11 Serverless Databases for Modern Scalable Applications: A Comprehensive Guide
Introduction to Serverless Database
Serverless databases are a type of cloud-based database that can automatically scale and provision additional resources as needed when in demand. There will not be any overhead of managing the underlying infrastructure, such as servers, storage, and backups. These databases offer a variety of features, such as support for different data models (SQL, NoSQL, document, etc.), ACID transactions, and geo-replication.
Serverless databases have become a chosen option for the applications that have unpredictable workloads or that need to scale quickly. Serverless databases are becoming more popular in the recent years after the adoption of Serverless technologies among the organizations.
The main features of serverless databases are:
- Automatic scaling: Serverless databases automatically scale up or down based on demand, so you never have to worry about provisioning or managing capacity.
- On-demand billing: You only pay for the resources that you use, so serverless databases can be very cost-effective.
- Simplicity: Serverless databases are easy to use and manage, so you can focus on developing your applications instead of managing your database infrastructure.
- Reliability: Serverless databases are highly reliable and available, with built-in redundancy and disaster recovery.
In addition to these core features, serverless databases often offer other features such as:
- Real-time data synchronization: This feature allows you to keep your data synchronized across multiple devices in real time, making it ideal for building mobile and web applications.
- Geographically distributed databases: This feature allows you to store your data in multiple regions around the world, improving performance and reliability for global users.
- Managed backups and restore: Serverless databases typically offer managed backups and restore, so you don’t have to worry about backing up your data or restoring it in the event of a failure.
- Security features: Serverless databases offer robust security features, such as encryption, access control, and auditing.
Serverless Databases are the best choice for applications as given below:
- Web applications
- Mobile applications
- IoT applications
- Big data applications
- Real-time data applications
- Mission-critical applications
- Enterprise applications
Below given are some the mostly used Serverless databases by the organizations.
1.Amazon Aurora Serverless
Amazon Aurora is a powerful relational database offered by Amazon that supports both PostgreSQL and MySQL compatibility. It combines the accessibility and performance of traditional databases with the reliability and simplicity of commercial databases, all at a fraction of the cost—only 1/10th of traditional database solutions.
One of the key features of Amazon Aurora is its innovative clustered approach to data replication, leveraging AWS’ availability zones for efficient and robust data availability. This ensures that your data is highly accessible and reliable, with built-in redundancy and fault tolerance.
Amazon Aurora incorporates high-performance subsystems, utilizing the fastest distributed storage for both MySQL and PostgreSQL engines. This results in impressive throughput improvements, with a 5x boost for MySQL and a 3x enhancement for PostgreSQL, compared to existing systems. This performance optimization contributes to a more responsive and efficient database experience for users.
In terms of scalability, Amazon Aurora provides substantial support for enterprise-level implementations by allowing databases to scale up to an impressive 64 terabytes. This scalability ensures that the database can grow with the evolving needs of your organization, accommodating large datasets and demanding workloads.
An additional advantage of Amazon Aurora is its seamless integration with Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS), providing a fully managed environment. This means that administrative tasks, including hardware provisioning, data organization, maintenance, backups, and more, are automated by Amazon RDS. This automation not only simplifies database management but also enhances overall system reliability.
In summary, Amazon Aurora stands out as a cost-effective, highly performant, and scalable relational database solution, fully managed by Amazon RDS, making it a compelling choice for enterprises seeking a robust and efficient database infrastructure.
2.Azure SQL Serverless
Azure SQL Serverless is a serverless compute tier for Azure SQL Database that automatically scales compute based on workload demand and bills for the amount of compute used per second. It is a good option for applications with unpredictable workloads or that need to scale quickly.
Azure SQL Serverless offers a number of features, including:
- Automatic scaling: Azure SQL Serverless automatically scales up and down based on your workload demands. This means that you don’t have to worry about provisioning or managing additional servers.
- Pay-as-you-go pricing: Azure SQL Serverless uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model, so you only pay for the resources that you use. This can be a significant cost saving for applications with unpredictable workloads.
- Reduced operational overhead: Azure SQL Serverless eliminates the need to manage the underlying infrastructure, such as servers, storage, and backups. This can save you a lot of time and money.
- High availability: Azure SQL Serverless is highly available, meaning that your data is always accessible.
- Security: Azure SQL Serverless is designed with security in mind. It offers features such as encryption, authentication, and authorization.
Azure SQL Serverless is a good option for a variety of applications, including:
- Web applications with unpredictable workloads
- Mobile applications
- IoT applications
- Data warehousing applications
- Machine learning applications
To get started with Azure SQL Serverless, you can create a new Azure SQL Database instance and select the serverless compute tier. You can also migrate an existing Azure SQL Database instance to the serverless compute tier.
3.Google Cloud Spanner
Google Cloud Spanner is a fully managed, mission-critical, relational database service that delivers 99.999% availability (uptime) at global scale. Spanner automatically replicates data across multiple zones, so your applications can continue to run even if there is a hardware failure or network outage in one zone. Spanner also provides strong consistency, so you can be sure that your reads and writes will always reflect the latest data.
Spanner is ideal for applications that require high availability, strong consistency, and scalability. Some examples of applications that can benefit from Spanner include:
- Financial services: Spanner can be used to store and manage financial data, such as account balances, trading data, and risk models.
- E-commerce: Spanner can be used to store and manage product catalogs, customer orders, and inventory levels.
- Gaming: Spanner can be used to store and manage game state data, player profiles, and leaderboards.
- Media and entertainment: Spanner can be used to store and manage video and audio content, as well as user playlists and recommendations.
Spanner is a complex service, but it offers a number of features that make it ideal for mission-critical applications. Here are some of the key features of Spanner:
- Globally distributed: Spanner automatically replicates data across multiple zones, so your applications can continue to run even if there is a hardware failure or network outage in one zone.
- Strong consistency: Spanner provides strong consistency, so you can be sure that your reads and writes will always reflect the latest data.
- High availability: Spanner offers 99.999% availability (uptime), so you can be confident that your applications will be available when your users need them.
- Scalability: Spanner can scale to petabytes of data and billions of transactions per second.
- Flexible pricing: Spanner offers a variety of pricing options to meet the needs of different businesses.
If you are looking for a fully managed, mission-critical, relational database service that delivers 99.999% availability, strong consistency, and scalability, then Google Cloud Spanner is a good option to consider.
Google Cloud Firestore is a fully managed, serverless, NoSQL document database that can be used to build scalable web and mobile applications. It offers a number of features that make it a compelling choice for many businesses, including:
- Automatic scaling: Firestore automatically scales up and down based on your workload demands. This means that you don’t have to worry about provisioning or managing additional servers.
- Pay-as-you-go pricing: Firestore uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model, so you only pay for the resources that you use. This can be a significant cost saving for applications with unpredictable workloads.
- Real-time data: Firestore provides real-time data synchronization between clients and the server. This means that your clients will always see the latest data, even if it is being updated by other users.
- Offline support: Firestore provides offline support, so your clients can continue to work with data even if they are not connected to the internet.
- Security: Firestore is designed with security in mind. It offers features such as encryption, authentication, and authorization.
Firestore is a good option for a variety of applications, including:
- Real-time chat applications
- Collaborative editing applications
- Mobile gaming applications
- IoT applications
- Machine learning applications
To get started with Firestore, you can create a new Firestore project and start creating collections and documents. You can also use the Firestore SDKs to integrate Firestore into your web or mobile applications.
5.MongoDB Atlas Serverless
MongoDB Atlas Serverless is a flexible and cost-effective database-as-a-service (DBaaS) offering from MongoDB that allows users to run MongoDB databases without the need for dedicated server instances. This serverless approach simplifies database management by dynamically scaling resources based on actual demand, providing a truly on-demand and pay-as-you-go model.
Key Features:
- Automatic Scaling: MongoDB Atlas Serverless automatically scales resources up or down based on the application’s workload. This means that as the demand for resources increases or decreases, the database adapts in real-time, optimizing performance and cost.
- Cost-Efficiency: With the serverless model, users only pay for the resources consumed during actual usage. This cost-effective approach eliminates the need for provisioning and maintaining dedicated servers, making it an attractive option for applications with varying workloads.
- Zero-Configuration Deployment: Setting up MongoDB Atlas Serverless is straightforward, as it requires minimal configuration. Users can focus on developing their applications rather than dealing with the complexities of server management, scaling, and maintenance.
- Automatic Indexing: MongoDB Atlas Serverless includes automatic indexing, ensuring that query performance is optimized without manual intervention. This feature simplifies database optimization and enhances the overall efficiency of database operations.
- Integrated Security Measures: Security is a top priority, and MongoDB Atlas Serverless comes with integrated security features such as encryption at rest, network isolation, and authentication mechanisms to safeguard data and ensure compliance with industry standards.
- Global Distribution: Users can deploy MongoDB Atlas Serverless clusters across multiple cloud regions, enabling global distribution for their applications. This ensures low-latency access for users around the world, enhancing the overall user experience.
- Managed Service Experience: As part of the MongoDB Atlas family, MongoDB Atlas Serverless benefits from the managed service experience, which includes automated backups, updates, and patches. This allows users to focus on developing applications while MongoDB Atlas takes care of routine maintenance tasks.
- Pay-as-You-Go Model: The pay-as-you-go pricing model of MongoDB Atlas Serverless aligns costs with actual usage. This flexibility is especially advantageous for applications with unpredictable or fluctuating workloads, as users are only charged for the resources consumed during active periods.
Overall, MongoDB Atlas Serverless provides a scalable, cost-efficient, and hassle-free solution for developers and organizations looking to leverage MongoDB’s powerful NoSQL database capabilities without the complexities of server management. This serverless offering is particularly well-suited for applications with varying workloads and global distribution requirements.
6.FaunaDB
FaunaDB, a serverless database, is a cutting-edge and fully managed NoSQL database service designed to seamlessly scale with the dynamic needs of modern applications. It offers a serverless architecture, meaning developers can focus on building robust applications without the need to manage infrastructure, scaling, or maintenance tasks.
Key Features:
- Global Distribution: FaunaDB provides global distribution capabilities, allowing users to deploy databases across multiple regions effortlessly. This ensures low-latency access for users worldwide, enhancing the performance and responsiveness of applications.
- Multi-Model Database: FaunaDB supports multiple data models, including document-oriented, relational, and graph-like structures. This flexibility enables developers to choose the data model that best suits their application requirements.
- ACID Transactions: FaunaDB ensures data consistency and integrity through support for ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) transactions. This guarantees reliable and secure data operations, even in complex distributed environments.
- Serverless Scaling: With FaunaDB’s serverless architecture, resources scale automatically based on application demand. Users don’t need to worry about provisioning or managing servers, as the database adapts dynamically to handle varying workloads.
- Pay-as-You-Go Pricing: FaunaDB follows a pay-as-you-go pricing model, aligning costs with actual resource consumption. This ensures cost-effectiveness, particularly for applications with fluctuating workloads, as users are only charged for the resources utilized during active periods.
- Built-in Security: Security is a top priority for FaunaDB, and it includes features such as end-to-end encryption, access control mechanisms, and authentication protocols. This ensures that data is protected and meets compliance standards.
- Real-Time Capabilities: FaunaDB supports real-time data synchronization, making it suitable for applications that require live updates and collaboration features. Developers can implement real-time features without the need for additional infrastructure or complex configurations.
- Automatic Backups and Point-in-Time Recovery: FaunaDB offers automated backup and point-in-time recovery features, providing users with peace of mind in case of accidental data loss or corruption. This ensures that data can be restored to a specific point in time as needed.
- Developer-Friendly APIs: FaunaDB provides developer-friendly APIs that simplify database interactions. It supports popular programming languages and frameworks, making it easy for developers to integrate FaunaDB into their applications.
In summary, FaunaDB’s serverless database is a robust and scalable solution that empowers developers to build modern, globally distributed applications with ease. With its flexibility, security features, and automatic scaling capabilities, FaunaDB is well-suited for a variety of use cases, from small-scale applications to large, enterprise-level systems.
7.CockroachDB Serverless
CockroachDB Serverless is a managed, pay-as-you-go version of CockroachDB. It automatically scales your database up and down based on your application’s traffic, so you only pay for what you use. CockroachDB Serverless is also highly available and durable, with automatic replication and failover.
Here are some of the key benefits of CockroachDB Serverless:
- Pay-as-you-go: You only pay for the resources that your application uses, such as CPU, memory, and storage. This can save you a lot of money on your database costs, especially if your application’s traffic varies widely.
- Automatic scaling: CockroachDB Serverless automatically scales your database up and down based on your application’s traffic. This means that you don’t have to worry about provisioning or managing servers, or scaling your database manually.
- High availability and durability: CockroachDB Serverless is highly available and durable, with automatic replication and failover. This means that your data is always safe and accessible, even if there is a problem with one of your servers.
- Relational SQL: CockroachDB Serverless is a fully relational SQL database, so you can use all of the familiar SQL features that you know and love.
- Postgres compatible: CockroachDB Serverless is fully compatible with PostgreSQL, so you can use your existing Postgres drivers and applications.
CockroachDB Serverless is a good choice for a variety of applications, including:
- Web applications: CockroachDB Serverless can be used to power high-traffic web applications, such as e-commerce sites and social media platforms.
- Real-time applications: CockroachDB Serverless can be used to power real-time applications, such as financial trading systems and gaming platforms.
- Microservices: CockroachDB Serverless can be used to power microservices architectures, where each microservice has its own database.
- DevOps: CockroachDB Serverless can be used to simplify DevOps tasks, such as provisioning and managing databases.
If you are looking for a managed, pay-as-you-go database that is highly available, durable, and relational SQL, then CockroachDB Serverless is a good option to consider.
8.PlanetScale
PlanetScale is a MySQL-compatible serverless database that brings you scale, performance, and reliability — without sacrificing developer experience. It is built on top of Vitess, a distributed MySQL sharding system.
With PlanetScale, you get:
- Horizontal scaling with sharding: PlanetScale automatically shards your database across multiple servers, so you can scale your database to meet your needs.
- Non-blocking schema changes: PlanetScale allows you to make schema changes without downtime, so you can keep your application running smoothly.
- Globally distributed databases: PlanetScale makes it easy to build and manage globally distributed databases, with read-only replicas in multiple regions.
- A familiar MySQL experience: PlanetScale provides a familiar MySQL experience, so you can use your existing MySQL drivers and applications.
PlanetScale is a good choice for a variety of applications, including:
- Web applications: PlanetScale can be used to power high-traffic web applications, such as e-commerce sites and social media platforms.
- Real-time applications: PlanetScale can be used to power real-time applications, such as financial trading systems and gaming platforms.
- Microservices: PlanetScale can be used to power microservices architectures, where each microservice has its own database.
- DevOps: PlanetScale can be used to simplify DevOps tasks, such as provisioning and managing databases.
Here are some of the key benefits of using PlanetScale:
- No downtime for schema changes: PlanetScale allows you to make schema changes without downtime, so you can keep your application running smoothly.
- Unlimited scale: PlanetScale can scale to meet your needs, regardless of how much traffic your application receives.
- Globally distributed databases: PlanetScale makes it easy to build and manage globally distributed databases, with read-only replicas in multiple regions.
- A familiar MySQL experience: PlanetScale provides a familiar MySQL experience, so you can use your existing MySQL drivers and applications.
- Serverless: PlanetScale is serverless, so you only pay for the resources that you use.
If you are looking for a MySQL-compatible database that offers scale, performance, reliability, and global distribution, then PlanetScale is a good option to consider.
9.NeonDB
NeonDB is a new type of database that is designed to be fast, scalable, and easy to use. It is based on a new technology called “Neon” which allows it to store data in a way that is more efficient than traditional databases. NeonDB is still under development, but it has the potential to revolutionize the way that databases are used.
Here are some of the key features of NeonDB:
- Speed: NeonDB is designed to be very fast, even for large datasets. It can read and write data at speeds that are orders of magnitude faster than traditional databases.
- Scalability: NeonDB is designed to be scalable to very large datasets. It can handle datasets that are petabytes in size with ease.
- Ease of use: NeonDB is designed to be easy to use, even for non-experts. It has a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy to create and manage databases.
NeonDB is still under development, but it has the potential to be a major player in the database market. It is well-funded and has a team of experienced engineers working on it. If NeonDB is able to live up to its potential, it could revolutionize the way that databases are used.
10.AWS Lambda
AWS Lambda is a serverless computing service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It allows you to run your code without provisioning or managing servers. With Lambda, you can upload your code, and AWS takes care of automatically scaling and managing the compute resources needed to run it.
Lambda supports multiple programming languages, and you can use it to build a variety of applications, from simple event-driven functions to complex microservices architectures. It’s particularly useful for tasks like data processing, real-time file processing, and handling API requests.
11.Azure Cosmos DB
Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed database service offered as a Platform as a Service (PaaS) on Microsoft Azure. This JSON-based database allows users to effortlessly build and deploy applications across Azure data centers without the hassle of manual configuration.
As an integral part of Azure, Cosmos DB is accessible in all regions and boasts automatic data replication across multiple data centers within the Azure network. The service provides various interfaces, with the SQL-based option standing out as particularly noteworthy. This feature makes Cosmos DB an excellent choice for organizations handling a multitude of transient yet critical pieces of information, offering a seamless and efficient solution for processing, querying, and managing such data.
As serverless technology continues to mature and evolve, we can expect to see even more innovative and powerful serverless database solutions emerge. Serverless databases are the future of database management, and they are poised to revolutionize the way we build and deploy scalable applications.
