Choosing the right database is a critical choice when building any software application. All databases have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to performance, so deciding which database has the most benefits and the most minor downsides for your specific use case and data model is an important decision. Below you will find an overview of the key concepts, architecture, features, use cases, and pricing models of Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics and DataBend so you can quickly see how they compare against each other.

The primary purpose of this article is to compare how Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics and DataBend perform for workloads involving time series data, not for all possible use cases. Time series data typically presents a unique challenge in terms of database performance. This is due to the high volume of data being written and the query patterns to access that data. This article doesn’t intend to make the case for which database is better; it simply provides an overview of each database so you can make an informed decision.

Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics vs DataBend Breakdown


 
Database Model

Time series database

Data warehouse

Architecture

Timestream is a fully managed, serverless time series database service that is only available on AWS.

DataBend can be run on your own infrastructure or using a managed service. It is designed as a cloud native system and is built to take advantage of many of the services available in cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure.

License

Closed source

Apache 2.0

Use Cases

Monitoring, observability, IoT, real-time analytics

Data analytics, Data warehousing, Real-time analytics, Big data processing

Scalability

Serverless and automatically scalable, handling ingestion, storage, and query workload without manual intervention

Horizontally scalable with support for distributed computing

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Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics Overview

Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics is a fully managed, serverless time series database service developed by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Launched in 2020, Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics is designed specifically for handling time series data, making it an ideal choice for IoT, monitoring, and analytics applications that require high ingestion rates, efficient storage, and fast querying capabilities. As a part of the AWS ecosystem, Timestream seamlessly integrates with other AWS services, simplifying the process of building and deploying time series applications in the cloud.

DataBend Overview

DataBend is an open-source, cloud-native data processing and analytics platform designed to provide high-performance, cost-effective, and scalable solutions for big data workloads. The project is driven by a community of developers, researchers, and industry professionals aiming to create a unified data processing platform that combines batch and streaming processing capabilities with advanced analytical features. DataBend’s flexible architecture allows users to build a wide range of applications, from real-time analytics to large-scale data warehousing.


Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics for Time Series Data

Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics is designed specifically for handling time series data, making it a suitable choice for a wide range of applications that require high ingestion rates, efficient storage, and fast querying capabilities. Its dual-tiered storage architecture, consisting of the Memory Store and Magnetic Store, allows Timestream to automatically manage data retention and optimize storage costs based on data age and access patterns. Additionally, Timestream supports SQL-like querying and integrates with popular analytics tools, making it easy for users to gain insights from their time series data.

DataBend for Time Series Data

DataBend’s architecture and processing capabilities make it a suitable choice for working with time series data. Its support for both batch and streaming data processing allows users to ingest, store, and analyze time series data at scale. Additionally, DataBend’s integration with Apache Arrow and its powerful query execution framework enable efficient querying and analytics on time series data, making it a versatile choice for applications that require real-time insights and analytics.


Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics Key Concepts

  • Memory Store: In Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics, the Memory Store is a component that stores recent, mutable time series data in memory for fast querying and analysis.
  • Magnetic Store: The Magnetic Store in Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics is responsible for storing historical, immutable time series data on disk for cost-efficient, long-term storage.
  • Time-to-Live (TTL): Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics allows users to set a TTL on their time series data, which determines how long data is retained in the Memory Store before being moved to the Magnetic Store or deleted.

DataBend Key Concepts

  • DataFusion: DataFusion is a core component of DataBend, providing an extensible query execution framework that supports both SQL and DataFrame-based query APIs.
  • Ballista: Ballista is a distributed compute platform within DataBend, built on top of DataFusion, that allows for efficient and scalable execution of large-scale data processing tasks.
  • Arrow: DataBend leverages Apache Arrow, an in-memory columnar data format, to enable efficient data exchange between components and optimize query performance.


Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics Architecture

Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics is built on a serverless, distributed architecture that supports SQL-like querying capabilities. Its data model is specifically tailored for time series data, using time-stamped records and a flexible schema that can accommodate varying data granularities and dimensions. The core components of Timestream’s architecture include the Memory Store and the Magnetic Store, which together manage data retention, storage, and querying. The Memory Store is optimized for fast querying of recent data, while the Magnetic Store provides cost-efficient, long-term storage for historical data.

DataBend Architecture

DataBend is built on a cloud-native, distributed architecture that supports both NoSQL and SQL-like querying capabilities. Its modular design allows users to choose and combine components based on their specific use case and requirements. The core components of DataBend’s architecture include DataFusion, Ballista, and the storage layer. DataFusion is responsible for query execution and optimization, while Ballista enables distributed computing for large-scale data processing tasks. The storage layer in DataBend can be configured to work with various storage backends, such as object storage or distributed file systems.

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Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics Features

Serverless architecture

Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics serverless architecture eliminates the need for users to manage or provision infrastructure, making it easy to scale and reducing operational overhead.

Dual-tiered storage

Timestream’s dual-tiered storage architecture, consisting of the Memory Store and Magnetic Store, automatically manages data retention and optimizes storage costs based on data age and access patterns.

SQL-like querying

Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics supports SQL-like querying and integrates with popular analytics tools, making it easy for users to gain insights from their time series data.

DataBend Features

Unified Batch and Stream Processing

DataBend supports both batch and streaming data processing, enabling users to build a wide range of applications that require real-time or historical data analysis.

Extensible Query Execution

DataBend’s DataFusion component provides a powerful and extensible query execution framework that supports both SQL and DataFrame-based query APIs.

Scalable Distributed Computing

With its Ballista compute platform, DataBend enables efficient and scalable execution of large-scale data processing tasks across a distributed cluster of nodes.

Flexible Storage

DataBend’s architecture allows users to configure the storage layer to work with various storage backends, providing flexibility and adaptability to different use cases.


Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics Use Cases

IoT device monitoring

Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytic’s support for high ingestion rates and efficient storage makes it an ideal choice for monitoring and analyzing data from IoT devices, such as sensors and smart appliances.

Application performance monitoring

Timestream’s fast querying capabilities and ability to handle large volumes of time series data make it suitable for application performance monitoring, allowing users to track and analyze key performance indicators in real-time and identify bottlenecks or issues.

Infrastructure monitoring

Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics can be used to monitor and analyze infrastructure metrics, such as CPU utilization, memory usage, and network traffic, enabling organizations to optimize resource utilization, identify potential issues, and maintain a high level of performance for their critical systems.

DataBend Use Cases

Real-Time Analytics

DataBend’s support for streaming data processing and its powerful query execution framework make it a suitable choice for building real-time analytics applications, such as log analysis, monitoring, and anomaly detection.

Data Warehousing

With its scalable distributed computing capabilities and flexible storage options, DataBend can be used to build large-scale data warehouses that can efficiently store and analyze vast amounts of structured and semi-structured data.

Machine Learning

DataBend’s ability to handle arge-scale data processing and its support for both batch and streaming data make it an excellent choice for machine learning applications. Users can leverage DataBend to preprocess, transform, and analyze data for feature engineering, model training, and evaluation, enabling them to derive valuable insights and build data-driven machine learning models.


Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalytics Pricing Model

Amazon Timestream for LiveAnalyticsv offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model based on data ingestion, storage, and query execution. Ingestion costs are determined by the volume of data ingested into Timestream, while storage costs are based on the amount of data stored in the Memory Store and Magnetic Store. Query execution costs are calculated based on the amount of data scanned and processed during query execution. Timestream also offers a free tier for users to explore the service and build proof-of-concept applications without incurring costs.

DataBend Pricing Model

As an open-source project, DataBend is freely available for use without any licensing fees or subscription costs. Users can deploy and manage DataBend on their own infrastructure or opt for cloud-based deployment using popular cloud providers. DataBend itself also provides a managed cloud service with free trial credits available.