SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORAGE, QUERYING, AND ANALYSIS SERVICE FOR TIME SERIES DATA

• US 20140172868A1
• Filed: 12/17/2012
• Published: 06/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Digital Holdings LLC (GE Vernova, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Lin, Jerry, Aggour, Kareem Sherif, Courtney, Brian Scott, Interrante, John Alan, LaComb, Christina Ann, Mathur, Sunil, McConnell, Christopher Thomas, Snell, Quinn
• Granted Patent: US 9,087,098 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/741
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2471 Distributed queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/278 Data partitioning, e.g. horizontal or vertical partitioning

Abstract

A service for storing time series data provides a data pipe for receiving time series data, a query pipe for making requests to the service, and a result pipe for receiving output from the service. Data sent to the query pipe is processed by an ingester that prepares metadata indices associated with blocks of incoming time series data and stores the blocks of data in a time series database and the indices in a separate index database. A query layer receives queries from the query pipe and uses the index database to determine which data blocks are needed to process the query, and then requests only those data blocks from the time series database. Processing of the query is performed within the time series database only on those data nodes that contain relevant data, and partial results are passed to an output layer for formation into a final query result which is sent out by the results pipe.

Claims

1. A method of offering a service for storage and querying of real-time asset operational data, comprising the steps of:

providing a data pipe, comprising a connection through which data flows from a data source to an ingester, the ingester configured to perform the steps of;

receiving time stamped data from the data generator;

reading the received time stamped data;

creating a data block and an index associated with the time stamped data;

storing the index in an index database; and

storing the data block in a time series database in which the time series database stores the data blocks across a plurality of computing devices;

providing a query pipe, comprising a connection through which a query flows from a requestor to a query layer, the query layer configured to perform the steps of;

receiving a query that specifies criteria defining a set of data to be retrieved from the service;

requesting from the index database the indices associated with the data blocks stored in the time series database that are needed to evaluate the query;

preparing a sub-query that will produce appropriate data matching the criteria, the sub-query including the criteria and a logical operation to be performed on data matching the criteria; and

sending the sub-query to an evaluator running on each of the computing devices that corresponds to the data blocks identified in the requesting step, above, the evaluator configured to perform the steps of;

receiving the sub-query from the query layer;

evaluating the criteria specified in the sub-query with respect to the data blocks stored on the same computing devices as the evaluator in order to select a subset of data;

performing the logical operation specified in the sub-query on the subset of data to produce a sub-result; and

returning the sub-result to an output handler;

receive the sub-result from the evaluators specified in the sending step, above;

providing a result pipe, comprising a connection through which a result flows from the output handler to the requestor, the output handler configured to perform the steps of;

receiving the sub-results produced in response to each sub-query;

combining the sub-results into a query result; and

returning the result to the requestor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the index describes metadata associated the time stamped data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the metadata includes at least one of the following types of information:

the asset generating the data in the data block;

the sensor type associated with the data in the data block;

an asset profile associated with the data in the data block;

a time range covered by the data in the data block;

a query associated with the data in the data block;

an owner associated with the data in the data block; and

a security setting associated with the data in the data block.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the time series database comprises:

a plurality of data nodes, each consisting of one of the plurality of computing devices, on which specific data blocks are stored; and

a control node configured to choose which data node will store each data block and to record which data blocks are stored on each of the plurality of data nodes.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the control node and each of the plurality of data nodes run on a separate one of the plurality of computing devices.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein an evaluator is running on each data node of the time series database.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the control node is configured to assign storage of each data block to multiple data nodes.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the output handler is further configured to forward the query result to the ingester for storage within the system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the output handler is further configured to forward the query results to an external system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the index database is running on one of the plurality of computing devices.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the index database is running on the same one of the plurality of computing devices as the control node of the time series database.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the query layer is running on one of the plurality of computing devices.

13. An appliance configured to perform the method of claim 1.

14. The appliance of claim 13, wherein the appliance is connected to the data source, the data source being a data generator comprising a plurality of sensors measuring operational parameters of a plurality of assets in real time.

15. The appliance of claim 13 wherein the appliance is connected to a plurality of data generators.