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    Tablestore:Manage time series tables

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    Tablestore:Manage time series tables

    Last Updated:Aug 26, 2026

    The TimeSeries model uses time series tables to store time series data. A single time series table supports high-concurrency writes and queries, offering low-cost storage for petabytes of data. This topic describes how to create and manage time series tables.

    Usage notes

    • You can create a maximum of 64 tables in a single instance. This limit includes data tables, secondary indexes, time series tables, Lastpoint indexes, and analytical stores. For more information about limits, see Limits of the TimeSeries model.

      Note

      A time series table consists of a time series metadata table and a time series data table. Therefore, a single time series table counts as two tables against the instance limit.

    • The TimeSeries model is supported in the following regions: China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Beijing), China (Zhangjiakou), China (Ulanqab), China (Shenzhen), China (Chengdu), China (Hong Kong), Japan (Tokyo), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Germany (Frankfurt), Indonesia (Jakarta), UK (London), US (Silicon Valley), US (Virginia), SAU (Riyadh - Partner Region), and Singapore.

    • You can customize time series identifiers, use data fields as primary key fields, and create Lastpoint indexes and analytical stores in the following regions: China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Beijing), and China (Zhangjiakou).

    Features

    The following table describes the features that are supported by time series tables.

    Feature

    Description

    Create a time series table

    When you create a time series table, you must specify configurations for the table and its time series metadata. You can also customize the time series identifier, define data fields as primary key fields, create an analytical store, and create a Lastpoint index based on your business requirements.

    Update a time series table

    Modify a time series table's time to live (TTL) and update the settings for its time series metadata, such as the metadata TTL and whether its attributes can be updated.

    List time series tables

    List the names and configurations of all time series tables in the current instance.

    Describe a time series table

    Query the configuration details of a time series table, such as its TTL and status, and its time series metadata configurations, such as the metadata TTL and whether its attributes can be updated.

    Delete a time series table

    Delete a specified time series table.

    Procedure

    Create a time series table

    Follow these steps to create a time series table in the Tablestore console.

    1. Go to the Instance Management page.

      1. Log on to the Tablestore console.

      2. In the top navigation bar, select a resource group and a region.

      3. On the Overview page, click the alias of an instance or click Manage Instance in the Actions column for the instance.

    2. On the Instance Details tab, click the Time Series Tables tab.

    3. On the Time Series Tables tab, click Create Time Series Table.

      Note

      You can also click Generate Demo with One Click to create a test table with sample data to quickly experience the features. For a newly created test table, the system performs specific initialization operations. You may need to wait tens of seconds for the time series to appear.

    4. In the Create Time Series Table dialog box, configure the parameters for the time series table.

      Parameter

      Description

      Time series table name

      The name of the time series table. The name must be unique within the instance.

      • The name must be 1 to 128 characters long, contain only letters, digits, and underscores (_), and start with a letter or an underscore (_).

      • The table name must not be the same as that of any existing data table, secondary index, or other time series table in the current instance.

      Time to live (TTL)

      The retention period for data in the time series table, in seconds. The minimum value is 86400 (1 day). You can set this parameter to -1 to indicate that the data never expires.

      The system automatically deletes data points that exceed the specified TTL.

      Note

      The system determines the generation time of data based on the user-provided time column, not the time when the data is written to the table.

      Time series identifier

      Note

      This parameter is configurable only when you enable Custom Time Series Identifiers and Primary Key.

      By default, a time series identifier consists of a metric name, a data source, and tags. You can define a custom time series identifier to meet your specific business requirements.

      • A custom time series identifier field name must be 1 to 128 bytes in length, contain only lowercase letters, digits, and underscores (_), and cannot start with a digit.

      • You can specify a maximum of six custom time series identifier fields.

      Click Add Time Series Identifier to add multiple custom identifier fields. To remove a field, click the fig_20221020_delete icon next to it.

      Important

      You cannot modify custom time series identifier fields after the table is created. Proceed with caution.

      Primary key fields

      Note

      This parameter is configurable only when you enable Custom Time Series Identifiers and Primary Key.

      If your business requires storing different time series data for the same time series identifier and timestamp, you can configure data fields as part of the primary key.

      • A primary key field name must be 1 to 128 bytes in length, contain only lowercase letters, digits, and underscores (_), and cannot start with a digit.

      • You can specify a maximum of four data fields as primary key fields.

      • The data type of a primary key field can be STRING or INTEGER.

      Click Add Primary Key Field to add multiple primary key fields. To remove a field, click the fig_20221020_delete icon next to it.

      Important

      You cannot modify the primary key fields after the table is created. Proceed with caution.

      Create analytical store

      An analytical store is designed for long-term storage and analysis of time series data. It helps you store time series data at a low cost and enables fast queries and analytics.

      By default, the option to create an analytical store is enabled. Configure it based on your business requirements.

      • If you do not need an analytical store, disable the Create Analytical Store switch.

      • To create a default analytical store, keep the Create Analytical Store switch enabled.

      • To create a custom analytical store, keep the Create Analytical Store switch enabled, turn on the Advanced Settings switch, and configure the Name and TTL.

      Create Lastpoint index

      A Lastpoint index is designed to quickly retrieve the latest state of each time series in a table. This is useful for fetching the most recent data point from monitored targets.

      By default, the option to create a Lastpoint index is disabled. Configure it based on your business requirements.

      • If you do not need a Lastpoint index, keep the default setting.

      • To create a Lastpoint index, enable the Create LastPoint Index switch and specify a LastPoint Index Name.

        Note

        • The index name must be 1 to 128 bytes in length, can contain letters, digits, and underscores (_), and cannot start with a digit.

        • The total number of Lastpoint indexes and analytical stores in a time series table cannot exceed 10.

    5. Click Create.

      After the table is created, you can view it on the Time Series Tables tab. If the new table does not appear in the list, click the fig_tablestore_002 icon to refresh the list.

    Manage time series tables

    Use the following procedures to manage your time series tables.

    Task

    Description

    List time series tables

    On the Time Series Tables tab, view all time series tables in the instance.

    Update the data TTL

    1. On the Time Series Tables tab, click the name of the time series table.

    2. On the Basic Information tab, in the Description section, click the edit icon image.png next to Data Lifecycle.

    3. In the dialog box that appears, modify the data TTL.

      The time to live (TTL) is the retention period for data, in seconds. The minimum value is 86400 (1 day). You can set it to -1 to indicate that the data never expires.

      Note

      After you update the TTL for a time series table, Tablestore automatically and asynchronously deletes any data that exceeds the new TTL.

    4. Click OK.

    Update the metadata TTL

    1. On the Time Series Tables tab, click the name of the time series table.

    2. On the Basic Information tab, in the Description section, click the edit icon image.png next to TTL of Time Series Metadata.

    3. In the dialog box that appears, modify the metadata TTL.

      The retention period for time series metadata, in seconds. The minimum value is 604800 (7 days). You can set it to -1 to indicate that the metadata never expires.

      Note

      • The default TTL for time series metadata is -1 (never expires).

        • The TTL for time series metadata must be greater than or equal to the TTL for the table's data.

        • If you set the metadata TTL to a value other than -1, you must set Whether to Update Attributes of Time Series Metadata to No and ensure your application logic does not require metadata attribute updates.

        • If you set Whether to Update Attributes of Time Series Metadata to Yes, you must set the metadata TTL to -1 (never expires).

      • After you update the metadata TTL, Tablestore automatically and asynchronously deletes any time series metadata that exceeds the new TTL. The corresponding time series data is not deleted and can still be queried by its time series identifier.

    4. Click OK.

    Update metadata attribute settings

    1. On the Time Series Tables tab, click the name of the time series table.

    2. On the Basic Information tab, in the Description section, click the edit icon image.png next to Whether to Update Attributes of Time Series Metadata.

    3. In the dialog box that appears, select whether to allow updates to metadata attributes.

      Note

      If you allow updates to metadata attributes, you must set the metadata TTL to -1 (never expires).

    4. Click Yes.

    Describe a time series table

    1. On the Time Series Tables tab, click the name of the time series table.

    2. On the Basic Information tab, view details in the Basic Information, Time series identifier, Primary key fields, Analytical store, and Lastpoint index sections.

    Delete a time series table

    1. On the Time Series Tables tab, find the table you want to delete and click Delete in the Actions column.

    2. In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

      Important

      • This operation is irreversible. A deleted time series table cannot be recovered. Proceed with caution.

      • Deleting a time series table also automatically deletes its associated analytical stores and Lastpoint indexes.

    Development integration

    Feature

    Method

    Create a time series table

    Update a time series table

    List time series tables

    Describe a time series table

    Delete a time series table