Mimir vs VictoriaMetrics
A detailed comparison
Compare Mimir and VictoriaMetrics 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 Mimir and VictoriaMetrics so you can quickly see how they compare against each other.
The primary purpose of this article is to compare how Mimir and VictoriaMetrics 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.
Mimir vs VictoriaMetrics Breakdown
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| Database Model | Time series database |
Time series database |
| Architecture | Grafana Mimir is a time series database designed for high-performance, real-time monitoring, and analytics. It features a distributed architecture, allowing for horizontal scaling across multiple nodes to handle large volumes of data and queries. It can be deployed on-prem due to being open source or as a managed solution hosted by Grafana |
VictoriaMetrics can be deployed as a single-node instance for small-scale applications or as a clustered setup for large-scale applications, offering horizontal scalability and replication. |
| License | APGL 3.0 |
Apache 2.0 |
| Use Cases | Monitoring, observability, IoT |
Monitoring, observability, IoT, real-time analytics, DevOps, application performance monitoring |
| Scalability | Horizontally scalable |
Horizontally scalable, supports clustering and replication for high availability and performance |
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Mimir Overview
Grafana Mimir is an open-source software project that provides a scalable long-term storage solution for Prometheus. Started at Grafana Labs and announced in 2022, Grafana Mimir aims to become the most scalable and performant open-source time series database for metrics. The project incorporates the knowledge and experience gained by Grafana Labs engineers from running Grafana Enterprise Metrics and Grafana Cloud Metrics at massive scale.
VictoriaMetrics Overview
VictoriaMetrics is an open source time series database developed by the company VictoriaMetrics. The database aims to assist individuals and organizations in addressing their big data challenges by providing state-of-the-art monitoring and observability solutions. VictoriaMetrics is designed to be a fast, cost-effective, and scalable monitoring solution and time series database.
Mimir for Time Series Data
Grafana Mimir is well-suited for handling time series data, making it a suitable choice for scenarios involving metric storage and analysis. It provides long-term storage capabilities for Prometheus, a popular open-source monitoring and alerting system. With Grafana Mimir, users can store and query time series metrics over extended periods, allowing for historical analysis and trend detection. It is especially useful for applications that require scalable and performant storage of time series data for metrics monitoring and observability purposes.
VictoriaMetrics for Time Series Data
VictoriaMetrics is designed for time series data, making it a solid choice for applications that involve the storage and analysis of time-stamped data. It provides high-performance storage and retrieval capabilities, enabling efficient handling of large volumes of time series data.
Mimir Key Concepts
- Metrics: In Grafana Mimir, metrics represent the measurements or observations tracked over time. They can include various types of data, such as system metrics, application performance metrics, or sensor data.
- Long-term Storage: Grafana Mimir provides a storage solution specifically tailored for long-term retention of time series data, allowing users to store and query historical metrics over extended periods.
- Microservices: Grafana Mimir adopts a microservices-based architecture, where the system consists of multiple horizontally scalable microservices that can operate independently and in parallel.
VictoriaMetrics Key Concepts
- Time Series: VictoriaMetrics stores data in the form of time series, which are sequences of data points indexed by time.
- Metric: A metric represents a specific measurement or observation that is tracked over time.
- Tag: Tags are key-value pairs associated with a time series and are used for filtering and grouping data.
- Field: Fields contain the actual data values associated with a time series.
- Query Language: VictoriaMetrics supports its own query language, which allows users to retrieve and analyze time series data based on specific criteria.
Mimir Architecture
Grafana Mimir adopts a microservices-based architecture, where the system comprises multiple horizontally scalable microservices. These microservices can operate independently and in parallel, allowing for efficient distribution of workload and scalability. Grafana Mimir’s components are compiled into a single binary, providing a unified and cohesive system. The architecture is designed to be highly available and multi-tenant, enabling multiple users and applications to utilize the database concurrently. This distributed architecture ensures scalability and resilience in handling large-scale metric storage and retrieval scenarios.
VictoriaMetrics Architecture
VictoriaMetrics is available in two forms: Single-server-VictoriaMetrics and VictoriaMetrics Cluster. The Single-server-VictoriaMetrics is an all-in-one binary that is easy to use and maintain. It vertically scales well and can handle millions of metrics per second. On the other hand, VictoriaMetrics Cluster consists of components that allow for building horizontally scalable clusters, enabling high availability and scalability in demanding environments. The architecture of VictoriaMetrics enables users to choose the deployment option that best suits their needs and scale their database infrastructure as required.
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Mimir Features
Scalability
Grafana Mimir is designed to scale horizontally, enabling the system to handle growing data volumes and increasing workloads. Its horizontally scalable microservices architecture allows for seamless expansion and improved performance.
High Availability
Grafana Mimir provides high availability by ensuring redundancy and fault tolerance. It allows for replication and distribution of data across multiple nodes, ensuring data durability and continuous availability of stored metrics.
Long-term Storage
Grafana Mimir offers a dedicated solution for long-term storage of time series metrics. It provides efficient storage and retrieval mechanisms, allowing users to retain and analyze historical metric data over extended periods.
VictoriaMetrics Features
High performance
VictoriaMetrics is optimized for high-performance storage and retrieval of time series data. It can efficiently handle millions of metrics per second and offers fast query execution for real-time analysis.
Scalability
The architecture of VictoriaMetrics allows for both vertical and horizontal scalability, enabling users to scale their monitoring and time series database infrastructure as their data volume and demand grow.
Cost-effectiveness
VictoriaMetrics provides a cost-effective solution for managing time series data. Its efficient storage and query capabilities contribute to minimizing operational costs while maintaining high performance.
Mimir Use Cases
Metrics Monitoring and Observability
Grafana Mimir is well-suited for monitoring and observability use cases. It enables the storage and analysis of time series metrics, allowing users to monitor the performance, health, and behavior of their systems and applications in real-time.
Long Term Metric Storage
With its focus on providing scalable long-term storage, Grafana Mimir is ideal for applications that require retaining and analyzing historical metric data over extended periods. It allows users to store and query large volumes of time series data generated by Prometheus.
Trend and anomaly detection
By using Mimir for storing long term historical data it can be useful for detecting trends in your metrics and also for comparing current metrics to historical data to detect outliers and anomalies
VictoriaMetrics Use Cases
Monitoring and Observability
VictoriaMetrics is widely used for monitoring and observability purposes, allowing organizations to collect, store, and analyze metrics and performance data from various systems and applications. It provides the necessary tools and capabilities to track and visualize key performance indicators, troubleshoot issues, and gain insights into system behavior.
IoT Data Management
VictoriaMetrics is suitable for handling large volumes of time series data generated by IoT devices. It can efficiently store and process sensor data, enabling real-time monitoring and analysis of IoT ecosystems. VictoriaMetrics allows for tracking and analyzing data from factories, manufacturing plants, satellites, and other IoT devices.
Capacity Planning
VictoriaMetrics enables retrospective analysis and forecasting of metrics for capacity planning purposes. It allows organizations to analyze historical data, identify patterns and trends, and make informed decisions about resource allocation and future capacity requirements.
Mimir Pricing Model
Grafana Mimir is an open-source project, which means it is freely available for usage and does not require any licensing fees. Users can download the source code and deploy Grafana Mimir on their own infrastructure without incurring direct costs. However, it’s important to consider the operational costs associated with hosting and maintaining the database infrastructure.
VictoriaMetrics Pricing Model
VictoriaMetrics is an open source project, which means it is available for free usage and doesn’t require any licensing fees. Users can download the binary releases, Docker images, or source code to set up and deploy VictoriaMetrics without incurring any direct costs. VictoriaMetrics also has paid offerings for on-prem Enterprise products and managed VictoriaMetrics instances.
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