Directory structure in distributed data driven architecture environment

A method, comprising:

• employing a processor to facilitate execution of computer-executable instructions stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, to perform operations, comprising:
• receiving a request for data related to an industrial process within a factory from a requestor;
• determining a role of the requestor from a plurality of roles based on the request;
• inferring that the requestor requires a first metadata and a first timestamp to be stored with the data based on the role;
• consulting a directory that provides a hierarchical logical view of a plurality of sources for the data, wherein the plurality of sources store the data associated with different metadata and timestamps, and determining a first source from the plurality of sources that will provide the data with the first metadata and the first timestamp;
• and
• retrieving the data with the first metadata and the first timestamp from the first source and providing the data with the first metadata and the first source to the requestor, wherein the source locator employs an artificial intelligence algorithm to infer the first metadata and the first timestamp.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a computing system to perform operations, comprising:

• determining a role of an entity requesting data related to an industrial process from a plurality of roles based on a request for the data;
• inferring that the entity requesting the data requires a first metadata and a first timestamp based on the role of the entity;
• consulting a directory that provides a hierarchical logical view of a plurality of sources for the data, wherein the plurality of sources store the data associated with different metadata and timestamps;
• determining a first source from the plurality of sources that will provide the data with the first metadata and the first timestamp;
• and
• retrieving the data with the first metadata and the first timestamp from the first source, wherein the source locator employs an artificial intelligence algorithm to infer the first metadata and the first timestamp.

An apparatus comprising:

• a memory that stores computer-executable components, including:
• an interface configured to receive a request for data from an entity within an industrial automation system;
• and
• a source locator comprising an artificial intelligence component configured to determine a role of the entity within the industrial automation system from a plurality of roles, search a directory that stores information regarding a plurality of sources for the data in a hierarchical logical representation, wherein the plurality of sources store data with different metadata and timestamps and the information relates to the different metadata and time stamps and addresses for the plurality of sources, match a source for the data from the plurality of sources with the entity based on a first metadata and a first time stamp associated with the data and the role of the entity, and retrieve the data with the first metadata and the first time stamp from the source for the data, wherein the source locator employs an artificial intelligence algorithm to infer the first metadata and the first timestamp;
• and
• a processor that executes at least one of the computer-executable components.