PI OLEDB Provider Overview
The PI System is in itself not a relational database. But just as with PI ODBC, the PI OLEDB Provider gives a relational view of the PI Archive, the PI Point Database and other Configuration Data.
The PI OLEDB data provider, together with the PI Server's underlying PI SQL subsystem, implements SQL language to allow relational queries to the PI System.
The PI OLEDB data provider offers the following important advantages over PI ODBC:
- Native Support for ADO
- Support for additional features, like scrollable cursors
- Ability to view PI as a Linked Server in Microsoft SQL Server
The PI OLEDB Provider is part of the Data Access (DA) add-on license, which also includes the PI OPC HDA Server, and PI ODBC. It is not available separately.