This article is outdated and may not work correctly for current operating systems or software.
InfluxDB is an open-source, distributed, time series database with no external dependencies. Yes, you read the "no external dependencies" part correctly. InfluxDB can make this claim because it is entirely written in the Go programming language. InfluxDB comes packed with its own query language, a built-in data explorer, and many other features, including time-centric functions and events.
Spin up a new Vultr instance of Ubuntu 14.04.
SSH into it ssh root@<vultr-instance-ip> and run the following commands.
wget http://s3.amazonaws.com/influxdb/influxdb_latest_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i influxdb_latest_amd64.deb
Start InfluxDB.
sudo service influxdb start
Open your browser and go to http://<vultr-instance-ip>:8083. Don't forget to specify port 8083.
You'll be greeted with screen to logon to InfluxDB's admin interface. Logon using credentials u:root p:root.
The next screen takes you to the database section. Type in "test_db" in the name field, then press "enter". You will see a message that the "test_db" database was created.
At the time of writing, InfluxDB is still in its infancy. It holds a great promise for handling metric data and real-time analytics. The powerful web-based administration interface and query language of InfluxDB make administrating InfluxDB both simple and enjoyable.
Head over to influxdb.com to learn more about InfluxDB.