Leveraging Moore’s Law: Optimising Database Performance

Your database is wasting modern RAM as a simple cache. Learn how a new architecture delivers predictable microsecond latency and slashes server costs.

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The evolution of Moore's Law and its impact on software

Moore's Law drove CPU speed increases until 2005, after which the industry shifted focus from single-core performance to multi-core scalability.

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Comparing server hardware from 2006 to 2024

Modern servers have vastly more RAM and significantly faster storage compared to 2006, fundamentally changing the ratio of memory to disk.

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Traditional database architecture and its reliance on caching

Databases designed for limited RAM now use the extra memory in modern hardware as a cache, which sits on top of the original disk-based architecture.

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The problems and unpredictability of database caching

Caching leads to inconsistent performance across environments and fails to improve overall application latency when multiple parallel queries are involved.

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An alternative architecture with the index in RAM

A modern database design can leverage abundant RAM to hold the entire index in memory, enabling direct, fast access to data on SSDs without a cache.

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Achieving speed and efficiency without caching

By using fewer resources like CPU cycles and disk I/O, an index-in-RAM architecture provides consistently fast performance and reduces infrastructure costs.