PolarDB:What is PolarDB for PostgreSQL Distributed Edition?

What is PolarDB for PostgreSQL Distributed Edition?

PolarDB has supported thousands of customer applications and offered outstanding performance in a real business environment. With its excellent performance, superior stability, and enterprise-tailored advanced features, PolarDB can deliver an unprecedented database experience.

In scenarios such as smart driving training, SaaS multi-tenancy, and blockchain, traditional centralized databases can no longer manage the large volume of data generated by the continuously growing business. To resolve this issue, PolarDB provides the PolarDB for PostgreSQL Distributed Edition. It is a distributed database solution developed based on the PolarDB for PostgreSQL centralized edition. The cluster uses a compute node (CN) and data node (DN) two-layer architecture to decouple compute and storage and provide distributed scaling capabilities. The cluster combines the strengths of a distributed database with the proven capabilities of PolarDB for PostgreSQL and can meet the diverse performance and reliability requirements of enterprise-level applications. The following figure shows the architecture of PolarDB for PostgreSQL Distributed Edition:

The PolarDB for PostgreSQL Distributed Edition cluster provides distributed features based on distributed scaling. The cluster has the following features:

• The cluster consists of CNs and DNs. CNs manage cluster metadata and create distributed execution plans. DNs store actual data shards.

• Each DN and CN in the cluster uses a centralized architecture that decouples storage and computing. The cluster supports database proxy and one-write-multiple-read mode and provides failover mechanisms for CNs and DNs. The cluster allows the addition of read-only nodes to enhance the read capability of individual CNs or DNs.

• The cluster supports manual sharding and provides horizontal scaling capabilities, which makes the cluster suitable for business scenarios that involve data volumes below petabytes (PB).

• The cluster ensures consistency in distributed transactions.

• The cluster supports dual-zone deployment. Operations are performed on the active working cluster in the primary zone. In the event of a failure in the primary zone, the hot standby cluster in the secondary zone can seamlessly take over to ensure uninterrupted service.

• The cluster offers 24/7 non-disruptive operation during maintenance, upgrades, and configuration changes. The cluster supports the addition of heterogeneous CNs and DNs.

Benefits

• Integration of centralized and distributed architectures

  Each CN and DN can operate as part of the distributed cluster and independently as a centralized cluster. The cluster uses a centralized architecture for CNs and DNs, fully exploits the benefits of the compute and storage separated design of PolarDB, and retains the advantages of centralized clusters such as one-write-multiple-read scalability, transparent compression, and plug-in support.

• Ease of use

  The cluster provides a centralized distributed view. Cross-node O&M can be performed from a single interface.

Billing

The fees for a PolarDB for PostgreSQL Distributed Edition cluster include the fees for computing resources, the fees for storage usage, and (optional) the fees for the SQL Explorer feature. For more information, see Distributed Edition billing.

How to purchase and use Distributed Edition clusters

• Purchase a PolarDB for PostgreSQL Distributed Edition cluster: Purchase a Distributed Edition cluster.

• Use a PolarDB for PostgreSQL Distributed Edition cluster:

  You can use the following methods to manage PolarDB clusters. For example, you can create clusters, databases, and accounts.

  • Console: The PolarDB console is a friendly web-based GUI.

  • CLI: You can use Alibaba Cloud CLI to perform all operations that are available in the PolarDB console.

  • SDK: You can use SDKs to perform all operations that are available in the PolarDB console.

  • API: You can call API operations to perform all operations that are available in the PolarDB console.

  After a PolarDB cluster is created, you can connect to the cluster by using the following methods:

  • DMS: You can connect to a PolarDB cluster by using Data Management (DMS) and develop databases on the web pages of DMS. For more information, see Use DMS to connect to a cluster.

  • Client: You can connect to a PolarDB cluster by using common database clients. For example, you can use pgAdmin to connect to a PolarDB cluster.