Welcome to Ignition Explained. We're reviewing the modules in Inductive Automation’s Ignition one by one. We’ll discuss you get with each of them, and how Corso Systems uses each module to build a project. There always seems to be questions about what each module does, and doesn't do. So we're going through them one by one. If you missed it, here’s the first post on the Vision Module. Want to see more? Watch the video below.

Video: Ignition Explained - Tag Historian

Tag Historian Module

Aptly named, the Tag Historian module allows you use a SQL Database as a Time Series Historian. What does this mean? If you want to store the history of the tags—PLCs, Sensors, etc.—you will need this module. Other offerings include OSI Pi (Rockwell Historian), Wonderware Historian, and more. A Tag Historian gives you the ability to take the historical data and use it in other functionality like reporting.

Setting Up the Tag Historian

Inductive Automation’s documentation and Inductive University has a lot of very good information on how to set up the Tag Historian Module. We specifically suggest reviewing the Tag Historian Course in Inductive Automation’s Inductive University. Similarly, here’s the Tag Historian Documentation for Ignition 8.1.

Tag History Splitter

Check out our post on the Tag History Splitter to learn more about database performance and the Tag Historian Module.

Do You Need the Tag Historian Module?

Most of the projects that Corso Systems works on has tags and therefore a Tag Historian. Generally speaking, you will want to at least use a Tag Historian as a baseline for Historian functionality.

What's Missing in the Tag Historian Module?

The compression feature is missing in the Tag Historian Module. While there are other options for Historian, remember that storage is cheap and you'll need to run the numbers for your application. Questions? Comments? Tell us what we got wrong! This is all about learning and that's why we put these posts and videos out. Contact us and we can answer any questions you may have.

Updated - 6/17/2022