The Countly Edge Server is a lightweight analytics server designed for environments with limited or unavailable internet connectivity. It acts as a local data collection node that receives analytics requests from Countly SDKs, stores them locally, and synchronizes the data with the central Countly server once a connection becomes available. This architecture enables analytics collection in offline or edge environments while maintaining compatibility with the standard Countly SDK data flow.

Key Features

• Edge Data Collection
  Collect analytics events locally from devices using Countly SDKs.

• Offline Operation
  Fully operational without a continuous internet connection. 

• Automatic Synchronization
  Periodically syncs with the main Countly server when available.

• Request Batching
  Batch multiple requests to reduce network overhead and improve synchronization efficiency.

• Statistics Dashboard
  Monitor Edge Server activity, synchronization status, and request processing metrics.

• Import/Export Tools
  Migrate or back up data via manual tools when needed.

Typical Use Cases

• Vehicle-Based Data Collection
  Edge servers deployed in vehicles can collect analytics data during operation and synchronize with the central server when connectivity becomes available.

• Remote or Intermittent Connectivity
  Suitable for environments where continuous connectivity cannot be guaranteed, such as:  Mining sites, Maritime environments, Rural deployments. Data is stored locally and synchronized when the connection is restored.

• Manual Data Handling
  In isolated environments, analytics data can be exported and physically transferred to another system (for example, via removable storage).

Statistics Dashboard

The Edge Server includes a monitoring dashboard available at: 

http://localhost:3000/stats-dashboard/stats.html

Overview section

The Overview section displays general server statistics, including:

• Total requests received from SDKs

• Records inserted into the local database

• Connectivity status with the main Countly server

• Server ping success rate

The dashboard also visualizes request flow over time. The dashboard interface includes metrics such as Received Requests, Inserted Records, Server Pings, and Data Sent.
 

Real-time Metrics

The Real-time Metrics section displays synchronization performance indicators, including:

• Ping success rate

• Data sending success rate

• Number of ping errors

• Number of send errors

It also lists the most recent synchronization errors and their causes. 

Historical Data

The Historical Data section provides historical trends of Edge Server activity, including:

• Requests received

• Records inserted

• Records synchronized with the main server

These metrics help identify synchronization performance over time. 

Recent requests

The Recent Requests section lists the most recent analytics requests received from Countly SDKs.

For each request, the dashboard displays:

• Request ID

• Timestamp

• HTTP method

• Device ID

• Application key

• Request payload

This section helps verify that the Edge Server is correctly receiving SDK traffic.

Installation and Setup

The Edge Server can be deployed using Docker.

docker run -d \ 
  --name countly-edge \ 
  -p 3000:3000 \ 
  -v countly-data:/data/countly \ 
  -e COUNTLY_SERVER=https://your.countly.server \ 
  us-docker.pkg.dev/countly-01/edge/server:latest

version: '3.8' 

services: 
  edge-server: 
    image: us-docker.pkg.dev/countly-01/edge/server:latest 
    ports: 
      - "3000:3000" 
    volumes: 
      - countly-data:/data/countly 
    environment: 
      - NODE_ENV=production 
      - COUNTLY_SERVER=https://your.countly.server 
      # Add other configuration options as needed 

volumes: 
  countly-data: 
    driver: local

# And run as docker-compose up -d

Configuration

Countly Edge server is configured through environment variables:

These variables control synchronization frequency, batching behavior, and monitoring intervals.