InfluxDB v2.x SSL Integration Guide

11 min

Review the following guide for setting up an integration between Litmus Edge and an InfluxDB database (version 2.x) using SSL authentication.

Note: The following data types and formats are not viewable in InfluxDB:

string
char
JSON payloads

User Scenario

In this guide you will deploy InfluxDB from the same computer (Windows-based) running Litmus Edge and then use the DB - InfluxDB v2.x SSL connector to connect locally Litmus Edge and the database.

Before You Begin

You will need to set up your computer so that it can run Docker commands.

Step 1: Set up InfluxDB

You will first need to run the InfluxDB Docker image and then configure SSL authentication.

Step 1a: Run InfluxDB Docker Image

On your computer, open the command prompt window.
Run the following command. docker run --name influxdb -p 8086:8086 influxdb:2.0.9 The command will create the InfluxDB container with the name "influxdb", on port 8086, and install InfluxDB version 2.0.9. If you are using a different version of InfluxDB, update the version number.
Once the pulling and running of InfluxDB is complete, open a browser window and enter http://localhost:8086 in the address window. The setup screen for InfluxDB displays.
InfluxDB initial setup screen
Configure the details for the initial user. You will need to refer to these values when setting up the connector in Litmus Edge.
- Username
- Password
- Initial Organization Name
- Initial Bucket Name
Click Continue.
Continue setting up the database as needed.
Return to the homepage of InfluxDB.
Navigate to Data > Tokens. Then, click the token name already created. Details for the token display
The Tokens page
Click Copy to Clipboard and store the token somewhere securely. You will refer to this when setting up the connector in Litmus Edge.
Token details

Step 1b: Configure SSL authentication

You will need to configure SSL authentication in InfluxDB and use the authentication parameters to configure the connection in Litmus Edge. See Enable TLS encryption to learn more.

Now that InfluxDB is configured to your specific requirements and you've collected the parameters needed to set up the connection, you can complete the setup in Litmus Edge.

Step 2: Add Device

Follow the steps to Connect a DeviceConnect a Device. The device will be used to store tags that will be eventually used to create outbound topics in the connector. Make sure to select the Enable Data Store checkbox.

Step 3: Add Tags

After connecting the device in Litmus Edge, you can Add TagsAdd Tags to the device. Create tags that you want to use to create outbound topics for the connector.

Step 4: Add the InfluxDB v2.x SSL Connector

Follow the steps to Add a Connector and select the DB - InfluxDB v2.x SSL provider.

Configure the following parameters.

Name: Enter a name for the connector.
InfluxDB address: Enter http://localhost:8086.
InfluxDB bucket name: Enter the bucket name configured in the InfluxDB setup in Step 1.
Organization: Enter the organization name configured in the InfluxDB setup in Step 1.
Auth token: Paste the token copied in Step 1.
Username: Enter the username configured in the InfluxDB setup in Step 1.
Password: Enter the password configured in the InfluxDB setup in Step 1.
CA Certificate: Paste or upload CA certificate required to access InfluxDB.
Certificate: Paste or upload the SSL certificate.
Private key: Enter or paste the SSL private key.
Insert batch size: Enter the number of messages to be collected as a batch before inserting into the database
Insert batch commit time: Enter the time, in seconds, before the next commit, regardless of batch size.
Throttling limit: The maximum number of messages per second to be processed. The default value is zero, which means that there is no limit.
Persistent storage: When enabled, this will cause messages to undergo a store-and-forward procedure. Messages will be stored within Litmus Edge when cloud providers are online.
Queue Mode: Select the queue mode as lifo (last in first out) or fifo (first in first out). Selecting lifo means that the last data entry is processed first, and selecting fifo means the first data entry is processed first.

Step 5: Enable the Connector

After adding the connector, click the toggle in the connector tile to enable it.

If you see a Failed status, you can review the Connector Logs and relevant error messages.

Step 6: Create Topics for Connector

You will now need to import the tags you added in Step 3 to the connector as topics.

To create outbound topics:

Click the connector tile. The connector Dashboard appears.

Click the Topics tab.

Click the Import from DeviceHub tags icon. The DeviceHub Import dialog box appears.

After adding all required topics, navigate to the Integration overview page and ensure the connector is not disabled and still shows a CONNECTED status.

Publishing to a user-defined measurement

You can define the specific InfluxDB measurement that you want to publish data to. If you don't define a measurement, then deviceName and deviceID topic values (deviceName.deviceID) define the measurement name.

For more information on InfluxDB measurements, see InfluxDB key concepts.

To specify an InfluxDB measurement:

Edit the subscription to the topic to open the Data Integration dialog.

In Remote Data Topic, specify the measurement name in your InfluxDB data structure.

Step 7: Enable Topics

Ensure the topics you imported are enabled by returning to the Topics tab and clicking the Enable all topics icon.

Step 8: Verify Connection

Return to the InfluxDB browser window and explore the metrics to ensure that data is being successfully sent from Litmus Edge to InfluxDB.