Infohub (Flow)Reference

Infohub Components and Installers

What ships in the box — installer features, the plugin packages, and which components go on which machine.

Updated 15 Oct 2026Infohub Docs

Infohub ships as a single signed 64-bit MSI containing three installable features, plus a set of plugin packages that provide the connectors. This article covers what is in the box and where each part belongs.

The installer features#

Feature	Description	Install on
Flow	"Collect. Calculate. Visualize."	Always — the parent feature
Bootstrap	"Communication platform for all Flow components."	Every machine that will host Infohub components
Config	"Configuration environment for measures, events, shifts, calculations, etc."	Any machine where someone builds the model

The installer is per-machine and requires administrative rights. It is digitally signed, and it takes its product version from Flow Config.exe.

Choosing features per machine#

Machine	Features
Single-server deployment	Infohub, Bootstrap, Config
Additional server hosting an engine or web server	Infohub, Bootstrap
Modeller's workstation	Infohub, Config
Build or CI agent running the CLI	Infohub, Config

A modeller's workstation needs Config but not Bootstrap, because Flow Config connects directly to the SQL database rather than through an Infohub server.

A build agent running the CLI needs Config too — the CLI is the same executable.

What the installer puts where#

Program files — replaced on every upgrade:

%ProgramFiles%\Flow Software\Flow\
+-- Bootstrap\        the Bootstrap service and its utilities
+-- Config\           Flow Config, the CLI, and supporting assemblies
+-- (licence file)

Program data — configuration and content that survives an upgrade:

%ProgramData%\Flow Software\Flow\
+-- Bootstrap\
+-- Config\
    +-- Packages\     plugin packages: data sources, consumers, notification services
    +-- Simulator\    the simulator's tag definitions

That split matters when troubleshooting and when backing up. Binaries come from the installer; plugins and simulator definitions live in ProgramData and are not reinstalled by an upgrade.

What gets registered#

The Flow Bootstrap Windows service — described as the service "used to host a Flow Platform and service objects" — running as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM by default
An event log source named Flow Bootstrap, in a custom log named Flow
Flow Config shortcuts on the desktop and in the Start Menu under Flow Software\Flow

New in 7.2.0: convenience batch entry points for the CLI are installed, and .pack files are now included in the installer — which also fixes installed builds silently missing the icon pack and falling back to composing icons at runtime.

One service, many components#

Worth restating because it is the most common architectural misunderstanding: Flow Bootstrap is the only Windows service.

The Data Engine, Flow Server, Integration Engine, Message Engine, Notification Servers, and Report Server are service objects defined in the model and hosted by Bootstrap. They do not appear in the Services list, and they are started and stopped by deploying and undeploying them.

See Infohub Architecture at a Glance.

The plugin packages#

Connectors ship as packages under %ProgramData%\Flow Software\Flow\Config\Packages and are loaded at runtime.

Data sources — 31 connectors:

Wonderware Historian · Wonderware Historian 2017 · Wonderware Online · Wonderware InTouch · Wonderware MES · Canary Historian · Canary Historian V24 · Ignition Historian · OPC HDA Historian · OPC UA Historian · OPC UA · Siemens Process Historian · Siemens Mindsphere · Timebase Historian · Microsoft SQL Database · Oracle Database · PostgreSQL Database · MySQL Database · Snowflake · InfluxDB · AWS Timestream · Apache Kafka · MQTT · Telegraf · Netilion · Metering Online · eWon · Thin Manager · Web Service · Microsoft Excel · Flow Historian Simulator

Data consumers — 13 connectors:

Microsoft SQL Database · PostgreSQL Database · MySQL Database · Snowflake · Canary · Apache Kafka · AWS Kinesis Data Streams · Azure Event Hub · MQTT Broker · SparkplugB Broker · Flow Consumer · Endpoint Consumer · CSV

Notification services — 10 connectors:

Email · Microsoft Outlook · Microsoft Teams · Slack · Telegram · Twilio · SMSPortal · Bulk SMS · File Drop · Flow Mobile

For per-connector properties, see Connection Property Reference and Consumer Reference.

Why plugins are packaged separately#

Two consequences worth understanding.

New connectors can be added without upgrading Infohub. A historian released after your Infohub version can still be supported.

Plugin versions matter when moving configuration. A plugin declares its own property set, so an older plugin assembly can silently fail to recognise properties written by a newer one — and lose them when configuration is saved.

Important

Match plugin versions before transferring configuration. When importing a model or pushing a template between instances, confirm the destination's packages are at least as new as the source's. This is the most common cause of a connection's query or a specific property quietly disappearing during a transfer, and it is far easier to prevent than to diagnose.

The simulator ships with the product#

The Flow Historian Simulator is a data source that needs no external system, with its tag definitions installed under %ProgramData%\Flow Software\Flow\Config\Simulator.

That makes it the cleanest first test after installing — a working simulator connection proves the plugin framework, the engine, and the deployment chain in one action. It is also what every tutorial in this knowledge base is built against. See The Flow Historian Simulator.

Flow Mobile#

Flow Mobile is a separate mobile application, distributed through the mobile app stores rather than by the MSI. It reads from Flow Server and receives push notifications through the Flow Mobile notification service.

What is not in the Infohub installer#

Timebase. Flow Software's time series historian is a separate product with its own installer and its own documentation. Infohub connects to it through the Timebase Historian data source. See docs.timebase.flow-software.com.

SQL Server. Install and license separately.

Historian client libraries. Several historian connectors depend on the vendor's client software being installed on the machine hosting the connection. That is the vendor's installer, not Infohub's — and a frequent cause of a connection that works from a workstation and fails on a server.

Uninstalling#

Uninstall from Programs and Features. This removes the binaries, the Flow Bootstrap service, and the event log source.

It does not remove:

The SQL database
Content under %ProgramData%\Flow Software\Flow, including plugin packages

So a reinstall over the top retains your plugins and your model. Removing an Infohub instance entirely means dropping the database as a deliberate, separate act.

A quick inventory for a support conversation#

When something is version-related, have this ready:

The file version of Flow Config.exe on every machine.
Which installer features are present on each.
The plugin package versions in ProgramData.
Whether the estate is uniformly versioned.
Which historian client libraries are installed on the Platform hosts, and their versions.