HMIs + SQL Databases
What is SQL?
SQL, or Structured Query Language, is a powerful
tool for accessing and manipulating data in Relational Database
Management Systems (RDMS), two of the most prominent examples being
MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server.
HMIs allow you to connect to SQL Databases wherever they may be
hosted: locally, off-site, or in the cloud. With Maple Systems SQL
Database Integrations, you get streamlined storage, collection, and
organization of operations data in a standardized SQL format.
Why use SQL?
By logging your time-series controller data, events and alarms, and
recipe parameters into a SQL database, you
add redundancy to your existing data backup solutions, while
making process data available to IT Administrators and other key
decision-makers
in your company.
With your HMI syncing to a SQL Database, you also gain access to new
tools for performing advanced monitoring, analytics, and reporting:
-
SQL Queries (short commands issued to the database) permit:
- Conversion between different data formats,
- Filtering by any number of conditions, and
-
Linking information together from different tables to create
new “views” of your data.
-
With free database connector tools (namely, ODBC drivers), you
can also:
-
Synchronize SQL data into Microsoft Excel worksheets which
refresh automatically anytime the database is updated, and
-
From these Excel worksheets, generate custom reports and
create new visual representations of your data.
Enterprise IT organizations rely on relational databases like MySQL
and Microsoft SQL Server both for internal use as well as for
customer-facing, public applications. In the Industrial Automation
world, however, adoption of these technologies has been lagging.
Traditionally, without a central database, operations teams had to
copy, transfer, and later merge together process data files one at a
time for each system they managed. Now with Maple Systems HMIs you
can quickly integrate operations data into existing IT workflows
with MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server to better stay ahead of the
competition.
How do I link up my HMI application with a SQL database?
Connecting a Maple Systems HMI to a SQL database involves just three
main steps, with one additional, optional step. Here is the outline
of the process:
-
Install MySQL or Microsoft SQL Server on a Windows PC and create
a Schema in which to store HMI data.
-
Or, if your IT Team already has a server configured, request
access and login credentials.
-
In EBPro, create a new connection using the Database Server
Object.
-
Configure any Data Sampling object, Alarms/Events, or Recipe
Database to sync to the SQL database either based on a trigger,
or periodically (automatically; on a given schedule).
-
OPTIONAL: Set up synchronization between your database tables
and a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet using an Open Database
Connectivity (ODBC) driver.
In our online
Support Center, you can
find free SQL Quick-Start Guides and Sample Projects to help you hit
the ground running. With the Offline Simulation mode in EBPro, you
can even test the SQL Integration feature before you buy a Smart
HMI.
Whether you have one machine or hundreds on a line, our SQL
Integrations will save you money and time.
Visit our
HMI Series page for more information
on our Smart Solutions, or contact us at
sales@maplesystems.com.
Maple Systems SQL Database Integrations:
Your Robust Record-Keeping and Analytics Solution
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