Consistent and reliable technology is the backbone of any successful business. While many organizations use multiple desktop and mobile devices, they often rely on a single database for critical operations. So, what happens when that database goes down?
Rather than depending on one system at the core of your operations, you can create a seamless data backup that keeps your records accessible at any time with data replication.
The goal of data replication is to provide ongoing accessibility and security against the failure of a primary database. In other words, even if your original, primary database was hacked or compromised, the business information will be safely backed up on a replica server. Replication works on both relational databases and non-relational databases, like NoSQL databases, to keep operations running efficiently.
Database replication is a process where multiple copies of one database are made and stored in different locations. Information is usually copied from a single, primary database to another, with users being able to access this information in either place.
Replicating a database is typically an ongoing task - as the main primary database is worked on and updated, so too is the replica. This is known as synchronous replication, which keeps data synced and as up-to-date as possible. Alternatively, the replica can be updated at scheduled times for batch updates or as a one-time backup, known as asynchronous replication.
Data replication is a broader term that encompasses copying various types of data across different systems.
Database replication specifically focuses on creating identical copies of entire databases, often for disaster recovery purposes.
| Feature | Data Replication | Database Replication |
| Scope | Copying specific data subsets (e.g., tables, files) from one system to another. | Duplicating the entire database (including schema, tables, indexes, and data) to another database instance. |
| Focus | Data consistency and availability across different systems. | High availability, disaster recovery, and read scalability. |
| Use Cases | Data warehousing, data integration, data migration, backup and recovery. | Disaster recovery, read replicas for offloading read traffic, global deployments. |
| Complexity | Generally less complex than database replication. | More complex to implement and manage. |
Here's a simple breakdown of how data replication works.
The type of replication you choose depends on your business requirements and the data you’re working with. Below are some common methods of doing so.
For databases that don’t change infrequently, snapshots can be a good replication solution. It captures a view of a database at a particular time and stores it in the replica server, where it lives until updated with a new snapshot.
Snapshots are a quick and easy way to duplicate data that isn’t essential for daily business operations and can be slightly outdated without too many issues. You can set many servers to take a snapshot at a particular time, like once a week, or upload the snapshot whenever you want to make a manual update.
If your organization uses multiple databases that collect similar (but not identical) data, the merge is for you. It can collect information from each of these separately before combining similar data on the replica database.
Merge is ideal for teams working remotely or on local copies of data that need to sync later with a central server.
Some data, like customer records, hold extensive and valuable information that the business needs. In most replicated transaction databases, the primary database is copied in its entirety to a secondary server on a consistent basis. This data is often replicated in real time to prevent any data losses should an error or hack occur.
When all information in a database needs to be replicated, a full-table replication is the best option. Any new, existing, or updated data is transferred to the replica, which means that users can make faster queries and ensure peace of mind should anything happen to the original server.
However, full-table replication can also create higher network loads and the need for more processing power, which often translates to increased costs for the business. Individual updates are also slower to account for the large amount of information being replicated each time.
Only new data on the primary database is added to the replica in key-based replication, making it much more efficient than full-table. However, if data has been deleted from the servers since the last update, this information will not be included. If the data is deleted at the source or the primary data, the key value won’t be detected, and so will also be deleted from the replica.
If you need to replicate binary log files of your existing databases, log-based replication is the best option. This acknowledges and copies updates for static primary database patterns and activities. Log-based is the most efficient type of replication but is only an option for certain types of primary databases.
Depending on the software you use for database replication, there will be different features that come with it. Look for a tool that offers a standard set of features such as:
The ability to replicate databases is essential in numerous industries for enhancing their operations, keeping customer and employee data protected, and ensuring consistency with data sharing. Let’s take a look at how different sectors benefit from this technology.
Both brick-and-mortar and online retail businesses have thousands of pieces of data, with more being added every day. Every transaction from customers, orders with vendors, and other vital pieces of information about the business need to be available around the clock, no matter what happens.
Whether it’s keeping product catalogs up-to-date or referencing customer purchase history, database replication ensures that data is always accessible, even during peak periods. It also supports future marketing efforts by retaining accurate, timely records.
Real-time backups of banking and financial data in the event of a shutdown or cybersecurity issue are not just essential, but a necessity. Customers need to be able to access their money, and the bank needs to keep private information securely protected against any threats. If an emergency event occurs for any reason, having a replicated database means that downtime is minimal and data loss is less likely to occur.
Maintaining patient medical records over many years is necessary for providing the most appropriate healthcare and treatment on an individual level. Having this data backed up safely means that it’s always available to medical teams, helping them make better decisions about patient care.
Large scale telecommunications and media systems need to carefully monitor data to enhance ongoing network performance. By replicating this information, along with customer data like billing details, these companies can run an uninterrupted service and work more efficiently.
While it’s often the last thing we think about when using social media sites, these platforms have significant amounts of data that keeps them running effectively. High usage rates can easily slow down servers, which often leads to panic-inducing downtime.
Through database replication, social media platforms can distribute this load across different servers at the same time, improving their overall system performance.
By storing your business’s most important data across several databases, you can benefit from several key improvements for your data organization and ongoing management.
No one wants to face a disaster - whether it’s a cyberattack, server warehouse flood, or other kind of disaster that could wipe out your primary databases. Unfortunately, it does happen and data protection is your safety net.
By maintaining copies of your databases in at least one, if not more, locations, you can minimize your overall data loss and downtime from the disaster that you’re facing with improved disaster recovery.
As your business grows, so too will the amount of data you hold in your databases. Replicas of these databases can help you accommodate this growth so that as you scale, your data needs will, too. This improved scalability that database replication brings means that you can redistribute your business data across multiple databases for improved processing power and performance.
When data is distributed across different servers, it reduces the distance it needs to travel to reach the user querying for that data. This means that latency is reduced overall, while speed and server performance is increased. For real-time needs or heavy workloads, like in gaming or the design industry, this can significantly enhance the user experience and make workflows much faster.
By providing redundancy, database replication means that fault tolerance is significantly improved. The more places your data is replicated, the better your business’s fault tolerance. If one copy of your data is compromised, you have backups in place, allowing you to continue your regular operations uninterrupted.
Putting too much stress on a server due to a high level of data in a database can slow down your server’s regular working speed. To improve performance, database replication means that you’re freeing up the load on individual servers and distributing those resources elsewhere. This load balancing makes managing high volumes of data much easier.
Maintaining data integrity and high availability across all databases is necessary for streamlined business operations. By implementing database replication, you can have real-time synchronization and reduced downtime, along with enhanced server performance to help your business succeed.
Keep your business’s most important data protected with database security software that tracks and monitors database user activity while restricting access to only the most necessary people within your company.
Edited by Monishka Agrawal