Architecting and Commissioning Central Process Historian Servers in PCS 7

To deploy a central long-term archiving system in SIMATIC PCS 7, commission a dedicated SIMATIC Process Historian (PH) server and configure the 'Process Historian Ready' component on all OS Servers. In SIMATIC Manager, insert a Process Historian PC Station on the Terminal Bus, configure the PH database parameters, and commission the Process Historian Management Console. The OS Servers continuously cache local Tag Logging and Alarm Logging segments, automatically streaming historical process data to the central Process Historian over the Terminal Bus without impacting AS runtime communication.

Executive Summary

As industrial facilities expand, local OS Server Tag Logging databases reach disk retention limits, risking the loss of multi-year regulatory records, batch audit logs, and environmental monitoring data. The SIMATIC Process Historian (PH) serves as the centralized, high-performance long-term relational archive server for PCS 7 and WinCC. Understanding how Process Historian integrates with OS Servers, database replication mechanisms, and hardware sizing is vital for plant engineers. This article provides the reference architecture and commissioning procedure for SIMATIC Process Historian.

Architecture and Fundamental Mechanics

Process Historian Central Archiving Architecture and Data Streaming:

System Topology and Roles:
OS Servers: Execute short-term circular logging (e.g., 7 to 30 days) in local Microsoft SQL Server databases.
Process Historian (PH): Operates on a dedicated high-performance server (or redundant pair) running Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise, storing decades of plant-wide data.
Information Server (IS): Web-based reporting engine (often co-located on PH) that queries PH data to generate PDF/Excel reports.
Data Streaming Mechanics ('PH Ready'):
Each OS Server runs the CCDataDeliveryService (Data Delivery Service).
As soon as an OS Server closes an archive segment or generates an alarm record, the service streams the data over the Terminal Bus to the PH server.
Store-and-Forward Buffering: If the PH server is offline or the network is interrupted, the OS Server caches data locally on disk; upon link restoration, all buffered data transmits automatically without data loss.
Network Separation:
The Process Historian connects exclusively to the Terminal Bus (and corporate/office LAN for reports); it never connects to the Plant Bus.

Step-by-Step Implementation Procedure

Commissioning Procedure for SIMATIC Process Historian in PCS 7:

Hardware and OS Preparation:
- Install Windows Server 2016/2019 Standard on certified server hardware.
- Configure RAID storage (e.g., RAID 1 for OS, RAID 10 for SQL Database, RAID 5 for Backups).
- Install the SIMATIC Process Historian software package from the installation media.
Configure Process Historian Database via PH Management Console:
- Launch the Process Historian Management Console.
- Initialize the Microsoft SQL Server instance and configure archive disk storage paths.
- Set the PH operating state to Active.
Configure OS Servers for PH Communication:
- On each OS Server, verify the 'Process Historian Ready' component is installed.
- In Simatic Shell, verify that the Process Historian node is visible on the Terminal Bus.
- Open the Process Historian Maintenance Tool on the OS Server; verify connection status displays 'Connected' and 'Synchronized'.
Configure Central Archive Settings in WinCC:
- In WinCC Explorer on the OS Server, open Tag Logging and Alarm Logging.
- Verify that 'Backup to Process Historian' or long-term archiving flags are enabled.
Verify Multi-Project Integration in SIMATIC Manager:
- In SIMATIC Manager, insert a SIMATIC PC Station -> add Process Historian application.
- Compile and download network connections in NetPro.

Verification

To verify Process Historian operation:
1. On the Process Historian server, open the PH Management Console; verify that all OS Servers appear in the 'Connected Nodes' list with green status icons.
2. In the PH Dashboard, monitor the 'Incoming Data Rate' and 'Committed Records' counters; verify continuous packet increments.
3. On an OS Client, open the WinCC OnlineTrendControl; request historical trend data from 6 months ago; confirm the curve renders smoothly by querying the Process Historian.

Limitations and Operational Precautions

Operational precautions:
- Never disconnect the Process Historian from the Terminal Bus for longer than the local OS Server circular buffer retention period, otherwise uncommitted historical data will be purged.
- Dedicated hardware is strongly recommended; do not install Engineering Station software, WinCC clients, or third-party applications on the primary PH server.
- Process Historian requires specific licensing: 'Process Historian Basic Package' plus archive tag volume licenses (e.g., 1000, 5000, or unlimited tags) managed in ALM.

Engineer FAQ

What is the primary function of SIMATIC Process Historian?

To provide a centralized, scalable, multi-year relational archive repository for plant-wide process tags, alarms, and batch records.

Does Process Historian connect to the Plant Bus?

No. Process Historian communicates exclusively over the Terminal Bus with OS Servers.

What happens if the Process Historian server shuts down for maintenance?

The OS Servers store all incoming process data locally in disk cache ('Store-and-Forward') and transmit it automatically when the PH returns online.

Can Process Historian be configured as a redundant server pair?

Yes. Process Historian supports redundant server pairs with automatic database synchronization and zero data loss on failure.

What reporting software pairs with Process Historian?

SIMATIC Information Server (IS), which provides automated web-based reporting in PDF, Excel, and Word formats.

Technical References

Related Tags

Process Historian
Central Archive
Information Server
Store-and-Forward
Terminal Bus

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Architecting and Commissioning Central Process Historian Servers in PCS 7