RTConnect Allen-Bradley
PLC HISTORIAN
The easiest way to log data from Allen-Bradley PLCs
The RTConnect Allen-Bradley PLC Historian provides a dedicated platform for collecting and sharing high-resolution, time-series data from Allen-Bradley PLCs in both closed OT and hybrid IT/OT environments.
The RTConnect Allen-Bradley PLC Historian extends the life of process data by providing:
Persistent storage of high-frequency, high-volume PLC datasets
Structured access to process data for analysis, root cause analysis and compliance
Traceable and audit-ready datasets with secured, time-stamped records
Operational intelligence for predictive maintenance, energy optimization and process tuning
Seamless integration with SCADA, MES, ERP and cloud ecosystems through industry-standard protocols
PLC Historian Overview
The RTConnect Allen-Bradley PLC Historian is a hardware-based solution that provides a dedicated industrial platform for persistent time-series data collection. Operating entirely on-premise, the historian captures high-resolution logs from Allen-Bradley PLCs, structures them into historian records and makes them available for downstream systems.
Unlike complex historian software, the RTConnect PLC Historian does not require a subscription, licensing, or third-party middleware. Data is managed through an intuitive web interface that requires no proprietary software installation.
A Secure PLC Historian for Any Control Network
Closed OT
A secure, stand-alone PLC data logging platform
- Local record storage with options up to 1TB
- Absolute data ownership —no cloud access, recurring licensing or third-party middleware
- Deterministic access through email, USB or local network file services
- Dedicated local browser interface
IT to OT
A bridge between plant-floor instrumentation and enterprise IT or cloud systems
- Multi-protocol forwarding
- Physical and logical separation of OT and IT traffic
- Embedded InfluxDB engine to expose historian datasets to Grafana and other analytics clients
- Transformation of raw PLC data into metadata-rich information model
Turn Process Data into Actionable Insights
Raw data trapped in your Allen-Bradley PLCs is only valuable when it is transformed into actionable information. The RTConnect Allen-Bradley Historian acts as a data instrumentation layer, automatically converting ephemeral PLC tags into structured, time-stamped datasets.
This process unlocks the variables hidden inside your PLCs and creates modeled data structures used for KPI tracking, predictive maintenance, root cause analysis and other advanced analytics.
- Calculate key performance indicators, such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), with 100% accuracy
- Schedule maintenance before unplanned downtime occurs by monitoring real-time conditions and applying predictive maintenance (PdM) techniques
- Reconstruct equipment failures with precise, high-resolution event recording
- Track energy consumption to identify waste and optimize resource usage
- Identify hidden bottlenecks and stoppages that directly affect your profit margin
Log Allen-Bradley PLC Data the Easy Way!
Deploy the PLC historian within your control network
Automatically discover connected PLCs and available data tags through the web browser interface.
Define triggers that will create data records: cyclic sampling intervals (down to 100ms), event conditions and schedule windows.
Apply optional transformations or modeled dataset configurations.
The result is a structured historian dataset, designed from the ground up to reflect your production logic and operational priorities.
Real-World Result:
Uncovering a Recurring PLC Failure
Discover how a well-known, international product development facility deployed the RTConnect PLC Historian to provide engineers with visibility of their industrial process data and identify the root cause of a recurring failure in their Allen-Bradley PLCs.
PLC Historian Key Features
Native Allen-Bradley PLC Tag Discovery
Use a simple, browser-based user interface to automatically scan your networked PLCs and create a data model from selected tags.
Real-time, Built-in Data Transformation
Normalize your data before it reaches your database. Use arithmetic operations, bitwise operators, logical functions and even custom JavaScript routines to ensure every record written aligns with your operational KPIs.
No Software Installation
Manage your entire data environment through a responsive, intuitive web interface. With built-in filtered views and easy export functions, you can verify your data integrity and generate quick reports without installing proprietary software.
Analysis-Ready PLC Data
With built-in filtered views and easy export functions, you can verify your data integrity and generate quick reports without installing proprietary software.
Flexible Data Scheduling
Take control over how and when your data is captured. Granular schedule-, cyclic- and event-based triggers capture exactly the data you need without using up valuable storage space.
InfluxDB & Grafana-Ready Datasets
Feed high-resolution PLC data directly to InfluxDB to power professional, real-time performance dashboards in Grafana and other visualization platforms.
Multi-Protocol Data Forwarding
Publish PLC historian data to any destination through a complete suite of standard industrial protocols.
Industrial-Grade Local Storage
Select the storage volume that matches your application’s footprint. The historian provides high-capacity storage options of 128GB, 512GB, or 1TB, ensuring you never run out of room for critical process data.
Modeled Dataset Creation
Create structured, modeled datasets that organize your data by machine, line or shift, ensuring that your information arrives at its destination pre-contextualized and ready for analysis.
Native Support for Allen-Bradley PLCs
The RTConnect Allen-Bradley PLC Historian supports the following PLC families:
Why Trust RTA to Protect Your Allen-Bradley PLC Data?
RTA is dedicated to being your protocol partner. When you call, a live person answers the phone. If you talk with sales, you will get honest answers and recommendations. When you get support, it is from an engineer (or Enginerd® as we like to call them here) who had a hand in the product’s development and testing.
Keep data flowing throughout your entire control network with our Allen-Bradley Gateways.
A-B PLC Historian Frequently Asked Questions
The RTConnect A-B PLC Historian is a din-rail mounted, on-premise hardware historian that collects time-series tag data from Allen-Bradley PLCs and stores that data locally in a database. It operates without cloud dependencies, licensing requirements, subscriptions or external gateway middleware.
The RTConnect A-B PLC Historian collects tag and file data from Allen-Bradley PLCs. It can collect any controller-scoped or program-scoped tags for Logix based PLCs or B, N, F or ST files for PCCC based PLCs.
Typical use cases include maintenance troubleshooting, downtime analysis, quality tracking and long-term production history collection from one or more Allen-Bradley PLCs. The stored time-series data is commonly consumed by upstream MES, BI, analytics platforms or cloud applications for reporting and optimization.
Yes, the RTConnect A-B PLC Historian includes a simple, browser-based real-time trending graph intended for configuration verification and diagnostic troubleshooting.
Allen-Bradley CompactLogix, ControlLogix, FlexLogix, Micro820, Micro850, Micro870, MicroLogix, SLC5/05 and PLC5E.
