Spanner Review

Last updated: October 3 2024

Spanner is a distributed, PostgreSQL compatible database from Google. It might be the most technically impressive database out there. If you have outgrown PostgreSQL (or some other PostgreSQL compatible database) and are already on GCP, adopting Spanner should be a no brainer.

Pros

• It implements a PostgreSQL front end. This makes it incredibly flexible and also relatively easy to recruit for.
• It has incredibly powerful distribution features, such as its geographic partitioning features.
• Columnar storage. An unbelievable powerful feature for a distributed database. It is essentially a world class transactional and analytical database at the same time.
• CockroachDB inherits PostgreSQL’s excellent documentation, plus excellent first party documentation.

Cons

• Expensive.
• SQL Server’s 1st party tooling is just plain better than PostgreSQL, MySQL, or any of their wire-compatible variants. SSMS, SSIS, SQL Server Profiler, SSDT, SSRS, SSAS, and SQL Server Agent are all awesome.
• It doesn’t have the ability to keep a table entirely in memory, like SQL Server does with it’s Hekaton feature.