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.
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."
Canary Admin Tool configuration
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
Historian Tables and Storage Locations provide additional support for data management. The Historian Tables enable the organization of data storage, allowing for creating or modifying specific tables, like a "Valves table," for data organization. Storage Locations designate databases or systems for tag data storage, ensuring systematic data preservation. These functionalities support data management, facilitating data analysis and accessibility within historian systems.
In the context of the Canary Historian configuration flow, procedure the following verification steps to make sure that everything is ok:
- 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.
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