Storing and identifying metadata through extended properties in a historization system

Abstract

A historian system enables the creation, storage, and retrieval of extended metadata properties. A tag metadata database module of the historian system stores tag metadata received over a network connection in a tag metadata database and retrieves tag metadata in response to requests received over the network and from within the historian system. An extended property database module creates extended properties associated with a tag metadata instance in response to requests, stores the created extended properties, and retrieves the stored extended properties in response to requests. The extended property search index module indexes extended properties as they are created, searches the indexed extended properties in response to requests, and provides the indexes of extended properties to enable location of the extended properties in the extended property database.

1 . A historian system comprising:
 one or more computers comprising one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer readable media, the non-transitory computer readable media having instructions stored thereon that when executed cause the one or more computers to:
 store, by the one or more processors, tag metadata received via a network connection in a tag metadata database; and 
 retrieve, by the one or more processors, tag metadata in response to requests received via the network connection or from within the historian system; 
 create, by the one or more processors, extended properties for tag metadata in response to requests received via the network connection; 
 store, by the one or more processors, the created extended properties in an extended properties database; and 
 retrieve, by the one or more processors, the stored extended properties from the extended properties database in response to requests received via the network connection or from within the historian system; 
 index, by the one or more processors, the extended properties as they are created; 
 search, by the one or more processors, the indexed extended properties in response to requests; and 
 provide, by the one or more processors, indexes of the extended properties. 
   
     
     
         2 . The historian system of  claim 1 ,
 further comprising a client access module connected to a plurality of client devices via the network connection.   
     
     
         3 . The historian system of  claim 2 ,
 wherein a first client device of the plurality of client devices is associated with a first tenant and a second client device of the plurality of client devices is associated with a second tenant.   
     
     
         4 . The historian system of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the extended properties stored in the extended properties database include a tenant ID,   wherein the tenant ID is used to filter the extended properties to retrieved extended properties associated with a tenant.   
     
     
         5 . The historian system of  claim 1 ,
 wherein storing created extended properties in an extended properties database further comprises:
 storing, by the one or more processors, the created extended properties as extended property documents in a first collection of extended property documents; 
 monitoring, by the one or more processors, a remaining capacity of the first collection of extended property documents; and 
 migrating, by the one or more processors, a plurality of extended property documents from the first collection of extended property documents to a second collection of extended property documents upon detecting that storing created extended property documents in the first collection would cause the first collection to exceed its remaining capacity. 
   
     
     
         6 . The historian system of  claim 5 ,
 wherein the first collection of extended property documents comprises extended property documents from more than one tenant.   
     
     
         7 . The historian system of  claim 1 ,
 further comprising assigning, by the one or more processors, a property of one of searchable and not searchable to the created extended properties, and   indexing, by the one or more processors, the extended properties only if the extended properties have been assigned the searchable property.   
     
     
         8 . A method for creating extended metadata properties in a historian system comprising the step of:
 providing one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer readable media with instructions stored thereon that implement the steps of:
 receiving, by one or more processors, a first request to create an extended property for a tag metadata instance; 
 locating, by the one or more processors, a record of the tag metadata instance; 
 updating, by the one or more processors, the record of the tag metadata instance to include the extended property; 
 creating, by the one or more processors, a document of the extended property in an extended property database of the historian system; and 
 indexing, by the one or more processors, the extended property document in the search index of the historian system. 
   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 ,
 further comprising implementing the step of receiving, by the one or more processors, the first request to create an extended property from a first client device coupled to the historian system by a network.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 ,
 further comprising implementing the step of receiving, by the one or more processors, a second request to create an extended property from a second client device, and   wherein the first and second client devices are associated with separate tenants.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 ,
 further comprising implementing the step of receiving, by the one or more processors, the first request to create an extended property through a representational state transfer (REST) interface.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 ,
 further comprising implementing the step of receiving, by the one or more processors, the first request to create an extended property through a simple object access protocol (SOAP).   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 ,
 further comprising implementing the step of storing, by the one or more processors, tag metadata instance record separately from the extended property document.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 ,
 further comprising implementing the steps of:
 storing, by the one or more processors, the created extended property document in a first collection of extended property documents; 
 monitoring, by the one or more processors, a remaining capacity of the first collection of extended property documents; and 
 migrating, by the one or more processors, a plurality of extended property documents from the first collection to a second collection of extended property documents upon detecting that storing the created extended property document in the first collection would cause the first collection to exceed its remaining capacity. 
   
     
     
         15 . A method for retrieving extended metadata properties in a historian system comprising the step of:
 providing one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer readable media with instructions stored thereon that implement the steps of:
 receiving, by the one or more processors, a first request for retrieval of data comprising an extended metadata property; 
   searching, by the one or more processors, a search index for the extended metadata property;
 locating, by the one or more processors, a document of the extended metadata property in an extended property database based on a result of searching the search index; 
 retrieving, by the one or more processors, data from the extended metadata property document; and 
 providing, by the one or more processors, the retrieved data in response to the received first request. 
   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 ,
 further comprising implementing the step of receiving, by the one or more processors, the first request for retrieval from a first client device coupled to the historian system by a network.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 ,
 further comprising implementing the step of receiving, by the one or more processors, a second request to retrieve data comprising an extended metadata property from a second client device, and   wherein the first and second client devices are associated with separate tenants.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 ,
 further comprising implementing the step of determining, by the one or more processors, a tenant of the first request based on a tenant access token from the first request and using the tenant access token during the searching to locate documents associated with the tenant,   wherein the searching requires the tenant access token to locate documents associated with the tenant.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 ,
 further comprising implementing the step of receiving, by the one or more processors, the first request for retrieval of data through a representational state transfer (REST) interface.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 ,
 further comprising implementing the step of receiving, by the one or more processors, the first request for retrieval of data through a simple object access protocol (SOAP).