Data Mesh in Practice with GlareDB

tl;dr> GlareDB's unique features make it an ideal tool for implementing data mesh architectures. Its ability to connect diverse data sources, create cross-source views, and materialize data products aligns perfectly with data mesh principles. This post explores how GlareDB can be your go-to tool for building and managing a data mesh.

In my last post, we explored the concepts of data mesh through the lens of traditional database design. Now, let's dive into how GlareDB is uniquely positioned to turn these concepts into reality.

Domain-Oriented Decentralization: Connect Everything

The first principle of data mesh is domain-oriented decentralized data ownership. This means allowing each domain to choose the best tools for their needs, while still making the data accessible to the rest of the organization. GlareDB shines here with its ability to connect to multiple data sources seamlessly.

Let's say your marketing team uses Postgres, your sales team relies on MongoDB, and your logistics team stores data in S3 buckets. With GlareDB, you can connect to all these sources:

CREATE EXTERNAL DATABASE marketing_db
FROM postgres
OPTIONS (
    host = 'marketing.db.example.com',
    port = '5432',
    user = 'glaredb',
    password = 'password',
    database = 'marketing'
);

CREATE EXTERNAL DATABASE sales_db
FROM mongodb
OPTIONS (
    connection_string = 'mongodb://sales.db.example.com:27017'
);

CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE logistics_data
FROM s3
OPTIONS (
    location = 's3://logistics-bucket/shipping_data/*.parquet',
    file_type = 'parquet'
);

Now you have access to all these domain-specific data sources through a single GlareDB instance. Each team can continue using their preferred tools, while GlareDB acts as the unifying layer.

Data as a Product: Views and Materialization

In a data mesh, each domain is responsible for serving their data as a product. GlareDB's views and materialization capabilities are perfect for this.

Let's create a customer 360 view that combines data from multiple domains:

CREATE VIEW customer_360 AS
SELECT 
    m.customer_id,
    m.email,
    m.customer_segment,
    s.lifetime_value,
    l.last_shipment_date
FROM marketing_db.customers AS m
JOIN sales_db.customer_sales AS s ON m.customer_id = s.customer_id
JOIN logistics_data AS l ON m.customer_id = l.customer_id;

This view is now a data product that other domains can consume. But what if this view is accessed frequently and involves complex joins? That's where materialization comes in:

COPY (
    SELECT * FROM customer_360
) TO './materialized_customer_360.parqeut';

Now we have a materialized data product that offers faster query performance. GlareDB's COPY TO operation allows us to refresh this materialized view as needed, striking a balance between data freshness and query performance.

Self-Serve Data Infrastructure: GlareDB as a Platform

The self-serve aspect of data mesh is about empowering domain teams to manage their own data products. GlareDB supports this in several ways:

1. Easy setup: Teams can easily add their data sources to GlareDB without complex ETL processes.
2. Flexible deployment: GlareDB can run locally, in the cloud, or embedded in applications, giving teams freedom in how they work with data.
3. SQL interface: The familiar SQL interface means teams don't need to learn new query languages.

For example, a team could use GlareDB's Python bindings to set up automated data product updates:

import glaredb

def refresh_customer_360():
    con = glaredb.connect("glaredb://<user>:<password>@<org>.remote.glaredb.com:6443/<deployment-name>")
    con.execute("""
        COPY (SELECT * FROM customer_360)
        TO './materialized_customer_360.parquet';
    """)

# Run this function on a schedule

This script could be part of the team's own CI/CD pipeline, allowing them to manage their data product independently.

Federated Governance: Consistency Across Domains

While data mesh emphasizes decentralization, it still requires some level of global governance. GlareDB can help implement this through:

1. Consistent query language: By providing a SQL interface to diverse data sources, GlareDB ensures a consistent way of interacting with data across the organization.
2. Access control: GlareDB's connection to external databases respects the underlying access controls, helping to maintain security policies.
3. Data quality checks: Views in GlareDB can incorporate data quality checks, either by filtering out incorrect data ensuring that data products meet organization-wide standards, or by integrating with other data quality libraries like Great Expectations, Soda Data, or metaplane.

Conclusion: GlareDB as Your Data Mesh Enabler

GlareDB's unique combination of features--connecting to diverse data sources, creating cross-source views, materializing data products, and providing a consistent SQL interface--makes it an ideal tool for implementing data mesh architectures.

With GlareDB, you can:

• Respect domain boundaries while enabling data sharing
• Create and serve data products easily
• Empower teams with self-serve data infrastructure
• Implement federated governance through consistent interfaces and data quality checks

As we continue to develop GlareDB, we're excited about its potential to further streamline data mesh implementations. We're exploring features like enhanced metadata management for better data discovery, and more advanced governance tools, in addition to connecting to your data, wherever it lives.

Check out our documentation to get started with GlareDB, join our community for support and discussion of best practices in distributed data access, and subscribe on YouTube, LinkedIn, X, and Bluesky to learn more about best practices for data storage, fundamentals of database internals, and product updates for GlareDB. And sign up for GlareDB Cloud to make use of hybrid execution and effortlessly collaborate with your team on your data no matter where they're stored!