Grafana & TimescaleDB: Enhancing time-series exploration and visualization

The new graphical query editor in Grafana v5.3 for PostgreSQL offers a visual interface and TimescaleDB compatibility.

To further our first-class integration with Grafana, we worked with their team to develop the new visual query editor, including TimescaleDB features (such as time_bucket), for the PostgreSQL datasource.

Essentially, the query editor makes it easier for users to explore time-series data by improving the discoverability of data stored in PostgreSQL. Users can use drop-down menus to formulate their queries with valid selections and macros to express time-series specific functionalities, all without a deep knowledge of the database schema or the SQL language.

Prior to the recently released Grafana v5.3, users had to handwrite SQL queries in order to query data. By combining the usability of the query editor with the power of full SQL, users can generate dynamic dashboards and visualizations in Grafana.

Both the query editor and PostgreSQL datasource are contributions made by TimescaleDB engineers (including myself) to the open-source Grafana community. If you are interested in hearing more about why we decided to build a first-class integration with Grafana for PostgreSQL/TimescaleDB, and to learn more about the new capabilities now possible with the query editor, please read our post featured on Grafana’s blog.

Additionally, my colleague (and Timescale Product Manager) Diana Hsieh, recently gave a live demo on how to use TimescaleDB and Grafana during Time-Series Data NY. In the video, Diana provides an overview of Grafana and how it works with PostgreSQL and TimescaleDB, demoing the PostgreSQL/TimescaleDB connector, new graphical query builder, and TimescaleDB specific capabilities and functions that make storing time-series data in PostgreSQL not only possible, but quite powerful.

Watch the video:

You can learn more about our partnership with Grafana from our recent press release. If you’re ready to get started, please download TimescaleDB (installation instructions) and Grafana (installation instructions).

For more information about the new query editor, check out the recent Grafana v5.3 release notes and learn more from their website. To read more about TimescaleDB, check out our website, documentation, and GitHub.

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