Updated on 2024-08-12 GMT+08:00

Common Concepts of ClickHouse Application Development

Concepts

  • cluster

    Cluster: Cluster is a logical concept in ClickHouse. It can be defined by users as required, which is different from the general understanding of cluster. Multiple ClickHouse nodes are loosely coupled and exist independently.

  • shards

    Shard: A shard is a horizontal division of a cluster. A cluster can consist of multiple shards.

  • replicas

    Replica: One shard can contain multiple replicas.

  • partition

    Partition: A partition is used for local replicas and can be considered as a vertical division.

  • MergeTree

    ClickHouse has a huge table engine system. As the basic table engine of the family system, MergeTree provides functions such as data partitioning, primary indexes, and secondary indexes. When creating a table, you need to specify the table engine. Different table engines determine the final character of a data table, for example, the features of a data table, the form how data is stored, and how data is loaded.