Influx DataBase
Influx DataBase is a time series database platform that allows the user to collect data and display it graphically. It was ideal for this project because we wanted to see the level of water in the pond as a function of time.
Because my laptop runs Windows 10, I needed special instruction on how to install the applications for InfluxDB. TICK stands for Telegraf, InfluxDB, Chronograf, Kapacitor. https://www.influxdata.com/blog/running-the-tick-stack-on-windows\
Once everything is installed from this webpage, several command prompts must run and be kept open for the service to work. I decided to use Node-Red rather than Telegraf for time series data collection from TTN.
- cmd ---> cd C:\Program Files\InfluxDB ---> influxd.exe
- cmd ---> cd C:\Program Files\InfluxDB ---> influx.exe
- cmd as admin ---> cd C:\Program Files\Chronograf ---> chronograf.exe
The 2nd one is where you'll be doing the work within InfluxDB of creating a database and accessing its data as retrieved by node-red. I recommend studying the Influx documentation and practicing with some test databases to familiarize yourself with the service: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb/v1.6/introduction/getting-started/
Once you have the basic controls done, its simply a matter of connecting Influx through node-red and then visualizing the data in Chronograf.