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InfluxData VS Apache Flink

Compare InfluxData VS Apache Flink and see what are their differences

InfluxData logo InfluxData

Scalable datastore for metrics, events, and real-time analytics.

Apache Flink logo Apache Flink

Flink is a streaming dataflow engine that provides data distribution, communication, and fault tolerance for distributed computations.
  • InfluxData Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-30
  • Apache Flink Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-03

InfluxData features and specs

  • High Performance
    InfluxData's InfluxDB is designed to handle high write and query loads, making it suitable for time-series data and real-time applications.
  • Open-Source
    The core InfluxDB product is open-source, allowing for transparency, community contributions, and the option to self-host the database.
  • Scalability
    InfluxDB offers horizontal scalability, enabling users to handle increasing volumes of data efficiently through clustering.
  • Built-In Data Processing
    InfluxData offers integrated tools for data processing and scripting, such as Kapacitor for real-time processing and Flux for advanced querying.
  • Rich Ecosystem
    InfluxData provides a comprehensive ecosystem including Telegraf for data collection, Chronograf for visualization, and Kapacitor for alerting and processing.
  • Time-Series Focused
    InfluxDB is optimized for time-series data, offering specialized features like time-based retention policies, continuous queries, and downsampling.
  • Easy Integration
    InfluxDB integrates well with many third-party data visualization and monitoring tools such as Grafana, making it easier to build end-to-end solutions.

Possible disadvantages of InfluxData

  • Complexity
    The comprehensive features and tools in the InfluxData ecosystem can result in a steeper learning curve, especially for novices.
  • Cost
    While the open-source version is free, the enterprise and cloud-hosted versions come with a cost, which can be significant for small to mid-sized businesses.
  • Resource Intensive
    InfluxDB can be resource-intensive, especially under high loads, requiring significant hardware resources for optimal performance.
  • Limited SQL Support
    InfluxDB doesn’t fully support SQL, which can be a hurdle for users accustomed to traditional relational databases. It uses its own query languages like InfluxQL and Flux.
  • Fragmented Documentation
    Some users find the documentation fragmented or lacking in depth, which can make troubleshooting and advanced usage more challenging.
  • Data Backup and Restore
    Managing backups and restores in InfluxDB can be intricate and may require additional effort and tools to ensure data integrity and availability.

Apache Flink features and specs

  • Real-time Stream Processing
    Apache Flink is designed for real-time data streaming, offering low-latency processing capabilities that are essential for applications requiring immediate data insights.
  • Event Time Processing
    Flink supports event time processing, which allows it to handle out-of-order events effectively and provide accurate results based on the time events actually occurred rather than when they were processed.
  • State Management
    Flink provides robust state management features, making it easier to maintain and query state across distributed nodes, which is crucial for managing long-running applications.
  • Fault Tolerance
    The framework includes built-in mechanisms for fault tolerance, such as consistent checkpoints and savepoints, ensuring high reliability and data consistency even in the case of failures.
  • Scalability
    Apache Flink is highly scalable, capable of handling both batch and stream processing workloads across a distributed cluster, making it suitable for large-scale data processing tasks.
  • Rich Ecosystem
    Flink has a rich set of APIs and integrations with other big data tools, such as Apache Kafka, Apache Hadoop, and Apache Cassandra, enhancing its versatility and ease of integration into existing data pipelines.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Flink

  • Complexity
    Flink’s advanced features and capabilities come with a steep learning curve, making it more challenging to set up and use compared to simpler stream processing frameworks.
  • Resource Intensive
    The framework can be resource-intensive, requiring substantial memory and CPU resources for optimal performance, which might be a concern for smaller setups or cost-sensitive environments.
  • Community Support
    While growing, the community around Apache Flink is not as large or mature as some other big data frameworks like Apache Spark, potentially limiting the availability of community-contributed resources and support.
  • Ecosystem Maturity
    Despite its integrations, the Flink ecosystem is still maturing, and certain tools and plugins may not be as developed or stable as those available for more established frameworks.
  • Operational Overhead
    Running and maintaining a Flink cluster can involve significant operational overhead, including monitoring, scaling, and troubleshooting, which might require a dedicated team or additional expertise.

InfluxData videos

Barbara Nelson [InfluxData] | Best Practices for Data Ingestion into InfluxDB

Apache Flink videos

GOTO 2019 • Introduction to Stateful Stream Processing with Apache Flink • Robert Metzger

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Apache Flink Tutorial | Flink vs Spark | Real Time Analytics Using Flink | Apache Flink Training
  • Tutorial - How to build a modern stream processor: The science behind Apache Flink - Stefan Richter

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to InfluxData and Apache Flink)
Databases
63 63%
37% 37
Big Data
19 19%
81% 81
Time Series Database
100 100%
0% 0
Stream Processing
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare InfluxData and Apache Flink

InfluxData Reviews

ReductStore vs. MinIO & InfluxDB on LTE Network: Who Really Wins the Speed Race?
Maintaining consistency between multiple databases, like MinIO and InfluxDB, adds a layer of complexity. In our setup, MinIO, used for blob storage, is linked to data points in InfluxDB via its filename. Any inconsistencies or mismatches between the two could potentially result in data loss. Furthermore, we need to query both databases, which is quite inefficient. Lastly,...
Apache Druid vs. Time-Series Databases
We occasionally get questions regarding how Apache Druid differs from time-series databases (TSDB) such as InfluxDB or Prometheus, and when to use each technology. This short post serves to help answer these questions.
Source: imply.io
4 Best Time Series Databases To Watch in 2019
InfluxDB is part of the TICK stack : Telegraf, InfluxDB, Chronograf and Kapacitor. InfluxData provides, out of the box, a visualization tool (that can be compared to Grafana), a data processing engine that binds directly with InfluxDB, and a set of more than 50+ agents that can collect real-time metrics for a lot of different data sources.
Source: medium.com

Apache Flink Reviews

We have no reviews of Apache Flink yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Flink seems to be a lot more popular than InfluxData. While we know about 40 links to Apache Flink, we've tracked only 2 mentions of InfluxData. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

InfluxData mentions (2)

  • Can i log data into excel/csv using aws?
    I would highly recommend using a proper Time Series Database like QuestDB or InfluxDB to do this instead. You can always export data from wither of those two into Excel if your boss wants it in excel, but it's much easier to do data transformations, create graphs and reports, etc. If you have all the data in a proper database. Source: about 3 years ago
  • How to stream IoT data into Excel
    I would suggest using something better suited to IoT data than ... a spreadsheet. I'd recommend looking at one of the Time Series Databases for this. 1) QuestDB or 2) InfluxDB as these are much better suited to streaming data. Source: over 3 years ago

Apache Flink mentions (40)

  • Is RisingWave the Next Apache Flink?
    Apache Flink, known initially as Stratosphere, is a distributed stream processing engine initiated by a group of researchers at TU Berlin. Since its initial release in May 2011, Flink has gained immense popularity in both academia and industry. And it is currently the most well-known streaming system globally (challenge me if you think I got it wrong!). - Source: dev.to / 8 days ago
  • Every Database Will Support Iceberg — Here's Why
    Apache Iceberg defines a table format that separates how data is stored from how data is queried. Any engine that implements the Iceberg integration — Spark, Flink, Trino, DuckDB, Snowflake, RisingWave — can read and/or write Iceberg data directly. - Source: dev.to / 13 days ago
  • RisingWave Turns Four: Our Journey Beyond Democratizing Stream Processing
    The last decade saw the rise of open-source frameworks like Apache Flink, Spark Streaming, and Apache Samza. These offered more flexibility but still demanded significant engineering muscle to run effectively at scale. Companies using them often needed specialized stream processing engineers just to manage internal state, tune performance, and handle the day-to-day operational challenges. The barrier to entry... - Source: dev.to / 17 days ago
  • Twitter's 600-Tweet Daily Limit Crisis: Soaring GCP Costs and the Open Source Fix Elon Musk Ignored
    Apache Flink: Flink is a unified streaming and batching platform developed under the Apache Foundation. It provides support for Java API and a SQL interface. Flink boasts a large ecosystem and can seamlessly integrate with various services, including Kafka, Pulsar, HDFS, Iceberg, Hudi, and other systems. - Source: dev.to / 25 days ago
  • Exploring the Power and Community Behind Apache Flink
    In conclusion, Apache Flink is more than a big data processing tool—it is a thriving ecosystem that exemplifies the power of open source collaboration. From its impressive technical capabilities to its innovative funding model, Apache Flink shows that sustainable software development is possible when community, corporate support, and transparency converge. As industries continue to demand efficient real-time data... - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing InfluxData and Apache Flink, you can also consider the following products

TimescaleDB - TimescaleDB is a time-series SQL database providing fast analytics, scalability, with automated data management on a proven storage engine.

Apache Spark - Apache Spark is an engine for big data processing, with built-in modules for streaming, SQL, machine learning and graph processing.

Prometheus - An open-source systems monitoring and alerting toolkit.

Amazon Kinesis - Amazon Kinesis services make it easy to work with real-time streaming data in the AWS cloud.

MongoDB - MongoDB (from "humongous") is a scalable, high-performance NoSQL database.

Spring Framework - The Spring Framework provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications - on any kind of deployment platform.