---
alias: user-guide-data-silo-index
description: "Data Silos are logical data sources within the Enterprise Data Platform for organized data management"
---

# Data Silo

:lock: DataSilo.**Show**

## Overview

A **Data Silo** represents a logical source of data within the [[tutorials-edp|Enterprise Data Platform (EDP)]]. It is the core entity used to identify, organize, and contextualize data ingested from upstream systems, most commonly one or more Critical Manufacturing MES instances.

!!! info
    The Data Silo entity is only available when the Enterprise Data Platform module is licensed.

In EDP, all incoming data is always associated with a **Data Silo**. This association ensures correct data segregation, traceability, and reliable aggregation across multiple data sources.

Each **Data Silo** is uniquely associated with a **single User**. When the [[installation-guide-edpconnector|EDP Connector]] authenticates with EDP, the platform validates the access token and uses the associated identity to determine which **Data Silo** incoming data is assigned to.

From a logical perspective, the **Data Silo** acts as the anchor point that connects:

* The security context (User and access token).
* The organizational context (Enterprise, Site, and Facility identifiers).
* The EDP data model (Data Sets, IoT Event Definitions, among others).

This design enables EDP to consolidate data from multiple MES installations or external systems while preserving source traceability and avoiding naming conflicts.

## Tying Everything Together

```mermaid
graph LR
    A4[User] --- Main[Data Silo]
    C1[Enterprise] -.- Main[Data Silo]
    C2[Site] -.- Main[Data Silo]
    C3[Facility] -.- Main[Data Silo]
    Main[Data Silo] --- A5[IoT Event Definition]
    A5[IoT Event Definition] --- A6[Data Set]

classDef mermaid_businessdata color:#000, fill:#65CDE8, stroke:#65CDE8, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_nonbusinessdata color:#000, fill:#B7DEE8, stroke:#B7DEE8, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_entity color:#000, fill:#FB9F53, stroke:#FB9F53, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_entitylinked color:#000, fill:#FCD5B5, stroke:#FCD5B5, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_context color:#000, fill:#B9CDE5, stroke:#B9CDE5, stroke-width:0px, font-size:100%;
classDef mermaid_optional color:#000, fill:#B7DEE8, stroke:#65CDE8, stroke-width:1px, font-size:100%, stroke-dasharray: 5 5;
class Main mermaid_entity
class A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,A6,A7,A8,A9,A10,A11,A12 mermaid_businessdata
class L1,L2,L3,L4,L5,L6 mermaid_entitylinked
class C1,C2,C3,C4,C5,C6 mermaid_context
class N1,N2,N3,N4,N5,N6 mermaid_nonbusinessdata

click Main "../../business-data/data-silo"
click C1 "../../business-data/enterprise"
click C2 "../../business-data/site"
click C3 "../../business-data/facility"
click A4 "../../administration/security/users"
click A5 "../../data-platform/events/iot-event-definition"
click A6 "../../data-platform/data/data-sets"
```

!!! info "Enterprise, Site, and Facility Context"
    The dashed relationships in the diagram indicate that Enterprise, Site, and Facility are logical hierarchy identifiers used by the [[tutorials-edp|Enterprise Data Platform]] only.
  
    In line with the ISA-95 model, Enterprise and Site should always be defined. These identifiers are logical values used exclusively by EDP and are not linked to MES entities. When defined - which is strongly recommended - they override the values received from the MES, ensuring consistent grouping and preventing conflicts when consolidating data from multiple MES installations.

## Sequence Of Steps

The necessary steps for correctly configuring and using a **Data Silo** are the following:

1. Create a **User** to be used for data ingestion.
2. Generate one **Access Token** for that user.
3. Create one **Data Silo** associated with the user.

    !!! warning "One User, One Data Silo"
        A User must be associated with only one Data Silo. Associating the same User with multiple Data Silos can cause incoming data to be routed to the wrong database.

4. Configure the **EDP Connector** to authenticate using the user access token.

Once configured, all data ingested through the EDP Connector is automatically associated with the corresponding Data Silo and made available for downstream analytics and reporting.

{{ generate_index() }}