What is an ingestion timestamp?¶
An ingestion timestamp records when a receiving platform accepted or processed a record. It is a useful external pipeline reference, not automatically the event time.
Offline and buffered events expose the difference¶
An endpoint can record activity at 09:00, reconnect at 12:00 and reach the platform at 12:03. Both fields can be accurate for different stages. Several delayed events can appear simultaneous if sorted only by ingestion, and sources can experience different delays.
Preserve field meaning and zone¶
Identify source, ingestion, processing and display fields and any time conversion. Retain original values and compare raw records.
If a source clock is wrong, ingestion can bound or contextualise timing but does not automatically correct it; the delay and collection route must be understood.
The point to remember
Use ingestion time to explain when data arrived, not as a substitute for when the source says activity occurred.
