The Canary Historian integration refers to the built-in historian, designed for collecting, storing, and analyzing time-series data from industrial operations. It addresses the need for reliable data historicization, providing a solution for capturing and preserving volumes of operational data. The historian facilitates real-time data acquisition through direct integration with over 70 protocol devices, allowing for data aggregation and historicization. Its functionality enables users to model data with asset tools, visualize trends, and develop custom applications through scripting, enhancing data usability and accessibility.
On this page:
Overview
Canary Historian is a time series database built for industrial automation. A high-performance historian designed for large-scale applications that handle large volumes of data writing.
Why use Canary Historian?
You should use Canary as your historian if you need to handle large-scale time series data. It provides scalability and enables efficient management of high-volume write operations. Its design supports extensive dataset analysis within time contexts for effective trend identification, avoiding the constraints of relational schemas. Canary's architecture balances speed, accuracy, and volume, making it an ideal choice for specialized time series data management needs.
When to use Canary Historian?
Canary Historian is strongly recommended in scenarios requiring scalable and efficient time series data management across site or enterprise applications. It is suitable for managing large data volumes when relational databases' limitations challenge data aggregation and trend analysis. Canary Historian meets the speed, accuracy, volume management, and data schema flexibility needs.
How to use Canary Historian?
To use the Canary Historian, follow the configuration procedures described below.
Initial Configuration
To start using Canary Historian, you must first install the software platform on a computer. Then, you must license Canary, configure it on the platform, and enable it for use in your solution.
Requirements
The software platform should be installed and, where necessary, licensed.
Licensing Canary Historian
- Go to Solution Manager and navigate to 'Your License / License Information / Canary Historian'.
- Request a license by clicking 'Request License'. Fill in the 'Name', 'Company', and 'Email' fields to generate the Serial Number, then click 'Request'.
- Open the Canary Admin Tool, proceed to 'Home / Licenses', and select 'Local / Add license through the internet'. Enter the required details ('Name', 'Company', 'Serial Number', 'Email', 'Quantity') and check the 'Canary Historian' option. Click 'GET LICENSE'.
- Upon receiving the License Key, confirm by clicking 'OK'. To verify the license, navigate to 'Solution Manager / Your License' and refresh the information by clicking the 'Refresh' button. The message should change to "Canary Historian is licensed."
Configuring EndPoints and Access
Set up the Sender's EndPoints and access the Receiver's EndPoints in the Canary Admin Tool.
- Enable
- Enable
Creating Solution and Enabling Canary Historian
- In Solution Manager, create a solution (file .dbsln) and open it in the Solution Designer.
- Access 'Solution / Settings / Target Platform and License', enable Canary Historian, and select the desired tag range (500, 1500, 5000, 15000, or Unlimited).
Done! The initial configuration is finished!
Data Source Connection
After define what data to store, like key tags for your process, data frequency, type (e.g., temperature, pressure, state), expected data volume, and organization. The following step is connecting to the data source for extraction. At this point, the configuration procedure differs according to the source and selected connection method. Check out:
Configuration options
The software platform enables two main options to use a Canary Historian to connect to any data source and collect data from this source to store them: by using the External TagProviders, which allows external data sources in remote systems direct usage without needing to define the tags internally in the solution. Or by using a Device where you need to define tags internally.
External TagProvider is strongly recommended for large, complex, and dynamic solutions — especially those in environments prone to frequent changes requiring continuous optimization.
Devices are excellent for solutions with well-defined requirements that are unlikely to change. It is ideal for developing prototypes, PoCs, simulations, and static or low-complexity environments, especially when detailed control is crucial.
Configuring by External TagProvider
- In Solution Designer, navigate to 'Unified Namespace / External TagProvider'.
- Use the '+' button on the Data Grid action bar to open the configuration window for a new External TagProvider.
- Please refer to the External TagProviders documentation for detailed information.
Configuring by Devices
- Choose 'Devices / Channels' and select a protocol (Canary) to create a Channel.
- Under 'Devices / Nodes', create a Node linked to the Channel.
- Map the tags under 'Devices / Points'.
- Please refer to the Devices documentation for detailed information.
Final Configuration
After establishing the connection to the data source from which data will be collected, such as sensors, PLCs, calculated values, remote systems layers, data hubs, or devices. You must identify which tags represent data you want to track over time. After that, the final configuration is quite simple: you only need to link the tags to historian tables. This process determines which collected data to store, ensuring the retention of only relevant information for analysis and use.
Historian settings
The tag assignment to the historian tables defines explicitly which collected data will be historized and set implicitly how and where data will be stored. Because the archiving behavior is based on the Historian Tables definition, and the tables are associated with Storage Locations, specifying where and how data is physically stored.
Historizing collected data
- Go to the Historian and select "Tags Historian".
- Add Tags to the Historian by typing the Tag name and selecting the appropriate Historian table.
Additional settings
After enable the Historian option for those tags, you can configure Historian Tables and Storage Locations as needed.
Historian Tables are associated with a Storage Location, specifying where and how data is physically stored, including selecting storage systems and configuring access credentials.
- Observe the SQLite database and Tag Providers. Default Historian, labeled as "Historian Canary", should be visible.
- Proceed to "Providers" and ensure the primary station configuration aligns with your computer specifications.
- Perform a "Test Connection". A success message indicates proper configuration.
- Opt for "Tag Provider Canary" and create a new table, for example, "valve table". Save changes.
- Ensure that the Tag (e.g., "valve one") utilizes the newly created table. Confirm inputs by pressing enter.
- Repeat the process for additional Tags as needed, ensuring all are directed to the Canary Historian.
- Utilize root level Tagging to efficiently historize grouped data (e.g., valve pressures and temperatures) without individual entries.
Canary Historian: optional settings
Questions
when you're working this string can i save text tag in historian
yes but you need to configure a different schema for that i'm going to show you
in the historian we have this table let's have some configuration like how to create or is the how gonna save the the data in the historian okay and we have here some option that you can change your scheme or not this is this save quality that you added the quality in your schema all the normalized answer your question if you change your schema for the normal lights yes you can save text tag on that okay but if you're using the default schema you cannot only numerical tags
In this section:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Tag ID | Unique identifier for the historian tag. |
| Version ID | Version number of the historian tag configuration. |
| Tag Name | Descriptive name of the data point being tracked by the historian tag. |
| Deadband | A range around a specific value where changes in the tag's value won't be stored. This helps reduce storage requirements for insignificant fluctuations. |
| Deviation | The difference between the current value of the tag and a setpoint or baseline value. |
| Rate of Change | The speed at which the tag's value is changing over time. |
| Deviation Deadband Limit | The maximum deviation allowed before the tag's value is stored, even if it falls within the deadband range. |
| Deviation Deadband Type | How the deadband is applied (e.g., absolute value, percentage). |
| Historian Table | The historian table where the tag's data will be stored. Historian tables define storage settings like sampling frequency and retention policies. |
| Lock State | Indicates if the historian tag configuration is locked and editable or unlocked for modifications. |
| Lock Owner | (if applicable) The user or system account that currently holds the lock on the historian tag configuration. |
| Date Created | The date and time when the historian tag configuration was first created. |
| Date Modified | The date and time when the historian tag configuration was last modified. |
Built-in Integrated Canary Historian
Includes embedded and integrated Canary Historian, available with version 9.2 and newer
- Includes free, 500 Canary Historian Tags with any license – Edge to Unlimited.
- Add Tags to the 500 points (from 1500 to Unlimited!)
- Unlimited Tag Option w/Framework Unlimited
- Native Integration to Canary Historian and the Canary System via Tag Provider
Find detailed docs at Tag Provider.
Canary and our company share a common tag definition and asset modeling
In addition to the embedded Canary Historian, we also have a new built-in integration with the Canary System that is easy to use, high speed and extremely secure, as it leverages Canary’s .NET API to connect at the core level, allowing you to publish and consume data and use Canary’s tags and models as well.
There is no need for extra configuration or even to create tags within our framework platform — simply define the server and browse the assets you need!
The station parameters are:
- ServerName: The name or IP address of the machine running the CanaryLabs Historian. (If the service is not running in the default port, the syntax should be: ComputerName:PortNumber or IpAddress:PortNumber)
- ClientID: Indicates the client identification that is used to make calls in the Canary service
- ConnectionType: Specifies the ConnectionType with the service
The options are:
- Anonymous: Connection using no credentials
- UserName: Connection using a username/password that is defined in CanaryAdmin
- Windows: Connection using Windows credentials
- UserName: The user name used for verification (Valid for the Username and Windows connection types)
- Password: The password used for verification (Valid for the Username and Windows connection types)
- Views: A list of views found in the specified ServerName. If the view is virtual, the Node will be Read-Only
- Dataset: The name of the dataset you will connect to. (Not available when the selected view is Virtual)
To setup canary to operate in your FrameworX solution, activate the number of tags for Canary on Solution → Settings menu.
To configure the CanaryLabs protocol as a ExternalTag, navigate to Unified Namespaces > ExternalTags Sources and create a new connection for the CanaryLabs Communication Driver.
Configure the items under the PrimaryStation column the same way that was described in the Node Configuration. To see more details about setup a Canary ExternalTag please see the CanaryLabs TagProvider page.