Amazon DynamoDB

Amazon DynamoDB is a fully managed NoSQL database service provided by AWS that offers fast and predictable performance with seamless scalability. It supports document and key-value data models, making it ideal for applications that require very low latency and high throughput.

Key Characteristics

• Fully Managed: AWS manages all infrastructure and maintenance
• NoSQL: NoSQL database with document and key-value models
• Serverless: Serverless architecture with automatic scaling
• Global: Built-in global replication capabilities

Advantages

• Scalability: Seamless automatic scaling
• Performance: Consistent low-latency performance
• Availability: High availability and durability
• Integration: Deep integration with AWS ecosystem

Disadvantages

• Cost: Can become expensive with high throughput
• Flexibility: Less flexible than self-managed databases
• Vendor Lock-in: Strong AWS ecosystem dependency
• Complexity: Complex for simple use cases

Best Practices

• Design for single-digit millisecond latency
• Use appropriate provisioned capacity or on-demand
• Implement proper backup and recovery strategies
• Monitor and optimize for cost efficiency

Use Cases

• Mobile applications
• Web applications with variable traffic
• Gaming applications
• IoT applications with high write loads