Machine-generated data
Machine Generated Data (MGD) describes information which was automatically created from a computer or other machine. While Machine Generated Data can be created due to some action by a human (ex: apache web logs, etc.), it excludes data manually entered by an end user (ex: personal hobbies on a social media site, video, pictures, etc.).
Growth
In 2009, Gartner published that data will grow by 650% over the following five years. [1]
Examples of Machine Generated Data
* Computer, network, and other equipment logs * Satellite and similar telemetry (whether for espionage or science) * Location data such as RFID chip readings, GPS system output, etc. * Temperature and other environmental sensor readings * Sensor readings from factories, pipelines, etc. * Output from many kinds of medical device, in hospitals and (increasingly) homes alike