Data HISTORIAN
for Allen-Bradley PLCs and Modbus Devices
The easiest way to log automation data at its source
The RTA Historian provides a dedicated platform for collecting, analyzing and sharing high-resolution, time-series data from Allen-Bradley PLCs and Modbus devices in both closed OT and hybrid IT/OT environments.
The RTA Historian extends the life of operational data by providing:
Persistent storage of high-frequency, high-volume PLC and edge device datasets
Structured access to process data for troubleshooting, performance tracking, 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, enterprise historians and cloud ecosystems through industry-standard protocols
Data Historian Overview
The RTA Historian is a hardware-based solution that provides a dedicated platform for persistent time-series data collection. Operating entirely on-premise, the data historian captures high-resolution logs from Allen-Bradley PLCs and Modbus devices (ASCII, RTU and TCP), structures them into historian records and makes them available for downstream systems.
Unlike complex historian software, the RTA 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 industrial data logger
- 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
- Built-in dashboard for local data analysis
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 automation data into metadata-rich information model
- High-resolution data capture at the machine level, pre-processed and staged for enterprise systems and data lakes
Turn Process Data into Actionable Insights
Raw data trapped in your Allen-Bradley PLCs and Modbus devices is only valuable when it is transformed into actionable information. The RTA Historian acts as a data instrumentation layer, automatically converting ephemeral PLC tags and Modbus registers into structured, time-stamped datasets.
This process unlocks the variables hidden inside your PLCs and edge devices 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
Unlock Automation Data the Easy Way!
Deploy the data historian within your control network
Automatically discover connected Allen-Bradley PLCs and available data tags, or configure Modbus coils and register 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.
Analyze automation data through integrated dashboards, AI platforms or other analytics tools
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 RTA 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.
RTA 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.
Modbus Support
Access and aggregate data from both legacy and modern Modbus devices alongside your Allen-Bradley PLC data to achieve greater factory floor visibility in a single, unified view.
AI-Assisted Data Analysis
Leverage a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server to securely connect your data to popular AI platforms for fast, intelligent insights without needing advanced data analysis skills.
Real-time, Built-in Data Transformation
Normalize your data before it reaches your database. Use arithmetic operations, bitwise operators, logical functions and custom JavaScript routines to ensure every record written aligns with your operational KPIs.
Wireless Network Connectivity
Built-in Wi-Fi provides access to configuration options and available publishers while RTA Historian communicates with Allen-Bradley PLCs and Modbus devices on the OT network.
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.
Built-In InfluxDB & Grafana-Ready Datasets
Leverage the built-in InfluxDB database to seamlessly feed high-resolution automation data directly into Grafana and other visualization platforms for professional, real-time performance dashboards.
Multi-Protocol Data Forwarding
Publish 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.
Automated Data Publishing and Redundancy
Ensure zero data loss during network disruptions. Automatic retry functionality re-publishes data once a connection is restored.
Timely Notifications and Alerts
Stay ahead of potential issues with automatic alerts. Configure notifications for out-of-range process data or storage capacity thresholds to ensure your data collection remains uninterrupted.
Hardware-level Security
Protect your infrastructure from physical threats. Administrators can disable USB ports to prevent unauthorized access or the introduction of malware into the historian.
Native Support for Allen-Bradley PLCs
The RTA Historian support the following Allen-Bradley PLC families:
- ControlLogix
- CompactLogix
- FlexLogix
- MicroLogix
- PLC-5E
- SLC-500
- Micro800 Series
Modbus Protocol Support
The RTA Historian supports data collection across standard serial and Ethernet Modbus variants:
- Modbus ASCII
- Modbus RTU
- Modbus TCP
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, Modbus RTU gateways and Modbus TCP gateways.
A-B PLC Historian Frequently Asked Questions
The RTA Data Historian is a din-rail mounted, on-premise hardware historian that collects time-series tag data from Allen-Bradley PLCs and Modbus devices and stores that data locally in a database. It operates without cloud dependencies, licensing requirements, subscriptions or external gateway middleware.
The RTA Data Historian collects tag and file data from Allen-Bradley PLCs and Modbus devices. 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 RTA Data 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.
