Key-value Database

A key-value database or key-value store is a type of database. You can read more about databases on this post.

It is part of NoSQL databases. You can read more about NoSQL databases on this post.

One application of key-value databases is caching. Some example of key-value databases used for this purpose are memcached and Redis.

Key-value Store Solutions

Key-value store solutions:

  • memcached
  • Valkey
  • Redict
  • KeyDB
  • Gartnet
  • Redis
  • etcd
  • Amazon DynamoDB
  • Riak

memcached

memcached is a purpose-specific key-value database just used for caching. Its primary application was web application caching.

It is an in-memory database, non persistent-storage.

memcached official website

Valkey

Valkey is a key-value store database maintained by the Linux Foundation. It is written in C, an it is single-threaded.

It is FOSS under a 3-clause BSD.

It was a fork of Redis version 7.2.4, that was the last one to have a FOSS license, that was announced on 2024-03-20 through this external link.

Valkey code repository

Redict

Redict is a FOSS fork of Redis. It is written in C, an it is single-threaded.

It is FOSS under a license LGPL 3.0.

Redict official webiste

KeyDB

KeyDB is a multi-threaded fork of Redis.

It is FOSS under a 3-clause BSD.

KeyDB official website

Garnet

Garnet is a reimplementation of Redis in C#. It is developed by Microsoft.

It is FOSS under a MIT license.

Dragonfly DB

Dragonfly DB is a replacement for Redis and memcached.

It is FOSS.

Dragonfly DB code repository

Redis

Redis (an acronym standing from Remote Dictionary Server) is a general-purpose key-value store database.

It is written in C, and it is single-threaded.

It is an in-memory database, though it has some persistent-storage compatibility.

Redis is used for caching, as well as memcached.

It is mainly developed by company Garantia, though it was founded by Salvatore Sanfilippo.

Redis is source-viewable software. Redis core is dual-licensed Redis Source Available License (RSALv2) and Server Side Public License (SSPLv1), while Redis Modules, which include visualization tools, a client SDK and more, have an Apache License with the added Commons Clause.

Versions 7.2.4 and before were free and open source software (FOSS) under a 3-clause BSD (BSD-3) license. BSD-3 Redis forks include Valkey (2024), Redict and multi-threaded KeyDB.

etcd

etcd is FOSS under an Apache 2.0 license.

etcd repository

Amazon DynamoDB

If you’re building an application on AWS, Amazon DynamoDB is a managed NoSQL database service that offers seamless scalability and low-latency performance. It’s suitable for applications with large amounts of data and high read/write requirements.

It is proprietary.

Riak

Riak is a key-value database.

It is FOSS under an Apache 2.0 license.

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External References

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