Database Sharding and Federation
Photo by Azamat Esenaliev Sharding and federation are both techniques for managing large datasets across multiple systems, but they differ in key aspects: Data Location: Sharding: Data is physically divided and distributed across different shards (databases or servers). Each shard holds a specific subset of the data, usually based on a key or range. Accessing data requires routing to the appropriate shard based on the key. Federation: Data remains physically separate in its individual databases. Each database holds the complete data for its domain, and federated systems provide a mechanism to access and integrate data across these separate databases. Data Ownership: Sharding: Data ownership is centralized. The overall system manages the distribution and access to data across shards. F...