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Engineering
Powerful tools for easy or complex engineering tasks.
System Management
The System Management is the central administrative unit for WinCC OA Systems.
Database
NextGen Archiver (NGA)

Version Information
Release Notes, Update information, Certifications and Frequently Asked Questions.
Concepts
Your first step into modern and powerful process visualization.
Deployment
Topics, you need to know, before using WinCC OA.
Security
Go beyond the norm in cybersecurity.
Engineering
Powerful tools for easy or complex engineering tasks.
- Project Administration
  The chapter contains a description of the process monitor as well as the project administration.
- Graphics Editor (GEDI)
  Used for creating and editing panels, provides tools for creating and configuring graphic objects.
- System Management
  The System Management is the central administrative unit for WinCC OA Systems.
  - System management
  - Diagnostics
  - Reports
  - Database
    - Data backup in WinCC OA
    - Supported Database Combinations
      An overview over the possible database combinations within a WinCC OA project.
    - WCCOAtoolCreateDb
    - Estimation of the hard disk space
    - Update an ISO Project to SQLite Project
    - History DB
    - Archive/Export Alerts
    - ASCII Manager
      The ASCII Manager allows you to input and output and thus edit data points and data point types and to configure data points.
    - SQLite®/ RAIMA Online-Backup
    - Steps of the online DB backup process
    - Archiving and Compression
    - Data Point Groups
      The main purpose of grouping data points is to simplify selection of datapoints and datapoint elements.
    - PowerConfig Editor
    - RDB Archiving
    - RDB Compression
    - RDB Log
    - HDB/RAIMA - RDB Parallel
    - OLE DB Provider
      OLE DB is a Microsoft specification for accessing data on different computers. It is based on Microsoft's COM technology and is the successor to the older and limited ODBC technology.
    - NextGen Archiver (NGA)
      - General Terms and User Model
      - Requirements and Installation
      - Licensing
        This chapter describes the NGA license options and available package sizes.
      - Deployment Scenarios
      - Configuration
      - InfluxDB®
      - PostgreSQL® Database Overview
      - MS SQL®
      - Redundancy
      - Using a Remote Backend with Encryption
      - Notes and Restrictions
      - Internal Data Points
      - Database Maintenance
        Overview of the database maintenance chapters for the NGA backends.
      - Estimation of the hard disk space
      - Debug Flags
      - CTRL Functions for NGA Access
      - HDB/RAIMA Migration
      - NGA Importer
      - NextGen Archiver (NGA) - FAQ
    - SQLite®
  - Driver
  - Driver IEC
  - Driver OPC
  - Driver S7
  - SmartSCADA
  - Permission
  - Communication
  - Settings
- Wizard Framework
  Used for easy creation of wizards in a uniform layout style. The key elements "Navigation Bar" and "Bottom Bar" can be customized to fit the needs of the custom wizard.
- XML Panel Format
  The XML (Extensible Markup Language) panel format allows creating WinCC OA panels.
- Simple Symbols, basics
  The "Simple Symbols" functionality is used to simply assign corresponding symbols to data point types and increase the working comfort when working with different symbols.
- ScriptWizard
  Simple wizard for creating graphical user interfaces for users without prior programming knowledge.
- Panel topology/Group alert facility
  Tree structure for process panels with integrated group alert system
- Object-Oriented Panel References
  Reusable objects built with the GEDI tools. Insert them within an existing panel to provide a graphical element.
- Multilingual Projects
  WinCC OA is designed to provide both Native Language Support and Multi Language Support.
- Translator
  The WinCC OA Translator functionality supports you in creating and maintaining multilingual projects. It offers a convenient interface for translation of reusable terms.
- Layout management
  Layouts change the size and position of objects according to parameters previously defined in the GEDI.
- Generic Dialog Framework
  The Generic Dialog Framework is an easy way to generate your own dialogs by adjusting a set of prefabricated panels.
- Simple Configuration
  Simple configuration windows and panels support you in combining events (such as a mouse click) with different actions such as setting data point values, showing panels or changing attributes.
Data Management
Classify, structure and archive your data.
Business Logic / Control
Endless possibilities in data processing for your projects.
Data Visualization
User interfaces, Trends and Reports for every purpose and device.
Southbound Interfaces
The process connection to the actual machines/sensors.
Northbound Interfaces
Your portal to the cloud or supervising systems.
Web Connectivity / Network Interfaces
Data exchange, APIs and web technologies
User Management
All about authorization, authentication and login-customization.
Availability
How to get your system uptime to the maximum.
Reporting
Create state of the art project reports without limits.
Addons
Useful tools and enhancements for special demands.
Reference Tables
Detailed and extensive content for special project adaptation.
Videos & Tutorials
Explore the capabilities of WinCC OA with our carefully selected collection of video tutorials and guides.
WinCC OA Documentation
Basic information about terms and functions within the documentation.
Disclaimer
A brief clarification of liability exclusions or legal notices.

NextGen Archiver (NGA)

Currently WinCC OA provides three different archiving solutions:

Standard archiving (RAIMA + HDB)
RDB
NGA

ValueArchive (+ RAIMA) and RDB archiving are used to store tag-based events ("value changes") and alarms (alarm instances) based on timestamps to retrieve / query them. Whereas ValueArchive is intended for smaller, stand-alone installations, the RDB Manager is targeted at larger, networked systems.

The NextGenArchive (NGA) for WinCC OA is a new archiving solution which extends flexibility while keeping the possibilities and strengths of the current methods.

The main features of the archiving solution are:

Archiving events (value changes) and alarms using configuration concepts similar to the already existing WinCC OA archiving solutions
Compatible historical read interface (dpGetPeriod, dpGetAsynch, dpQuery with TIMERANGE, alert-GetPeriod)
Direct read option to access underlying DB directly from CTRL code (User Interface, CTRL Manager) without using WinCC OA messaging
Modular DB backend concept with possibilities for user-specific DB backend interfaces
Storage of values and alerts*) in multiple DBs / backends possible. See chapters Configuration - Backend and Configuration - Backend Profile
Modern relational database PostgreSQL® as default backend included in WinCC OA
Usage of one DB for multiple WinCC OA systems
DB maintenance (backup, restore etc.) controlled by WinCC OA panels and scripts
Redundant operations implemented at NGA level and possible for PostgreSQL® and InfluxDB®

Note: Note that not all features will be available in the current release of the NextGen Archiver. A list of restrictions can be found in the chapter Notes and Restrictions and in the WinCC OA Known Bugs list in the WinCC OA Installation.

Figure 1. NGA Architecture

Supported Databases

Following databases are currently supported as NGA backends:

Note: We recommend using the PostgreSQL® database.

Note: InfluxDB® is a trademark registered by InfluxData, which is not affiliated with WinCC OA, and does not endorse, this product.