MariaDB ColumnStore Docker Quick Start Guide

Docker has revolutionized the way software is developed, deployed, and maintained. It has become one of the most popular containerization platforms, allowing developers to package applications and their dependencies in lightweight, portable containers that can run on any infrastructure. Among the various software packages available on Docker Hub, MariaDB ColumnStore is one of the most popular for scalable, high-performance analytical workloads.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of using the MariaDB ColumnStore Docker image and show you how to get started with it.

Testing on Docker before moving to a managed service like SkySQL can help you ensure that your application is stable, scalable, and efficient, while also reducing the risk of issues arising when deploying to production.

What is MariaDB ColumnStore?

MariaDB ColumnStore is a massively parallel analytical database that provides high scalability and performance for analytical workloads. It is designed to process large volumes of data and handle complex queries with ease. MariaDB ColumnStore is part of the popular MariaDB Server and is now offered as a simple plugin. MariaDB ColumnStore comes with every download of MariaDB Server and is also available as a fully managed cloud database service in MariaDB SkySQL.

The Benefits of Using the MariaDB ColumnStore Docker Image

Using the MariaDB ColumnStore Docker image offers several benefits for developers and organizations. Some of these benefits include:

  1. Easy Deployment: With the Docker image, you can quickly deploy MariaDB ColumnStore on any infrastructure that supports Docker. This eliminates the need for complex installation processes and reduces the time and effort required to set up and configure the database.
  2. Portability: Docker containers are portable and can be easily moved from one environment to another. This makes it easy to move MariaDB ColumnStore between development, testing, and production environments, ensuring consistency across all stages of the software development life cycle.
  3. Scalability: The MariaDB ColumnStore Docker image supports vertical and horizontal scaling, allowing you to add more containers as your data grows or your workload increases. This ensures that your database can handle high volumes of data and queries without compromising performance.
  4. Security: The MariaDB ColumnStore Docker image provides a secure environment for running the database. Docker containers are isolated from the host system and other containers, reducing the risk of security breaches and ensuring that your data is protected.

Getting Started with the MariaDB ColumnStore Docker Image

Now that you understand the benefits of using the MariaDB ColumnStore Docker image, let’s look at how you can get started with it. Follow these steps to get started:

  1. Install Docker: If you haven’t already, install Docker on your system. You can download the appropriate version of Docker from the official Docker website.
  2. Pull the MariaDB ColumnStore Image: Once Docker is installed, open a terminal or command prompt and enter the following command to pull the MariaDB ColumnStore Docker image:

    $ docker pull mariadb/columnstore

    This will download the latest version of the MariaDB ColumnStore Docker image from Docker Hub.

  3. Start the Container: After the image has been downloaded, you can start the container by running the following command:
    $ docker run -d -p 3307:3306 --shm-size=512m -e PM1=mcs1 --hostname=mcs1 --name mcs1 mariadb/columnstore

    This will start a new container named “mcs1” based on the MariaDB ColumnStore Docker image. The “-d” flag tells Docker to run the container in detached mode, which means it will run in the background.

  4. Provision the Container: After the image has been started, you need to provision the container. In this step we can give ColumnStore a list of nodes to be included but for this example, we’ll add a single local node by running the following command:

    $ docker exec -it mcs1 provision 127.0.0.1

  5. Access the MariaDB ColumnStore Instance: Once the container is running, you can access the MariaDB ColumnStore instance using a SQL client. You can use the following command to connect to the instance:
    $ mysql -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3307 -u admin -p

    This will connect to the MariaDB ColumnStore instance running in the container. The default password is C0lumnStore!

For more information visit our GitHub repository at: https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-columnstore-docker