Time-Series Data
Time-series data is a sequence of timestamped key-value pairs published by a device or computed by the platform. It represents continuously changing measurements — sensor readings, counters, state changes — where every data point matters, not just the latest.
Compared to attributes:
| Attributes | Time-series | |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Latest value only | Full history |
| Typical data | Config, state | Sensor readings |
| Queryable by time range | No | Yes |
| Aggregatable | No | Yes |
Data Model
Section titled “Data Model”Each time-series entry consists of:
- Key — the measurement name (e.g.,
temperature) - Value — string, boolean, integer, double, or JSON
- Timestamp — Unix epoch in milliseconds; auto-assigned by the server if not provided by the device
Simple payload:
{ "temperature": 26.5, "humidity": 78, "pressure": 1013.2 }With explicit timestamp:
{ "ts": 1745000000000, "values": { "temperature": 26.5, "humidity": 78 } }Publishing Telemetry
Section titled “Publishing Telemetry”Devices publish time-series data over MQTT, HTTP, CoAP, LwM2M, and other protocols. Each protocol may use different payload format that is mapped to the same internal JSON format; only the transport mechanism differs. See the Connectivity guide for protocol-specific details.
Many protocols support multiple readings with different timestamps in a single message — useful for batching offline data or high-frequency sensors:
[ { "ts": 1745000000000, "values": { "temperature": 25.1 } }, { "ts": 1745000060000, "values": { "temperature": 25.4 } }, { "ts": 1745000120000, "values": { "temperature": 26.0 } }]Storage and Retention
Section titled “Storage and Retention”What You Can Do with Telemetry
Section titled “What You Can Do with Telemetry”| Capability | Description | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Visualize on dashboards | Plot history with time-series charts; display latest values on gauges, cards, and tables | Dashboards |
| Trigger alarms | Fire alarms when a value crosses a threshold | Alarm rules |
| Process in Rule Engine | Filter, enrich, transform, or route telemetry messages; forward to external systems | Rule Engine |
| Compute derived values | Calculate aggregations, delta, or any formula from raw telemetry | Calculated Fields |
| Query via REST API | Fetch latest values or historical data with time range and aggregation; delete specific ranges | REST API |