<div>Historian is a time-series database service for storing data from long-time and permanent monitoring measurement applications. Historian is based on an open source InfluxDB time-series database.</div>

What kind of clients does Historian support?

Historian supports MQTT clients. MQTT clients can be either publishers or subscribers.

What do I need to run Historian?

<div>A Historian database can be installed on:</div> <ul> <li>Locally on the measurement unit computer.</li> <li>Remotely on a server machine (Windows Server required).</li> <li>In the cloud such as Amazon AWS or Microsoft Azure (Windows Server instance required).</li> </ul>

What are the minimum requirements to run Historian?

<div>It depends on the number of channels in the database, the data rate of those channels, and the number of clients that will connect to the database. But in general, we recommend an Intel Core i7 processor and 16 GB of RAM.</div>

Can the Historian be installed on a Linux-based server?

Dewesoft Historian is composed from several components running on the same system using Docker. Each Historian software element is stored in a separate container. A typical installation hosts Docker, with all the Historian software elements, on the same system, normally on a Linux server. But they could also all run on a measurement unit, or each of them on different systems.

How does the Historian pricing work?

<div>Historian pricing is determined by several factors:</div> <ul> <li>The number of channels being stored in the database (minimum 100 channels with 100 channels increase steps).</li> <li>The number of desktop client licenses needed to access the stored data.</li> <li>Web-based client access to the data (one license for unlimited web clients).</li> </ul>

Does the Historian provide web-based clients or dashboards to view measurement data?

Yes. Historian offers web-based clients for creating dashboards and viewing real-time data. The Historian Web client is based on open.source Grafana dashboard software and can be fully customized to suit the application and customer needs. Grafana is compatible with most modern browsers such as Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, etc.

Does Dewesoft provide services to install and set up the Historian database on our server?

Yes. Dewesoft can provide full help and set up service for the Historian. Our technical team will require full admin/root access to the Windows Server machine.

Does Dewesoft provide a fully hosted and managed Historian service?

<div>Yes. Based on customer requests Dewesoft can provide a fully managed and hosted Historian instance based on a monthly pricing plan. Please contact the local distributor for pricing information.</div>

How many channels can I save in the Historian database?

Unlimited number of channels can be theoretically stored into the Historian database.

What kind of channel data can be stored in Historian?

Normally reduced data are stored into the Historian database, while raw data is always stored on the measurement unit for an in-depth analysis. The Historian can save the following channel types: <ul> <li>Synchronous 1D channels.</li> <li>Asynchronous 1D channels.</li> <li>FFTs and Scope shots as asynchronous 2D channels.</li> <li>Matrices and complex data types can also be stored.</li> </ul>

Can Historian save video data?

No, at the moment, video data can not be stored into Historian.

How fast can the data be stored in the Historian database?

Basic license package includes 100 channels with a total sample rate of 10 kS/s (100 S/s/channe on average). This can be increased with additional licenses. The upper limit depends on the full architecture of the system and server capabilities.

Can Historian be used as a test database system?

Historian is not designed to be used as a test and measurement database system. Historian is designed to be used in continuous monitoring applications where the measurement setup (sensors, DAQ hardware, sampling speed, mathematics, etc.) does not change for several months or years.

Can we read live data from Historian from 3rd party software?

Historian was not designed to read live data, but to store historical data which can be used for trending as well as for in-depth analysis and root cause identification. However, live data can be read from the measurement units by using the DewesoftX Historian View client license. It enables users to connect directly to the measurement units, over MQTT client operating in DewesoftX’s measure mode, and display live data from the measurement units.

12 reviews

HistorianTime-Series Database for Long-Term and Permanent Monitoring Applications

Name: Historian
Brand: Dewesoft®
Rating: 4.8 (19 reviews)

Historian is a database software service for long-term and permanent monitoring. It provides storage into an InfluxDB time-series database for long-term and permanent monitoring applications.

Monitor your vibration, temperature, inclination, strain, pressure and other data with a self-hosted or fully cloud-managed service. Measurement Units, databases and view clients communicate within the Dewesoft Historian system over the MQTT protocol which enables each component to run on a separate computing system at any location with internet access.

Historian highlights

Time-series Database

Data is stored in a state-of-the-art open-source InfluxDB database. InfluxDB is an open-source time-series database developed by InfluxData. It is written in Go and optimized for fast, high-availability storage and retrieval of time series data in fields such as operations monitoring, application metrics, Internet of Things sensor data, and real-time analytics.

Self-hosted or Fully Managed Hosting

Historian service can either be installed locally on the measurement unit, or your local intranet, or we can provide a fully cloud-managed service. For fully hosted managed service monthly fee applies for data storage and maintenance.

Accessible From Anywhere and Anytime

Data stored in the Historian database can be accessed from anywhere in the world and at any time using an instance of DewesoftX data acquisition software or any standard web browser on any device like computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Visualisation in Grafana

Historian uses another great open-source project called Grafana for visualization of the stored data. Grafana is multi-platform open-source analytics and interactive visualization web application. It provides charts, graphs, and alerts for the web when connected to supported data sources. It is expandable through a plug-in system. End users can create complex monitoring dashboards using interactive query builders.

Data Safety and Re-transmit

In case of network failure or downtime, the measurement units will continue to store the data into the local buffer and will safely transfer the data to the Historian database when the network connection is re-established.

Raw and Reduced Data

While raw data is always stored on the measurement unit for an in-depth analysis, Historian takes the role of long-term reduced data storage in the cloud database.

Trending and Analytics

Historical data can always be recalled and loaded from the Historian database and used for trend analysis as well as for in-depth analysis and root cause identification.

Dewesoft quality and 7-year warranty

Enjoy our industry-leading 7-year warranty. Our data acquisition systems are made in Europe, utilizing only the highest build quality standards. We offer free and customer-focused technical support. Your investment into the Dewesoft solutions is protected for years ahead.

Historian introduction and overview

The world is being flooded with sensors. We are measuring more parameters for longer periods than ever before, piling up huge amounts of data. Big data becomes difficult to store, access, and visualize. Especially when it comes to monitoring applications or conducting long-term tests, the challenge is how and where to store the data in order to be easily accessible from anywhere in the world at any time.

Historian enables reliable data transfer from multiple Measurement Units into a time-series database that can be hosted on a custom private server or in a cloud. The data stored in the database can be accessed through a web browser on any device (desktop, tablet, mobile) or an instance of DewesoftX software.

The Dewesoft measurement units run an instance of DewesoftX software. They communicate via the MQTT protocol with the Historian database. On the server side, an MQTT broker temporarily holds the data published by Historian clients running on the Measurement units and serves the data to the Historian client subscribers which can be either a database consumer service or a DewesoftX instance.

Dewesoft Historian brings the data from the most capable DAQ hardware and software on the market into the cloud for historical and worldwide access, keeping core Dewesoft features intact: reliability, usability, and expandability.

InfluxDB time-series database storage

At the core of Dewesoft Historian is a state-of-the-art time-series database based on the InfluxDB open-source project. Time-series databases were developed specifically for long-term monitoring projects with large data rates.

Measurement devices store data in a state-of-the-art open-source InfluxDB database. InfluxDB is an open-source time-series database developed by InfluxData. It is written in Go and optimized for fast, high-availability storage and retrieval of time series data in fields such as operations monitoring, application metrics, Internet of Things sensor data, and real-time analytics.

The historian can save the following channel types for an unlimited time span:

Synchronous 1D channels
Asynchronous 1D channels
FFTs and Scope shots as asynchronous 2D channels

Data visualization in a web client

The web client is based on another open-source product called Grafana. It provides visualization of long-term data and is accessible on any platform - Windows, Linux, Mac OS, on a desktop or mobile devices (such as tablets or smartphones). It is an ideal solution for creating dashboards for a live overview of your data.

Grafana provides comprehensive visualization capabilities for trend data and live values. Dewesoft developed 2D channel visualization extensions for Grafana to display FFTs and high-speed waveform scope shots.

Dewesoft also developed a Python-based Grafana Connector that optimizes data loading for long and short time intervals by dynamically adjusting the data density to be shown. This improvement can be clearly tested in this demonstration.

Basic math and threshold levels can be set on any display. It also supports email alerts based on the displayed data.

Visual displays in Grafana can be completely customized by the user or prepared as part of a turn-key solution by Dewesoft.

Historical data access in DewesoftX software

In parallel to web clients, the database can be also accessed by an instance of Dewesoft X data acquisition software. Using the Historian Importer plugin in DewesoftX Analysis mode the data from a chosen time frame is loaded into a Dewesoft data file.

Dewesoft Historian Importer is typically running on a Client PC in an engineering office where the database needs to be accessed for further in-depth analysis and reporting.

Once imported into a Dewesoft *.dxd data file, the wide range of Dewesoft’s mathematical operations can be applied to the data.

Daily, weekly, monthly, etc. reports can be easily generated by applying a predefined display setup and exporting data as PDF, Excel file, or any other Dewesoft export format.

Live data stream into DewesoftX software

The data can also be streamed directly from the measurement units to the DewesoftX client using the Historian client plugin, providing a detailed live view.

The live data stream is bypassing the database and can therefore display higher-speed data that is not necessarily saved to the database. This enables on-demand data visualization and recording, for example after receiving an email notification about an alarm state.

Mathematical and display setup can be applied to the streamed data channels like any other Dewesoft channels, enabling further analysis on the client side.

Integration Into 3rd-party Enterprise Software

SCADA, CMMS, or ERP systems can be connected to the Dewesoft Historian service over the MQTT messaging protocol or directly to the InfluxDB database using its API.

The Historian acts as an MQTT broker, enabling data stream to a 3rd party MQTT client.

InfluxDB database provides a well-documented open API that is easy to implement and enables historical data access, typically for integration into machine learning software.

Data safety and re-transmit functionality

In case of network failure or downtime, the measurement units will continue to store the data in the local buffer and will safely transfer the data to the Historian database when the network connection is re-established.

The local buffer size can be adjusted up to several hundred megabytes. Tolerated offline time depends on the buffer size, data rate, and available network bandwidth on re-connect.

Retransmit function is so reliable that we even use it to send the data from the airplane over 4G providing a live telemetry view to several base stations.

Self-hosted or fully managed cloud hosting

Historian service is platform-independent and can run on any operating system. The Historian can be installed on the measurement unit itself, your local intranet, your server, or in the cloud.

We also offer a fully managed Historian service. The fully managed Historian service is based on a monthly subscription fee for maintenance and storage. The subscription fee depends on the number of measured channels and the storage needed for the monitored data. We take care of everything else - updates, system scaling, and maintenance.

For estimating the monthly subscription fee for a fully managed Historian you can contact us and we can estimate the cost for you after discussion.

Data Retention Policy

It is possible to configure how much data is retained in the database and for how long. Data is reduced by taking the average of the higher data rate samples and downsampling. Durations and data rates can be configured using InfluxDB configuration scripts via SQL language.

Exemplary default configuration:

Data rate	Default duration	Comment
Raw	30 days	The original rate at which the channel is written to the database.
10 S/s	60 days	Raw data is reduced to 10 S/s after days and stored for 60 days.
1 S/s	90 days	Channels stored at more than 10 S/s are reduced to 10 S/s after 60 days and retained for 90 days.
1 S/min	360 days	Channels stored at more than 1 S/min are reduced to 1 S/min after 90 days and retained for a year.
1 S/h	infinite	Data of 1 sample per hour is never deleted.

Distributed Architecture

Historian service is designed as a distributed software system. It is composed of several components. Each component can run on a different system.

MQTT broker is the central component of Dewesoft Historian software that temporarily holds the data published by Historian clients running on the Measurement units and serves the data to the MQTT client subscribers that can be either a database consumer service or DewesoftX instances.
InfluxDB time series database permanently stores the data. InfluxDB is a leading time series database solution designed with measurement applications in mind. Its open-source version is used within the Dewesoft Historian solution.
DewesoftX Historian view client is an instance of DewesoftX software that runs on client PCs and includes two plugins: Historian Client and Historian Importer.
Grafana is a visualization platform for measurement data that runs in a web browser. Its open-source version is used within the Dewesoft Historian software solution.

Historian licensing model

Historian provides a simple licensing model with the following license options:

The DewesoftX Historian client license: license for the Dewesoft measurement units to collect data and send it to the time-series database. These are instances of DewesoftX (Windows) software and include the DewesoftX MQTT client to communicate with MQTT Broker.
Dewesoft Historian service license: license for Historian server service and time-series database. This license is based on the number of stored channels in the database. This license also covers unlimited web client access.
DewesoftX Historian view client license: license for the instance of the DewesoftX view client for viewing and in-depth analysis of real-time and stored data.

Historian Applications and Case Studies

The historian can be used in many measurement and monitoring applications:

Machine condition monitoring
Structural health monitoring (bridge monitoring, high-rise building monitoring, construction site monitoring)
Geotechnical monitoring
Fleet monitoring
Electrical power monitoring

Case Studies:

Historian Live Demo

You can check Historian demos of live monitoring projects on our instance of Historian and Grafana dashboards installed on our cloud server. Several demos are available:

The electric motor and gearbox monitoring
Food and beverage production line monitoring
Power monitoring