FoundationDB vs RocksDB: What are the differences?

Key differences between FoundationDB and RocksDB

1. Scalability: FoundationDB is designed to scale horizontally, allowing it to handle increasing workloads by adding more nodes to the system. On the other hand, RocksDB is a single-node database system and lacks built-in mechanisms for distributing data and workload across multiple nodes.

2. Consistency models: FoundationDB provides strong ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) guarantees and supports multi-record distributed transactions. RocksDB, on the other hand, is optimized for high-performance and does not provide built-in distributed transaction support or strong consistency guarantees.

3. Storage engine: FoundationDB uses a log-structured merge tree (LSM) storage engine, which is optimized for high write throughput and efficient storage of large datasets. RocksDB, on the other hand, uses a similar LSM tree architecture but with additional optimizations for solid-state drives (SSDs) and in-memory storage.

4. Support for programming languages: FoundationDB provides client APIs for a wide range of programming languages, including Java, Python, Ruby, and C++. RocksDB, on the other hand, primarily focuses on providing a C++ interface, although bindings for other languages are available.

5. Fault tolerance and availability: FoundationDB is designed to be highly fault-tolerant and provides built-in mechanisms for automatic data replication and failure recovery. It can tolerate node failures and network partitions without sacrificing data consistency. RocksDB, on the other hand, lacks built-in replication and recovery mechanisms, and relies on external systems for achieving fault tolerance and high availability.

6. Community and ecosystem: FoundationDB has a vibrant and active community with a growing ecosystem of tools, libraries, and frameworks built around it. It is backed by a major tech company and benefits from ongoing development and support. RocksDB, on the other hand, has a smaller but still dedicated community and a more limited ecosystem of third-party tools and libraries.

In summary, FoundationDB and RocksDB differ in terms of scalability, consistency models, storage engines, language support, fault tolerance and availability, and community and ecosystem.