The Data Logger in Hyper Historian

The primary element for the grouping of tags is the Logger. For each Logger that is created, the Hyper Historian creates a series of similarly named binary files to hold the Plant Historical data. The file creation and automatic archiving functions are based on the Logger. You may create multiple Loggers.

Tag Organization

Before you begin, you should analyze what data you want to collect and how long you want the data to be kept online in the Hyper Historian. Data that is kept online for longer periods of time should be grouped together in one Logger. Data that is to be kept online for shorter periods of time should be grouped in a second Logger, and so on. For example, if you desire to have some data kept online for a year, some data for three months, and some for one month, you should create at least three Loggers, one for each of the desired time ranges.

 

As illustrated below, a Logger is made up of one or more Logging Groups. Each Logging Group may contain one or more Collector Groups; collector groups are made up of Tags, whose data is to be logged, or Tag Folders that contain Tags (also called Hyper Historian tags) and Calculated Tags (described in the Calculated Tags topic). Each Logging Group also contains a folder called Aggregate, which Hyper Historian adds automatically to each logging group that you create; you can add any number of Aggregate Groups to this folder. Each Hyper Historian tag can reference the Logging Group's aggregates. (Aggregates are described in the Aggregate Groups topic.) Note that you can enable or disable Logging Groups using their respective configuration dialogs in the Workbench.

 

Organizing Your Tags in Hyper Historian

Configuring a Hyper Historian Logger

A Hyper Historian logger can be defined to be either File Based or Memory Persistent. If the logger is File Based, all of its collected plant data is committed to the hard disk. If the logger is Memory Persistent, the collected plant data is stored in RAM memory and discarded after a pre-configured amount of time. The Memory Persistent Logger can be configured to store a portion of its collected data to the hard disk upon a condition (occurring in real time). An example of each type of Logger is included in the default Hyper Historian configuration (under the Loggers & Groups tree node in the navigation tree).

 

Note: If you chose to include examples when you created your configuration database, several sample Logging Groups appear in the logging group. If you see a Logging Group in the list that suits your needs, you can simply drill into the Collector Group (make sure the settings work for you) and add your tags. Otherwise, add your own persistent Logger as described below.

Note: You can import collector node configuration information from an Excel spreadsheet, an XML file, or a CSV file. For more information, refer to the Importing and Exporting Hyper Historian Configurations topic. Once imported, you can edit imported information as needed.

 

Hyper Historian loggers can be either File Based or Memory Persistent. One of each type is already listed under the Loggers & Groups tree node upon installation and first use.

 

To Add a New Logger:

  1. In the Workbench, open the Hyper Historian provider.

  2. In the navigation tree, expand several levels of tree nodes: localhost > HyperHistorian [the configuration database] > Loggers & Groups.

  3. Right-click the Loggers & Groups tree node and select the Add Logger option. You can also click the Loggers & Groups tree node, then select the Add Logger button in the Edit group on the Home ribbon. The Hyper Historian Logger configuration dialog appears, as shown below:


    Hyper Historian Logger Configuration Form
  1. Enter a Name in the provided text box, then select the Logger Type from the drop-down list. (Each type is described below in Disk File Logger and Memory Persistent Logger.) Each Logger creates a data file on the hard drive to store the collected plant data. The data file is created for Memory Persistent Loggers as well as for File Based loggers because Memory Persistent logged data can be stored on disk when a specified condition occurs.

  2. Complete the sections in the dialog (keeping in mind that Disk File Logger configurations span two tabs). Refer to the discussions below for Disk File Logger and Memory Persistent Logger for more information.

Note that you can configure automatic archiving by setting the Minimum Time Extent and/or Maximum Total Size parameters for File Based (Disk) loggers (on the Archiving Information tab of the dialog) or by setting the Max File Time Extent duration (in days and/or hours) of the file event/trigger and the Max File Size parameters for Memory Persistent loggers. All of these settings appear on the Archiving Information tab of the dialog.

To specify the conditions that the Hyper Historian Logger should use, close the Logging file and start a new one. The conditions can be based on a time period, file size, or a triggered event.

Disk File Logger

If you choose to create a Disk File Logger, you will need to specify the conditions for when the Hyper Historian should create a new data file and close the current, existing file. This is used to control the amount of plant data or the time frame for the plant data that should be logged to each file. The conditions can be based on a time period, a file size, or a Unified Data Manager triggered event.

 

To Create an Optional File-based Logger:

  1. Specify the Name of the logger and select "Disk Logger" for the Logger Type.

  2. Select a Storage Mode, either Universal Mode or Non-Redundant Mode. It is recommended that you use Universal Mode since data log files created in this mode contain values from a predictable and predefined range of time.

  3. Define the Data Store Directory, or the location where the files will be stored. You can enter a folder location into the provided textbox or select the ellipsis  button [...] to open the File Browser, where you can choose a folder location.

  4. If you choose to log data using the Universal storage mode:

    1. Select the Time Zone (either the local server time or UTC) that the logger should use to determine when to create a new data log file.

    2. In Recurrence type, select whether to create a new data log file One time only, after a constant time interval has elapsed, or at Specific dates and times.

    3. If you select One time only as the recurrence type for the logger, enter the Trigger at time and date when you would like Hyper Historian to create a new data log file. Note that this is the only time a new file will be created for this logger configuration.

    4. If you select time interval or specific dates and times instead, in Starting at, select a date and time during which the logger should create the first data log file. Use the provided calendar to select a date and time. Note that time is entered in the format hh:mm:ss tt, where hh = an hour between 1 and 12, mm = minutes, ss = seconds, and tt is either AM or PM. The default date and time is today at the time that you opened the configuration dialog.

    1. If you select time interval as the recurrence type for the logger, enter the amount of time that should elapse before the logger creates a new data log file. Enter an amount of time in the textbox using the format dd.HH:mm:ss, where dd = days, HH = an hour between 0 and 23, mm = minutes, and ss = seconds. You can also click a time element (such as hours) in the textbox and use the arrow buttons to make small adjustments to that element. The default value is 1 day.

    2. If you select specific dates and times as the recurrence type for the logger, enter the amount of time that should elapse before the logger creates a new data log file. Enter a value in the textbox and select a unit of time in the pulldown menu (either second(s), minute(s), hour(s), day(s), week(s), month(s), or year(s)). The default value is 1 second.

    3. If you select specific dates and times as the recurrence type for the logger, you can fine-tune the amount of time that should elapse before the logger creates a new data log file in Recurrence details. For example, if you selected 1 month in "Recur every" and The first, third Monday in "Recurrence details," the logger would create a new data file almost every other Monday (except for Mondays on the 29th, 30th, or 31st day of each month).

    4. Once you have configured your recurrence settings, you can select the Preview button to open the recurrence preview pop-up dialog. This dialog shows the times at which the logger creates a new data log file according to the configuration options you have selected.

  1. If you have chosen to log data using the Non-Redundant storage mode, in the Storage section, you can define the Max Time Extent that should pass before the logger creates a new data log file, the Max Size that the current log file can become before the logger creates a new file, or a Create File Event, which is a trigger from the Unified Data Manager that determines when the logger should create a new file. If you set more than one of these options, a new file is created when any of the specified conditions are met.

  2. Click the Archiving Information tab to open this second tab of options for File Based loggers, as shown below:

    "Archiving Information" Tab in the Hyper Historian Logger Dialog (File Based Loggers only)

  3. In the Storage Limit -- Condition group, select a Condition you select in the drop-down list, you can specify a Min Time Extent that should pass before the logger archives a data log file and/or the Max Total Size that the data log file can become before the logger archives it.

    Note: For loggers using non-redundant mode, you can combine the maximum size of a file with the maximum total size of all files to set the number of files that will appear in the folder where you have chosen to store the files. For example, if you set Max Size to 100 MB and Max Total Size to 1 GB, Hyper Historian creates 10 files, each 100 MB in size.

  4. In the Storage Limit -- Check Condition group, you can enable the Every radio button to define a number of minutes and seconds that should pass before the system checks the storage conditions to determine whether to take action on a sufficiently large or old file. You can also enable the On Event radio button and select a trigger from the Calculation Trigger browser pop-up dialog to check the storage limits on a certain condition.
  5. In Take Action, select Archive Older Files if you want to archive all files, or select Delete Older Files so that all files older or bigger then the configured limits will be deleted. If you choose archiving, you must also specify a Data Archive Directory. See the next section, below, for more details.
  6. When you are satisfied with the settings you have configured on this dialog, click the Apply button to save your changes, click the Apply & Close button to save your changes and close the dialog, or click the Apply & New... button to save your changes and create a new logger.

    You can also discard the changes you have made on this dialog since you last saved by clicking the Refresh button or retrieve the most up-to-date settings stored in the Hyper Historian database by clicking the Reset button.

    If you wish to create a new logger without saving or discarding the changes to this logger, click the Add New... button.

Archiving Disk Logger Files

Once a data file is closed, it can remain on the system and be a data source for the runtime trend display and for SQL queries. Eventually, the collected data will have to be detached from the system and moved to external storage to make room for new incoming plant data. The process of detaching the older data and moving it is called archiving.

 

Automatic archiving can be based on the age of the data, the size of the data files, or on a Unified Data Manager event. The Unified Data Manager can be used to schedule the archiving of files based on a calendar event (date and time of day). In addition, the Unified Data Manager can be used to trigger file closure based on an external event. To use a Unified Data Manager trigger to schedule or trigger the file archive, browse for the trigger using the ellipsis button [...] on the right side or type in the specific trigger name.

 

The Max Files Total Size can also be used to trigger an archive. When the total size of the online (un-archived) data files reach the maximum, archiving will be triggered. The Min Storage Time is used to specify the minimum amount of time that should pass before the data is archived. Once you have set your desired File Based Logger parameters, you need to click the Apply button to enforce your settings.

Memory Persistent Logger

Hyper Historian is a high performance data logger that captures information for your plant floor. However, you may need to collect data only when a certain events occur, or you just need data to be accessible for long enough of a period so that when you go in and out of runtime in the Trend Viewer, you can still see data for the past minute. The Memory Persistent Logger offers this ability. The Memory Persistent Logger gives your operators the information they need as they switch between the Workbench and also logs information when a certain event occurs.

 

Note: To enable archiving for all memory persistent loggers, refer to the Enable Archiving for all Memory Persistent Loggers topic.

If you choose to create a Memory Persistent Based Logger, you will need to specify:

To set up a memory-persistent logger, use the following parameters on the Memory Persistent Logger Configuration Form:

 

Hyper Historian Logger Memory Persistent Logger

In addition to specifying the Unified Data Manager Conditional trigger, you must set the Pre-Condition Period and Post-Condition Period (in the format dd.HH:mm:ss, where dd = days, HH = an hour between 0 and 23, mm = minutes, and ss = seconds). These settings specify the amount of time before and after a condition occurs, respectively, and together form a time interval. All data from the logger during this time interval is saved to disk when the conditional trigger occurs.

Once a data file is closed, it can remain on the system and be a data source for the runtime trend display and for SQL queries. Eventually, the collected data may have to be detached from the system and moved to external storage - to make room for new incoming plant data. The process of detaching the older data and moving it is called archiving.

 

Automatic Archiving can be based on a Unified Data Manger event, the age of the data, or the size of the data files. The Unified Data Manager can be used to schedule the archiving of files based on a calendar event (date and time of day). In addition, the Unified Data Manager can be used to trigger file closure based on an external event.

 

To use a Unified Data Manager trigger to schedule a trigger that saves the file archive:

    1. Enable the Use Event Based Archiving check box.

    2. Browse for the trigger by clicking the ellipsis button [...] on the right side of the Archiving Event text area and choosing a trigger in the Condition Trigger Browser pop-up dialog, or type in the specific trigger name and enter that trigger into the Archiving Event text area.

    3. You can use the Min Storage Time to specify the minimum amount of time that should pass before an archiving event occurs.

    4. You can use the Max Files Total Size to trigger an archive. When the total size of the online (un-archived) data files reaches the specified maximum, archiving will occur.

    5. When you are satisfied with the settings you have configured on this dialog, click the Apply button to save your changes, click the Apply & Close button to save your changes and close the dialog, or click the Apply & New... button to save your changes and create a new logger.

      You can also discard the changes you have made on this dialog since you last saved by clicking the Refresh button or retrieve the most up-to-date settings stored in the Hyper Historian database by clicking the Reset button.

      If you wish to create a new logger without saving or discarding the changes to this logger, click the Add New... button.

Deleting a Hyper Historian Logger

Before deleting a Hyper Historian Logger, you should first verify that there are no Logger Groups using the Logger that is to be deleted. If any Logger Groups are assigned to the Logger, they need to be deleted or assigned to another Logger first.

 

Warning: Once you delete a Logger, the data that was previously logged as part of the group will no longer be available for playback to the trend display nor available in the SQL Query Interface.

 

To Delete a Logger:

  1. Right-click the desired item, then select the Delete command from the context menu. You can also select the Delete button in the Edit group on the Home ribbon.

  2. Confirm the deletion in the dialog box that appears.

See Also:

Logging Groups

Collector Groups and Hyper Historian Tags