Add and Configure a Server-to-Server Collector

About this task

The Server-to-Server collector collects data and messages from a source Historian server to a destination Historian server or a cloud destination. For more information, refer to Overview of the Server-to-Server Collector.

This topic describes how to add a collector instance using Configuration Hub. You can also add a collector instance using the RemoteCollectorConfigurator utility, which does not require you to install Web-based Clients.

Procedure

  1. Access Configuration Hub.
  2. In the NAVIGATION section, under the Configuration Hub plugin for Historian, select Collectors.
    A list of collectors in the default system appears.
  3. In the upper-right corner of the main section, select .
    The Add Collector Instance: <system name> window appears, displaying the Collector Selection section. The MACHINE NAME field contains a list of machines on which you have installed collectors.
  4. In the MACHINE NAME field, select the machine in which you want to add a collector instance.
  5. In the COLLECTOR TYPE field, select Server to Server Collector, and then select Get Details.
    The INSTALLATION DRIVE and DATA DIRECTORY fields are disabled and populated.
  6. Select Next.
    The Source Configuration section appears.
  7. In the HISTORIAN SOURCE SERVER field, enter the host name or IP address of the Historian server from which you want to collect data. By default, the local host name appears.
  8. If you created security groups or enabled a strict client/collector authentication, enter the USERNAME and PASSWORD of the on-premises Historian server that you created during the installation of the collector.
    If you entered the USERNAMEand PASSWORD, select Test Connection. This will help you to test if the Historian server that you are trying to connect is valid or if the credentials that you entered are valid.
    If the entered credentials are valid, a successful connection message appears.
  9. Select Next.
    The Destination Configuration section appears. The collector machine name provided by you is selected as the Source Configuration by default.

    Under CHOOSE DESTINATION, the Historian Server option is selected by default. In addition, the DESTINATION HISTORIAN SERVER field is populated with the collector machine name, you can change it in case of a remote Historian server.

  10. Select the destination to which you want to send data, and then enter the values in the corresponding fields. You can send data to an on-premises Historian server or to a cloud destination.
    1. If you need to send data to a cloud destination, select the cloud destinations as needed.
      • Predix Timeseries- Select this if you need to send data to Predix cloud. For more information, refer to Predix Cloud.
      • Azure IoT Hub- Select this if you need to send data to Azure Cloud in KairosDB format. For more information, refer to Azure IoT Hub (KairosDB format).
      • MQTT- Select this if you need to send data to any of the following cloud destination.
        • Alibaba cloud. For more information, refer to Alibaba Cloud.
        • AWS cloud. For more information, refer to AWS Cloud.
        • Google cloud. For more information, refer to Google Cloud.
    2. If you need to send data to an on-premises Historian server, select Historian Server.
      If you created security groups or enabled a strict client/collector authentication, enter the USERNAME and PASSWORD.
      If you entered the USERNAMEand PASSWORD, select Test Connection.
      If the entered credentials are valid, a successful connection message appears.
  11. Select Next.
    The Collector Initiation section appears.
  12. If needed, modify the value in the COLLECTOR NAME field.
    The value that you enter:
    • Must be unique.
    • Must not exceed 15 characters.
    • Must not contain a space.
    • Must not contain special characters except a hyphen, period, and an underscore.
  13. In the RUNNING MODE field, select one of the following options.
    • Service - Local System Account: Select this option if you want to run the collector as a Windows service using the credentials of the local user (that is, the currently logged-in user). If you select this option, the USERNAME and PASSWORD fields are disabled.
    • Service Under Specific User Account: Select this option if you want to run the collector as a Windows service using a specific user account. If you select this option, you must enter values in the USERNAME and PASSWORD fields.
      If you have enabled the Enforce Strict Collector Authentication option in Historian Administrator, you must provide the credentials of a user who is added to at least one of the following security groups:
      • iH Security Admins
      • iH Collector Admins
      • iH Tag Admins

    You can also configure the collector to start automatically when you start the computer.

  14. Select Add.
    The collector instance is added. The fields specific to the collector section appear in the DETAILS section.
  15. In the COLLECTOR SPECIFIC CONFIGURATION section, configure values as described in the following table.
    Field Description
    Alarm Replication Indicates whether you want to enable or disable alarm replication. If you enable alarm replication, all collected alarm data will be transferred from the source server to the destination server. If you enable alarm replication, you also enable alarm recovery. However, if you set the Max Recovery Time value to zero, alarm recovery does not happen.
    Message Replication Indicates whether you to want to enable or disable message replication. If you enable message replication, messages will be transferred from the source server to the destination server. You can use this data for audits. If you enable message replication, you also enable message recovery. However, if you set the Max Recovery Time value to zero, message recovery does not happen.
    Calculation Timeout (sec) The maximum time allowed for a tag's calculation formula to execute before being terminated. The default value is 10 seconds.
    Max Recovery Time (hr) The maximum duration, in hours, for which the collector will attempt to restore data during recovery logic. The default value is 4 hours.
    Add Prefix to Messages The prefix to identify replicated messages on the destination.

    Alarms and events data will automatically have a prefix added to it with the following syntax: MachineName_Datasource

    For example, if your alarm is forwarded from the server Almserver12 with a data source named OPCAE, the prefix will be Almserver12_OPCAE.
    MTLS Security Indicates whether you want to use Mutual TLS (MTLS) protocol to enforce a secure and strong authentication mechanism.
    MTLS Data Encryption Indicates whether you want to encrypt the data that the collector shares to the data archiver (DA).
    For more information on how to enable MTLS Security, refer to Enable MTLS Security.
  16. As needed, enter values in the other sections common to all collectors.
  17. In the upper-left corner of the page, select Save.
    The changes to the collector instance are saved.
  18. If needed, restart the collector.

What to do next

Specify the tags whose data you want to collect using the collector. In the CHOOSE CONFIGURATION field,
  • If you have selected Historian Configuration, specify the tags using Configuration Hub.
  • If you have selected Offline Configuration, modify the offline configuration file of the collector. By default, the file is available in the following location: <installation folder of Historian>\GE Digital\<collector name>. For information, refer to Offline Configuration for Collectors. This option is applicable only if you have selected a cloud destination.