TL;DR InfluxDB Tech Tips - InfluxData Resolutions For The New Year

By Regan Kuchan / Dec 29, 2016 / Tech Tips

In the spirit of 1483228800000000000 we’ve put together some InfluxData resolutions for the new year. Check out the sections below for advice on working with InfluxDB, recommendations for maintaining a healthy database, and for something new to discover!

Resolution 1: Downsample to get your database in shape

Downsampling is moving high precision data to a lower precision. That’s as simple as taking one-second resolution data, aggregating those data to the one-hour resolution, and deleting the now unnecessary high precision data from your database. Adding downsampling to your database routine can:

  • Eliminate storage concerns
  • Improve query performance
  • Improve graphing tool performance

InfluxDB has two features that automate the downsampling process. Continuous Queries (CQs) automatically and periodically run a downsampling query and Retention Policies (RPs) delete any old, unwanted data. Check out the Downsampling and Data Retention guide for more information and for a sample setup.

Resolution 2: Focus on series cardinality to maintain database health

Series cardinality is the number of unique database, measurement, and tag set combinations in an InfluxDB instance. We talk about it quite a bit because extremely high series cardinality can kill your InfluxDB process.

Here are a couple things you can do to monitor and manage your series cardinality:

Finally, review our schema dos and don’ts and this technical paper to identify and fix any unsustainable data setups.

Resolution 3: Get started with Chronograf to simplify your monitoring solution

Chronograf is the open source user interface component of InfluxData’s TICK stack. Chronograf offers an application-based view of your infrastructure, data visualizations, and a user interface for Kapacitor (InfluxData’s data processing engine).

Chronograf is currently in beta. To get started check out the Chronograf repository on GitHub. Please feel free to give us feedback - we’d  love to hear what you think!

What’s next:

  • Downloads for the TICK-stack are live on our "downloads" page
  • Deploy on the Cloud: Get started with a FREE trial of InfluxDB Cloud featuring fully-managed clusters, Kapacitor and Grafana.
  • Deploy on Your Servers: Want to run InfluxDB clusters on your servers? Try a FREE 14-day trial of InfluxDB Enterprise featuring an intuitive UI for deploying, monitoring and rebalancing clusters, plus managing backups and restores. 
  • Tell Your Story: Over 100 companies have shared their story on how InfluxDB is helping them succeed. Submit your testimonial and get a limited edition hoodie as a thank you.