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CockroachDB contributor Paul Steffensen (aka uptimeDBA) has analyzed CockroachDB’s handling of NULL values as compared to the SQL standard and other SQL implementations. He shares his analysis in his blog post “I’ve got nothing. NULL handing in CockroachDB.” You can read the full post here.

We built survivability into the DNA of CockroachDB. And while we had a lot of fun doing so, and are confident that we have built a solution on a firm foundation, we felt a nagging concern: Does CockroachDB really survive? When data is written to the database, will a failure really not end up in data loss? So to assuage those concerns, we adopted a Russian maxim: “Dovorey, no provorey – Trust, but Verify.”

CockroachDB is pretty easy to deploy. We’ve done our best to avoid the need for configuration files, mandatory environment variables, and copious command line flags, and it shows; we’ve already had testimonials from folks who were able to deploy a 20-node cluster in just half a day. That’s something to be proud of! However, there is still one wrinkle in the fabric, and that’s our use of network ports. As of this writing, CockroachDB requires two ports, but why, and can we do better?

Editor's Note: This post was originally authored when CockroachDB was pre-1.0. CockroachDB's architecture has undergone many changes since then. One of the most significant, as it relates to this post which focuses on our previous "lockless" design, is that we now use more locking and lock-like structures to provide SERIALIZABLE isolation. For more current details about CockroachDB's transaction model, read our transaction layer architecture documentation.

Most founders agree that one of the greatest challenges that they face isn’t raising money or closing deals or finding partners. It’s finding people. In particular, finding great people who are interested and eager to take a chance on a startup. Turns out, hiring for startups is hard.

Lindsay Grenawalt

April 27, 2016

In an earlier post we discussed how CockroachDB maps SQL table data and table indexes to key-value storage. In this post, we will go over some of the factors involved in choosing the best index to use for running a certain query.

We at Cockroach Labs absolutely love Aphyr’s work. We are avid readers of the Jepsen series – which some know as a high quality review of the correctness and consistency claims of modern database systems, but which we really know as “Aphyr’s hunting tales about the highest profile bugs in our industry.” Most of us read each new blog entry with a mix of thrill, excitement, and curiosity about which new system will be eviscerated and which exotic error will be discovered next.

``` We introduced Cockroach Labs last June with a simple yet ambitious mission: Make Data Easy. ``` We’ve spent the intervening months moving CockroachDB from an alpha stage product to launching CockroachDB beta. In the process, the team has nearly tripled in size and development has accelerated to a blistering pace. We’ve supplemented our original investment led by Peter Fenton of Benchmark with an additional round of funding, led by Mike Volpi of Index Ventures. We’re lucky to also count GV (formerly Google Ventures), Sequoia, FirstMark, and Work–Bench as investors.

Spencer Kimball

March 30, 2016

If you’ve ever “watched” a busy GitHub repository, your email inbox has discovered what it feels like to step in front of a firehose. If the project in question has active code reviewers, the problem is often worse by an order of magnitude. Every comment yields another email to all watchers. The CockroachDB repository’s weekly average is at 81 pull requests and 440 notification-generating comments. Most of us who once paid close attention to incoming changes have since lost the ability to do so; these days, monitoring the stream requires a superhuman effort. The mere mortals among us can only pay attention to the pull requests we’ve authored or are tasked with reviewing. What’s surprising is that the watching functionality provided by GitHub is so coarse-grained. The dial apparently only has settings for “0” and “11”.

Spencer Kimball

March 23, 2016