Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

MariaDB VS Apache Cassandra

Compare MariaDB VS Apache Cassandra and see what are their differences

MariaDB logo MariaDB

An enhanced, drop-in replacement for MySQL

Apache Cassandra logo Apache Cassandra

The Apache Cassandra database is the right choice when you need scalability and high availability without compromising performance.
  • MariaDB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18
  • Apache Cassandra Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-17

MariaDB features and specs

  • Open Source
    MariaDB is fully open-source, which means it is free to use, modify, and distribute. There are no licensing fees, making it a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes.
  • Compatibility with MySQL
    MariaDB is designed as a drop-in replacement for MySQL. It offers extensive compatibility, making it easy to switch from MySQL without needing to make significant changes to the codebase.
  • Performance
    MariaDB often offers better performance and scalability compared to other relational databases. It includes enhancements in query optimization and indexing, which can lead to faster data retrieval.
  • Advanced Features
    MariaDB includes advanced features such as the Aria storage engine, dynamic columns, and thread pooling. These features provide more flexibility and control over database management and optimization.
  • Active Community
    Being open-source, MariaDB benefits from a robust and active community of developers and users who contribute to its development and provide support through forums and other channels.
  • Security
    MariaDB is known for its strong focus on security. It includes advanced security features such as data encryption, role-based access control, and protection against SQL injection attacks.

Possible disadvantages of MariaDB

  • Learning Curve
    For new users, especially those without much experience with relational databases or MySQL, MariaDB can have a steep learning curve. It requires an understanding of SQL, database management, and various configurations.
  • Inconsistent Documentation
    While the community is active, the documentation can sometimes be inconsistent or incomplete. This can make troubleshooting and leveraging advanced features more challenging.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Although MariaDB aims to be compatible with MySQL, certain features or configurations might not work identically, leading to potential compatibility issues with some applications.
  • Fewer Enterprise Features
    Compared to commercial database solutions like Oracle, MariaDB may lack certain enterprise-level features, tools, and support options that large corporations might require.
  • Market Adoption
    MariaDB, while popular, does not have as wide of an adoption as MySQL or other big players in the database market, which can be a consideration for integration and support in some environments.

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.

MariaDB videos

MySQL/MariaDB Basics (RHCE Study)

More videos:

  • Review - MariaDB Storage Engines
  • Tutorial - #MariaDB Server 10.2: The Complete Guide - #Database Tutorial

Apache Cassandra videos

Course Intro | DS101: Introduction to Apache Cassandra™

More videos:

  • Review - Introduction to Apache Cassandra™

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to MariaDB and Apache Cassandra)
Databases
32 32%
68% 68
NoSQL Databases
37 37%
63% 63
Relational Databases
42 42%
58% 58
Cloud Computing
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

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

MariaDB Reviews

Data Warehouse Tools
MariaDB is another open-source relational database management system that can be used for data warehousing. It’s a robust and secure option for organizations seeking a familiar and cost-effective solution, especially those already invested in the MySQL ecosystem.
Source: peliqan.io
MariaDB Vs MySQL In 2019: Compatibility, Performance, And Syntax
Even the command line tools are similar to mysqldump and mysqladmin still having the original names, allowing MariaDB to be a drop-in replacement.To make sure MariaDB maintains drop-in compatibility, the MariaDB developers do a monthly merge of the MariaDB code with the MySQL code. Even with this, there are some differences between MariaDB and MySQL that could cause some...
Source: blog.panoply.io

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

Social recommendations and mentions

Apache Cassandra might be a bit more popular than MariaDB. We know about 44 links to it since March 2021 and only 42 links to MariaDB. 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.

MariaDB mentions (42)

  • OpenBSD Upgrade 7.6 to 7.7
    In addition, it also includes MariaDB update where "Binary logs are no longer purged by default unless a replica has connected", and minio update where "the MinIO Gateway and the related filesystem mode code have been removed". - Source: dev.to / 4 days ago
  • MariaDB (Bite-size Article)
    Download from the Official Website: Visit the official MariaDB website (https://mariadb.org/) and download the version that matches your operating system. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • From License to Freedom: Embracing Open Source Forks Knowing What to Expect
    One of the most famous examples is MariaDB, a fork of MySQL. When Oracle acquired MySQL back in 2009, concerns arose about the future of the database under a corporate umbrella and while MySQL has remained open source, the idea of it living under Oracle's roof was enough to push some of the original creators to fork an alternative that still lived within the developer community. During the early stages of MariaDB,... - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Using the built-in SQLite module in Node.js
    SQLite is a lightweight database engine written in C. It is a simple, fast, and fully featured implementation of an SQL Database Management System. SQLite differs from other relational databases like MariaDB and PostgreSQL because it does not run as a server. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • 100+ Must-Have Web Development Resources
    MariaDB: A fork of MySQL developed by early MySQL employees. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
View more

Apache Cassandra mentions (44)

  • Why You Shouldn’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 / 8 days 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 / 5 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 / 10 months 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 / 12 months 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 / about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

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

PostgreSQL - PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system.

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

Microsoft SQL - Microsoft SQL is a best in class relational database management software that facilitates the database server to provide you a primary function to store and retrieve data.

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