On this episode, we sit down with Robert Hodges, a key figure in the ClickHouse community and a driving force behind its rise in the U.S., who joins us as our inaugural live guest. His collaboration with Alexander Zaitsev of Altinity has significantly boosted the visibility and adoption of ClickHouse since its open-source release by Yandex in 2016. From their early challenges with Kubernetes to the robust systems we see today, Robert shares invaluable insights into the transformative power of ClickHouse, which empowers businesses with real-time data capabilities for applications like recommendation engines and high-frequency trading strategies.
Our conversation with Robert uncovers ClickHouse's unique architecture, highlighting its potential and the importance of understanding its columnar data organization. We dive into the practicalities and operational experiences necessary to optimize data handling efficiently, avoiding the pitfalls of costly changes and scalability issues. Robert emphasizes the critical choice between ZooKeeper and Keeper for system management, advocating for Keeper's modern advantages, especially as teams look to innovate beyond routine operations.
As we explore the future, Robert shares his vision for data lakes and next-generation databases, touching on Altinity's pioneering work with serverless clusters and Kubernetes. Focusing on making data lakes more real-time and accessible, we delve into the innovations transforming data analytics. Robert highlights the community's vital role in these advancements and encourages engagement through Altinity's blog and Slack channel for those eager to participate in this dynamic evolution. Enjoy the conversations!