Historian
Historian Data Connector
The Historian Data Connector allows Tricloud Nexus to store time-series measurements from your Edge-connected devices directly into a dedicated database for long-term archiving, advanced analytics, and reporting. This connector acts as a data sink - meaning it receives measurement data from other data connectors (such as MQTT, OPC-UA, Modbus, etc.) and writes those measurements into the historian database of your choice. The Database can be physically located at a local site or in the cloud.
Note: Currently, only TimeScaleDB (based on PostgreSQL) is supported as a historian target, but additional options such as Microsoft SQL Server will be added in future releases.
Key Features
Flexible Historian Support: Store measurements in industry-standard databases, starting with TimeScaleDB.
Edge-Based Storage: Data can be buffered and written from Edge devices, supporting robust operation even if connections are intermittent.
Batched Writes: Optimize performance and reduce network traffic by batching multiple measurements before writing to the database.
Secure Access: Authentication required for database connections, with full support for credentials management.
Configurable Storage: Set maximum storage intervals and batch sizes to match your data retention and performance requirements.
Unified Data Model: All measurements stored follow the Tricloud Nexus measurement format, ensuring consistency and easy integration for analytics.
Use Cases for Historian Data Connector
The Historian Data Connector is especially useful in scenarios where you need to store selected, high-value operational data from your Edge environment for advanced analytics, compliance, or reporting. Some common use cases include:
OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) Tracking Store a targeted subset of measurements - such as cycle counts, downtime events, quality rejects, and production rates - from specific tags. This enables efficient calculation and historical analysis of OEE metrics directly in your preferred database.
Long-Term Data Retention for Compliance Retain process-critical data or regulatory measurements in a secure, queryable SQL database (such as TimeScaleDB or, in future, SQL Server) to meet compliance requirements for traceability and audit trails.
Custom Reporting & Business Intelligence Feed measurement data into BI tools or custom dashboards by writing measurements to a historian that’s accessible to your enterprise reporting infrastructure.
Cross-System Integration Make selected operational data available to IT or business systems, ERP, or MES by writing measurements from Edge into a centralized, SQL-based historian.
Data Archiving Archive a subset of key measurements from Edge devices and connectors for backup, disaster recovery, or later review - without sending all raw field data to the cloud.
Selective Data Storage Optimize your storage and network usage by only persisting tags and measurements that are most relevant for your business KPIs, instead of archiving every data point collected at the Edge.
These use cases make the Historian Data Connector a powerful tool for bridging your IIoT data model with the broader IT landscape - supporting both operational needs and strategic decision making.
Configuring the Historian Data Connector
1. Add a New Connector
Select the Area node where you want to configure Modbus RTU integration.
Go to the Data connectors tab.
Click + New data connector, choose Historian, and enter a name (e.g.,
Historian).
2. Configure Connection Settings
Name: Friendly name for your connector (e.g.,
Historian).Enabled: Toggle to activate or deactivate this connector.
Historian Type: Select
TimeScale DB(support for additional databases will be available in the future).Database Name: Name of your target database (e.g.,
mydatabase).Historian Address: Hostname or IP address of your database server (e.g.,
123.10.10.153).Historian Port: Port number for the database connection (default for TimeScaleDB/Postgres is
5432).
3. Authentication
Username: Database username (e.g.,
nexusclient).Password: Password for the database user.
4. Batched Storage
Measurement Batching: Toggle on to enable batching of measurements before writing. When this is disabled, every measurement will be written real-time to the historian. Batching measurements is a way to reduce load on the historian module, but has the disadvantage that it introduces a delay before measurements are available on the historian.
Maximum Storage Interval: Maximum time to buffer measurements before writing them in a batch (e.g., 1 minute).
Max Batch Size: Maximum number of measurements per batch (e.g., 500). Set to optimize between latency and performance.
Example Historian Connector Configuration
Historian Type
TimeScale DB
Database Name
mydatabase
Historian Address
123.10.10.153
Historian Port
5432
Username
nexusclient
Password
••••••••••
Measurement Batching
Enabled
Maximum Storage Interval
1 minute
Max Batch Size
500
Best Practices
Use batching to optimize storage performance and minimize network traffic, especially for high-frequency data streams.
Choose meaningful connector names to simplify troubleshooting and system management.
Secure your database by using strong credentials and network security best practices.
Monitor storage intervals and batch sizes to ensure you meet your latency and data retention requirements.
Plan for growth: As support for more historian types becomes available, review your architecture for best-fit options.
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