AWS Timestream vs TDengine

Choosing the right database is a critical choice when building any software application. All databases have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to performance, so deciding which database has the most benefits and the most minor downsides for your specific use case and data model is an important decision. Below you will find an overview of the key concepts, architecture, features, use cases, and pricing models of AWS Timestream and TDengine so you can quickly see how they compare against each other.

The primary purpose of this article is to compare how AWS Timestream and TDengine perform for workloads involving time series data, not for all possible use cases. Time series data typically presents a unique challenge in terms of database performance. This is due to the high volume of data being written and the query patterns to access that data. This article doesn’t intend to make the case for which database is better; it simply provides an overview of each database so you can make an informed decision.

AWS Timestream Overview

AWS Timestream is a fully managed, serverless time series database service developed by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Launched in 2020, Timestream is designed specifically for handling time series data, making it an ideal choice for IoT, monitoring, and analytics applications that require high ingestion rates, efficient storage, and fast querying capabilities. As a part of the AWS ecosystem, Timestream seamlessly integrates with other AWS services, simplifying the process of building and deploying time series applications in the cloud.

TDengine Overview

TDengine is a high-performance, open source time series database designed to handle massive amounts of time series data efficiently. It was created by TAOS Data in 2017 and is specifically designed for Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial IoT, and IT infrastructure monitoring use cases. TDengine has a unique hybrid architecture that combines the advantages of both relational and NoSQL databases, providing high performance, easy-to-use SQL-like querying, and flexible data modeling capabilities.

AWS Timestream for Time Series Data

AWS Timestream is designed specifically for handling time series data, making it a suitable choice for a wide range of applications that require high ingestion rates, efficient storage, and fast querying capabilities. Its dual-tiered storage architecture, consisting of the Memory Store and Magnetic Store, allows Timestream to automatically manage data retention and optimize storage costs based on data age and access patterns. Additionally, Timestream supports SQL-like querying and integrates with popular analytics tools, making it easy for users to gain insights from their time series data.

TDengine for Time Series Data

TDengine is designed from the ground up as a time series database, so it will be a good fit for most use cases that heavily involve storing and analyzing time series data.

AWS Timestream Key Concepts

• Memory Store: In AWS Timestream, the Memory Store is a component that stores recent, mutable time series data in memory for fast querying and analysis.
• Magnetic Store: The Magnetic Store in AWS Timestream is responsible for storing historical, immutable time series data on disk for cost-efficient, long-term storage.
• Time-to-Live (TTL): AWS Timestream allows users to set a TTL on their time series data, which determines how long data is retained in the Memory Store before being moved to the Magnetic Store or deleted.

TDengine Key Concepts

• Super Table: A template for creating multiple tables with the same schema. It’s similar to the concept of table inheritance in some other databases.
• Sub Table: A table created based on a Super Table, inheriting its schema. Sub Tables can have additional tags for categorization and querying purposes.
• Tag: A metadata attribute used to categorize and filter Sub Tables in a Super Table. Tags are indexed and optimized for efficient querying.
• Stable: A synonym for Super Table.
• TSQL: TDengine’s SQL-like query language, designed specifically for time series data manipulation and retrieval.

AWS Timestream Architecture

Timestream is built on a serverless, distributed architecture that supports SQL-like querying capabilities. Its data model is specifically tailored for time series data, using time-stamped records and a flexible schema that can accommodate varying data granularities and dimensions. The core components of Timestream’s architecture include the Memory Store and the Magnetic Store, which together manage data retention, storage, and querying. The Memory Store is optimized for fast querying of recent data, while the Magnetic Store provides cost-efficient, long-term storage for historical data.

TDengine Architecture

TDengine uses a hybrid architecture that combines the advantages of relational databases (support for SQL-like querying) and NoSQL databases (scalability and flexibility). It is based on a distributed, columnar storage model and uses a time series data model. TDengine uses data nodes to store data and handle queries. Management nodes coordinate the data nodes and store metadata like schema and cluster information.