Database solution is a way to organize a system or computer’s data/information, implemented by a set of computer programs. The data of a computer can be stored in database software currently present in the market with over 300 solutions. This software provides solutions for creating databases and managing information that is stored in them.
The Database Management System (DBMS) uses tools designed especially for spring, extracting, modifying, and searching for information within a produced database.
What are database solutions used for?
When a company takes upon a solution for their database, they look for a service that can do multiple tasks in a go without any fail. A database software shall offer all the needs a company requires, which can be selected amongst several options available today. The common tasks every database solution performs-
- Bookkeeping
- Compiling client lists
- Running online website
- Data sharing and management
- Data Access and auditing, etc.
What are the different types of database solutions to choose from?
Choosing the right database for an application is quite a decision-making process. There are two types of database solutions- relational and non-relational.
SQL (Relation database)
Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) protects against corruption and data loss
It is a set of tables containing predefined relationships between each other. Structured Query Language (SQL) is used to maintain and query a relational database. It provides an easy programming interface for any kind of database interaction. This is possible due to ACID compliance which ensures that transactions don’t overlap each other.
- Atomicity: It means that each transaction (sequence of more than one SQL operation) is being treated as a unit. It can either succeed completely or fail, and if any operation fails, the whole transaction is failed too. For example, when a user is purchasing an item from a website, money is withdrawn from the user’s account and deposited into the merchant’s account safely.
- Consistency: It makes sure that only valid data that follows all the rules can be written in databases. In case of invalid input data, the database returns to its original state before the transaction. Illegal transactions are prevented this way avoiding any database corruption.
- Isolation: Unfinished transactions remain isolated and all transactions proceed independently and securely.
- Durability: The data is saved in the system even when a transaction fails.
Advantages of a relational database-
- A relational database is good for storing structured data such as credit card numbers, ID numbers, zip codes, and dates.
- Well-documented, great support and works well with modern libraries and frameworks.
- Administrators can add user privileges to access, insert, delete, or select data, preventing the chances for a third party to steal any data.
Disadvantages-
- It lacks flexibility.
- Doesn’t work efficiently with unstructured or semi-structured data.
- Not a good option for IoT analytics and large loads.
- It becomes hard to share information of a complex data structure on one large data-driven software solution to the next.
- Runs only on one server making it costlier in terms of investing in physical equipment for a larger amount of data.
NoSQL DBMS (Non-Relation database)
Non-Relation or not SQL DBMS is used for complex databases. This is designed to handle heterogeneous data which is difficult to stick to a normalization schema. While Relational DBMS can rigidly define how all the data contained in the system must be arranged, NoSQL can be schema-agnostic. Unstructured or semi-structured data can be stored in this.
Advantages of non-relation database-
- Stores massive data.
- Has flexible scalability as it makes use of new nodes making it transparent for expansion.
- Need less expert management because it has its data distribution and auto repair capabilities with fewer administration requirements.
- These are cheaper to install.
Disadvantages-
- Not functional and stable than the relational database
- It has less support.
- Does not focus on meeting the earlier versions of web applications thus offering fewer analytic features for normal web apps.
Columnar Storage Database
Its basic characteristic consists of storing data tables by columns rather than by row. It gives the benefit of accelerating analysis because the system only needs to read the locations a query is interested in, all within a single column. It compresses repeating volumes in storage allowing better compression. It is so because the requirements-specific column is homogeneous across all columns.
But due to this feature, Columnar Storage Databases are typically not built for transactional databases. It has a drawback of inserting and updating an entire row to be expensive specifically for apps like CRMs and ERPs. It is slower for such applications. In situations where an account’s page in CRM needs to be opened, the app needs to read the entire row having details like email, account ID, name, address, etc. populating the page and needs to write back as well. A relational database is told to be more effective in such cases.
Cloud Solutions
It is the newest modern database solution. It is developed for the age of Big Data and fast-moving data sources. Many data engineers are turning towards The Cloud solutions like Snowflake, AWS, etc. for purposes of storing, accessing, and analyzing their data.
It holds the advantage of reducing the investment in physical equipment. Users only pay for what they use as the memory and powering power needs to expand. The level of service and storage space is what one pays for.
Even though how advanced The Cloud might seem, it still holds the drawbacks of bandwidth limitations. It offers cost-saving solutions providing small businesses or a company starting from scratch the liberty to choose a plan according to their needs. The compliance requirements are an issue because the power of handling and management of the data is not with the user. It is with a third-party service provider.
Over Cloud, interfaces and unsecured APIs can be readily exploited and the data loss, leakage, and data breached risks are elevated. With improperly configured firewalls, unauthorized access is easy compromising the Cloud database.
Conclusion
In this era of large databases, choosing the right option is vital for a company’s safety. These database solution models provide their advantages and serve some cons as well. User experience is also a thing to look for. Management and smooth handling of the database of an application are what matters at a cost-effective rate. Database systems are essential for every growing company.
