Overview of the OLE DB Provider

OLE DB is a collection of standard COM-based interfaces defined by Microsoft that abstract standard SQL commands into native API access for any data source. OLE DB adds tremendous value to Historian by providing simple access to data from within the SQL environment, without the need for complex scripting.

The Historian OLE DB provider is a data access mechanism that allows you to query Historian data using SQL statements or other client reporting tools.

Supported Applications: Using the OLE DB provider, you can create reports and integrate Historian with the following applications:
  • Microsoft Power BI
  • Seagate Crystal Reports v8.0, and above (v11.0 or above required for use with Historian Alarms and Events)
  • VisiconX with iFIX v4.0 and later
  • Microsoft Excel 2003 and later
  • Visual Basic v6.0, Service Pack 5
  • Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) v6.0
  • Microsoft SQL Server v7, Service Pack 3
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008, or SQL Server Express 2008
  • Oracle 8.x and above
Note: Other OLE DB clients are likely to work with the OLE DB provider, but have not been tested.
Components: When you install the OLE DB provider on the Historian server machine, the following items are available:
  • The ihSQL.exe file: The Historian Interactive SQL tool.
  • The Samples folder: Contains sample reports for Crystal Reports, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Visual Basic, iFIX, and Oracle.
  • The ihOLEDB.dll file: A dynamic-link library file to support the OLE DB provider on 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. This file is located in the WINDOWS\SysWOW64 and WINDOWS\System32 folders.
If you install the OLE DB provider on a client computer, some of these items may not be available. These items may also appear differently, depending upon the number of archivers you installed.

Limitations: The OLE DB provider has read-only access. You cannot insert, update, or delete data in archives using the OLE DB provider.