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Apache Cassandra VS SimpleDB

Compare Apache Cassandra VS SimpleDB and see what are their differences

Apache Cassandra logo Apache Cassandra

The Apache Cassandra database is the right choice when you need scalability and high availability without compromising performance.

SimpleDB logo SimpleDB

Amazon SimpleDB is a simple database storage solution that allows developers to simply store & query data items via web services requests, saving time.
  • Apache Cassandra Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-17
  • SimpleDB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-01

Apache Cassandra features and specs

  • Scalability
    Apache Cassandra is designed for linear scalability and can handle large volumes of data across many commodity servers without a single point of failure.
  • High Availability
    Cassandra ensures high availability by replicating data across multiple nodes. Even if some nodes fail, the system remains operational.
  • Performance
    It provides fast writes and reads by using a peer-to-peer architecture, making it highly suitable for applications requiring quick data access.
  • Flexible Data Model
    Cassandra supports a flexible schema, allowing users to add new columns to a table at any time, making it adaptable for various use cases.
  • Geographical Distribution
    Data can be distributed across multiple data centers, ensuring low-latency access for geographically distributed users.
  • No Single Point of Failure
    Its decentralized nature ensures there is no single point of failure, which enhances resilience and fault-tolerance.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Cassandra

  • Complexity
    Managing and configuring Cassandra can be complex, requiring specialized knowledge and skills for optimal performance.
  • Eventual Consistency
    Cassandra follows an eventual consistency model, meaning that there might be a delay before all nodes have the latest data, which may not be suitable for all use cases.
  • Write-heavy Operations
    Although Cassandra handles writes efficiently, write-heavy workloads can lead to compaction issues and increased read latency.
  • Limited Query Capabilities
    Cassandra's query capabilities are relatively limited compared to traditional RDBMS, lacking support for complex joins and aggregations.
  • Maintenance Overhead
    Regular maintenance tasks such as node repair and compaction are necessary to ensure optimal performance, adding to the administrative overhead.
  • Tooling and Ecosystem
    While the ecosystem for Cassandra is growing, it is still not as extensive or mature as those for some other database technologies.

SimpleDB features and specs

  • Scalability
    SimpleDB automatically manages server infrastructure on behalf of users, allowing it to scale in response to application demand without manual intervention.
  • Ease of Use
    It is designed to be simple, with a straightforward API that makes it easy to get started without needing to manage the complexities of traditional database systems.
  • Flexible Data Model
    The schema-less nature of SimpleDB allows users to store structured data without predefining the data types, making it adaptable to changes in data format or structure.
  • Indexing and Querying
    SimpleDB provides automatic indexing of all attributes, which facilitates quick querying and retrieval of data without requiring users to manage indices.
  • Integration with AWS Services
    Seamless integration with other AWS services like S3 and EC2, allowing users to build comprehensive cloud solutions.

Possible disadvantages of SimpleDB

  • Limited Query Functionality
    SimpleDB's querying capabilities are more limited compared to relational databases; it does not support complex queries or joins.
  • Storage and Throughput Limitations
    There are limitations on storage size per domain and concurrent read/write throughput, which could be restrictive for large-scale applications.
  • Consistency Model
    SimpleDB trades off strong consistency for high availability, which means applications must be designed to handle eventual consistency.
  • Cost
    While SimpleDB can be cost-effective for small applications, costs can accumulate quickly with large-scale data operations due to its pricing model based on data usage.
  • Obsolescence
    With the advancement and growing use of more robust AWS databases like DynamoDB, SimpleDB has become less appealing and might not receive the same level of support or updates.

Analysis of Apache Cassandra

Overall verdict

  • Apache Cassandra is an excellent choice if you require a database system that can efficiently manage large-scale data while ensuring high availability and reliability. It is particularly well-suited for use cases that demand a robust, distributed, and scalable database solution.

Why this product is good

  • Apache Cassandra is a highly scalable and distributed NoSQL database management system designed to handle large amounts of data across multiple commodity servers without a single point of failure. It offers robust support for replicating data across multiple data centers, thereby enhancing fault tolerance and availability. Its masterless architecture and linear scalability make it suitable for high throughput online transactional applications.

Recommended for

  • Applications that require high availability and fault tolerance
  • Systems with large volumes of write-heavy workloads
  • Organizations that need multi-data center replication
  • Businesses seeking a scalable solution for distributed databases
  • Use cases needing real-time data processing with low latency

Apache Cassandra videos

Course Intro | DS101: Introduction to Apache Cassandraโ„ข

More videos:

  • Review - Introduction to Apache Cassandraโ„ข

SimpleDB videos

No SimpleDB videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Cassandra and SimpleDB)
Databases
92 92%
8% 8
NoSQL Databases
100 100%
0% 0
Project Management
0 0%
100% 100
Relational Databases
91 91%
9% 9

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Cassandra and SimpleDB

Apache Cassandra Reviews

16 Top Big Data Analytics Tools You Should Know About
Application Areas: If you want to work with SQL-like data types on a No-SQL database, Cassandra is a good choice. It is a popular pick in the IoT, fraud detection applications, recommendation engines, product catalogs and playlists, and messaging applications, providing fast real-time insights.
9 Best MongoDB alternatives in 2019
The Apache Cassandra is an ideal choice for you if you want scalability and high availability without affecting its performance. This MongoDB alternative tool offers support for replicating across multiple datacenters.
Source: www.guru99.com

SimpleDB Reviews

We have no reviews of SimpleDB yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Cassandra should be more popular than SimpleDB. It has been mentiond 44 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Cassandra mentions (44)

  • Why You Shouldnโ€™t Invest In Vector Databases?
    In fact, even in the absence of these commercial databases, users can effortlessly install PostgreSQL and leverage its built-in pgvector functionality for vector search. PostgreSQL stands as the benchmark in the realm of open-source databases, offering comprehensive support across various domains of database management. It excels in transaction processing (e.g., CockroachDB), online analytics (e.g., DuckDB),... - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Data integrity in Ably Pub/Sub
    All messages are persisted durably for two minutes, but Pub/Sub channels can be configured to persist messages for longer periods of time using the persisted messages feature. Persisted messages are additionally written to Cassandra. Multiple copies of the message are stored in a quorum of globally-distributed Cassandra nodes. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Which Database is Perfect for You? A Comprehensive Guide to MySQL, PostgreSQL, NoSQL, and More
    Cassandra is a highly scalable, distributed NoSQL database designed to handle large amounts of data across many commodity servers without a single point of failure. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Consistent Hashing: An Overview and Implementation in Golang
    Distributed storage Distributed storage systems like Cassandra, DynamoDB, and Voldemort also use consistent hashing. In these systems, data is partitioned across many servers. Consistent hashing is used to map data to the servers that store the data. When new servers are added or removed, consistent hashing minimizes the amount of data that needs to be remapped to different servers. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Understanding SQL vs. NoSQL Databases: A Beginner's Guide
    On the other hand, NoSQL databases are non-relational databases. They store data in flexible, JSON-like documents, key-value pairs, or wide-column stores. Examples include MongoDB, Couchbase, and Cassandra. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
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SimpleDB mentions (6)

  • Amazon is laying off another 9,000 employees across AWS, Twitch, advertising
    Amazing that this managed DB service is still running: https://aws.amazon.com/simpledb/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • What is the difference between Dynamo and DynamoDB?
    Over the years, Amazon also developed another NoSQL database called SimpleDB. Unlike the original Dynamo, SimpleDB is a managed service so it's easy for teams to adopt and operate. However, SimpleDB can't grow past 10 GB and its performance doesn't scale well (maxes out at around 25 writes per second). Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Amazon EC2-Classic Is Retiring
    You can actually still use SimpleDB: https://aws.amazon.com/simpledb/. - Source: Hacker News / about 4 years ago
  • AWS Quicksight: Authenticating users without SSO but simple DB
    Are you talking about SimpleDB (https://aws.amazon.com/simpledb/) ? If so, I had no idea anyone used this anymore. Source: about 4 years ago
  • Why Google Cloud is less trustworthy than AWS or Azure
    About deprecation: the gold standard is what AWS is doing with SimpleDB: essentially, never. The thing here is that if you run hundreds of services in production - many of which work smoothly and you don't need to touch often, you will find that Google's habit of forcing you to change how to use their tooling will generate a huge burden... They discourage you from using it and make it clear that for every use case... - Source: Hacker News / over 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Cassandra and SimpleDB, you can also consider the following products

Redis - Redis is an open source in-memory data structure project implementing a distributed, in-memory key-value database with optional durability.

Ninox - Ninox is a human-friendly database. Create your own Business Application with Ninox that matches your workflow. Ninox lets you integrate CRM, ERP, HR and many more...

MongoDB - MongoDB (from "humongous") is a scalable, high-performance NoSQL database.

MongoDB Atlas - The best way to host MongoDB in the cloud. Deploy on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform. Try it free!

ArangoDB - A distributed open-source database with a flexible data model for documents, graphs, and key-values.

SAP HANA - SAP HANA is an in-memory, column-oriented, relational database management system.