NoSQL Databases

Structured Query Language (SQL) based database management systems (DBMS), commonly referred to as relational databases, have been dominant in the market for over forty years and remain so today. However, the emergence of real-time streaming data from technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and relationship-based dynamic datasets from e-commerce and social networks gave rise to big data. Big data is characterized by volume (petabytes), velocity (data rate), and variety (structured and unstructured). Relational databases are not suitable for big data. The requirements of big data have created the need for alternate databases. NoSQL databases were developed to address the requirements of big data. The requirements of big data cannot be satisfied by a single NoSQL database model because real-time streaming data is structured very differently from relationship-based dynamic data. Many large, well-known companies use different types of NoSQL databases to solve problems in their domain. In this course we will examine four NoSQL database models: key-value, document, column, and graph. Students will learn about advantages and disadvantages of each type of NoSQL database model. The course will include hands-on experience with a relational database and each type of NoSQL database. Students will also learn to analyze the structure of data and select the appropriate NoSQL database model to store and manipulate big data.