Documentation PI Nexus+ Documentation

PI Nexus+ / Administration Guide

PI Adapter Monitoring

This chapter turns on monitoring of AVEVA PI Adapters (for example OPC UA, DNP3, Modbus, MQTT and RDBMS) through the health data they publish to PI. Users work with the results as described in PI Adapters in the User Guide.

Overview

This chapter turns on monitoring of AVEVA PI Adapters (for example OPC UA, DNP3, Modbus, MQTT and RDBMS) through the health data they publish to PI. Users work with the results as described in PI Adapters in the User Guide.

PI Nexus+ does not connect to the adapters. It reads the health elements an adapter writes into an AF database through OMF, and the PI Points they reference; nothing is written. PI Adapter monitoring is included in every license edition.

Before you start

  • Each adapter sends its health and diagnostics to PI through OMF, so that its AF database holds a DataCollectorService element per adapter service. Installing an adapter without health publishing is not enough.
  • That AF database and its AF server are enabled under Admin > AF Servers (see AF Servers and Databases).
  • The accounts of the IIS application pool (test) and the Scanner service (discovery and health reads) can both read that AF database and the PI Points it references.

Enable monitoring

Admin > PI Adapters with one AF source, its discovery and health read results and the row buttons
  1. Open Admin > PI Adapters and choose Add AF source.
  2. Choose the AF database that receives the adapter health. Only enabled databases not yet selected are offered.
  3. Choose Test. It reports the adapters, components and diagnostic bindings it found, and saves nothing.
  4. Choose Save disabled.
  5. On the new row, choose the power button (Enable monitoring). PI Nexus+ queues an AF scan of the database for the first discovery.
  6. When that scan has completed, check that Discovery and Health reads show Complete and that PI Adapters lists the expected Collectors.

Disable monitoring stops the reads; the Collectors stay listed with their last evidence.

What to expect

  • Every AF inventory scan of the database, automatic or manual, finds new and removed adapters.
  • Runtime is read between scans on the Interface and adapter runtime poll interval under Scan Automation.
  • Data Health coverage is always partial (see PI Adapters in the User Guide).
  • An unrecognized adapter structure shows Not Evaluated, not an error.

Statuses, service issues, thresholds and the adapters monitoring was verified with are in PI Adapter Monitoring Statuses.

Troubleshooting

SymptomCauseFix
The AF database is not offeredIt or its AF server is disabled, or it is already a sourceEnable it under Admin > AF Servers
Test finds no adapters, or PI Adapters stays emptyHealth is published into another AF database, or no AF scan has run since monitoring was enabledFind the database with DataCollectorService elements in PI System Explorer and select it; check the discovery run on the Scanning page
Test AF source reports unresolved bindings or unreadable diagnosticsThe account cannot read the referenced PI PointsGrant read access to both accounts; the test proves only the web application's account
"Monitoring enabled; discovery pending"Another scan holds the queueNone; discovery runs with the next AF scan of the database
Collectors show Unknown / Monitoring stalledNo health read has succeeded for three poll intervalsCheck that the Scanner service runs and read its log

Reference: PI Adapter Monitoring Statuses