How do I automate PI System tasks with PowerShell?

PowerShell can automate PI System administration using AF SDK's .NET assemblies.

Loading AF SDK in PowerShell

# Load AF SDK assemblies
[System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("OSIsoft.AFSDK") | Out-Null

# Connect to PI AF
$piSystems = New-Object OSIsoft.AF.PISystems
$piSystem = $piSystems.DefaultPISystem
$piSystem.Connect()
$db = $piSystem.Databases.DefaultDatabase

Write-Host "Connected to: $($db.Name)"

Common Automation Tasks

Export Tag List

$piServer = [OSIsoft.AF.PI.PIServer]::FindPIServer("MyPIServer")
$piServer.Connect()

$points = [OSIsoft.AF.PI.PIPoint]::FindPIPoints($piServer, "*", $null, $null)
$points | ForEach-Object {
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Tag = $_.Name
        PointType = $_.PointType
        Engineering = $_.GetAttribute("engunits")
    }
} | Export-Csv "PI_Tags.csv" -NoTypeInformation

Bulk Create Tags

$csv = Import-Csv "NewTags.csv"
foreach ($row in $csv) {
    $attrs = @{
        "pointtype" = $row.PointType
        "engunits" = $row.Units
        "compdev" = $row.CompDev
        "pointsource" = $row.Source
    }
    [OSIsoft.AF.PI.PIPoint]::CreatePIPoint($piServer, $row.TagName, $attrs)
    Write-Host "Created: $($row.TagName)"
}

Health Check Script

# Check archive utilization
$piServer.Connect()
$archives = $piServer.ArchiveInfos
foreach ($arc in $archives) {
    Write-Host "$($arc.Path): $($arc.PercentFull)% full"
}

Tips

• Schedule PowerShell scripts via Windows Task Scheduler for routine tasks.
• Use try/catch for error handling in production scripts.
• AF SDK assemblies must be installed on the machine running the script.
• For remote execution, use PowerShell remoting (Invoke-Command).