Glossary · IIoT, data and AI
Database
Also known as: DB
German: Datenbank
In information technology, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically, managed by a database management system (DBMS) that controls storage, queries, concurrent access, integrity and recovery. Common types include relational, document, key-value, graph and time-series databases.
- IIoT
In one sentence
A database is an organized collection of data managed by a database management system that handles queries, access and integrity.
Example
The MES stores production orders, genealogy and quality results in a relational database, while sensor trends go to a separate time-series database.
How it applies
- Engineering: Choose the database type from the access pattern: relational for transactions and consistent business data, time-series for high-rate process values, graph for highly linked data.
- Operation: Backups, restore tests, access rights and patching are part of operating any database that production depends on.
- Documentation: Describe the data model, the meaning of key fields and the retention rules. For regulated data, also document how integrity and audit trails are ensured.
Database vs. DBMS
Strictly, the database is the data, and the database management system is the software that manages it, such as PostgreSQL or Microsoft SQL Server. In everyday language both are called the database. Industrial systems often combine several database types; the interfaces between them need the same care as the databases themselves.