Manage databases
An InfluxDB database is a named location where time series data is stored. Each InfluxDB database has a retention period.
If coming from InfluxDB v1, the concepts of databases and retention policies have been combined into a single concept–database. Retention policies are no longer part of the InfluxDB data model. However, InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated does support InfluxQL, which requires databases and retention policies. See InfluxQL DBRP naming convention.
If coming from InfluxDB v2 or InfluxDB Cloud, database and bucket are synonymous.
Retention periods
A database retention period is the maximum age of data stored in the database. The age of data is determined by the timestamp associated with each point. When a point’s timestamp is beyond the retention period (relative to now), the point is marked for deletion and is removed from the database the next time the retention enforcement service runs.
The minimum retention period for and InfluxDB database is 1 hour. The maximum retention period is infinite meaning data does not expire and will never be removed by the retention enforcement service.
Table and column limits
In InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated, table (measurement) and column limits can be customized when creating or updating a database.
Table limit
Default maximum number of tables: 500
Each measurement is represented by a table in a database. Your database’s table limit can be raised beyond the default limit of 500. InfluxData has production examples of clusters with 20,000+ active tables across multiple databases.
Increasing your table limit affects your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated cluster in the following ways:
Column limit
Default maximum number of columns: 250
Time, fields, and tags are each represented by a column in a table. Increasing your column limit affects your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated cluster in the following ways:
Create a database
Use the influxctl database create command to create a new InfluxDB database in your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated cluster. Provide a database name and an optional retention period.
influxctl database create \
--retention-period 30d \
--max-tables 500 \
--max-columns 250 \
<DATABASE_NAME>
Update a database
Use the influxctl database update command to update a database in your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated cluster.
influxctl database update DATABASE_NAME \
--retention-period 30d \
--max-tables 500 \
--max-tables 250
List databases
Use the influxctl database list command to list databases in your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated cluster.
influxctl database list
Delete a database
Use the influxctl database delete command to delete a database from your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated cluster. Provide the name of the database you want to delete.
influxctl database delete <DATABASE_NAME>
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Support and feedback
Thank you for being part of our community! We welcome and encourage your feedback and bug reports for InfluxDB and this documentation. To find support, use the following resources:
Customers with an annual or support contract can contact InfluxData Support.