Hacker News: 400TB Single Cluster: OceanBase Powers Kwai`s Core Business

Source URL: https://oceanbase.github.io/docs/blogs/users/Kwai
Source: Hacker News
Title: 400TB Single Cluster: OceanBase Powers Kwai`s Core Business

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Summary: The text discusses how Kwai, a popular short video app, transitioned from a conventional MySQL database system to implementing OceanBase Database to efficiently scale operations and manage vast amounts of data. This transition is relevant for professionals in cloud computing and infrastructure security due to the implications for high-concurrency systems, data processing capabilities, and the need for robust database solutions.

Detailed Description:
The article outlines the challenges faced by Kwai in managing its rapidly growing data and high user concurrency, illustrating the evolution of its database solution. Key points include:

– **Initial Database Limitations**:
– Kwai began with multiple MySQL clusters to support its operations but encountered significant operational complexities due to the need for database shard management.
– An escalation in required storage capacity led to the creation of over 300 online MySQL shards, which further complicated management without resolving the underlying performance issues.

– **Transition to Distributed Database**:
– Recognizing the unsustainable nature of the MySQL sharding solution, Kwai sought an alternative that would ensure better performance and system stability.
– The adoption of OceanBase Database provided several advantages over conventional MySQL systems, particularly in transaction verification and payment processing, crucial for their e-commerce functionality.

– **Performance Improvements**:
– With OceanBase, Kwai experienced vastly improved data management, with substantial reductions in time needed for data definition language (DDL) operations — from a week to just hours for large tables.
– The system could handle incoming traffic spikes from live streaming events, often surging past a million queries per second (QPS) without latency issues.

– **Advantages of OceanBase**:
– Aggregation of more than 300 MySQL shards into a single OceanBase cluster simplified operations and significantly reduced operational costs.
– The ability to perform hybrid transaction/analytical processing (HTAP) allowed real-time data analysis while managing high data volumes efficiently.
– Enhanced compatibility with MySQL protocols facilitated smoother migration and integration of legacy data, minimizing disruption during the transition.

– **Resilience and Scalability**:
– OceanBase’s architecture enables horizontal scalability, allowing Kwai to scale resources as necessary to accommodate increasing data loads without sacrificing performance.
– The system’s architecture supports disaster recovery (zero RPO and <8 seconds RTO), which is vital for maintaining business continuity in the e-commerce environment. - **Future Considerations and Improvement Areas**: - While there are substantial benefits, Kwai has identified certain limitations within OceanBase, such as compatibility issues with MySQL binlogs and challenges in scaling tasks. - The ongoing cooperation with the OceanBase community reflects the commitment to enhance database capabilities and address existing issues. The insights shared in this case study can serve as valuable lessons for security and compliance professionals, especially in terms of managing large-scale database systems, ensuring transaction integrity under high loads, and understanding the interplay of operational efficiency with security in cloud environments.