The AVEVA PI System is a real-time operations data infrastructure that was developed by OSIsoft and is now sold by AVEVA. AVEVA describes its layers as collecting, storing, contextualizing, visualizing and analyzing asset and operations data.[2] Licensing is governed by the AVEVA Software Schedule PI System, version 1.5, dated June 2026. The schedule supplements any Order Form that references it, applies only to the PI System, and prevails over conflicting terms in the GTCs.[1] It sorts PI System products into data collection, storage, client tools, integrators, Edge Data Store and add-ons, and each group has its own licence metric.[1] The older OSIsoft Product Usage Terms (version 04, November 2021) use the same metric structure. They remain published for licences under OSIsoft agreements.[3][4]
Editions
The schedule names these PI System offerings and bundles:[1]
| Offering | What it is | Licensed by |
|---|---|---|
| On-premises PI System (formerly PI Core) | Locally installed suite: data collection, storage, visualization and integration tools | Per component, below |
| AVEVA PI Server (PI Data Archive, Asset Framework) | Storage, normalization, analytics and notification engine | Node and data streams |
| PI Interfaces, PI Connectors, AVEVA Adapters (PI Collection Suite) | Data collection from control systems and sensors | Node or connection; Adapters by connection plus data streams, annually |
| AVEVA PI Vision, AVEVA PI DataLink (PI Visualization Suite, AVEVA PI Client Pack) | Client tools | Individual user or named user |
| PI Integrators | Publish PI Server data to third-party tools such as Microsoft Power BI or Tableau | Actively published data streams per installation |
| Edge Data Store | Collects, stores and exposes sensor data at the edge | Aggregated data streams per instance |
| AVEVA PI Audit Reporter | Reports on logs of PI Server activities | Per site |
| RtReports | Electronic batch reporting | Connections to PI Servers; concurrent Generator and Editor connections |
| AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure | PI System Connectivity Pack, PI Server, CONNECT data services starter subscription, CONNECT visualization, standalone PI Test Server | Aggregate Tag or Aggregate Tag, Capacity (Non-Reporting) |
Section 5 adds resold third-party software: Dianomic Fledge and FogLAMP, licensed by Data Points per enterprise or site for each year of the Term. A customer must also accept the Dianomic Systems licence agreement.[1] Bundle limits apply to the bundle as a whole, and products may not be split out of a bundle to be used separately.[1]
Metrics
| Schedule term | Catalog row | Definition (PI System schedule) |
|---|---|---|
| Node | Node | A host computer, physical or virtual, on which the Software may be installed; a single instance of an operating system.[1] |
| Connection | Connection | A link between one copy of the Software and another copy or a third-party data source.[1] |
| Data streams | Data stream | Data tags or modules used by the Software to set up, configure or store data or data structures; not transferable within or between products.[1] |
| Aggregate Tag | Aggregate Tag | The total PI Server tag count across the whole deployment under PI Data Infrastructure, irrespective of nodes or sites.[1] |
| PI System Access (PSA) | PSA | A licence that permits intermediary (non-AVEVA) software or devices to access data in the PI Server or supporting servers.[1] |
| Individual user | Individual User | Installation on up to two personal computers (primary plus home or remote), not used by several people at once.[1] |
| Named user | Named User | One person in the organization and their login account; access from any device.[1] |
The schedule also defines Power Production Capacity: the rated maximum generation capacity, in megawatts, of the monitored power assets.[1] Some PI Interfaces and Connectors use offering-specific metrics, such as the number of phasor measurement units, which are described in the Documentation.[1]
Counting / floors
Data collection. A node licence lets the customer run several instances of an interface or connector on the same node.[1] Catalog: PI data collection node licence covers multiple instances on one node. Every data collection licence includes an active-passive failover deployment that sends data only if the primary fails.[1] Catalog: Failover data collection deployment included. PI to PI Interface connections are one-way, so two-way transfer needs two licences.[1] Catalog: PI to PI Interface connections are unidirectional. One exception: the PI to PI Interface and PI System Connector in the AVEVA PI System Connectivity Pack may be used for any number of inbound and outbound transfers of a PI Server licensed as part of PI Data Infrastructure.[1]
Storage. The PI Server is licensed by node and data streams. If the Documentation does not state a number of nodes, the Software may run on one node only.[1] Catalog: PI storage software runs on one node unless specified. Supporting servers and add-ons are always tied to a primary PI Server and licensed on that server’s node and data stream count.[1] Three server roles have their own rules:
- A PI Test Server matches the tag count of the production PI Server of PI Data Infrastructure, up to one million tags. It has a 90-day data retrieval limit and may be used only for testing or training, never in production.[1] Catalog: PI Test Server is non-production with a 90-day retrieval limit.
- An Ancillary PI Server supports one licensed PI Server for validation or network architecture reasons, such as a data diode, and mirrors that server’s configuration. If its configuration diverges, it becomes an independent PI Server. It cannot act as a roll-up server.[1] Catalog: Ancillary PI Server becomes independent if its configuration diverges.
- High Availability (HA) PI Servers form a collective with the primary server, and members of the collective cannot be separated into independent servers.[1]
PI System Access. A PSA licence is needed whenever a non-AVEVA program, application or device reads PI Server data programmatically. It is not needed for AVEVA client tools, PI Integrators, AVEVA Adapters or Edge Data Store.[1] Catalog: PSA licence required for non-AVEVA programmatic access. For a licence manager, this is the PI System’s indirect-access rule. Custom applications, third-party analytics tools and devices that read PI data through an API need to be inventoried against PSA licences.
Client tools. An individual user licence covers two computers. Each computer that reaches the software through a terminal program counts as one licence.[1] Catalog: Individual user licence counts each computer accessing via terminal. A named user licence can be reassigned no sooner than 90 days after the last reassignment.[1] Catalog: PI named user reassignment every 90 days. PI Vision has two named-user types: “Named User - publisher” can create, edit and save displays, and “Named User - explorer” can view and interact with displays but not save them.[1]
Integrators, edge and audit. PI Integrators count data streams published to third-party software within the last seven days. Each installation needs its own licence, and streams are not added up across installations.[1] Catalog: PI Integrators licensed per installation by actively published streams. Each Edge Data Store instance is licensed for its aggregated data streams. AVEVA PI Audit Reporter needs a licence for every site, including every site that feeds a regional or central PI Server.[1] Catalog: PI Audit Reporter licensed per site.
Aggregate Tag models (PI Data Infrastructure)
AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure can be licensed under two aggregate models. Both count tags across all of the customer’s PI Servers, regardless of how many nodes or sites there are.[1]
| Aggregate Tag | Aggregate Tag, Capacity (Non-Reporting) | |
|---|---|---|
| Commitment | Minimum tag count (Aggregate Tag Tier Benchmark), giving a monthly fixed charge | Maximum tag count (tier), giving a monthly fixed charge |
| Above the tier | Charged daily at the Overage Daily Rate | Not allowed without an amended Order Form |
| Reporting | PI to CONNECT Agent on every PI Server reports the daily tag count to CONNECT | No reporting agent required |
| PI Servers | Any number of PI Servers that report their daily tag count | Fixed-capacity tag licences only; no unlimited (uncapped) PI Servers |
| Downgrade during Term | Not allowed | Not allowed |
Sources: PI System schedule s.3.3(a)(iii)-(iv).[1] Catalog: Aggregate Tag licensing model; Aggregate Tag model requires PI to CONNECT Agent reporting; Aggregate Tag overage charged daily; no downgrade during Term; Non-Reporting capacity tier is a hard cap without unlimited tag servers.
Under both models, HA PI Servers, Ancillary PI Servers, Ancillary HA PI Servers and PI Test Servers in the model are not counted toward the tier.[1] Catalog: HA, ancillary and test PI Servers not counted in aggregate tags. The Connectivity Pack, the PSA add-on and the ancillary servers included in a model may be used only with the PI Servers inside that model.[1] If the PI to CONNECT Agent loses its connection, access continues and payment obligations remain. The customer then has up to two months to restore the connection.[1] The PI to CONNECT Agent ships with the PI Server installation kit. It can also send process data to CONNECT data services.[2] Data read from CONNECT data services is charged separately in Flex credits, by streams stored and streams accessed.[6]
Virtualization & partitioning
A node is an operating system instance, so each virtual machine is a node.[1] The schedule’s copying rules are strict:
- A reasonable number of offline copies may be kept for recovery.
- Only data collection failover deployments may run in parallel with the primary without a licence.
- Backup copies may not serve for training, testing, hot standby or caching.
- Unless AVEVA authorizes it in writing, the component that enables the Software (for example authorization keys) may not be copied, including with virtualization technology.[1]
The Software may run on only one processor architecture and one operating system at a time.[1] See virtualization and partitioning.
Cloud / BYOL
The cloud part of the PI System is AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure. It combines on-premises PI Servers with CONNECT data services and, optionally, CONNECT visualization. Its service description refers back to the PI System Software Schedule for the licensing models.[2] AVEVA publishes no rule for running on-premises PI Servers on public cloud infrastructure. The node definition covers virtual hosts, and the GTC limits On Premises Products to the Customer Premises in the Order Form.[1][5]
Programs
- Aggregate Tag licensing model: the enterprise-wide tag commitment for PI Data Infrastructure, described above.
- Term and subscription. The current schedule says PI System licences are either for a set term or subscription based. The grant is personal, non-transferable and limited to the Software Term.[1]
- Legacy OSIsoft licences. The OSIsoft Product Usage Terms allowed set-term, perpetual and subscription licences, and perpetual was the default unless OSIsoft specified otherwise. Unless agreed otherwise, subscriptions ran for one year, and use had to end and copies be destroyed when they expired.[3] Catalog: Legacy OSIsoft subscriptions default to one year and use ends at expiry. aveva.com also publishes the OSIsoft Corporate Family Software License and Services Agreement, its affiliate forms and the Software Reliance Program terms.[4]
Out of scope
- Prices, tag tier boundaries and Overage Daily Rates, which appear only in Order Forms.
- The OSIsoft Corporate Family Software License and Services Agreement and the Software Reliance Program (SRP) terms, which are listed but not analysed here.
- PowerRunner products and the Dianomic licence agreement, beyond their mention in the schedule.
- AVEVA Historian, which is licensed under the operations schedule; see AVEVA System Platform and InTouch licensing.