Time Series Database: What is it for? Why is it important?
Since the emergence of IoT, Time-Series databases have become a source of interest for companies...
In the frenetic hour of Big Data, IoT, Cloud and other initiatives of IT/OT systems, Wonderware has more than 20 years of experience and more than 20,000 Historian systems in production in the temporal database market. Today, Time-Series databases, also called timestamped or time series databases, are experiencing the greatest growth in the market. Since the emergence of IoT, Time-Series databases have become a source of interest for companies.
Indeed, they allow storing one or other monitoring systems. So, what are they for? Why are they a strong link in an industrial information system?
Here is a market analysis accessible on the web DB-Engines.com:
The first question that is often asked is: Why set up a Time-Serie type database?
First, a Time-Series type database is characterized by the ability to store a large volume of data, being able to record it at regular intervals (every second, for example) or in an event (end of Batch, for example).
The other characteristic it has is the possibility of enriching the stored variables with meta-data (zones, equipment, alarms…)
There are some important characteristics to consider when choosing a Time-Serie database. Here are some of the things to keep in mind:
I Scalability:
The Time-Serie database must be able to evolve in terms of the volume of data to be collected, but also in terms of architectures. Wonderware Historian offers a solution to collect in real time from 100 to 2,000,000 variables for the data server. It offers the possibility of creating multi-level architectures (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 …) that allow distributing the volume of data collected and stored among different servers (between machines, workshops, factory and company level).
I Performance
The Time-Serie database must be able to store in real time a large volume of data from heterogeneous sources. Wonderware Historian can record up to 300,000 state changes per second. Performance also applies to operations. Wonderware Historian, therefore, uses a very high data compression mechanism to quickly find the stored data for use in its reporting tools or dashboards.
I Industrial Connectivity
The Time-Serie database must be able to connect to all types of data sources, regardless of the protocol used. Wonderware Historian allows collecting data from IoT systems through OPC-UA, MQTT or HTTP-Rest. In addition, it natively offers more than 250 communication drivers, to be able to access virtually any industrial or IoT device. Wonderware Historian also collects and archives data from csv files. This “offline” acquisition mode allows, among other things, to recover data from specific or disconnected systems.
I High Availability
The Time-Serie database must always remain available because it is often a real-time data source for operators. Wonderware Historian offers different levels of availability. In case of loss of communication between the collection system and the database, the system manages the disconnection with a Store & Forward mechanism. In addition, to increase the level of availability, you can opt for a redundant Historian. This level of availability is offered through a very simple configuration.
I Alarms and Events
The Time-Serie database must allow the context of the data collected by alarms and events when the data collection system transmits them. With System Platform and Wonderware Historian, it becomes possible for alarms and events to be available directly in the context of historical variables.
I Cloud Ready
A current Time-Series database must be able to integrate quickly and simply with a cloud solution. Wonderware Historian allows local systems to connect to the Wonderware-Aveva InSight cloud. This rapid integration makes it possible to offer value-added services such as mobility or a simplified automatic learning engine. Aveva InSight also offers as standard a graphic editor in the cloud that allows displaying machine data in different formats such as trends, dahsboards or superimposed on industrial graphics.
In this post we show you how to create an account in the Insight cloud with full functionality for 45 days, without any cost.
- Simplicity: the Time-Serie database must be simple to implement, configure and maintain. Wonderware Historian meets all these important criteria that make the system easy to use on a daily basis. Wonderware Historian, unlike traditional or non-SQL databases, does not require specific configuration. In other words, the benefits of a database like Wonderware Historian provide rapid and lasting returns.
- Summary: the Time-Serie database must integrate native calculation functions that allow the rapid recovery of data of the type minimums, maximums and average over a certain period of time. In this way, no additional calculation is necessary a posteriori. Wonderware Historian offers all these calculations as standards and natives.
- Bonus: the Time-Serie database is sometimes used in industrial sectors subject to strict regulations and can also benefit from other functions such as non-falsification of data (for example, to comply with pharmaceutical restrictions). Wonderware Historian includes this function as standard. Cybersecurity should also be one of the key functionalities supported by the system (encryption of input data and during replication between 2 servers).
Wonderware Historian InSight … The Ready-To-Use On-Premise Analysis Client!
As mentioned above, Historian has been designed for use on the scale of a machine, workshop, control center or management office. Therefore, the tool has been designed to be easy to use from configuration, during start-up and up to maintenance.
As mentioned above, Historian has been designed for use on the scale of a machine, workshop, control center or management office. Therefore, the tool has been designed to be easy to use from configuration, during start-up and up to maintenance.
