Why Columnar…Not Row-Based?

Sensage has developed and patented a columnar database architecture approach for event data. When dealing with large volumes of data or complex queries, possibly over long timeframes, columnar-based storage is more scalable and responsive.

Unlike traditional relational database management systems that use a row format, data is organized by column in a single, centralized data repository specifically designed for event data. While the difference may sound trivial, the performance gains are dramatic. Indexes are unnecessary as each column is actually an index, reducing storage and maintenance requirements.

Columnar Database:

• Optimized for event log data
• 10:1 compression over raw data 40:1 over RDBMS
• High performance, clustered
• Load, query & capacity distributed among cluster members
• Faster insertion, report and search results
• Data redundancy and high availability
• Distributed architecture for global deployment
• No row-oriented overhead

Take a look at row-oriented technology and what it is best suited for.

Row Oriented Database:

• Ideal when many columns of a single row are required at the same time, and when row-size is relatively small, as the entire row can be retrieved  with a single disk seek
• More efficient when writing a new row if all of the column data is supplied at the same time, as the entire row can be written with a single disk seek
• Well-suited for OLTP-like workloads which are more heavily loaded with interactive transactions