Overview of AVEVA Historian
AVEVA Historian is a long-standing industrial time-series database designed to capture, compress, and store real-time plant data while responding efficiently to SQL queries. Originally launched under the Wonderware brand, it has evolved into a robust platform commonly used across manufacturing, energy, water, and infrastructure operations.
The historian’s connector suite enables direct polling from a wide range of industrial systems. Data is stored in highly compressed History Blocks, which can be retrieved using Transact-SQL queries, REST calls, or SDK interfaces, giving users multiple options for integrations and data consumption. For readers interested in a deeper dive into AVEVA Historian’s architecture and core features, MetaFactor’s article provides a more detailed overview.
Transferring AVEVA Historian Data into the PI System
Many organizations rely on both AVEVA Historian and the PI System across plants, business units, or operational layers. While each historian excels in different roles, unifying their data streams is often essential for consistent reporting, analytics, and visualization, especially when PI is used as the enterprise source of truth. To support these requirements, several well-established and fully supported integration pathways exist.
In on-premises environments, teams typically choose from three proven data transfer methods:
- AVEVA Historian Replication combined with PI Web API,
- PI Connector for Wonderware Historian, or
- the RDBMSPI Interface using the AVEVA OLE DB provider.
For operations with remote assets or intermittent connectivity, a fourth cloud-assisted option using AVEVA Connect and the Connect-to-PI Agent can also be used. The next sections provide a concise overview of each method and the scenarios where they are most effective.
AVEVA Historian Replication + PI Web API
AVEVA Historian includes a native replication engine that can forward selected historical data to another historian server for consolidation or redundancy. This built-in capability is often used in multi-site environments and can also serve as a reliable source for PI ingestion.
AVEVA Historian can send data to PI using its built-in AVEVA Replication engine, which treats the PI System as a next-tier target in the overall historian architecture. In this design, AVEVA Historian handles the selection and forwarding of tags and history, which is received by PI Web API for routing to the PI Data Archive.
This approach is ideal when replication is already part of the existing architecture or when teams prefer an AVEVA-native method that requires minimal additional infrastructure. It offers predictable data flows, strong governance, and alignment with modern integration patterns. Configuration remains straightforward, and the solution fits well into environments that want to move curated datasets into PI with repeatable, supportable workflows.
PI Connector for Wonderware Historian
The PI Connector for Wonderware Historian retrieves historical Galaxy, Area, Object, and Attribute data from the Wonderware Historian database and replicates it into PI Asset Framework, where it is organized for analysis. Using the Wonderware Historian SDK and SQL command data reader, the connector automatically discovers the historian hierarchy, applies filtering rules, and creates the corresponding AF assets and PI points,. After the hierarchy is mapped, the connector periodically scans the historian for new values or structural changes and writes the sampled data into the appropriate PI points, keeping PI synchronized with Wonderware tags as they evolve.
RDBMSPI Interface Using the AVEVA OLE DB Provider
The RDBMSPI Interface provides a flexible, SQL-based method for transferring data from AVEVA Historian into the PI System. Using the AVEVA Historian OLE DB provider, the interface queries historical or snapshot data directly from SQL-accessible views and returns the results to PI tags. This approach is highly customizable, allowing teams to filter, reshape, or control the exact data sets they want to extract. It is especially useful for specialized use cases such as backfilling, targeted data pulls or integrating complex queries that cannot be achieved through replication or connectors.
The RDBMSPI Interface executes standard SQL queries, giving operations teams granular control over timestamps, time windows, aggregations, and per-tag retrieval logic. This flexibility makes it a strong option for environments with varied data structures or situations where only a specific subset of historian data needs to be transferred into PI. Although it requires thoughtful query design and familiarity with the AVEVA Historian SQL schema, the RDBMSPI Interface remains one of the most powerful and adaptable methods for moving AVEVA Historian data into the PI System.
Cloud-Assisted Transfers Using AVEVA Connect
For operations with remote facilities, intermittent connectivity, or assets that sit outside corporate networks, AVEVA Historian can replicate data to AVEVA Connect, AVEVA’s cloud-based industrial platform. Using its native replication engine, the historian forwards selected data sets to Connect, where they are securely stored and made available for downstream integrations.
The CONNECT to PI Agent transfers data from CONNECT data services (SDS – sequential data storage) to an on-premises PI Data Archive by reading SDS stream data via REST calls and writing it to PI Points through the OSIsoft Message Format (OMF) endpoint on PI Web API. The agent also sends health and diagnostics information back to CONNECT, and while it does not need to be on the same network as the PI Server, it must have access to PI Web API and the internet. Each agent instance is tied to a single Data Archive and can only run one instance per host, with transfers operating on a per-namespace basis.
AVEVA Historian can replicate data to AVEVA CONNECT as a next-tier server, and the configuration is handled directly through the Operations Control Management Console.
Once the data is in Connect, the CONNECT to PI Agent can read those cloud-based streams and write them into an on-premises PI Data Archive using the PI Web API’s OMF endpoint. Together, these two components enable a cloud-assisted path where Historian pushes data up to Connect, and Connect transfers that data down to PI, creating a reliable workflow for remote sites or environments that rely on cloud transport between systems.
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MetaFactor has hands-on experience with all of these integration methods and can help you assess which approach best fits your architecture, data requirements, and operational needs. If you’re planning to integrate AVEVA Historian with the PI System—or evaluating the options—our team can guide you through selection, configuration, and implementation.