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In this IoT-AR Tech Tip, we will cover what the microservices do, and their functions overall in the ThingWorx Analytics Server Application.
With the new architecture changes introduced with ThingWorx Analytics 8.1, many users have asked for a more descriptive explanation of the purpose of the microservices that make up the Analytics Server application.
In 8.3, Descriptive Microservice has been introduced, and changings in how Predictive Scoring were incorporated. ThingPredictor has been deprecated and its primary functions have been incorporated into ThingWorx Analytics Server’s Prediction microservice.
Many of these microservices can be installed as separate distinct utilities, though there some that are required for base functionality of Analytics Server. This allows custom installation by the end-user to tailor the TWA deployment to their needs.
ThingWorx Analytics Server Microservices
Analytics Microservice – Analytics Server Edge Agent acts as an integration point between the ThingWorx server and the ThingWorx Analytics server. The Edge Agent automatically registers with ThingWorx and instantiates the Things that represent the connected ThingWorx Analytics microservicers. This component is mandatory.
Clustering Microservice - The Clustering Microserver provides services that categorize dataset records into groups (clusters) based on their similarities. Clustering returns results in the form of a PMML model. This component is optional.
Data Microservice - The Data Microserver provides data-handling services. These services include creating a dataset, appending new data, viewing dataset metadata, querying and retrieving information about the distribution of data in the dataset. This component is mandatory.
Predictive Microservice - The Prediction Microserver provides both real time and asynchronous (batch) predictive scoring. The scoring process evaluates each record in a dataset against a prediction model. Each record is assigned a predictive score that reflects the model's predicted outcome for that record. This component is optional. This component replaces ThingPredictor in functionality.
Prescriptive Microservice - The Prescriptive Microserver provides real time prescriptive scoring, which examines how certain changes might affect future outcomes. Fields identified as levers can be varied to determine how specific changes might affect future outcomes. This component is optional.
Profiles Microservice - The Profiling Microserver provides services to identify distinct subpopulations (profiles) within a dataset that share similar characteristics and are different from other subpopulations in statistically significant ways. Profiles are not required in order to make a prediction, but they contribute to a strategic understanding of the complex factors associated with specific outcomes. This component is optional.
Results Microservice – The Results Microserver provides services for working with results. It also provides services to query input and output fields for Training and Clustering results, which output in PMML format. This component is mandatory.
Training Microservice – The Training Microserver uses machine learning algorithms and techniques to identify meaningful patterns in a dataset and generate a predictive model. A number of parameters are available for tuning the type and combination of learning techniques used. The resulting model is output in PMML format. This component is optional, however, if the Validation Microserver is selected, the Training Microserver will be selected by default.
Validation Microservice – The Validation Microserver provides metrics to evaluate how well a model was able to predict outcomes for a specific goal variable in a dataset. Depending on the goal variable, validation metrics can include RMSE, Matthew's Correlation (MCC), Pearson Correlation, true and false positive rates, accuracy, or a confusion matrix. This component is optional, however if the Training Microserver is selected, the Validation Microserver will be delected by default.
Analytics Worker – The Analytics Worker does the processing work in the system. It picks up jobs from the Zookeeper system and performs the requested work. By default, only one worker is installed, but the number of workers can be scaled up after installation. Workers can process any type of submitted job request. This component is mandatory.
ThingWorx Analytics – Descriptive Analytics Microservice
Descriptive Analytics Microservice is an optional microservice included with the ThingWorx Analytics Server installation package, but can operate as a distinct and separate utility.
Descriptive Analytics provides a library of on-demand services that perform common statistical calculations and facilitate statistical monitoring on raw data. Descriptive Analytics is not required to generate prediction models, but output from these services can provide insights that improve your understanding of your data.
Update January 6, 2020
For information about ThingWorx Analytics 8.5 and newer, please refer to the HelpCenter - Analytics Server System Architecture for 8.5