Data Capture

Aventa utilises OSISoft's PI solution to capture mission-critical data from external data sources, consolidating it in a central store. This data repository then forms the base for the Business Logic and Visualisation layers. OSISoft provide a huge library of interfaces for capturing data from disparate sources. Of these interfaces, the PI-to-PI and OPC interfaces have become the most popular for general purpose data transfer.

When a PI system is deployed to a remote location, one or more PI-Interface nodes would normally be deployed on-site, connected back to the main PI server(s) at the base data centre. By deploying the systems running the data collection interfaces as close to the data source as possible, the effect of communication outages that cannot be addressed by the PI system is mitigated. The PI-Interface nodes and main PI server are then connected via a PI-to-PI link. Data is buffered on the interface nodes such that if the link to the main PI server fails, the data that would have been lost during that period is automatically recovered, minimising the effect of such faults.

This method of centralisation ensures that the data remains highly-available and secure while reducing maintenance overhead. It also simplifies system expansion allowing the system to evolve and adapt over time to the clients requirements.