Enabling SharePoint Integration with OSIsoft PI: Key Considerations for a Child PI Host

Integrating OSIsoft PI with SharePoint or MOSS (Microsoft Office SharePoint Server) enables powerful collaboration and data visualization possibilities for organizations leveraging both platforms. However, setting up a secondary or “child” PI Host to support SharePoint applications presents unique considerations around software prerequisites, installation sequence, and system compatibility. In this post, we’ll explore the essential steps and best practices to achieve a smooth integration.

Understanding the Architecture

Typically, your PI System will have a main PI Server residing on one physical server. The child PI Host, located on a separate server, runs SharePoint or MOSS applications. These applications require secure and flexible access to time-series and event-driven PI data, which the PI Server houses.

Key Software Requirement: RtWebParts

The crucial component to install on the child PI Host is RtWebParts. This OSIsoft product includes RtBaseline Services (RtBLS), which acts as an intermediary, exposing PI data (alongside data from relational databases and Web Services) to SharePoint. This enables live PI data feeds, trending, and dashboards directly within SharePoint sites.

Compatibility Tip

• RtWebParts 2.x targets Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (WSS 3.0) or MOSS 2007.
• For older SharePoint versions like WSS 2.0 or SPS, use RtWebParts 1.x.

Installation Sequence: What Comes First?

To ensure proper integration:

1. Install SharePoint/MOSS first on the child server.
2. Install RtWebParts (and therefore RtBaseline Services) afterwards. This order guarantees that the PI software correctly registers its web parts and services with the existing SharePoint infrastructure.

Network and Security Considerations

• PI Trusts: Make sure the appropriate PI Trusts are configured to allow secure data exchange between the SharePoint server (child host) and the main PI Server.
• Network Ports: Ensure the necessary ports used by PI and SharePoint are open and accessible between the servers.

Upgrade and Compatibility Cautions

• SharePoint/MOSS Updates: Upgrading your SharePoint installation doesn’t typically break the PI integration, provided network configurations and trusts are maintained.
• RtWebParts Version Matching: When upgrading SharePoint/MOSS, check if a newer version of RtWebParts is required for compatibility. Mismatched versions can lead to broken web parts or missing data feeds.

Summary Table

References

• OSIsoft RtWebParts Documentation
• PI Trusts and Security

Integrating PI with SharePoint is a robust way to visualize and act on operational data within your enterprise portal. By following these guidelines, you set the foundation for a stable and maintainable solution.

Have questions about your specific PI and SharePoint architecture? Let’s discuss in the comments!