDIF


[FIELD]




[MSG(1)]



80

' Tag1; 23-Oct-2007 01:00:00; 1

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

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

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

' Only store in PI when a valid tagname has been extracted

IF (FIELD(1) IS NOT NULL) THEN

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

ENDIF


[FIELDS]

FIELD(1).Name = "TimeVar"


FIELD(1).Format = "m"

FIELD(2).Name = "TimeOffset"


FIELD(2).Format = hh:mm:ss"

FIELD(3).Name = "DateVar"


FIELD(3).Format = "yyyymmdd"

FIELD(4).Name = "TimestampVar"


FIELD(5).Name = "TagNameVar"

FIELD(6).Name = "ValueVar1"


FIELD(7).Name = "ValueVar2"


' …


' 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 + TimeVar

StoreInPI(TagNameVar,,TimestampVar,ValueVar1,,)

TimestampVar = TimestampVar + TimeVar

StoreInPI(TagNameVar,,TimestampVar,ValueVar2,,)

TimestampVar = TimestampVar + TimeVar

' …

ENDIF



[FIELD]




[MSG(1)]


' Tag1; 23-Oct-2007 01:00:00; 1

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

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

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

' Nested IF

IF (FIELD(1) IS NOT NULL) THEN

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

ELSE

IF(FIELD(2) IS NULL) THEN

StoreInPI("ErrorTag",,,FIELD(3),)

ENDIF

ENDIF

Mathematical Functions


ABS 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 7. Supported Mathematical Functions

String Functions


CONCAT 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, substring String,

start Int, occurrence Int)

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


82


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 8. Supported String Functions

DateTime and Time Functions


DAY 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 9. DateTime and Time Functions


IF Statement

The IF statement can have the following form:

IF <condition> THEN <expression(s)> ELSE <expression(s)> ENDIF

or

IF <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.

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

Example AppendLines

It is required to concatenate the data lines below using AppendLines(), because some lines

do not have appropriate pattern for the filter:


'

' 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 = ["*(*);*;*"]


84

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)

This function 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(3).Name = "Value"

FIELD(3).Type = "Number”

'...

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

DigCode(String)

Searches the PI System Digital Sets table and returns back the corresponding numerical code.

Example DigCode

[FIELDS]

FIELD(1).Name = "Status"

'...

StoreInPI(TagName,,Now(),,DigCode(Status),)

Now()

The function returns 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 chapter

StoreInPI (TagName,,Now(),Value,,)


NowUTC()

Gets the (current) UTC timestamp. The data type NowUTC() returns is DateTime.

Note: NowUTC() 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 NowUTC

' See the description of StoreInPI() below in this chapter

StoreInPI (TagName,,NowUTC(),Value,,)

NumberFromHex(String)

This function converts the hexadecimal (also base 16 or hex) representation of a number to

the decimal form.

Example NumberFromHex

[FIELDS]

FIELD(1).Name = "TagName"

'...

StoreInPI(TagName,,NOW(),NumberFromHex("0000000F"),,)

Print(Variable)

Prints the immediate value of the referenced variable into the interface specific log.

The argument can be of any data type. The interface will apply the implicit conversion to

string.

Example Print(Variable)

[FIELDS]

FIELD(1).Name = "Value1"


'...

Print("This is test line:")

Print(Value1)

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.


86

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:


'

' 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"

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


'

' Invalid Sample


' 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


'


' 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) = ["(*),*,*"]


88

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

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

IF (FIELD(3) < 0) Then

SkipLines(1)

Else

StoreInPI(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 (an alias) – 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.

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, DateTime or 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.

In case the variable used as the Value is NULL, the default conversion occurs. The table

below shows how the default conversion works for the individual PI data types:

PI Data type Default conversion

String Empty string

Float16,Float32,Float64,Int32 0

Digital Empty string

Timestamp 01-Jan-1970


Note: In cases when the default conversion from NULL does not match the required behavior, use the IF Statement and modify the variable accordingly.

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.

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 time

StoreInPi ("test:001",,,FIELD(1),,)


' 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)


90

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

IF( FIELD(1) > 200 ) THEN

FIELD(2) = -255

Else

FIELD(2) = 0

Endif

StoreInPi ("test:001",,,FIELD(1),FIELD(2),)


' 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(2).NAME = "PI_TIMESTAMP"


FIELD(2).FORMAT = "yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss"

FIELD(3).NAME = "PI_VALUE"


FIELD(4).NAME = "PI_STATUS"


FIELD(5).NAME = "PI_QFLAG"


FIELD(6).NAME = "PI_ANNOTATION"


FIELD(7).NAME = "RESULT"


[MSG]

MSG(1).Name = "Msg1"

[Msg1]

Msg1.Filter = C1=="-"

'

' Field filters

'

Result = StoreInPI(PI_TAG,, _

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 previous chapter about the PI_UFL’s .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.

Note: In version 3.2.13.x of the PI_UFL interface the UFLDesigner has been

enhanced in the direction of facilitating the work with XML files.

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

TagName, TimeStamp, Value

Graphical User Interface (GUI) Facilitating the INI File Creation

92

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 file 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, take the following steps:

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 Tab,

(Tab number one), the PlugIn related parameters need to be specified; the entries

reflect the keywords listed in the [INTERFACE] section.

3. Defining the variables in the Variables Tab2.

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.

4. Next step is to define message types. Adding a new message type occurs in Tab3 –

Message Types; the green plus sign again adds the new message type. In the Message

Types Tab one can name the message, define the message filter and add several

parameters, which reflect the keywords listed in section [MSG].


94

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 Tab 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 Microsoft Excel dialog boxes 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:


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

<Add Variable> area):

6. The last, number five Tab – the Action - allows defining what actions can be done

with the messages and variables. The most important action is to specify the

StoreInPI() function.


96

7. Pressing the Preview INI File icon and consequently the 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.


8. In case the input data file is XML, the UFLDesigner adds another tab in the file view:

Right-clicking into the data file invokes the corresponding task, depending on which Tab is

selected.


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 Files

Two 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 Files

In such a scenario it is recommended to set the /rbo (Read Before Overwrite) start-up

parameter (see section Command-line Parameters for details).

In both above mentioned scenarios the interface instances are independent; that means, no

dedicated synchronization of both PI_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 “Automatically adjust clock for

daylight saving changes” box. 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 Serve, 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 piconfig

For 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,PIUser

a_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 Editor

The Trust Editor plug-in for PI System Management Tools 3.x may also be used to edit the PI

Trust table.

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104

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

configuration.

PI Server v3.2

For 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,proxyaccount

piapimachine,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

This section describes starting and stopping the Interface once it has been installed as a

service. See the UniInt Interface User Manual to run the Interface interactively.

Starting Interface as a Service

If the Interface was installed as 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 as 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

Examine 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. 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.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.

2. 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 consider 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

108

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 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 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 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 Application Application Name field for PI Trust

PI 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.

Buffering

110

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.

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.


PIBufss

For 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.

Maximum transfer objects

Maximum 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 to 128 Gbytes). Please see the section

Buffering

112

entitled, “Queue File Sizing” in the PIBufss.chm file for details on how to appropriately size

the event queue files.

Event Queue Path

This 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.)

Bufserv

For 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.

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 objects

Max 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.

PIBufss

PIBufss 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

114

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.


Bufserv

Bufserv 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.)

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

116

Installing Buffering as a Service

Both the PIBufss and Bufserv applications run as a Service.

PI Buffer Subsystem Service

Use 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.


API Buffer Server Service

Use 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

118


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 Points

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 or interactively, 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.

Interface Diagnostics Configuration

120

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 Configurator

In 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/DownloadC

enter.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.

http://techsupport.osisoft.com/Techsupport/NonTemplates/Download%20Center/DownloadCenter.aspx?download_file=A21A6DBE-D57E-4E79-8A14-3A449CCF403D



“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.


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..


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


“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.


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


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.


122

“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.


“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.


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.




count it must also be a part of the Stale 10 minute and 30 minute count.


124




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.


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.


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.


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:

http://techsupport.osisoft.com/Techsupport/NonTemplates/Download%20Center/DownloadC

enter.aspx?download_file=A21A6DBE-D57E-4E79-8A14-3A449CCF403D

[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 frequency

Less 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]

Since 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.




126

[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; and

the scan class frequencies

An example value for the [UI_SCINFO] Health Point is:

3 | 5 | 5 | 60 | 120

The interface updates the value of this point at startup and at each performance summary

interval.

[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.

The interface updates the value of this point every 60 seconds. While the Interface is running,

the value of this point never decreases.

These four Health Points are not implemented in the PI_UFL interface:

[UI_OUTPUTRATE]

[UI_OUTPUTBVRATE]

[UI_TRIGGERRATE]

[UI_TRIGGERBVRATE]

[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.


128

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 Interface

The 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 Counter

The 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.

Tagname

The tag name listed under the Tagname column is the name of the I/O Rate tag.

Tag Status

The 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 File

The 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


130

Snapshot

The 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

Create

Create the suggested I/O Rate tag with the tag name indicated in the Tagname column.

Delete

Delete the I/O Rate tag listed in the Tagname column.

Rename

Allow the user to specify a new name for the I/O Rate tag listed in the Tagname column.

Add to File

Add the tag to the IORates.dat file with the event counter listed in the Event Counter Column.

Search

Allow 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 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.

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 revision. 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, or

if the data is read from serial ports or POP3 servers. 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 Changes

The 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 / Remark

New 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

/host=host Unchanged

For Users of Previous (2.x) Interface Versions

134

Old Parameter Name New Parameter Name Location / Remark

/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 file

Also, 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 file

Supported since version 3.0.3

New start-up parameter /ws BAT file

Supported since version 3.0.3


Configuration File Changes

In 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

136

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.


Appendix A. Error and Informational Messages

All messages are sent to the standard output, and, depending whether the OUTPUT keyword

was specified or not, interface will log the messages to the interface specific log (referenced

by the OUTPUT keyword) or to the PIPC.log.

Each message has the following format

dd-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.

Starting with version 3.2.13.x, the PI_UFL interface also forwards all the messages (which go

to the interface specific log) to the local PI Message Log. The format of the messages is as

follows:

Severity Timestamp Process:Name:PointSource | J | K | (XXXX)

>> Description

Where:

Line1 of a message:

Severity — Message severity, such as Information or I.

Timestamp — Date and time of message.

Process — Name of executable writing the message.

Name — Short name for the interface.

PointSource — Point source of the interface.

J — Service ID

K — Is always zero

(XXXX) — Message ID

Error and Informational Messages

138

Line2 of a message:

Description — Text string that describes what occurred.

Example of a message forwarded to the local PI Message Log:

I 03-Apr-12 17:22:51 PI_UFL:PI_UFL:U |1|0 (4)

>> API (1.6.8.12) connected to PI server: srvtest(3.4.375.99).

System Errors and PI Errors

System errors are associated with positive error numbers. Errors related to PI are associated

with negative error numbers.

Error Descriptions on Windows

On Windows, descriptions of system and PI errors can be obtained with the pidiag utility:

Windows: \PI\adm\pidiag /e error_number


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 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.

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.

If will also delete any service associated with the BatchFL interface instance being

unregistered if the“Unregister BatchFL Interface (Recommended)” check box is

checked.

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.

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.

If will register a new PI_UFL# interface instance using the new batch and ini file

created.

BatchFL_to_Ufl Conversion Utility

140

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. After 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.

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)” checked

Step 1 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 the Rename button, this will open a dialog box 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

Step 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.

BatchFL_to_Ufl Conversion Utility

142

“Unregister BatchFL Interface (Recommended)” unchecked

If 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:

If both the BatchFL and PI_UFL interface instance are allowed to run

simultaneously:

o They will both be competing for the same data source files

o and sending data to the same PI tags.

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.

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 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 instance

If 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).

Examine 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 Example

BATCHFL-1,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.1

BATCHFL-2,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.2

BATCHFL-3,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.3

BATCHFL-4,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.4

BATCHFL-5,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.5

BATCHFL-6,17-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.6

BATCHFL-7,17-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.7

BATCHFL-8,17-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.8

BATCHFL-9,17-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.9

BATCHFL-0,17-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.0

CSV (Comma-Delimited) Data Files

144

Configuration File Example with ASCIIFiles PlugIn

' BatchFl.ini

' Shows that PI_UFL interface covers the 144structures

' processed by the BatchFl interface

[INTERFACE]


[PLUG-IN]

ERR = BAD

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

IFS = N

PURGETIME = 8h

[SETTING]

DEB = 1

MAXLOG = 10

MAXLOGSIZE = 20

MSGINERROR = c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\errors_batchfl.out

OUTPUT = c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\pi_ufl_batchfl.out

'-----------------------------------------------------

[FIELD]


FIELD(1).TYPE = "String"


FIELD(2).TYPE = "DateTime"

FIELD(2).FORMAT = "dd-MMM-yy hh:mm:ss", _




[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 explanation

MSG(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 PI

StoreInPi(TagName,, Timestamp, Value,,,)


Configuration File Example - BatchFL Mode

[INTERFACE]

PLUG-IN = BatchFL

[PLUG-IN]

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

IFS = N

REN=_OK

ERR = BAD

PURGETIME = 1m

ADJUST = 0

POINT_TYPE = Float32

REMOVE_BLANKS=True

SCALE=False

SLEEP=60

[SETTING]

DEB = 4

MAXLOG = 10

MAXLOGSIZE = 20

MSGINERROR = c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\batchfl.err

OUTPUT = c:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\logs\batchfl.out

LOCALE=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.

CSV (Comma-Delimited) Data Files

146

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, the PI_UFL interface version 3.1 implemented a new mode

– the BatchFL mode; the 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 that

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>


<TZ>GMT+1</TZ>

<M Q=”ok” ST=”300”>

<TS DST=”no”>2004,01,22,12,00,00</TS>

<PV>52320</PV>

</M>

</MP>


<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>

XML Document Files

148

Configuration File Example

' xml.ini

' Shows that PI_UFL interface can parse the XML files

[INTERFACE]


[PLUG-IN]

ERR = BAD

IFM = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Data\*.xml

IFS = N

PURGETIME = 1d

[SETTING]

DEB = 4

MAXLOG = 10

MAXLOGSIZE = 20

MSGINERROR = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\errors_xml.out

OUTPUT = 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).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(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"


'-------------------------------------------------------------

' 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 – TIMEONEHOUR

EndIf

'-------------------------------------------------------------

' Process Value

[XML_LINE_PV]

XML_LINE_PV.FILTER = C1=="*<PV>*"

VALUE = ["*>(*)<*"]

StoreInPI(TAG_ID,,TIMESTAMP,VALUE,STATUS,)

Bat File Example

PI_UFL.EXE ^

/host=piserver1 ^

/f=00:01:00 ^

/cf=C:\pipc\Interfaces\pi_ufl\ini\xml.ini ^

/lb

Explanation

The PI_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

150

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

PI_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.


Appendix E. Reading Data from Serial Port


interface to process serial port streams covered by the PI Message Logger interface

(PI-IN-OS-ML-NTI).

Example the example found under:


Example4MsgLgNt.ini

and the corresponding data file found in:


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 Port

MSGLGNT-1,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.1

MSGLGNT-2,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.2

MSGLGNT-3,25-Jan-07 08:00:25,1234.3


' MsglgNT.ini

' Shows that PI_UFL interface covers the 151tructures

' processed by the PI Message Logger interface

[INTERFACE]

PLUG-IN = serial.dll

[PLUG-IN]

BITS = 1

COM = 1

COMDATA = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\comdata.out

PARITY = ODD

SPEED = 9600

STOPBITS = 1

[SETTING]

DEB = 4

MAXLOG = 5

MAXLOGSIZE = 20

Reading Data from Serial Port

152

MSGINERROR = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\errors.out

OUTPUT = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\PI_UFL.out

'-----------------------------------------------------

[FIELD]







[MSG]

MSG(1).NAME = "MsglgNT"

[MsglgNT]

MsglgNT.FILTER = C1=="M*"

Tagname = C1 – (",")

Timestamp = C1(",")-(",*")

Value = ["*,*,(*)"]

' Send value to PI

StoreInPi(TagName,, Timestamp, Value,,)

Bat File Example

PI_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


interface to process emails.

Examine the example found under:


Example8Pop3.ini

and the corresponding data file found in:


Example8Pop3.dat

The following sections show the original email, the INI file (interface configuration file) and

the .BAT file together with a short explanation:

Email Text

Tagname: sinusoid, Timestamp: 01-Jun-2008 09:00:00, Value: 50,

Tagname: sinusoid, Timestamp: 01-Jun-2008 10:00:00, Value: 60,


' POP3.ini

[INTERFACE]

PLUG-IN = POP3.dll

[PLUG-IN]

POP3_SERVER = pop3.osisoft.com

POP3_USER = ufl

SMTP_SERVER = smtp.osisoft.com

FORWARD_TO = [email protected]

FORWARD_AS_UFLSTREAM = true

FILTER_FROM = [email protected];[email protected]

MAIL_FROM = true

FROM_PREFIX = [From]:

MAIL_DATE = true

DATE_PREFIX = [Date]:

MAIL_SUBJECT = True

SUBJECT_PREFIX = [Subject]:

MAIL_BODY = true

BODY_PREFIX = [Body]:

MAIL_ATTACHMENT = true

ATTACHMENT_PREFIX = [Attachment]:

PFN = true


mailto:[email protected];[email protected]

Reading Data from POP3 Server

154

PFN_PREFIX = [Attached File Name]:

[SETTING]

DEB = 4

MAXLOG = 10

MAXLOGSIZE = 10

MSGINERROR = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\pop3.err

OUTPUT = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\pop3.out

'-----------------------------------------------------

[FIELD]

FIELD(1).NAME = "Tagname"






FIELD(3).FORMAT = "dd-MMM-yyyy hh:mm:ss",_


[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 Example

PI_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 are shown in the next sections.

Data File Example

S 05.07.200314:40:21Pt=422 Reaktor-B 0303301905

D 13 NGScalib 9000 30.00 34.50

C Al1 7.36881 % Al 2.4380 10.0 1.0191 0.0000 8000

C P 41.15004 ppm P 0.0707 30.0 1.0095 0.0000 8000

C Ca 2.19745 % Ca 4.3559 10.0 1.0004 0.0000 8000

C Pb 21.69290 ppm Pb 0.1271 100.0 0.9978 0.0000 8000

C Si* 98.03407 % Si 8000


' XRF.ini

' ------------------------------------------------------

'

[INTERFACE]


[PLUG-IN]

ERR = BAD

IFM = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Data\*.xrf

IFS = N

PURGETIME = 8h

[SETTING]

DEB = 4

MAXLOG = 20

MAXLOGSIZE = 10

MSGINERROR = C:\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\errors_xrf.out

OUTPUT = 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).FORMAT = "dd.MM.yyyyhh:mm:ss"



FIELD(5).Name = "Resource"

‘-------------------------------------------------------------

More Advanced Examples

156

[MSG]

' File consists of two messages.

MSG(1).NAME = "S_Line"

MSG(2).NAME = "C_Line"


'-------------------------------------------------------------

[S_Line]

' Filter

S_Line.FILTER = C1==”S*” AND C28 == "Reaktor*"

' Variables

PI_Timestamp = C3 – C21

Resource = C28 – C37

' Logic

IF(Resource == "Reaktor-A") THEN

InstrumentTagPrefix = "T42_C100A_PRFA_BETT_"

ELSE

IF(Resource == "Reaktor-B") THEN

InstrumentTagPrefix = "T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_"

ELSE

InstrumentTagPrefix = "UNDEFINED_"

ENDIF

ENDIF

'-------------------------------------------------------------

[C_Line]

' Value lines:

C_Line.FILTER = C1==”C*”

' Variables

InstrumentTag = InstrumentTagPrefix & C3 – C3(“ “)

Value = C8-C16

' Action

StoreInPI(,InstrumentTag, PI_Timestamp, Value,,)

Point Configuration

Tag InstrumentTag

T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Al T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Al1

T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Ca T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Ca

T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Cl T42_C100B_PRFA_BETT_Cl

'…

Bat File Example

PI_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

and

C Al1 6.36881 % Al 2.4380 10.0 1.0191 0.0000 8000

but not

D 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 of

StoreInPI(,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 Symbol

0 NUL 32 (space) 64 @ 96 `

1 SOH 33 ! 65 A 97 a

2 STX 34 “ 66 B 98 b

3 ETX 35 # 67 C 99 c

4 EOT 36 $ 68 D 100 d

5 ENQ 37 % 69 E 101 e

6 ACK 38 & 70 F 102 f

7 BEL 39 ‘ 71 G 103 g

8 BS 40 ( 72 H 104 h

9 TAB 41 ) 73 I 105 i

10 LF 42 * 74 J 106 j

11 VT 43 + 75 K 107 k

12 FF 44 , 76 L 108 l

13 CR 45 - 77 M 109 m

14 SO 46 . 78 N 110 n

15 SI 47 / 79 O 111 o

16 DLE 48 0 80 P 112 p

17 DC1 49 1 81 Q 113 q

18 DC2 50 2 82 R 114 r

19 DC3 51 3 83 S 115 s

20 DC4 52 4 84 T 116 t

21 NAK 53 5 85 U 117 u

22 SYN 54 6 86 V 118 v

23 ETB 55 7 87 W 119 w

24 CAN 56 8 88 X 120 x

25 EM 57 9 89 Y 121 y

26 SUB 58 : 90 Z 122 z

27 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 Only

Operating System Windows XP Professional SP2

Windows 2003 Server SP1

Windows Vista

Windows 2008 Server SP1

Windows 2008 Server R2

Windows 7

C-Compiler PI_UFL version 3.0.0.32 has been compiled with:

MS VC++ 2003

PI_UFL version 3.0.1.13 has been compiled with:

MS VC++ 2005

PI_UFL version 3.0.2.5 has been compiled with:

MS VC++ 2005, SP1

PI_UFL version 3.0.3.16 and 3.1.0.10 have been compiled with:

MS VC++ 2008, SP1 PI_UFL version 3.2.13.x has been compiled with:

MS VC++ 2010, SP1

PI Server PI_UFL version 3.0.0.32 has been tested against:

3.4 - Build 370.76

PI_UFL version 3.0.1.13 has been tested against:

3.4 - Build 375.38


3.4 - Build 375.80


3.4 - Build 375.80

PI_UFL version 3.1.0.10 and 3.2.13.x have been

tested against:

3.4 - Build 380.35 3.4 - Build 385.59

Tested Operating Systems and Other Components

162

Intel Platform Only

PI API PI_UFL version 3.0.0.32 has been tested with:

1.6.0.2

PI_UFL version 3.0.1.13 has been tested with:

1.6.1.10

PI_UFL version 3.0.2.5 and 3.0.3.16 and 3.2.13.x have

been tested with:

1.6.1.10


1.6.1.17 1.6.2.4

PI_UFL version 3.2.13.x has been tested with:

1.6.8.12

PI SDK PI_UFL version 3.0.0.32 has been tested with:

1.3.3.304


1.3.5.343


1.3.5.343


1.3.6.363


1.3.8.388

PI_UFL version 3.2.13.x has been tested with:

1.4.0.416


Appendix J. Terminology

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

document.

Buffering

Buffering 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 Buffering

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 to multiple PI

Servers however it does not guarantee identical archive records since point compressions

attibutes could be different between PI Servers. With this in mind, OSIsoft recommends that

you run PIBufss instead.)

ICU

ICU refers to the PI Interface Configuration Utility. The ICU is the primary application that

you use to configure 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 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 Control

An 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 Node

An interface node is a computer on which

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

PI Server programs are not installed.

PI API

The 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.

Terminology

164

PI Collective

A 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.

PIHOME

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

A typical PIHOME on a 32-bit operating system is C:\Program Files\PIPC.

A typical PIHOME on a 64-bit operating system is C:\Program Files (x86)\PIPC.

PI 32-bit interfaces reside in a subdirectory of the Interfaces directory under PIHOME.

For example, files for the 32-bit Modbus Ethernet Interface are in

[PIHOME]\PIPC\Interfaces\ModbusE.

This document uses [PIHOME] as an abbreviation for the complete PIHOME or PIHOME64

directory path. For example, ICU files in [PIHOME]\ICU.

PIHOME64

PIHOME64 is 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 Files\PIPC.

PI 64-bit 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 path. For example, ICU files in [PIHOME]\ICU.

PI Message Log

The PI message Log is the file to which OSIsoft interfaces based on UniInt 4.5.0.x and later

writes informational, debug and error message. When a PI interface runs, it writes to the

local PI message log. This message file can only be viewed using the PIGetMsg utility. See

the UniInt Interface Message Logging.docx file for more information on how to access these

messages.

PI SDK

The 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 Node

A PI Server Node is a computer on which PI Server programs are installed. The PI Server

runs on the PI Server Node.


PI SMT

PI 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.

Pipc.log

The pipc.log file is the file to which OSIsoft applications write informational and error

messages. When a PI interface runs, it writes to the pipc.log file. The ICU allows easy

access to the pipc.log.

Point

The 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.

Service

A 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.


Appendix K. 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 Options

San 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 1811

86 021 2327 8686

English, Mandarin

Mandarin

Perth, WA, Australia 61 8 9282 9220 English

http://techsupport.osisoft.com/

Technical Support and Resources

168

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.

OSIsoft Virtual Campus (vCampus)

The OSIsoft Virtual Campus (vCampus) Web site offers a community-oriented program that

focuses on PI System development and integration. The Web site's annual online

subscriptions provide customers with software downloads, resources that include a personal

development PI System, online library, technical webinars, online training, and community-

oriented features such as blogs and discussion forums.

http://techsupport.osisoft.com/

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170

OSIsoft vCampus is intended to facilitate and encourage communication around PI

programming and integration between OSIsoft partners, customers and employees. See the

OSIsoft vCampus Web site, http://vCampus.osisoft.com (http://vCampus.osisoft.com) or

contact the OSIsoft vCampus team at [email protected] for more information.

http://vcampus.osisoft.com/


Appendix L. Revision History

Date Author Comments

Dec-2006 MFreitag PI_UFL Version 3.0 Manual Draft.

Mar-2007 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.

18-Jun-2009 MKelly Version 3.0.3.16 Revision B; Updated ICU Control section and its screenshots.

Revision History

172

Date Author Comments

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.

21-Jan-2011 Sbranscomb Updated to Skeleton Version 3.0.31.

08-Apr-2011 MFreitag Version 3.1.2.x. Updated chapters referencing the new timestamp data type. Modified a few INI file examples. Rebuilt TOC.

12-Mar-2012 MKelly Version 3.2.11.x, Rev. A; Removed UniInt note about messages being written to the local PI Message Log.

19-Mar-2012 MFreitag Version 3.2.11.x, Rev. B; Used screenshot of the latest UFLDesigner, added description referenced in the informational PLIs and updated to Skeleton 3.0.34

02-Apr-2012 MKelly Version 3.2.11.x, Rev. C; Updated to Interface skeleton 3.0.35, replaced some ICU screenshots, and updated the supported features table. Saved as Final and 100% in size. Fixed headers and footers; rebuilt TOC.

03-Apr-2012 MFreitag Version 3.2.11.x, Rev. D. Added sections about logging into the local PI Message Log and NULL in variables; rebuilt TOC.

13-Apr-2012 MKelly Version 3.2.11.x Rev. E. Added more information in the Note in the Introduction section about where message are written pertaining to the PIPC.log and the PI Message Log.

06-Aug-2012 MFreitag Version 3.2.13.x Rev. F. explicitly stated when compression is used re the /am start-up param. Completed the list of chars, which are not supported in var. names; rebuilt TOC.

30-Aug-2012 TCarbaugh Removed “Revision F” from title page

21-Sep-2012 MFreitag Changed the document title; corrected the timestamps format table (Table 2), rebuilt TOC.

26-Sep-2012 TWilliams Completed interface naming format changes

pi interface for universal file and stream loading...

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