I/O Model

This panel shows all objects belonging to the I/O Model, including all the information relating to the various connected datasources. The I/O Model is a representation the physical infrastructure of system:inmation and has a classic tree structure made up of different objects and levels.

The I/O Model - Tree Structure

Making changes to the I/O Model objects or object’s hierarchy has an direct impact on system:inmation’s communication and interfacing layer. For example, disabling a Connector object in the I/O Model will stop the communication of the Core with the respective Connector service.

Table 1. Objects in the I/O Model tree
Name Icon Description

System

icon io system2

The I/O Model tree represents the physical infrastructure of the system and the System object is the top object in the tree. The System object contains all the properties for connection to the Mongo DB repository, including security setting.

Core

icon io core

The Core is the central component of the system. It establishes connections to multiple Connector services to collect data from various different data sources. The Core processes the data, storing all information in the Repository

Connector

icon io connector

The Connector forms the outer layer of the system. It connects to different types of data sources and forwards the data to the central Core service

DataSource

icon io data source

A Data Source is connected to the Core through the Connector. Can be an OPC data source, a relational databases or even a file containing data connected through Dropzone

I/O Item

icon io item

A named element acquired from an item-oriented system like an OPC UA server, or text imports created by Dropzone or SQL scripts. Can be dynamic and provide updated values or have a static value

GenericItem

icon io simulation item

A User created item that can generate data OR execute a Lua script periodically

ActionItem

icon io action item

A User created item that can execute a Lua script when triggered by another object or referenced data item

Data Holder Item

icon io data holder

A User created item that displays real-time data produced by another referenced data source

Folder

icon io node

Organizes objects in the I/O model tree – can house Lua script libraries, available to all objects in the folder or in the tree

Variable

icon variable 32

A User created item that displays real-time data but has less properties than a Data Holder item. This makes it more memory efficient and is ideal for large systems containing large numbers of objects.

ReportItem

icon report item32

User created item that can be used to generate reports using data from objects in the system. The ReportItem executes a Lua script that returns a JSON string containing the selected data for the report. Can be added to Report Designer and Dashboard displays.

Table Holder Item

icon table holder32

A User created item, similar to the Data Holder item except it can be used to store tabular data. The data is stored in the Table Data property of the Object and can be read or written to using any of the the system interfaces (Lua, SCI etc.). The schema of the table is user defined and can also be imported from an existing table (an Excel file for example).

Redundant Item

icon red item 32

Redundant items are created to ensure redundancy is maintained and no important data values are lost in the event of loss of service. Redundant items are linked to I/O items under servers and receive values when the I/O item value changes. Multiple identical I/O items can be linked to the same Redundant I/O item.

Time Scheduler

icon scheduler item 32

Time scheduler items used to trigger other items in the I/O model to perform actions (execute a Lua script for example) at a set time or date. Multiple items can be linked to one scheduler item and there are multiple options for scheduling available in the settings.

History Transporter

icon history transporter 32

The History Transporter item is used to transfer large amounts of historical data from external historians into the system. These items are created below historian Datasources that the Connector client is connected too. The History Transporter can be used with all OPC HAD historians and OSIsoft PI and Aspentech systems.

For more detailed information about the object types available in the I/O Model, refer to the IO model section of the Class Model page. To get more information on working with the infrastructure of the system, including the I/O Model, please refer to the Infrastructure Hands On section