PostgreSQL vs YugabyteDB: What are the differences?

Introduction

PostgreSQL is a popular open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) that emphasizes extensibility and SQL compliance. It provides advanced features for managing data and supporting complex queries. On the other hand, YugabyteDB is an open-source distributed SQL database that is designed for global deployments and offers high availability, scalability, and fault tolerance.

Key Differences between PostgreSQL and YugabyteDB

1. Architecture: PostgreSQL follows a traditional monolithic architecture where a single instance manages all storage, processing, and querying. In contrast, YugabyteDB is built on a distributed architecture where data is partitioned and replicated across multiple nodes to ensure high availability and fault tolerance.

2. Scalability: PostgreSQL has scalability limitations due to its monolithic architecture. It can scale vertically by adding more resources to a single machine, but horizontal scalability is limited. YugabyteDB, with its distributed architecture, allows for seamless horizontal scalability by adding more nodes to the cluster. This enables YugabyteDB to handle large amounts of data and high traffic loads.

3. High Availability: PostgreSQL offers high availability through features like database replication and streaming replication. However, ensuring high availability requires additional configuration and setup. YugabyteDB, by default, provides automatic high availability with built-in replication and distributed consensus algorithms. It automatically replicates data across nodes and can survive failures without any manual intervention.

4. Fault Tolerance: PostgreSQL has limited fault tolerance as it relies on a single machine for storage and processing. If the machine fails, it can lead to downtime and data loss. In contrast, YugabyteDB is fault-tolerant by design. It replicates data across multiple nodes, ensuring that there are redundant copies available. If a node fails, the system automatically promotes a replica to maintain availability and durability.

5. Multi-Region Support: PostgreSQL does not natively support multi-region deployments. In contrast, YugabyteDB is specifically designed for global deployments and provides built-in multi-region support. It allows data to be distributed across different regions, enabling low-latency access to data for globally distributed applications.

6. ACID Compliance: PostgreSQL is renowned for its support for strong ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) properties, ensuring data integrity and reliability. YugabyteDB also provides ACID compliance but goes a step further by offering distributed transactions. It allows transactions to span multiple nodes and ensures consistency and isolation across the distributed database.

In Summary, PostgreSQL and YugabyteDB differ in their architecture, scalability, high availability, fault tolerance, multi-region support, and support for distributed transactions. YugabyteDB's distributed architecture and built-in features make it an ideal choice for globally distributed applications that require seamless scalability and high availability.