Cloudant
Encyclopedia
Cloudant is a Massachusetts
-based enterprise software company which provides an open source
non-relational, distributed database service of the same name that requires zero-configuration. Cloudant is based on the Apache
-backed CouchDB
project and the creator of the open source BigCouch
project.
Cloudant's service provides integrated data management, search, and analytics engine designed for web applications. Cloudant scales your database on the CouchDB framework and provides hosting, administrative tools, analytics and commercial support for CouchDB and BigCouch. Cloudant's distributed CouchDB service is used just like you would use standalone CouchDB, with the added advantage of your data being redundantly distributed over multiple machines. It is available in cloud, hosted and
Cloudant is often considered part of a new generation of 'NoSQL' databases that don't require fixed table schemas and is challenging the dominance of traditional relational databases (including the popular MySQL
).
. In early 2008 their ideas for fixing the ‘big data
problem’ caught the attention of Silicon Valley-based Y-Combinator, which resulted in $20k seed funding. The company also received an early seed round of $1 million dollars from Avalon Ventures in August 2010.
Cloudant was born out of the founders’ collective frustration with the tools available to serve ‘big data,’ and was designed explicitly to take advantage of the cloud, automatically distributing data across multiple servers in addition to scaling the database to accommodate the ever-changing needs of web applications.
In August 2010, Cloudant released BigCouch
for free under an Apache License
(2.0). Cloudant supports many open source projects including HAProxy, Opscode Chef (software), Rebar and many more. Cloudant offers services including support, consulting services and training (both public and private).
Cloudant has been gaining good traction ever since they delivered their first version of Cloudant in Q3 of 2010. Cloudant has over 2500 customers for its hosted service as of January 2011.
and Cloudant have the same REST API so you can use them in the same way. Cloudant-developed BigCouch
is an open-source fork of CouchDB. Cloudant is actively working with the CouchDB community to provide BigCouch features back into the main branch of CouchDB.
Cloudant's hosted service makes clustering similar to Voldemort, Cassandra, or Riak, as it implements a version of Amazon's Dynamo
. Cloudant takes advantage of the reliability, simplicity, and power of CouchDB and adds distribution, scalability, and 'cloud readiness.’
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
-based enterprise software company which provides an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
non-relational, distributed database service of the same name that requires zero-configuration. Cloudant is based on the Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
-backed CouchDB
CouchDB
Apache CouchDB, commonly referred to as CouchDB, is an open source document-oriented database written mostly in the Erlang programming language. It is part of the NoSQL group of data stores and is designed for local replication and to scale horizontally across a wide range of devices...
project and the creator of the open source BigCouch
BigCouch
BigCouch is an open source, highly available, fault-tolerant, clustered & API-compliant version of Apache CouchDB.BigCouch allows you to create clusters of CouchDBs that are distributed over an arbitrary number of servers...
project.
Cloudant's service provides integrated data management, search, and analytics engine designed for web applications. Cloudant scales your database on the CouchDB framework and provides hosting, administrative tools, analytics and commercial support for CouchDB and BigCouch. Cloudant's distributed CouchDB service is used just like you would use standalone CouchDB, with the added advantage of your data being redundantly distributed over multiple machines. It is available in cloud, hosted and
Cloudant is often considered part of a new generation of 'NoSQL' databases that don't require fixed table schemas and is challenging the dominance of traditional relational databases (including the popular MySQL
MySQL
MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...
).
History
Cloudant was founded by Alan Hoffman, Adam Kocoloski, and Michael Miller. The three met in the physics department at MIT where they worked with multi-petabyte data sets from experiments such as the Large Hadron ColliderLarge Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected to address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing the understanding of the deepest laws of nature....
. In early 2008 their ideas for fixing the ‘big data
Big data
Big data are datasets that grow so large that they become awkward to work with using on-hand database management tools. Difficulties include capture, storage, search, sharing, analytics, and visualizing...
problem’ caught the attention of Silicon Valley-based Y-Combinator, which resulted in $20k seed funding. The company also received an early seed round of $1 million dollars from Avalon Ventures in August 2010.
Cloudant was born out of the founders’ collective frustration with the tools available to serve ‘big data,’ and was designed explicitly to take advantage of the cloud, automatically distributing data across multiple servers in addition to scaling the database to accommodate the ever-changing needs of web applications.
In August 2010, Cloudant released BigCouch
BigCouch
BigCouch is an open source, highly available, fault-tolerant, clustered & API-compliant version of Apache CouchDB.BigCouch allows you to create clusters of CouchDBs that are distributed over an arbitrary number of servers...
for free under an Apache License
Apache License
The Apache License is a copyfree free software license authored by the Apache Software Foundation . The Apache License requires preservation of the copyright notice and disclaimer....
(2.0). Cloudant supports many open source projects including HAProxy, Opscode Chef (software), Rebar and many more. Cloudant offers services including support, consulting services and training (both public and private).
Cloudant has been gaining good traction ever since they delivered their first version of Cloudant in Q3 of 2010. Cloudant has over 2500 customers for its hosted service as of January 2011.
Data Model
CouchDBCouchDB
Apache CouchDB, commonly referred to as CouchDB, is an open source document-oriented database written mostly in the Erlang programming language. It is part of the NoSQL group of data stores and is designed for local replication and to scale horizontally across a wide range of devices...
and Cloudant have the same REST API so you can use them in the same way. Cloudant-developed BigCouch
BigCouch
BigCouch is an open source, highly available, fault-tolerant, clustered & API-compliant version of Apache CouchDB.BigCouch allows you to create clusters of CouchDBs that are distributed over an arbitrary number of servers...
is an open-source fork of CouchDB. Cloudant is actively working with the CouchDB community to provide BigCouch features back into the main branch of CouchDB.
Cloudant's hosted service makes clustering similar to Voldemort, Cassandra, or Riak, as it implements a version of Amazon's Dynamo
Dynamo
- Engineering :* Dynamo, a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator* Dynamo theory, a theory relating to magnetic fields of celestial bodies* Solar dynamo, the physical process that generates the Sun's magnetic field- Software :...
. Cloudant takes advantage of the reliability, simplicity, and power of CouchDB and adds distribution, scalability, and 'cloud readiness.’
Differences with CouchDB
Cloudant's hosted database extends CouchDB in several ways:- Chained MapReduce Views
- Java Language View Server allows usage of Java for CouchDB map reduce analytics.
- vhosts
- API keys for programmatic access to CouchDB database.
Awards and Recognition
In November 2010, Cloudant was recognized as one of ‘10 Cool Open-Source Startups’ by CRN. Cloudant is regularly recognized in the local Boston startup community, named as one of the ‘Top 5 Database Startups’ and ‘Top Ten Cloud Computing Startups’ in Boston’s popular technology column by Joe Kinsella, ‘High Tech in the Hub.’.See also
- Apache Software FoundationApache Software FoundationThe Apache Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation to support Apache software projects, including the Apache HTTP Server. The ASF was formed from the Apache Group and incorporated in Delaware, U.S., in June 1999.The Apache Software Foundation is a decentralized community of developers...
- BigCouchBigCouchBigCouch is an open source, highly available, fault-tolerant, clustered & API-compliant version of Apache CouchDB.BigCouch allows you to create clusters of CouchDBs that are distributed over an arbitrary number of servers...
- Big dataBig dataBig data are datasets that grow so large that they become awkward to work with using on-hand database management tools. Difficulties include capture, storage, search, sharing, analytics, and visualizing...
- CouchDBCouchDBApache CouchDB, commonly referred to as CouchDB, is an open source document-oriented database written mostly in the Erlang programming language. It is part of the NoSQL group of data stores and is designed for local replication and to scale horizontally across a wide range of devices...
- Cloud computingCloud computingCloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
- Cloud infrastructure
- Database-centric architectureDatabase-centric architectureDatabase-centric architecture or data-centric architecture has several distinct meanings, generally relating to software architectures in which databases play a crucial role. Often this description is meant to contrast the design to an alternative approach...
- Datastructure
- NoSQL
- Real time databaseReal time databaseA real-time database is a processing system designed to handle workloads whose state is constantly changing . This differs from traditional databases containing persistent data, mostly unaffected by time. For example, a stock market changes very rapidly and is dynamic...