CockroachDB : The multi-region database

CockroachDB is a distributed database that you can span across multiple geographic regions.

To provide this multi-region capability, CockroachDB uses a combination of techniques such as data replication, distributed consensus, and node replication.

1. Data Replication: CockroachDB automatically replicates data across multiple regions to ensure that data is available even if a single region goes offline. The data is stored on multiple nodes in each region, providing redundancy and fault tolerance.
   
2. Distributed Consensus: CockroachDB uses the Raft consensus algorithm to maintain consistency across the multiple regions. Raft ensures that data updates made in one region are propagated to all other regions, and that all nodes agree on the current state of the data.
   
3. Node Replication: CockroachDB replicates its nodes across regions to provide local access to data and reduce latency. When a client makes a request, the CockroachDB cluster routes the request to the nearest node, reducing network latency and improving performance.

CockroachDB also provides automatic failover, allowing it to automatically switch to a different node in another region in the event of a node failure. This ensures that the database remains available even in the face of failures or outages. Your applications will continue to serve your customers resulting in no loss of revenue or trust

Overall, CockroachDB's multi-region support provides high availability, data durability, and low latency, making it the perfect choice for applications that need to store data in multiple geographic locations.

What actually happens In the event that a region is unresponsive

If a region goes down (aka unresponsive) it can impact the availability and consistency of data in the cluster. CockroachDB is designed to be a highly available and strongly consistent database, so it is designed to handle such failures and minimize their impact.

When a region is unavailable, CockroachDB will automatically detect the failure and initiate a process called "replication rebalancing" to redistribute the data stored in the failed region to other nodes in the cluster. This process is designed to ensure that the data is still available and consistent, even in the event of a node failure.

During the rebalancing process, the cluster may experience some reduced performance and slightly increased latency as the data is moved to other nodes. The length of time this process takes will depend on the size of the data being moved and the number of nodes in the cluster.

Once the rebalancing process is complete, the cluster will return to normal operation and continue to provide high availability and consistency for your data. If multiple regions go down at the same time, the impact on the cluster will be greater and it may take longer for the cluster to fully recover.

Remember it is always important to monitor the status of your CockroachDB cluster and take steps to ensure its continued health and availability, such as adding more nodes to the cluster or taking backups of your data.

Here at Cockroach labs we offer several deployment options. One of these options is our new Serverless cloud deployment model where we release you from the responsibility of monitoring and maintaining your cluster and ensure it's ready to face whatever your workload throws its way.

For more information on our comprehensive deployment models see here.

In a nutshell

CockroachDB is designed to be a highly scalable and resilient database that is well suited for multi-region deployments. Some of the reasons why you might use CockroachDB for your multi-region workload include:

1. Consistent low latency: CockroachDB uses a distributed architecture to provide fast and consistent performance across multiple regions. This helps to ensure low latency and a high level of responsiveness for your applications, even as they grow and scale.
   
2. Built-in disaster recovery: CockroachDB automatically replicates data across multiple regions to provide a high level of protection against data loss in the event of a disaster or outage. This helps to ensure that your data remains highly available and accessible, even in the face of unexpected events.
   
3. Easy to deploy and manage: CockroachDB is designed to be easy to deploy and manage, even in complex, multi-region environments. With its cloud-native architecture, it can be deployed in a matter of minutes and managed through a simple, intuitive user interface.
   
4. ACID transactions: CockroachDB supports ACID transactions, which ensure that your data remains consistent and correct, even in the face of failures or other challenges. This helps to ensure that your applications always behave as expected and deliver a high level of reliability.
   
5. SQL compatibility: CockroachDB is compatible with SQL, making it easy to use and integrate with existing applications and systems. This helps to minimize the learning curve and reduce the amount of time and effort required to get up and running with a new database.

For more information on how CockroachDB can help you deliver an always on, consistent system of record across global regions visit us at www.cockroachlabs.com