Distributed Database Examples
There are two general types of distributed databases: NoSQL and distributed SQL.
With the rise of the internet, relational (i.e. SQL) databases faced limitations with scaling, cloud compatibility, and distribution across multiple instances, leading to the emergence of NoSQL databases
NoSQL databases prioritize cloud-native scaling and resilience, but at the cost of schema enforcement and strongly consistent data through ACID guarantees. NoSQL databases are often referred to as document-based or key-value databases.
Despite their limitations in consistency and multi-key access patterns, NoSQL databases remain widely used for ever-increasing workloads with less-business-critical data needs. NoSQL databases were created to store unstructured data that does not conform to a predefined schema. Examples of NoSQL distributed databases include MongoDB, Cassandra, Couchbase, DynamoDB and Azure CosmoDB.
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Distributed SQL databases offer both cloud-native scaling and ACID guarantees, making them ideal for organizations with important transactional workloads. NoSQL databases are commonly used for analytics and big data workloads, while distributed SQL databases are preferred for transactional workloads and system-of-record stores.
Examples of distributed SQL databases include YugabyteDB, CockroachDB, and TiDB
NOTE: NewSQL is a relational database that partially bridges the gap between SQL and NoSQL. Sometimes distributed SQL databases are referred to as NewSQL, but NewSQL is a more inclusive term that includes databases that are not distributed. The term NewSQL refers to databases that added limited replication capabilities onto legacy relational database management systems. In contrast, distributed SQL databases were architected from the ground-up with a modern, distributed storage layer at its foundation.
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