PI Event Frames Generator Overview

PI Event Frames Generator (PIEFGen) generates events (event frames) in the PI AF database based on values from trigger points in the PI Server. Using event frame templates in PI AF, PIEFGen populates event frame attributes from point data, handles complex hierarchical events like batches, and migrates existing PI Batch Generator (PIBaGen) configurations to event frames so you can continue using your current batch structure.

Notable features of PIEFGen include the following:

• Generate events: Easily configure event frame generation and automatically generate your events from the trigger points that are already collecting data in the PI Server.
• Handle multiple event types: Generate all your different event types, such as downtime, excursions, batches, and other events, on the same asset with no restrictions on overlapping events.
• Standardize using event frame templates and populate event attributes: Different event types have different attributes and information that are important for analysis. Standardize your events using event frame templates, and use PIEFGen to automatically populate event's attributes with data from PI points.
• Generate complex event hierarchies like batches: Create and relate complex events such as batch processes, which have levels of events like procedures, unit procedures, operations, and phases, while maintaining the parent/child relationships.
• Recover history and backfill events: If PIEFGen loses its connection to the PI Server, your events are recovered upon reconnection, using built in history recovery. You never lose events when you have the underlying PI System data. Unlike PIBaGen, you can recover events without manually deleting records before recovery. PIEFGen enables you to define your history recovery time window, then it recovers the events from previous time periods automatically.
• High availability and failover: If you have a primary and secondary PI Server (HA PI Server Collective), PIEFGen can be configured to retrieve the trigger point information from the secondary PI Server automatically upon failure. To ensure continuous creation of events, you can run multiple instances of PIEFGen using interface-level failover. Finally, if you have a high-availability PI AF server, your events are stored redundantly, so the data is always available.
• Flexible deployment: Unlike the legacy PI Batch Generator (PIBaGen), PIEFGen can be run anywhere in your PI System architecture. OSIsoft recommends that install it on your PI AF Server or on a PI interface node.
• Easy migration from PI Batch Generator: Using the PIBaGen Converter tool, existing PI Batch Generator (PIBaGen) configurations that write to PI Batch can easily be migrated to PIEFGen to create the same events using event frames. After migrating, you can enhance your configuration to take advantage of features like event frame templates and attributes.
• Configuration tool: The new PI Event Frames Interface Manager enables you to configure all event frame interfaces using a graphical user interface, rather than manually editing text files.

PI Event Frames Generator does not have the following capabilities at this time:

• Using PI AF element attributes as event triggers or event attribute values: Events are triggered using PI points.
• Configure using PI AF element templates: You cannot use PI AF element templates during configuration. If the same event (such as downtime) needs to be created on the same type of asset (such as boilers), you must configure a trigger for each boiler. However, configurations can be easily copied, pasted, and edited to aid in configuring large numbers of assets.