Open Source Google Cloud Spanner Alternatives

TiDB is a cloud-native distributed SQL database designed for high availability, horizontal and vertical scalability, strong consistency and performance under load. It removes the usual choice between a single node that eventually runs out of room and a sharded arrangement that gives up proper transactions.

Compatibility with MySQL 8.0 means familiar protocols, frameworks and tools keep working, and applications migrate with no code changes or minor ones, helped by a suite of data migration tools. The architecture separates computing from storage, so each side scales independently and without downtime.

A few design decisions define how the database behaves in production.

• ACID transactions: a two-phase commit protocol keeps transactions correct across nodes despite network partitions or node failures.
• Raft consensus: data lives in several replicas and a transaction commits only after a majority write, with automated failover.
• Two storage engines: TiKV holds rows and TiFlash holds columns, replicated in real time so analytics read consistent data.
• Query coordination: the TiDB server plans execution across both engines and sends each part of a query to the one that suits it.
• Replica placement: replicas can be positioned geographically to match a chosen level of disaster tolerance.

Deployment runs in public clouds, on premises or natively on Kubernetes, where TiDB Operator automates cluster operations. All source code including enterprise-grade features carries the Apache 2.0 license, and teams who would rather not operate a cluster can use the managed cloud service or start a local playground to evaluate first.

OceanBase is a distributed relational database developed entirely by Ant Group. It runs on clusters of ordinary servers rather than specific hardware architectures, which takes proprietary appliances out of the conversation when one database node stops being enough.

Availability and scaling both come from the Paxos protocol underneath its distributed structure. Data is replicated so a node failure costs no committed writes, and capacity grows by adding machines to the cluster.

The project states its characteristics in concrete numbers rather than adjectives.

• Transparent scalability: up to 1,500 nodes, petabytes of data and a trillion rows in one cluster.
• Benchmark results: 707 million tmpC on TPC-C and 15.26 million QphH at 30000GB on TPC-H.
• Storage efficiency: a claimed saving of 70 to 90 percent on storage costs.
• Real-time analytics: HTAP workloads served without standing up a separate analytical system.
• Recovery targets: zero data loss and a recovery time under 8 seconds.
• MySQL compatibility: migration from MySQL without rewriting the application layer.

Three routes get an instance running. An all-in-one installer deploys a stand-alone database on Linux, a Docker image starts a mini instance on a single port from Docker Hub, quay.io or ghcr.io, and ob-operator deploys and manages instances inside Kubernetes.

More than 2000 customers across financial services, telecom, retail and internet companies run it, and the source is Apache 2.0 with a public roadmap and developer documentation for compiling your own build.