Guepard / Features
Managed Databases (Fire & Forget - F2)
Seamlessly manage your production database, clone bookmarks, track shadow versions, and promote changes to production with confidence.
Overview
Guepard introduces Managed Databases (Fire & Forget - F2), a production-grade database management system designed to streamline deployment versions. Unlike traditional database instances, F2 databases are fully managed by Guepard Agents, ensuring optimal performance, automated lifecycle management, and seamless production version promotion.
With F2, users can:
- Deploy a fully managed database.
- Clone any bookmark to create a shadow database that inherits the configurations of the parent F2 database.
- Utilize all Guepard instant database features, including branching, bookmarking, and time-traveling.
- Promote a shadow’s branch to production, replacing the main F2 database while maintaining full automation.
This feature optimizes storage and compute resources by leveraging Guepard's file system, ensuring efficient data management.
Key Features of Managed Databases (F2)
1. Deployment & Management
- Deploy a managed database (F2) with a single action.
- Track its lifecycle with a timeline of bookmarks.
- Each bookmark represents a stable snapshot of the database state.
2. Cloning & Shadow Databases
- Select any bookmark from the timeline.
- Clone it to create a shadow database.
- The shadow database inherits the original database’s configurations but starts from the selected bookmark as its first version.
3. Separation of Compute and Storage
- A single compute instance manages multiple database versions.
- Guepard’s file system optimizes storage, reducing redundant data duplication.
4. Integration with Instant Database Features
- The shadow database can leverage all Guepard instant database capabilities, such as:
- Branching: Create new branches from the cloned state.
- Bookmarking: Save new stable versions.
- Time-traveling: Revert to previous states efficiently.
Comparison: Managed Database (F2) vs. Instant Database
| Feature | Managed Database (F2) | Instant Database |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | One-click deployment with configuration | One-click deployment with configuration |
| Bookmarking | Structured timeline of bookmarks | Individual graph representing Branches and Bookmarks |
| Cloning | Creates a shadow database from a specific bookmark | Not supported yet |
| Inheritance | Shadow inherits parent database config | Independent configurations |
| Compute Usage | Single compute handles a single shadow's versions | Each instance has its own compute |
| Storage Optimization | Uses Guepard’s optimized file system | Uses Guepard’s optimized file system |
| Time-travel | Seamless on every shadow | Available |
| Branching Support | Yes, from shadow databases | Yes |
Workflow: How Managed Database (F2) Works
Deploy an F2 Database
- The system automatically creates a managed database with optimized configurations.
- Users track its state through the bookmark timeline.
Bookmarking and Versioning
- Key database states are saved as bookmarks.
- Users can navigate between bookmarks for data consistency and recovery.
Clone to Create a Shadow Database
- Users can select any bookmark and create a shadow.
- The shadow inherits parent configurations but starts from the chosen bookmark.
Manage the Shadow Database
- The shadow database operates as a standard instant database.
- It supports branching, bookmarking, and time-traveling.
Efficient Storage & Compute Management
- A single compute instance efficiently manages multiple shadows.
- Storage consumption is minimized using Guepard’s file system optimizations.
1. Timeline Structure
This section illustrates how Guepard organizes the structured timeline of bookmarks in an F2 database.
2. Shadow Database Management
This section represents the shadows list created from the timeline
Benefits of Using Managed Databases (F2)
🔹 Efficiency
- Automates database lifecycle management.
- Reduces the need for manual interventions.
🔹 Storage Optimization
- Leverages deduplicated storage, minimizing resource consumption.
- Ensures high-performance read/write operations.
🔹 Compute Cost Reduction
- A single compute instance efficiently manages multiple database states.
- Reduces unnecessary compute allocations.
🔹 Scalability
- Users can manage multiple F2 databases effortlessly.
- Supports large-scale database deployments with structured versioning.
🔹 Simplified Versioning & Recovery
- Users can time-travel between versions seamlessly.
- Provides an intuitive timeline-based approach to database management.
- An F2 database can serve as your production database, and when creating a shadow, you can branch it, bookmark it, and then select one of its branches to promote to production. This new production version will replace the main database in the F2 timeline. (Note: The "Promote to Production" feature is currently under development.)
The Managed Database (Fire & Forget - F2) feature in Guepard enhances database lifecycle management by integrating automation, efficient storage, and seamless version control. By combining the benefits of instant databases with an optimized, structured bookmark timeline, users gain full control over their data while minimizing costs and operational complexity.
With F2, Guepard continues to revolutionize database management, ensuring a faster, more efficient, and highly scalable experience for developers and enterprises alike.