Grafana has long been one of the most popular tools for real-time monitoring and data visualization, helping organizations track metrics and analyze trends through a single, user-friendly interface. In October 2023, we launched the first version of the Timeplus Grafana Plugin — one of the pioneering streaming data sources in the Grafana ecosystem. This plugin was designed to leverage Grafana’s unique Grafana Live capability, allowing users to keep their SQL query results up-to-date without the need to refresh their dashboards. We received highly positive feedback, with users highlighting the plugin’s ease of integration and the unique value of real-time streaming insights within Grafana.
"Using Timeplus and Grafana together has been awesome to work with! Timeplus simplifies what was a delicate manual transform process into an automatic SQL-based process. Grafana+Timeplus turns repetitive full queries into streaming incremental updates which makes the Grafana dashboard experience much more immersive, without all the constant full dashboard updates. Timeplus support has been an absolute pleasure to work with, they are very responsive and eager to help."
Jason Patterson | Director of Network Architecture, RocNet Supply
Today we’re thrilled to announce the release of Timeplus Grafana Plugin v2. This production-ready plugin is available on our GitHub repository. This latest version introduces significant improvements in both performance and stability. Whether you’re using Timeplus Enterprise or the open-source Timeplus Proton, this plugin allows you to seamlessly monitor real-time data through Grafana, utilizing both simple and complex analytics to track live data trends.
What’s New in v2?
In response to user feedback and our commitment to delivering the best experience, Timeplus Grafana Plugin v2 offers several key enhancements:
Broader Compatibility: Full support for both Timeplus Enterprise and Timeplus Proton, as well as the latest Grafana version.
Enhanced Features and Usability: The checkbox to indicate whether the SQL is streaming or batch has been removed. This is automatically handled by the Timeplus query analyzer API.
You can now define variables in the dashboards and use them in the SQL query.
Improved Stability: Better error handling and recovery, so you can trust that your data streams will continue to flow smoothly, even when dealing with large datasets or multiple concurrent queries.
These improvements make it easier than ever to use Grafana as a single platform for monitoring metrics and applying streaming analytics to live data—enabling your team to make informed, real-time decisions based on the most current information.
Key Use Cases for Timeplus Grafana Plugin
Our Timeplus Grafana Plugin provides a flexible, powerful way to enhance your dashboards with real-time insights. Here are a few ways our users are already benefiting:
Real-Time Operational Monitoring: Track key metrics with high-frequency data, such as system load, application performance, or network traffic, to identify and resolve issues as they arise.
Customer Experience Insights: Monitor live customer interactions, such as usage patterns, in-app behavior, or user activity across different regions, to improve responsiveness and overall service quality.
Advanced Analytics on Streaming Data: Combine metrics from Grafana with Timeplus’s streaming SQL capabilities to perform complex analytics—filtering, aggregating, and transforming data in real time for deeper insights into business operations.
How to Get Started with Timeplus Grafana Plugin
Get started with the latest version of the Timeplus Grafana Plugin with a few straightforward steps:
Step 1: Set Up Grafana
First, ensure that you have Grafana OSS or Grafana Enterprise installed.
For Mac Homebrew users, you can install Grafana by running:
brew install grafanaFor Linux users, you can use the following commands, adjusting the download URL to match the latest version if necessary:
sudo yum install -y https://dl.grafana.com/enterprise/release/grafana-enterprise-11.3.0-1.x86_64.rpmFor additional installation instructions, please refer to the Grafana download page.
Step 2: Install the Timeplus Plugin
Next, download and install the Timeplus plugin in your Grafana deployment.
For Mac Homebrew users
cd /opt/homebrew/var/lib/grafana
mkdir plugins
cd plugins
wget d.timeplus.com/grafana/timeplus-proton-datasource-2.1.0.zip
unzip timeplus-proton-datasource-2.1.0.zip
brew services restart grafanaFor Linux users
cd /var/lib/grafana
mkdir plugins
cd plugins
wget d.timeplus.com/grafana/timeplus-proton-datasource-2.1.0.zip
unzip timeplus-proton-datasource-2.1.0.zip
sudo /bin/systemctl restart grafana-server.serviceThis will download and install the plugin, then restart Grafana to enable it.
Step 3: Configure the Plugin in Grafana
1. Login to Grafana’s web UI and navigate to Connections -> Data Sources.
2. Locate the Timeplus Data Source by scrolling or searching for “Timeplus”
Click on the Proton data source to reveal the details of the plugin.
Make sure the version is 2.x, instead of 1.x. Please ignore the yellow warning message box. Since the v2 plugin is downloadable from the GitHub page. It’s not longer listed in Grafana Marketplace catalog.
3. Configure the Connection Parameters:
For Timeplus Enterprise, create an admin account when you start Timeplus for the first time and use those credentials here.
For Timeplus Proton, use the "default" username with no password.
4. Save and Test the Connection by clicking the Save & Test button to confirm the plugin is connected successfully.
Step 4: Create a Dashboard and Visualize Data
1. Follow the “Build a Dashboard” link to start a new dashboard, and add a visualization.
2. Select the Timeplus data source you configured earlier.
Now, you can enter SQL queries to retrieve and visualize data from Timeplus directly in Grafana.
Step 5: Example - Monitoring Real-Time Bitcoin Price
To showcase the power of real-time streaming with Grafana and Timeplus, let’s set up a feed for live Bitcoin pricing:
1. In Timeplus Enterprise, open the Data Collection Wizard and choose Coinbase Exchange as the data source. If you haven’t tried Timeplus, please download the package at https://www.timeplus.com/download.
2. Use BTC-USD, which is selected by default:
3. Click Next. Timeplus will load the sample data from the Coinbase Exchange. In the next screen, give the stream a name (e.g., coinbase), and follow the remaining default settings.
4. After the source is created. Click on the first button to run an ad-hoc query to review the data from the newly created data stream.
The SQL is:
SELECT * FROM coinbaseYou should see the live data with multiple columns:
5. Return to the Grafana UI and run the following SQL query on the new view:
select tp_time, price from coinbaseGrafana will now load the live data from Timeplus and display it as a line chart. To get a closer look at recent trends, adjust the time period from the default 6 hours to the last 5 minutes.
With this setup, you can now use Grafana to monitor live prices and transaction data in the cryptocurrency market. Additionally, you can expand this dashboard by adding SQL-based alerts or logic to detect potential trading signals in real time.
What’s Next?
This release is part of our ongoing commitment to providing robust, high-performance tools that simplify and enhance streaming analytics. Looking forward, we plan to introduce additional features, such as improved query optimizations, multi-source data support, and integration with more Grafana widgets to further enhance your analytics capabilities. Stay tuned for these exciting updates, and as always, we welcome your feedback to continue improving our tools.
We hope Timeplus Grafana Plugin empowers you to take your data monitoring and streaming analytics to the next level. Ready to try Timeplus Enterprise? Try for free for 30-days.
Join our Timeplus Community! Connect with other users or get support in our Slack community.