Compare Persistence Providers

Yes

Guide Concept
Step 1: Persistence Provider Options
Step 2: Next Steps

Select the right database to use with your ThingWorx installation.

Guide Concept

When you develop an application with ThingWorx, you must save the configuration data that defines the data model and the user interface. You also need to store the dynamic data that is generated by devices at runtime (such as temperature or location).

ThingWorx uses the term Persistence Provider to refer to any type of service that saves application data, usually it is a database.

When your application moves into production you must choose and configure a Persistence Provider that meets your requirements.

You'll learn how to

Pros and cons of different databases that can be used as persistence providers for ThingWorx
The database best suited to certain applications
Where to find detailed information about the Persistence Providers

NOTE: The estimated time to complete this guide is 30 minutes

Step 1: Persistence Provider Options

There are many factors that will influence your decision for which Persistence Provider to use with your ThingWorx instance. On this page we compare and contrast different methods and provide examples for where each one is a natural fit.

Persistence Provider Typical Use

H2	Bundled with ThingWorx server for proof-of-concept trials
PostgreSQL	Standard production database for use up to 15,000 Property writes per second
InfluxDB	High volume data ingestion (>25,000 property writes per second) into one database
Microsoft SQL Server	SQL database available from Microsoft in a dozen different editions
Azure SQL Server	SQL database managed by Microsoft in Azure

When ThingWorx is installed with default configurations, it uses the embedded H2 database as its Persistence Provider. This configuration is suitable for evaluations and proof-of-concept applications with a limited number of Things. Before an application is used in production, you must provision a more capable persistence provider. The available options for Persistence Provider are summarized below.

H2

Pros Cons Typical Use Case DBA Skills Required Cost

No Database set-up required

Not for use in production

Start testing ThingWorx with no additional configuration

None

No additional cost

H2 is an open source, full-featured relational database that is embedded in the ThingWorx Foundation server. No additional database set-up is required before developing a proof-of-concept application with ThingWorx. Using H2 should provide satisfactory performance for applications with less than 1000 Things.

WARNING: Due to the inability to back-up and recover the database, H2 should never be used in production.

PostgreSQL

Pros Cons Typical Use Case DBA Skills Required Cost

Widely used database

Requires some configuration

Workhorse database appropriate for many applications

Basic SQL skills

No additional cost

PostgreSQL is the default choice for ThingWorx cloud hosting servers. It complies with many database standards and is open source with no extra license fee required. It can be configured for high availability to minimize the chance of down-time or data loss. It has been tested up to 15,000 property writes per second and depending on other factors may give satisfactory performance up to 25,000 writes per second.

Learn more about using PostgreSQL:

InfluxDB

Pros Cons Typical Use Case DBA Skills Required License Cost

Handle high volume data ingestion

InfluxDB is not supported as a Property provider

Application requiring >25,000 Property writes/second

Professional services likely required

Multi-node requires license fee

If your system intensively deals with time series data and your implementation heavily depends on Value Streams or Streams for persistence/retrieval of data, we recommend using InfluxDB as the Persistence Provider in ThingWorx. InfluxDB is a high-performance data store written specifically for time series data and is a good choice when high volume data ingestion of more than 25,000 property writes per second must be saved into one database.

Learn more about InfluxDB:

Using InfluxDB as the Persistence Provider

Microsoft SQL Server

Pros Cons Typical Use Case DBA Skills Required Cost

Available in multiple editions

Only runs on Windows

Data stored in Microsoft SQL Server

Configure settings

License fee required

More than a dozen different versions of Microsoft SQL Server are used by customers for workloads ranging from small single-machine applications to large enterprise applications. Connecting ThingWorx to an existing Microsoft SQL Server can make that data readily available to use in ThingWorx Mashups.

Learn more about using Microsoft SQL Server:

Azure SQL Server

Pros Cons Typical Use Case DBA Skills Required Cost

Cloud deployment and scaling

No on-premise option

Data stored in Microsoft SQL Server

Configure settings

Subscription required

Fully managed database service operated and updated by Microsoft

Learn more about using Microsoft SQL Server:

Using Azure SQL Database as the Persistence Provider

Step 2: Next Steps

Congratulations! You've successfully completed the Compare Persistence Providers guide.

At this point, you can make an educated decision regarding which Persistence Provider is best suited for your ThingWorx application development environment.

Learn More

We recommend the following resources to continue your learning experience:

Capability Guide

Connect	ThingWorx Application Development Reference
Build	Get Started with ThingWorx for IoT
Experience	Create Your Application UI

Additional Resources

If you have questions, issues, or need additional information, refer to:

Resource Link

Community	Developer Community Forum
Support	Microsoft SQL Technical Support
Support	Persistence Provider Help Center