NoSQL Databases vs. Relational Databases

One of the many advantages of using SymmetricDS is that you’re able to leverage the benefits of both relational databases as well as NoSQL databases. In this blog, we’ll discuss the benefits of NoSQL databases, when you would want to use either a relational database or a NoSQL database, and how SymmetricDS can help you extract the positives of both database types. While relational databases, such as SQL Server, Oracle, and PostgreSQL, are popular choices for those looking for a database, NoSQL databases continue to rise in popularity. This increase in interest in NoSQL databases can be attributed to the fact that NoSQL databases are typically user-friendly, easily scalable, and a flexible option. With this rise in popularity, SymmetricDS has grown to support various in-demand NoSQL databases, such as MongoDB, Elasticsearch, Snowflake, and Cassandra. There are pros and cons to both of these database types:

Relational Database

Pros

• Has existed for a longer period of time, so has a more robust community of support.
• Efficient with complex queries and ongoing query operations.
• Best for structured data.

Cons

• More planning and structure up front, as you will have to design and architect tables and relationships, as well as provide constraints to keep data integrity.
• Generally requires more powerful hardware and better IT infrastructure.
• Not easily horizontally scalable.

NoSQL Database

Pros

• Much more flexible and less structured so developers can build apps faster while still having storage.
• Easy to integrate with applications or development pipelines.
• Scalable horizontally for working with large amounts of data.

Cons

• Does not support ACID transactions, making data less trustworthy as compared to relational databases.
• A newer database type, so there can be less community support.
• Many NoSQL databases are quite different in how they handle data, so there is less standardization in NoSQL, as compared to relational databases.

Based on these pros and cons, one might want to use a relational database when you have highly structured data and need a highly reliable database and NoSQL databases are useful for applications that need automatic scaling and partitioning of data. Both of these database types have unique advantages, and SymmetricDS allows the user to extract the positives of both. Using SymmetricDS, you could run a NoSQL database in a store and a relational database at your central office and you can keep your data synchronized between the two different databases, helping you avoid vendor lock-in. SymmetricDS has a wide range of database platforms that it supports, including most major database platforms, so it’s easy to maintain data synchronization and choose a database that is best suited to your unique application.

With SymmetricDS, users can leverage the strengths of both NoSQL and relational databases by synchronizing data between them in near real-time. This allows users to take advantage of the scalability of NoSQL while maintaining the consistency and reliability of a relational database. SymmetricDS can transform and filter data to meet the specific requirements of each database, making it a flexible solution for hybrid database environments.