The increasing demand for NoSQL databases is one of the biggest and least expected trends in the computing world during the past decade. Now, as the 2020’s begin, it’s helpful to look at what, exactly, this new movement consists of. A good way to start is by examining one of the new wave’s most popular open-source database management systems in existence, Apache Cassandra.
As the need for data grows, many of the world’s largest companies have turned to NoSQL alternatives for various reasons. In most cases, managers will tell you they prefer an open-source system’s ability to perform at higher levels, like the performance, love that it’s free to download and install, and much more. For companies, researchers, governments and individuals with a need to handle truly huge data sets, NoSQL is the way to go.
Here’s a short summary of the key reasons users are turning to these new types of databases more and more frequently.
Performance
These kinds of new data programs are able to handle incredible amounts of data because it combines the power of numerous multi-core computers simultaneously.
Fault Tolerance
One of the centerpieces of newer database offerings like Apache Cassandra is fault tolerance. However, it is still essential to monitor Cassandra in order to optimize efficiency. Just because a system tolerates faults doesn’t mean admins can sit back and ignore errors. When it comes to Apache Cassandra monitoring, the marketplace has been infinitely responsive. There are dozens of tools that get the job done, based on the kind and size of the database you manage. Most of the retail products in this niche are reasonably priced and easy to install.
Open-Source Design
The word “free” has a powerful impact even in the world of computer systems management. Open-source products, as all these new systems are, offer complete individualization of the program once you download it to your machine. Since their debut, these kinds of databases have created a collaborative industry of sorts; millions of users share their concerns, comments and suggestions in social media communities. As far as Apache’s offering, users can fully integrate it with many other products in the open-source universe, like Apache Hive, Apache Pig and Hadoop.
Peer to Peer Nature
Doing away with the outdated arrangement means the modern systems utilize a more flexible peer to peer setup. That means you never have to worry about failures occurring at a single point. Plus, you can add nodes or servers to a data center cluster at will because all computers on the network are equally situated and are able to take requests from clients located anywhere else on the network.
Scalability
Administrators speak of “elastic scalability” when they sing the praises of systems like Cassandra. The cluster arrangement can quickly and simply be scaled either down or up, as needed. But even more impressive is the fact that technicians can add or delete any number of nodes without the slightest trouble. There’s no need to alter the queries or re-start the entire cluster. There’s no application pause or downtime during scaling, an unheard of situation in traditional databases.