Documentation

Update a database

Use the influxctl CLI or the Management HTTP API to update attributes such as retention period, column limits, and table limits for a database in your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated cluster.

Use the influxctl database update command to update a database in your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated cluster.

  1. If you haven’t already, download and install the influxctl CLI.

  2. In your terminal, run the influxctl database update command and provide the following:

influxctl database update \
  --retention-period 
30d
\
--max-tables
500
\
--max-columns 250 \
DATABASE_NAME

Replace the following in your command:

  • DATABASE_NAME: your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated database

Database names can’t be updated

The influxctl database update command uses the database name to identify which database to apply updates to. The database name itself can’t be updated.

Database attributes

Retention period syntax (influxctl CLI)

Use the --retention-period flag to define the retention period for the database. The retention period value is a time duration value made up of a numeric value plus a duration unit. For example, 30d means 30 days. A zero duration (for example, 0s or 0d) retention period is infinite and data won’t expire. The retention period value cannot be negative or contain whitespace.

Valid durations units include

  • m: minute
  • h: hour
  • d: day
  • w: week
  • mo: month
  • y: year

Example retention period values

  • 0d: infinite/none
  • 3d: 3 days
  • 6w: 6 weeks
  • 1mo: 1 month (30 days)
  • 1y: 1 year
  • 30d30d: 60 days
  • 2.5d: 60 hours
  1. In your terminal, use cURL to send a request to the following InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated endpoint:

    POST https://console.influxdata.com/api/v0/accounts/ACCOUNT_ID/clusters/CLUSTER_ID/databases

    In the URL, provide the following credentials:

    Provide the following request headers:

    • Accept: application/json to ensure the response body is JSON content
    • Content-Type: application/json to indicate the request body is JSON content
    • Authorization: Bearer and a Management API token for your cluster (see how to create a management token for Management API requests).

    In the request body, provide the parameters to update:

    • Optional: Database retention period in nanoseconds. Default is 0 (infinite).
    • Optional: Database table (measurement) limit. Default is 500.
    • Optional: Database column limit. Default is 250.

    Specify the PATCH request method.

The following example shows how to use the Management API to update a database:

curl \
  --location "https://console.influxdata.com/api/v0/accounts/
ACCOUNT_ID
/clusters/
CLUSTER_ID
/databases/
DATABASE_NAME
"
\
--request PATCH \ --header "Accept: application/json" \ --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \ --header "Authorization: Bearer
MANAGEMENT_TOKEN
"
\
--data '{ "maxTables":
500
,
"maxColumnsPerTable":
250
,
"retentionPeriod":
2592000000000000
}'

Replace the following in your request:

  • ACCOUNT_ID: the ID of the InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated account to create the database for
  • CLUSTER_ID: the ID of the InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated cluster to create the database for
  • MANAGEMENT TOKEN: a management token for your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated cluster
  • DATABASE_NAME: your InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated database

Database attributes

Retention period syntax (Management API)

Use the retentionPeriod property to specify the retention period for the database. The retention period value is an integer (<int32>) that represents the number of nanoseconds. For example, 2592000000000 means 30 days. A zero (0) retention period is infinite and data won’t expire. The retention period value cannot be negative or contain whitespace.

Example retention period values

  • 0: infinite/none
  • 259200000000000: 3 days
  • 2592000000000000: 30 days
  • 31536000000000000: 1 standard year (365 days)

Database names can’t be updated

The Management API PATCH /api/v0/database endpoint and theinfluxctl database update command use the database name to identify which database to apply updates to. The database name itself can’t be updated.

Partition templates can’t be updated

You can only apply a partition template when creating a database. You can’t update a partition template on an existing database.

Database naming restrictions

Database names must adhere to the following naming restrictions:

  • Cannot contain whitespace, punctuation, or special characters. Only alphanumeric, underscore (_), dash (-), and forward-slash (/) characters are permitted.
  • Should not start with an underscore (_).
  • Maximum length of 64 characters.

InfluxQL DBRP naming convention

In InfluxDB 1.x, data is stored in databases and retention policies. In InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated, databases and retention policies have been merged into databases, where databases have a retention period, but retention policies are no longer part of the data model. Because InfluxQL uses the 1.x data model, a database must be mapped to a v1 database and retention policy (DBRP) to be queryable with InfluxQL.

When naming a database that you want to query with InfluxQL, use the following naming convention to automatically map v1 DBRP combinations to a database:

database_name/retention_policy_name

Database naming examples

v1 Database name v1 Retention Policy name New database name
db rp db/rp
telegraf autogen telegraf/autogen
webmetrics 1w-downsampled webmetrics/1w-downsampled

Table and column limits

In InfluxDB Cloud Dedicated, table (measurement) and column limits can be configured using the following options:

Description Default influxctl CLI flag Management API property
Table limit 500 --max-tables maxTables
Column limit 250 --max-columns maxColumnsPerTable

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:

May improve query performance View more info

More PUTs into object storage View more info

More work for the compactor View more info

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:

May adversely affect query performance


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