Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 2-3. Time series databases provide an important tool in managing cell tower resources to
provide consistent service for mobile phone customers despite shifting loads, such as those caused
by a stadium full of people excitedly tweeting in response to a key play. Service to other customers
in the area could be impaired if the large tower in this illustration is overwhelmed. When needed,
auxiliary towers can be activated to accommodate the extra traffic.
Similarly, public utilities now use smart meters to report frequent measurements of energy
usage at specific locations. These time series datasets can help the utility companies not only
with billing, such as monitoring peak time of day usage levels, but also to redirect energy de-
livery relative to fluctuations in need or in response to energy generation by private solar ar-
rays at residences or businesses. Water supply companies can also use detailed measurements
of flow and pressure as a function of time to better manage their resources and customer ex-
perience.
Data Center Monitoring
Modern data centers are complex systems with a variety of operations and analytics taking
place around the clock. Multiple teams need access at the same time, which requires coordin-
ation. In order to optimize resource use and manage workloads, system administrators monit-
or a huge number of parameters with frequent measurements for a fine-grained view. For ex-
ample, data on CPU usage, memory residency, IO activity, levels of disk storage, and many
other parameters are all useful to collect as time series.
