PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL: The Reliable Foundation Beneath Your Factory's Data
Dashboards, analytics and predictive models draw attention because they are visible. The database quietly holding the production records, recipes, asset data and configuration that everything else depends on rarely gets a mention, until it fails. PostgreSQL is the relational database INGSOL uses as the dependable core of our data infrastructure for factories and manufacturing plants. This page explains what PostgreSQL is, how INGSOL uses it, and how it fits within our wider technology stack.
What Is PostgreSQL?
PostgreSQL is a mature, open-source relational database management system, widely used across industries for its reliability, standards compliance and extensibility. It stores structured data in tables with defined relationships, supports the SQL query language, and enforces strict data integrity through ACID-compliant transactions, meaning production and configuration records remain accurate and consistent even under heavy, concurrent use.
PostgreSQL is not built specifically for high-frequency sensor data on its own, which is why INGSOL pairs it with TimescaleDB, a time-series extension built on top of it, for that purpose. PostgreSQL’s core strength is structured, transactional data: production orders, recipes, asset registers, user permissions and configuration, the records that need to be accurate and consistent, not necessarily high-frequency.
Why INGSOL Includes PostgreSQL in the Stack
Proven reliability
PostgreSQL has been in active development for decades and is used in demanding, mission-critical applications across many industries, giving it a strong track record for stability.
Strong data integrity
ACID-compliant transactions ensure that production records, quality data and configuration changes are stored accurately and consistently, even when multiple systems are writing data simultaneously.
Open source, no licensing lock-in
As an open-source database, PostgreSQL avoids licensing costs and dependence on a single proprietary database vendor, while still being supported by a large global community and ecosystem.
Open source:
As an open-source tool with a large community, Node-RED avoids dependence on a single proprietary integration platform.
Extensible architecture
PostgreSQL supports extensions such as TimescaleDB, allowing time-series capability to be added directly on top of the same database engine rather than requiring an entirely separate system.
How INGSOL Uses PostgreSQL in Practice
Production Orders and Recipes
PostgreSQL stores structured production order and recipe data used by MES and SCADA systems, ensuring operators are working from a single, accurate version of the specification for each product or batch.
Asset and Equipment Registers
Details of machines, sensors, spare parts and maintenance history are stored in PostgreSQL, providing a consistent reference point for maintenance planning, retrofit projects and equipment tracking across a plant or multiple sites
Quality and Traceability Records
Structured quality checks, batch genealogy and traceability records are stored in PostgreSQL, supporting the quality gates and audit trails that a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) depends on.
User, Role and Access Configuration
Configuration data such as user roles, permissions and system settings across SCADA, MES and analytics platforms is commonly stored in PostgreSQL, giving a consistent, auditable basis for access control.
Foundation for Time-Series Extensions
Where high-frequency sensor and process data needs to be stored, INGSOL builds on PostgreSQL using the TimescaleDB extension, combining PostgreSQL’s reliability and SQL compatibility with time-series-specific performance, rather than introducing an entirely separate database technology.
PostgreSQL Within the INGSOL Technology Stack
PostgreSQL forms the structured data layer beneath much of INGSOL’s architecture, holding the production, asset, quality and configuration records that Ignition, ThingsBoard and other platforms read from and write to. TimescaleDB extends this same engine for high-volume time-series data, while TimeBase handles particularly demanding, high-frequency workloads that sit outside PostgreSQL’s typical use case. Grafana and Ignition dashboards, along with Node-RED integration flows, draw on PostgreSQL for the structured data that complements the time-series data held elsewhere in the stack.
Why Manufacturers Choose INGSOL's PostgreSQL Implementation
PostgreSQL's maturity and standards compliance make it a dependable base for the production, asset and quality records your plant relies on daily.
As an open-source database, PostgreSQL avoids licensing costs and vendor dependence, while remaining backed by an active, ongoing global community
Schemas and configuration are designed around your specific production, asset and quality data requirements, not a generic template.
PostgreSQL is deployed as part of INGSOL's wider Data & Intelligence and analytics capability, ensuring it integrates cleanly with TimescaleDB, TimeBase, Grafana and the rest of your architecture.
INGSOL implements PostgreSQL as the reliable, open-source core of your factory's data infrastructure, supporting everything from production records to the time-series extensions built on top of it. Get in touch to discuss how PostgreSQL fits your technology stack, or a Digital Transformation Maturity Assessment for your plant.
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