Modbus and OpenTSDB Integration

Input and output integration overview

The Modbus plugin allows you to collect data from Modbus devices using various communication methods, enhancing your ability to monitor and control industrial processes.

The OpenTSDB plugin facilitates the integration of Telegraf with OpenTSDB, allowing users to push time-series metrics to an OpenTSDB backend seamlessly.

Integration details

Modbus

The Modbus plugin collects discrete inputs, coils, input registers, and holding registers via Modbus TCP or Modbus RTU/ASCII.

OpenTSDB

The OpenTSDB plugin is designed to send metrics to an OpenTSDB instance using either the telnet or HTTP mode. With the introduction of OpenTSDB 2.0, the recommended method for sending metrics is via the HTTP API, which allows for batch processing of metrics by configuring the ‘http_batch_size’. The plugin supports several configuration options including metrics prefixing, server host and port specification, URI path customization for reverse proxies, and debug options for diagnosing communication issues with OpenTSDB. This plugin is particularly useful in scenarios where time series data is generated and needs to be efficiently stored in a scalable time series database like OpenTSDB, making it suitable for a wide range of monitoring and analytics applications.

Configuration

Modbus

[[inputs.modbus]]
  name = "Device"
  slave_id = 1
  timeout = "1s"
  configuration_type = "register"
  discrete_inputs = [
    { name = "start", address = [0]},
    { name = "stop", address = [1]},
    { name = "reset", address = [2]},
    { name = "emergency_stop", address = [3]},
  ]
  coils = [
    { name = "motor1_run", address = [0]},
    { name = "motor1_jog", address = [1]},
    { name = "motor1_stop", address = [2]},
  ]
  holding_registers = [
    { name = "power_factor", byte_order = "AB", data_type = "FIXED", scale=0.01, address = [8]},
    { name = "voltage", byte_order = "AB", data_type = "FIXED", scale=0.1, address = [0]},
    { name = "energy", byte_order = "ABCD", data_type = "FIXED", scale=0.001, address = [5,6]},
    { name = "current", byte_order = "ABCD", data_type = "FIXED", scale=0.001, address = [1,2]},
    { name = "frequency", byte_order = "AB", data_type = "UFIXED", scale=0.1, address = [7]},
    { name = "power", byte_order = "ABCD", data_type = "UFIXED", scale=0.1, address = [3,4]},
    { name = "firmware", byte_order = "AB", data_type = "STRING", address = [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]},
  ]
  input_registers = [
    { name = "tank_level", byte_order = "AB", data_type = "INT16", scale=1.0, address = [0]},
    { name = "tank_ph", byte_order = "AB", data_type = "INT16", scale=1.0, address = [1]},
    { name = "pump1_speed", byte_order = "ABCD", data_type = "INT32", scale=1.0, address = [3,4]},
  ]

OpenTSDB

[[outputs.opentsdb]]
  ## prefix for metrics keys
  prefix = "my.specific.prefix."

  ## DNS name of the OpenTSDB server
  ## Using "opentsdb.example.com" or "tcp://opentsdb.example.com" will use the
  ## telnet API. "http://opentsdb.example.com" will use the Http API.
  host = "opentsdb.example.com"

  ## Port of the OpenTSDB server
  port = 4242

  ## Number of data points to send to OpenTSDB in Http requests.
  ## Not used with telnet API.
  http_batch_size = 50

  ## URI Path for Http requests to OpenTSDB.
  ## Used in cases where OpenTSDB is located behind a reverse proxy.
  http_path = "/api/put"

  ## Debug true - Prints OpenTSDB communication
  debug = false

  ## Separator separates measurement name from field
  separator = "_"

Input and output integration examples

Modbus

1. Basic Usage: To read from a single device, configure it with the device name and IP address, specifying the slave ID and registers of interest.
2. Multiple Requests: You can define multiple requests to fetch data from different Modbus slave devices in a single configuration by specifying multiple [[inputs.modbus.request]] sections.
3. Data Processing: Utilize the scaling features to convert raw Modbus readings into useful metrics, adjusting for unit conversions as needed.

OpenTSDB

1. Real-time Infrastructure Monitoring: Utilize the OpenTSDB plugin to collect and store metrics from various infrastructure components. By configuring the plugin to push metrics to OpenTSDB, organizations can have a centralized view of their infrastructure health and performance over time.

2. Custom Application Metrics Tracking: Integrate the OpenTSDB plugin into custom applications to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as response times, error rates, and user interactions. This setup allows developers and product teams to visualize application performance trends and make data-driven decisions.

3. Automated Anomaly Detection: Leverage the plugin in conjunction with machine learning algorithms to automatically detect anomalies in time-series data sent to OpenTSDB. By continuously monitoring the incoming metrics, the system can train models that alert users to potential issues before they affect application performance.

4. Historical Data Analysis: Use the OpenTSDB plugin to store and analyze historical performance data for capacity planning and trend analysis. This provides valuable insights into system behavior over time, helping teams to understand usage patterns and prepare for future growth.

Feedback

Thank you for being part of our community! If you have any general feedback or found any bugs on these pages, we welcome and encourage your input. Please submit your feedback in the InfluxDB community Slack.