Quick Start for Windows

The following guide will walk you through the necessary steps to install, configure, and run the Data Collectors and the Time Series Historian.

Select Your Architecture

Hardware and Software Pre-Requisites

Download and Install Timebase Components

Configure and Run the Time Series Historian

Configure and Run the Data Collectors and Plugins

Verify Your Success

 

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Select Your Architecture

 

A simple, or local, architecture means all components are installed on a single VM or machine and is typically only used for a quick proof of concept, testing environment, or perhaps on a small headless edge device.

Timebase provides 'Store and Forward' or (SaF) natively. SaF means that while logging data, should the historian become unavailable due to an event like a network outage or perhaps an IT security patch, the Data Collector will automatically buffer values to disk, greatly reducing your risk of data loss. If installed locally to the historian, you would not benefit from this feature.

A distributed architecture installs each component on a dedicated VM or machine, each with a specific function. For instance, since the Data Collector and Collector Plugins are used to connect to a data source such as an MQTT Broker or OPC UA Server you should ideally install these components local to the broker or server. 

 

Distributed Architecture

View or download the high resolution version

 

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Hardware and Software Pre-Requisites

 

Reference this Timebase Knowledge Base article for a full list of recommended Hardware and Software Requirements.

A common item that will need installed is .Net 8 Core. Make sure you specifically install the .Net 8.0.x (ASP.NET Core Runtime - Hosting Bundle) - Download it here.  

 

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Download and Install Timebase

 

1. Download the current installer.
2. Run 'Timebase vxx_xx.msi'.
3. As you progress throught the installer, we will automatically check for certain prerequistes, such as .Net 8 Core and require you to read and agree to the End User License Agreement before proceeding.
4. Choose your desired configuration. You can install a single component of Timebase or all components using the same installer; simply ensure the components you desire are indicated with a check mark. The components you select to install will reflect your desired architecture.
5. Based on the components you are installing, choose the directory you wish to install Timebase within. Note, we will default to C:\Program Files\Flow Software\Timebase\.
   1. Timebase was built and is maintained and supported by the team at Flow Software, hence the default installation folder structure.
   2. If installing the Time Series Historian or the Explorer Trending components, we will automatically create an additional folder, C:\Timebase\, for your history and application files. This can be changed later if you desire.
6. After selecting your destination, you can finish the installation. The overall process should only take a few minutes.

 

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Configure and Run the Time Series Historian

 

Configure the Time Series Historian Application File

1. Begin by opening Windows File Explorer and navigating to the installation directory for the historian. The default is C:\Program Files\Flow Software\Timebase\Historian
2. Within the Time Series Historian folder, open the file appsettings.json.
3. It is likely you will not need to change anything other than possibly adjusting the port or the destination of where you wish your time series data to be stored.
   1. Data Path: Specify the file path where the data is stored using C:\\Timebase\\Historian\\Data. Adjust the path based on your environment.
   2. Detailed Errors: Enable or disable detailed error messages by setting DetailedErrors to true or false.
   3. Logging: Configure log levels for various components. Options include Warning, Information,  Debug , or Trace.
   4. Kestrel (Web Server): Set the HTTP endpoint URL and port with Kestrel. The default is http://0.0.0.0:4511 for accepting connections on all network interfaces.
4. Save your changes.
5. Ensure Windows anti-virus software is restricted from scanning the historian files.
   
   

Want a deeper dive? Use this Timebase Knowledge Base Article to further your understanding of the historian's application settings.

Run the Time Series Historian

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Program Files\Flow Software\Timebase\Historian\) or wherever you have installed the Time Series Historian.
2. Right-click on the file Timebase.Historian.exe and choose "Run as administrator".
3. When successful, you should see a similar result. 

 

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Configure and Run the Data Collector and Plugins

 

By default, the Collector initializes with the Simulator plugin. To connect to an OPC UA server or MQTT broker, you will need to edit the configuration file to specify the appropriate plugin settings and architecture for those connections. The beginning of the file focuses on the historian address and port. Our focus will be on editing the Plugin "Type".

1. Open Windows File Explorer and navigate to the installation directory for the Data Collector.
   1. The default is C:\Program Files\Flow Software\Timebase\Collector\.
2. Within the Data Collector folder, open the file appconfig.json.
3. Configure the file as necessary for the Historian, Dataset, and Active sections.
4. Configure the Type by defining what you will log from.
   1. Choices include MQTT, SparkplugB, OPCUA, or Simulator.
5. Modify the Settings based on your Type.
   
   1. MQTT: full documentation
   2. OPCUA: full documentation
   3. Simulator: full documentation
   4. MQTT Sparkplug: coming soon
6. Save your changes.

 

Run the Data Collector

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Program Files\Flow Software\Timebase\Collector\) or wherever you have installed the Data Collectors.
2. Right-click on the file Timebase.Historian.Collector.exe and choose "Run as administrator".
3. When successful, you should see a similar result. 

 

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Verify Your Success

Timebase provides a REST API with the historian so you can easily access data within the archive. Since the API uses Swagger for documentation, you can quickly verify data is arriving as anticipated.

1. Access the API Swagger Documentation:

   • Open http://<yourServerAddressHere>:4511/api/help/index.html in your browser to explore the available API endpoints.

2. List Datasets:

   • Use the GET /api/datasets endpoint to retrieve an array of all datasets in the Historian and verify the dataset where your data is stored.

3. List Tags in a Dataset:

   • Use the GET /api/datasets/{dataset}/tags endpoint to check if the expected tags are present in the specified dataset.

4. Retrieve Data for a Specific Tag:

   • Use the GET /api/datasets/{dataset}/data/{tagname} endpoint to fetch time series data for a particular tag and verify that the data has arrived in the historian.

Customize the API calls as needed by replacing placeholders with your dataset names, tag names, or time ranges.

Want a deeper dive? Use this Timebase Knowledge Base Article to further your understanding of the historian's REST API.

 

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