Member-only story
Understanding Database Replication and Sharding: Scaling Your Data Infrastructure
In today’s world of ever-growing data, businesses face the challenge of scaling their databases to handle large volumes of transactions and user requests. Two powerful techniques that can help manage this are database replication and database sharding. Though they might sound similar, they serve different purposes and are suited to different scenarios. In this article, we’ll explore what these techniques are, when to use them, and how they can benefit your data infrastructure.
What is Database Replication?
Database replication is like having multiple copies of your favorite book in different libraries. If one library is busy or out of service, you can still get the book from another library. In the world of databases, replication means copying data from one database server (the master) to one or more other servers (slaves). This ensures that if the master server fails, the slaves can step in, minimizing downtime and data loss.
Why Replicate?
- High Availability: If your master database goes down, the slaves can take over, ensuring that your application remains available to users.
- Load Balancing: By directing read requests to the slave databases, you reduce the load on the master, improving…
