Is there a workaround to Vertica's limitation of one database at a time?

Question

We are new to Vertica and found it relatively surprising that only one database at a time can be UP/active. In our research work we need to access multiple databases at a time, so I'd like to know how other Vertica users manage this limitation. The only approaches I've thought of so far are a) taking turns (start and stop databases as needed), or b) (mis-)using schemas to group tables into logical databases. Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

You can have multiple databases. Each database would need dedicated nodes. With a 6 node cluster:

DB1 on node1, node2, node3
DB2 on node4, node5, node6

In order to maintain high availability, each database would require at least 3 nodes for a K-Safety level of 1. If the databases loses a node with K-level 1, the database will run normally.

The way Vertica is designed is intended for a single database instance. Vertica falls under the MPP (Massively Parallel Processing) category. Multiple databases would be competing for resources on a cluster. The parallel design enables the distribution of storage and workload across the nodes. The best design is to logically create your schemas like you would databases.

Answer 2

You can run more then one Vertica database even on the same node !! Yo just need to alter the port number where the database run on !! But like @FreshPrinceOfSO said Vertica is quite hungry for resources (Memory in special). So is recomended to keep your Cluster with one database running on it!!! I prefer to create a new cluster insted of mixing up the schemas !! Or if you choose to create schemas to behave like database repos you need to have a good knowladge of your resource management tasks!