CnosDB review
A flexible open-source SQL database for distributed time-series workloads.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
CnosDB is an open-source time-series database for IoT, industrial internet, connected vehicles, and IT operations. It supports standalone and distributed deployment modes, giving teams a choice between a simpler single deployment and a horizontally expandable cluster. Its cloud-native design includes separate storage and compute layers, SQL querying through Apache Arrow DataFusion, configurable TTL policies, replication, tiered hot and cold storage, and tenant resource quotas. It fits teams that want control over deployment across public, private, or hybrid cloud environments while keeping SQL at the center of their time-series workflow.
The integration surface is broad for a database in this category. CnosDB supports SQL, line protocol, OpenTSDB, Prometheus, eslog, Telegraf, Vector, and Filebeat ingestion methods, alongside REST APIs and a command-line client. Published integrations include Grafana, Telegraf, Vector, Filebeat, JDBC, a Python SDK, and the REST API. This combination can support monitoring dashboards, telemetry pipelines, application access, and operational tooling without limiting ingestion to one protocol. Teams with existing observability or telemetry systems should find the protocol coverage more relevant than a database limited to direct SQL writes.
CnosDB also emphasizes control over data lifecycle and cluster architecture. Configurable expiration policies, horizontal expansion, replication, and hot/cold data nodes address retention and scale planning, while multi-tenancy adds resource quotas for shared environments. Installation can run through Docker or other self-hosted methods, so organizations choosing CnosDB should be prepared to own deployment decisions and infrastructure management. It is a strong fit for engineering teams that need an open-source, SQL-based time-series cluster with flexible ingestion and storage options. Teams seeking a narrowly managed service, or database queries beyond SQL, should consider alternatives aligned with those requirements.
CnosDB pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Standalone and distributed deployment with storage-compute separation
- SQL querying with multiple time-series ingestion protocols
- TTL, replication, tiered storage, and multi-tenancy support
- Where it doesn't
- Self-hosted deployments require infrastructure and operational ownership
- SQL is the listed query language for database queries
- Docker installation may add deployment decisions for smaller teams
CnosDB fact sheet, pricing and score →
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