Cockroach Labs releases CockroachDB 20.2, Strengthens Position as Ideal Database for Modern Cloud Applications

Cockroach Labs announced the release of CockroachDB 20.2, the newest version of the cloud-native, distributed SQL database. With new capabilities for spatial data, a new CockroachDB for Kubernetes option, and the addition of enterprise Backup and Restore functionality to the free community option, CockroachDB 20.2 makes developers even more productive and brings mission-critical features to organizations of all sizes.

Spatial data types and the associated libraries have been added to the open-source and freely available version of CockroachDB. This is the first cloud native distributed database to include these capabilities and they will empower net new workloads for Internet of Things (IoT), transportation, and environmental applications. The combination of a geo-distributed database with geo-spatial capabilities also opens the door for even more innovation. The syntax is compatible with PostGIS and is familiar and easy to use.

With this release, Cockroach Labs also introduces CockroachDB on Kubernetes, which packages the cloud-native database with a custom Operator, optimized for orchestrated deployments. CockroachDB is the only database architected from the ground up to deliver on the core distributed principles of Kubernetes. CockroachDB is a natural fit for Kubernetes because of its distributed, shared-nothing architecture. Simply attach storage however you like and CockroachDB handles scale, resilience and distribution of data. There is no need for additional, complex tasks for management of shards or to deal with the inevitable pod failures. Additionally, the Kubernetes Operator that is included with CockroachDB will simplify deployment configuration and enable no-downtime rolling upgrades in production.

CockroachDB 20.2 also strengthens CockroachDB Core, the freely available, open-source version of the database. Some of the basic distributed Backup and Restore capabilities that had previously been reserved for the Enterprise version are now available in CockroachDB Core, and all other improvements mentioned today are also available in Core. Coming in response to user requests, these updates let community users solidify their disaster recovery plans and build highly performant production applications for free.

Finally, CockroachDB’s performance continues to improve with each release. In 20.2, CockroachDB has extended its TPC-C Benchmark performance up to 140k warehouses with a maximum throughput of 1.7M transactions per minute (tpmC). This represents a 40% improvement over the past year. The TPC-C Benchmark simulates an e-commerce or retail environment and is the most mature industry benchmark for OLTP workloads.

“We’re committed to making CockroachDB the database of choice for developers everywhere,” said Spencer Kimball, CEO and co-founder of Cockroach Labs. “We’ve listened to our users, and we’ve made improvements to all areas of the database, including a new package, CockroachDB on Kubernetes, to ease deployments in cloud-native environments. No matter what the use case, we want to equip every developer with the database they need to build and create their business’s next billion-dollar idea.”

CockroachDB is a flexible, scalable, and resilient foundation for the modern tech stack and gives all developers the freedom to build breakthrough cloud applications without getting mired in the operational overhead of managing the database.

Hundreds of organizations, including Comcast, Doordash, eBay, Nubank, JPMorganChase, and SpaceX, use CockroachDB as the backbone for transactional applications in the cloud. Architected from the ground up for the cloud, CockroachDB builds on the developer-friendly standards of traditional relational databases PostgreSQL, and transforms these concepts for the modern age with elastic scale, indestructible resilience, and low-latency distributed performance. The updates in Version 20.2 strengthen CockroachDB’s position as the right general-purpose database for the latest wave of data-intensive applications.

“LaunchDarkly empowers development and business teams to control their software. Our customers depend on our services to be available, fast, and correct from anywhere on the planet,” said Justin Caballero, Senior Distributed Systems Engineer at LaunchDarkly. “We chose CockroachDB for our next gen database because of its consistency and flexibility, and the control it affords over our data.”

“Our mission is to transform virtual classrooms into interactive learning experiences — which is now more important than ever before,” said Jordan Thoms, Chief Technology Officer at Kami. “We are using CockroachDB as our system of record and are extremely pleased with its resiliency and performance as we continue to add over 1 million users per week. We feel confident in our ability to scale with CockroachDB and serve our global audience.”

Additional updates in CockroachDB 20.2 include:

• New storage engine
  Cockroach Labs built a new, open-source storage engine from scratch, called Pebble. In 20.2, Pebble has replaced CockroachDB’s previous storage engine, resulting in performance and stability improvements and giving Cockroach Labs more control over future database enhancements.
• Easier debugging
  CockroachDB’s monitoring UI displays key metrics that are critical for troubleshooting. 20.2 adds two new pages to help developers introspect and understand query performance: a SQL transactions page and database sessions page.
• Added SQL functionality
  CockroachDB speaks standard SQL, letting developers access data in a familiar way. 20.2 introduces more SQL functionality, including Partial Indexes, Materialized Views, Enumerated Types (ENUMs), and User-Defined Schemas.
• Stronger support for Java and Ruby
  CockroachDB supports many popular data access tools, letting developers use their preferred programming language. 20.2 adds support for the Java tools Hibernate, MyBatis, Spring Data JPA, and Spring Data JDBC; and the Ruby tool Active Record.
• Management improvements
  CockroachDB is already low-touch and requires minimal operations, and 20.2 lets teams save even more time with scheduled automated backups, faster data imports, and more options for bulk data imports.
• Security improvements
  CockroachDB 20.2 adds enhanced enterprise-grade security with improvements to logging, Role Based Access Control (RBAC), and certificate management.

CockroachDB 20.2 is available for free, immediately, on CockroachCloud or CockroachDB Core.