Case Study: CERN achieves 7x storage savings and up to 40x faster queries with TimescaleDB

CERN cuts storage by 7x and speeds queries up to 40x with Timescale

CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, faced a challenge managing the immense volume of time-series data generated by its SCADA systems. Their legacy Oracle-based RDB Archiver was rigid, complex, and limited performance. CERN partnered with vendor Timescale to develop the NextGen Archiver (NGA), seeking a high-performance, scalable database solution to reduce technical debt and provide an alternative to Oracle.

Timescale implemented its TimescaleDB product as the new backend for the NGA. This solution delivered a massive 7x reduction in storage requirements through compression and boosted query speeds by 10-40x. It also comfortably exceeded the required write performance. The measurable impact includes significantly improved performance for data visualization and a streamlined path for CERN to standardize on TimescaleDB for its critical control systems.

CERN