NoSQL is a popular trend in databases today. Also referred to as a non-relational database, this is a type of database technology where data is stored and retrieved in methods that do not employ relational tables or data schemas. This type of database is a distributed technology. It is capable of organizing and analyzing very high volumes of disparate data. Sometimes it is referred to as a cloud database technology. Also, it is ideal for processing big data. One of the NoSQL database technologies available today is MongoDB. This database system can be used to solve data challenges that affect modern organizations. Here are a number of them that MongoDB can effectively solve.

Challenges that Mongo DB can solve

There are many of these. They include:

1. Very high volumes of data in your organization
2. Data collection in an unpredictable environment
3. Plans for massive growth
4. Geographic data
5. Large data sets
6. No DBA in your organization

High data volumes flowing through your organization

If you have massive amounts of data flowing through your system, you should shift from relational databases and embrace MongoDB. In this case, you should prioritize high rates of data saving over the safety of data transactions. You can find yourself in a position where you have to load billions of lines of business data. Each line has a small strategic value. However, when these lines are combined, they become a major asset for your organization. For this scenario, MongoDB will be an ideal database technology to use.

High data availability in an unpredictable environment

In MongoDB, there is a feature known as a replicaSet. This is a group of servers that hold the same data set. In this group, one of the servers is a Master while the rest are Slaves. The Master server receives all the data writing operations. It also instructs the Slaves on the processing operations that they should conduct. In MongoDB, it is very easy to set up this architecture. It allows you to receive, process and store massive amounts of data rapidly. In addition to that, Mongo DB can recover this data very fast. As such, it can be applied in a data center. The recovery process is normally instant, has no risk attached and can be automated.

There are plans to grow your data operations to a massive scale

There is a method of partitioning a database that is known as sharding. In this process, the database is divided into small, fast, manageable parts. They are known as shards. This is one of the activities that is performed by remote DBA expertswhen you are scaling your database. When applied to a MySQL database, it is a very hard process. This is because the tables normally get degraded once they grow up to 5 to 10 GB (gigabytes) in size. However, MongoDB offers you features and tools that you can use to scale and shard your database without any degradation whatsoever. Thus, if you expect that your databases will grow to such massive scale, it is practical to invest in MongoDB.

You will save data about physical locations

MongoDB has spatial capability. It can store and query data about geometric objects. Also known as a geodatabase, it can represent polygons, points and even lines. This can be data about features and locations that are geographic. Examples of these are cities, physical features and political borders. This feature allows the database to retrieve required data about these objects quickly and accurately.

The data sets that you are working with are very large

If your organization is dealing with data sets that are more than 1GB (gigabyte) in size, then you should utilize the MongoDB database platform. Relational databases present challenges when it comes to adding new columns for the purpose of extra data storage. When you add many new ones, the database can lock itself up. It can also degrade in performance. If the size of a single table exceeds 1GB, these problems begin to emerge. They are brought about by the presence of a rigid schema. Since MongoDB has no schema, when you add new fields or columns, the old data sets are not affected in any way. Your update is instantly reflected in the system. In addition to that, there is no need for a Database Administrator (DBA) to maintain the changes.

There is no DBA in your organization

If your organization does not have a DBA and you do not want to spend time normalizing data and joining it up, then the MongoDB database is ideal. It maintains class persistence by serializing them into JSON. After that, they are stored in their original form in MongoDB. This eliminates the need for a DBA.

Conclusion

MongoDB is a NoSQL database technology. It is ideal for storing and managing big data. If your organization is facing any of the above challenges, then MongoDB is an effective solution.

—

Jaffery Gates is an expert in MongoDB and assists remote DBA experts to implement it in organizations across the world.