Graphite vs AWS Redshift
A detailed comparison
Compare Graphite and AWS Redshift for time series and OLAP workloads
Learn About Time Series DatabasesChoosing 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 Graphite and AWS Redshift so you can quickly see how they compare against each other.
The primary purpose of this article is to compare how Graphite and AWS Redshift 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.
Graphite vs AWS Redshift Breakdown
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| Database Model | Time series database |
Data warehouse |
| Architecture | Graphite can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud, and it supports horizontal scaling by partitioning data across multiple backend nodes. |
AWS Redshift utilizes a columnar storage format for fast querying and supports standard SQL. Redshift uses a distributed, shared-nothing architecture, where data is partitioned across multiple compute nodes. Each node is further divided into slices, with each slice processing a subset of data in parallel. Redshift can be deployed in a single-node or multi-node cluster, with the latter providing better performance for large datasets. |
| License | Apache 2.0 |
Closed source |
| Use Cases | Monitoring, observability, IoT, real-time analytics, DevOps, application performance monitoring |
Business analytics, large-scale data processing, real-time dashboards, data integration, machine learning |
| Scalability | Horizontally scalable, supports clustering and replication for high availability and performance |
Supports scaling storage and compute independently, with support for adding or removing nodes as needed |
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Graphite Overview
Graphite is an open-source monitoring and graphing tool created in 2006 by Orbitz and open sourced in 2008. Graphite is designed for storing time series data and is widely used for collecting, storing, and visualizing metrics from various sources, such as application performance, system monitoring, and business analytics.
AWS Redshift Overview
Amazon Redshift is a fully managed, petabyte-scale data warehouse service in the cloud. It was launched in 2012 as part of the AWS suite of products. Redshift is designed for analytic workloads and integrates with various data loading and ETL tools, as well as business intelligence and reporting tools. It uses columnar storage to optimize storage costs and improve query performance.
Graphite for Time Series Data
Graphite is specifically designed and optimized for time series data. It uses the Whisper database format, which efficiently stores and manages time series data by automatically aggregating and expiring data based on user-defined retention policies. Graphite supports a wide range of functions for querying, transforming, and aggregating time series data, enabling users to create custom graphs and dashboards. However, as Graphite focuses exclusively on time series data, it may not be suitable for other types of data or use cases that require more advanced data modeling or querying capabilities.
AWS Redshift for Time Series Data
AWS Redshift can be used for time series data workloads, although Redshift is optimized for more general data warehouse use cases. Users can utilize date and time-based functions to aggregate, filter, and transform time series data. Redshift also offers ‘time-series tables’ which allow data to be stored in tables based on a fixed retention period.
Graphite Key Concepts
- Metric: A metric in Graphite represents a time series data point, consisting of a path (name), timestamp, and value.
- Series: A series is a collection of metrics that are all related to the same thing. For example, you might have a series for CPU usage, a series for memory usage, and a series for disk usage.
- Whisper: Whisper is a fixed-size, file-based time series database format used by Graphite. It automatically manages data retention and aggregation.
- Carbon: Carbon is the daemon responsible for receiving, caching, and storing metrics in Graphite. It listens for incoming metrics and writes them to Whisper files.
- Graphite-web: Graphite-web is the web application that provides a user interface for visualizing and querying the stored time series data.
AWS Redshift Key Concepts
- Cluster: A Redshift cluster is a set of nodes, which consists of a leader node and one or more compute nodes. The leader node manages communication with client applications and coordinates query execution among compute nodes.
- Compute Node: These nodes store data and execute queries in parallel. The number of compute nodes in a cluster affects its storage capacity and query performance.
- Columnar Storage: Redshift uses a columnar storage format, which stores data in columns rather than rows. This format improves query performance and reduces storage space requirements.
- Node slices: Compute nodes are divided into slices. Each slice is allocated an equal portion of the node’s memory and disk space, where it processes a portion of the loaded data.
Graphite Architecture
Graphite’s architecture consists of several components, including Carbon, Whisper, and Graphite-web. Carbon is responsible for receiving metrics from various sources, caching them in memory, and storing them in Whisper files. Whisper is a file-based time series database format that efficiently manages data retention and aggregation. Graphite-web is the web application that provides a user interface for querying and visualizing the stored time series data. Graphite can be deployed on a single server or distributed across multiple servers for improved performance and scalability.
AWS Redshift Architecture
Redshift’s architecture is based on a distributed and shared-nothing architecture. A cluster consists of a leader node and one or more compute nodes. The leader node is responsible for coordinating query execution, while compute nodes store data and execute queries in parallel. Data is stored in a columnar format, which improves query performance and reduces storage space requirements. Redshift uses Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) to distribute and execute queries across multiple nodes, allowing it to scale horizontally and provide high performance for large-scale data warehousing workloads.
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Graphite Features
Real-time monitoring and visualization
Graphite provides real-time monitoring and visualization capabilities, allowing users to track and analyze their time series data as it is collected.
Flexible querying and aggregation functions
Graphite supports a wide range of functions for querying, transforming, and aggregating time series data, enabling users to create custom graphs and dashboards tailored to their specific needs.
Data retention and aggregation
Graphite’s Whisper database format automatically manages data retention and aggregation, reducing storage requirements and improving query performance.
AWS Redshift Features
Scalability
Redshift allows you to scale your cluster up or down by adding or removing compute nodes, enabling you to adjust your storage capacity and query performance based on your needs.
Performance
Redshift’s columnar storage format and MPP architecture enable it to deliver high-performance query execution for large-scale data warehousing workloads.
Security
Redshift provides a range of security features, including encryption at rest and in transit, network isolation using Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), and integration with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) for access control.
Graphite Use Cases
Application performance monitoring
Graphite is widely used for monitoring the performance of applications and services, helping developers and operations teams track key metrics, such as response times, error rates, and resource utilization. By visualizing these metrics in real-time, users can identify performance bottlenecks, detect issues, and optimize their applications for better performance and reliability.
Infrastructure and system monitoring
Graphite is also popular for monitoring the health and performance of servers, networks, and other infrastructure components. By collecting and analyzing metrics such as CPU usage, memory consumption, network latency, and disk I/O, IT administrators can ensure their infrastructure is running smoothly and proactively address potential issues before they impact system performance or availability.
Business analytics and metrics
In addition to technical monitoring, Graphite can be used for tracking and visualizing business-related metrics, such as user engagement, sales data, or marketing campaign performance. By visualizing and analyzing these metrics over time, business stakeholders can gain insights into trends, identify opportunities for growth, and make data-driven decisions to improve their operations.
AWS Redshift Use Cases
Data Warehousing
Redshift is designed for large-scale data warehousing workloads, providing a scalable and high-performance solution for storing and analyzing structured data.
Business Intelligence and Reporting
Redshift integrates with various BI and reporting tools, enabling organizations to gain insights from their data and make data-driven decisions.
ETL and Data Integration
Redshift supports data loading and extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes, allowing you to integrate data from various sources and prepare it for analysis.
Graphite Pricing Model
Graphite is an open-source project, and as such, it is freely available for users to download, install, and use without any licensing fees. However, users are responsible for setting up and maintaining their own Graphite infrastructure, which may involve costs related to server hardware, storage, and operational expenses. There are also several commercial products and services that build on top of or integrate with Graphite, offering additional features, support, or managed hosting options at varying price points.
AWS Redshift Pricing Model
Amazon Redshift offers two pricing models: On-Demand and Reserved Instances. With On-Demand pricing, you pay for the capacity you use on an hourly basis, with no long-term commitments. Reserved Instances offer the option to reserve capacity for a one- or three-year term, with a lower hourly rate compared to On-Demand pricing. In addition to these pricing models, you can also choose between different node types, which offer different amounts of storage, memory, and compute resources.
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