Wialon Database

Gurtam has been focusing on developing fleet management and GPS tracking products for over 10 years. Over this period of time our development efforts expanded from server products only to cloud-based SaaS technologies. Software updates, new functionalities, technical support and other elements of service are all based on our high standards for quality. That’s why companies from all around the world choose Wialon. 

The selection of database technology for information storage and processing was one of the most critical decisions the development team needed to make early on. And just like the core front-end capabilities, this key element has been successfully tested by time. 

Wialon Database: Beginning

The first choice was the relational MySQL database, which hardly met our needs and brought poor results. Therefore the decision was made to transition to Oracle Berkeley Database. Its structure perfectly suited our needs at the time since the server provided quick access to data, was stable, easy to scale and allocate. 

But the number of units connected to Wialon servers was constantly increasing at a high pace. Our cloud solution was relatively new and we faced some additional challenges, such as need to administer the database, increase stability, operating with very large volumes of data, maintaining high speed to access data, prevention of system failures. 

To tackle the issues, we had numerous specialists involved as we worked on the strategic direction to take the database development going forward. Ultimately, instead of leveraging off-the-shelf technology we decided to build our own. We still consider the direction chosen at the time the right one. We’ve preserved several properties of the original system including:

• binary data structures;
• non-relational structure;
• indexation;
• data management.

Building on the expertise and experience of company's system administrators and programmers we added elements of our vision of the ideal database to support Wialon's constantly expanding subscriber base:

• data allocation on physical and virtual layers;
• automation of administrative processes;
• database structure adjusted to the type of information needed specifically for our application;
• ability to easily scale to a very large number of simultaneous connections and massive amounts of data.

As a result, we developed a proprietary database and added it to the cloud solution. At the time the number of units connected to Wialon was only 11 thousand.

Wialon DB Today

The database system has certainly been time-tested and so far, we are very happy with the major architectural decisions we made when we first implemented it. 

Last year we announced a new server-based product Wialon Local. It was designed as a locally installed “copy” of the cloud solution functionality. We integrated Wialon DB in Wialon Local too. Having purchased the platform from us, our partners can be sure they’ve chosen a reliable service. 

The modern Wialon Database reduces server response time and allows for generation of very quick reports. The system is extremely stable and its performance and uptime can't be affected even if several servers go down.

And some more facts

• The database is running on 22 servers, additional 22 servers provide hot backup of the main servers.
• The data for over 400 thousand connected units is stored there. On average 180 thousand units are online around the clock. At peak hours this figure exceeds 200 thousand units.
• Every minute Wialon Data Center receives about 400 000 messages from the connected units; at peak hours ‒ over 600 thousand messages.
• Over 15 thousand users are online 24/7.
• Every day users request messages for track building functionality 250 thousand times, which in total uses about half a billion messages in total.
• Together with Jobs executions, every day the system builds about 500 thousand reports.
• Unit information along with location is updated in the system every 2 seconds.

To help our Partners monitor the status of the Data Center, we’ve introduced Wialon NOC (Network Operation Center). This service provides up-to-date information on Wialon subsystems’ state, updates, online user activity, system failures and routine maintenance. 

The current Wialon Database architecture corresponds to the growing performance standards and is designed to maintain up to one million units. As our partner you can focus on developing your business and connecting new devices. And we will do our best you receive the highest-quality stable service that fully supports your growing business.