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MSSQL VS TimescaleDB

Compare MSSQL VS TimescaleDB and see what are their differences

MSSQL logo MSSQL

Get started with Microsoft SQL Server downloads. Choose a SQL Server trial, edition, tool, or connector that best meets your data and workload needs.

TimescaleDB logo TimescaleDB

TimescaleDB is a time-series SQL database providing fast analytics, scalability, with automated data management on a proven storage engine.
  • MSSQL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-28
  • TimescaleDB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-23

MSSQL features and specs

  • Enterprise-level Features
    MSSQL offers a wide range of enterprise-level features, including advanced data security, high availability, and performance tuning options which make it suitable for large-scale applications.
  • Integration with Microsoft Products
    MSSQL provides seamless integration with other Microsoft products like Azure, Power BI, and SQL Server Reporting Services, making it easier to develop comprehensive solutions in a Microsoft-centric environment.
  • Comprehensive Support and Documentation
    Microsoft provides extensive support and detailed documentation, helping users troubleshoot issues quickly and learn best practices.
  • Data Security
    MSSQL includes robust security features such as encryption, role-based access control, and data masking, ensuring data protection and compliance with regulations.
  • Scalability
    MSSQL can handle large volumes of transactions and growing databases, offering solutions for both vertical and horizontal scaling.

Possible disadvantages of MSSQL

  • Cost
    MSSQL can be expensive, especially for small to medium-sized businesses, as the licensing fees for its enterprise editions are relatively high.
  • Resource Intensive
    MSSQL requires considerable system resources for optimal performance, which might necessitate investment in powerful hardware.
  • Complex Licensing
    The licensing model for MSSQL can be complex and challenging to navigate, especially for businesses unsure of their specific needs and usage scenarios.
  • Limited Cross-platform Support
    While recent versions have improved, MSSQL traditionally runs best on Windows environments, offering less flexibility compared to some other database systems which are more OS-agnostic.
  • Upgrade Process
    Upgrading to newer versions of MSSQL can be a complex and time-consuming process, potentially leading to extended downtime if not managed carefully.

TimescaleDB features and specs

  • Scalability
    TimescaleDB offers excellent horizontal and vertical scalability, which allows it to handle large volumes of data efficiently. Its architecture is designed to accommodate growth by distributing and efficiently managing data shards.
  • Time-Series Data Optimization
    Specifically optimized for time-series data, TimescaleDB provides features like hypertables and continuous aggregates that speed up queries and optimize storage for time-based data.
  • SQL Compatibility
    As an extension of PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB offers full SQL support, making it familiar to developers and allowing easy integration with existing SQL-based systems and applications.
  • Retention Policies
    TimescaleDB includes built-in data retention policies, enabling automatic management of historical data and freeing up storage by performing automatic data roll-ups or deletes.
  • Integration with the PostgreSQL Ecosystem
    It benefits from PostgreSQL's rich ecosystem of extensions, tools, and optimizations, allowing for versatile use cases beyond just time-series data while maintaining robust reliability and performance.

Possible disadvantages of TimescaleDB

  • Learning Curve
    Although it’s SQL-based, developers might face a learning curve to fully leverage TimescaleDB's time-series specific features such as hypertables and specific optimization techniques.
  • Limited Write Scalability
    While it's scalable, TimescaleDB might face challenges with extremely high-throughput write workloads compared to some NoSQL time-series databases, which are specifically built for such tasks.
  • Dependency on PostgreSQL
    As it operates as a PostgreSQL extension, any limitations and issues in PostgreSQL might directly affect TimescaleDB's performance and capabilities.
  • Complexity in Setup for High Availability
    Setting up TimescaleDB with high availability and distributed systems might introduce complexities, particularly for organizations that are not well-versed in PostgreSQL clustering and replication strategies.
  • Storage Overhead
    The additional storage features add an overhead, which means that while it adds value with its optimizations, users need to manage storage resources effectively, especially in environments with very large datasets.

MSSQL videos

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TimescaleDB videos

Rearchitecting a SQL Database for Time-Series Data | TimescaleDB

More videos:

  • Review - Visualizing Time-Series Data with TimescaleDB and Grafana

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to MSSQL and TimescaleDB)
Databases
23 23%
77% 77
Relational Databases
52 52%
48% 48
Time Series Database
0 0%
100% 100
NoSQL Databases
31 31%
69% 69

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare MSSQL and TimescaleDB

MSSQL Reviews

We have no reviews of MSSQL yet.
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TimescaleDB Reviews

ClickHouse vs TimescaleDB
Recently, TimescaleDB published a blog comparing ClickHouse & TimescaleDB using timescale/tsbs, a timeseries benchmarking framework. I have some experience with PostgreSQL and ClickHouse but never got the chance to play with TimescaleDB. Some of the claims about TimescaleDB made in their post are very bold, that made me even more curious. I thought it’d be a great...
4 Best Time Series Databases To Watch in 2019
The Guardian did a very nice article explaining on they went from MongoDB to PostgresSQL in the favor of scaling their architecture and encrypting their content at REST. As you can tell, big companies are relying on SQL-constraint systems (with a cloud architecture of course) to ensure system reliability and accessibility. I believe that PostgresSQL will continue to grow, so...
Source: medium.com
20+ MongoDB Alternatives You Should Know About
TimescaleDB If on the other hand you are storing time series data in MongoDB, then TimescaleDB might be a good fit.
Source: www.percona.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, TimescaleDB seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 5 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.

MSSQL mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of MSSQL yet. Tracking of MSSQL recommendations started around Mar 2021.

TimescaleDB mentions (5)

  • Ask HN: Does anyone use InfluxDB? Or should we switch?
    (:alert: I work for Timescale :alert:) It's funny, we hear this more and more "we did some research and landed on Influx and ... Help it's confusing". We actually wrote an article about what we think, you can find it here: https://www.timescale.com/blog/what-influxdb-got-wrong/ As the QuestDB folks mentioned if you want a drop in replacement for Influx then they would be an option, it kinda sounds that's not what... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Best small scale dB for time series data?
    If you like PostgreSQL, I'd recommend starting with that. Additionally, you can try TimescaleDB (it's a PostgreSQL extension for time-series data with full SQL support) it has many features that are useful even on a small-scale, things like:. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Quick n Dirty IoT sensor & event storage (Django backend)
    I have built a Django server which serves up the JSON configuration, and I'd also like the server to store and render sensor graphs & event data for my Thing. In future, I'd probably use something like timescale.com as it is a database suited for this application. However right now I only have a handful of devices, and don't want to spend a lot of time configuring my back end when the Thing is my focus. So I'm... Source: over 3 years ago
  • How fast and scalable is TimescaleDB compare to a NoSQL Database?
    I've seen a lot of benchmark results on timescale on the web but they all come from timescale.com so I just want to ask if those are accurate. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • The State of PostgreSQL 2021 Survey is now open!
    Ryan from Timescale here. We (TimescaleDB) just launched the second annual State of PostgreSQL survey, which asks developers across the globe about themselves, how they use PostgreSQL, their experiences with the community, and more. Source: about 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing MSSQL and TimescaleDB, you can also consider the following products

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.

InfluxData - Scalable datastore for metrics, events, and real-time analytics.

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

VictoriaMetrics - Fast, easy-to-use, and cost-effective time series database

MariaDB - An enhanced, drop-in replacement for MySQL

Prometheus - An open-source systems monitoring and alerting toolkit.