How LineMetrics Uses InfluxDB to Launch Its IoT Monitoring Platform

By Chris Churilo / Product, Use Cases, Developer
May 12, 2020

“What would it be like to have an asset monitoring solution that can be installed within minutes and is independent of all existing IT systems, without endangering existing processes?” LineMetrics was founded in 2012 in Haag, Austria, in response to questions just like this one. LineMetrics developed a complete real-time asset monitoring solution delivered through its end-to-end Internet of Things (IoT) platform. It enables users, for a nominal subscription fee starting at just €28 ($31) a month, to view sensor data in real-time without the need for IT expertise. LineMetrics IoT monitoring “as a service” can be used with almost any vertical manufacturing, energy or retail sensor – a true plug-and-play solution that drives data-driven decision-making and enables new efficiency levels and new business models.

Time series data: trial and error

Shortly after its inception, LineMetrics began their search for the ideal architecture to enable real-time asset monitoring for various asset types. After discovering that so many programs in the market either required huge IT-department-driven installations and/or lacked the flexibility, affordability and simplicity they desired, LineMetrics set out to build a completely new IT stack and to turn it into a single industrial IoT solution that they could offer as a lean, expendable product.

They recognized that they needed a time series database — unfortunately, InfluxDB wasn’t ready for use at that time – so LineMetrics went through a series of products such as MySQL, Cassandra and even Druid (a distributed database) on top of Cassandra. They spent a lot of time trying to force these databases into a time series role, only to find the arrangement too complex to maintain – without achieving the high availability, reliability or security they required.

InfluxDB enables LineMetrics to launch IoT monitoring "as a service"

Finally, they decided to start from scratch and build a new solution using InfluxDB, a time series database purpose-built to handle time series workloads. In this use case, InfluxDB serves as the major storage system which stores all of LineMetrics’ data. Employing InfluxDB proved valuable to LineMetrics, as it was free of external dependencies, while remaining open and flexible enough for complex deployments, resulting in LineMetrics’ launch in 2016.

InfluxDB enabled LineMetrics to provide a sensor-based, self-improvement platform to industrial users, delivering “asset monitoring as a service,” for a nominal monthly fee with no programming needed. Wherever they are, users can monitor the IoT – energy consumption in buildings, machine performance and any other assets. LineMetrics’ easy-setup plug-and-play devices can connect to any type of sensor, users can register and re-configure data flow input easily via a drag-and-drop editor, get readings to optimize their server settings and add intelligence to their operations.

<figcaption> InfluxDB at the heart of LineMetrics architecture – in LineMetrics’ use case, InfluxDB serves as the major storage system which stores all of the data.</figcaption>

Coupled with LineMetrics Box and LineMetrics Wireless, LineMetrics Cloud forms a global package that matches &ndah; due to its highly competitive price and versatile functional scope – nearly every requirement. For the first time ever, sensor data of any kind and even entire production plants can simply and cost-effectively be monitored in real-time.

With InfluxDB Cloud at the core of their IoT real-time asset monitoring solution, LineMetrics is disrupting data monitoring and analytics in various industries and fulfilling their vision of “smart asset monitoring made simple.” Learn more by reading the full case study.

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