A significant release of the immudb 1.0 database has been introduced, ensuring the immutability and preservation of all data ever added, as well as providing protection against retroactive modifications and enabling cryptographic proof of data ownership. Originally, the project was developed as a specialized NoSQL storage system manipulating data in key/value format, but starting with the 1.0 release, immudb is positioned as a full-fledged database with SQL support. The project's code is written in Go and is distributed under the Apache 2.0 license.
Data in immudb is stored using a blockchain-like structure, ensuring the integrity of the entire chain of existing records and preventing changes to already saved data or the replacement/insertion of records in the transaction history. The storage supports only the addition of new data, without the possibility of deleting or modifying already added information. Attempts to modify records in the database only result in saving a new version of the record; the old data is not lost and remains accessible in the change history.
Unlike typical blockchain-based solutions, immudb achieves performance levels of millions of transactions per second and can be used to run lightweight services or for embedding its functionality in applications in the form of a library.
High performance is achieved through the use of LSM (Log-structured merge-tree) with a log of values, providing fast access to records during high data addition intensity. To maintain the integrity of the storage, a tree structure called the Merkle Tree is additionally employed, in which each branch verifies all underlying branches and nodes through collective (tree-based) hashing. Having a final hash allows users to verify the correctness of the entire operation history, as well as the accuracy of past states of the database (the root verification hash of the new state of the database is calculated based on the previous state).
Clients and auditors are provided with cryptographic proof of ownership and data integrity. The use of public key cryptography does not require the client to trust server, and connecting each new client to the DBMS increases the overall level of trust in the entire storage system. Public keys and key revocation lists are stored in the database, and during encryption operations, Intel SGX enclaves may be used.
The DBMS includes support for SQL, key/value storage mode, indexes, database sharding, creating snapshots of data states, ACID transactions with snapshot isolation (SSI) support, high read and write performance, optimizations for efficient SSD usage, and support for operation in the form of server and embedded libraries, REST API support, and a web interface for management. Typical applications where DBMSs like immudb are in demand include transaction processing with credit cards, storage of public keys, digital certificates, checksums, and logs, creating a duplicate storage for important fields in traditional DBMSs. Client libraries for working with immudb are available for Go, Java, .NET, Python, and Node.js.
Key enhancements in the immudb 1.0 release:
- Support for SQL with the ability to protect rows from hidden modification.
- The TimeTravel mode, allowing you to switch the database state to a specific point in the past. Data cut-off time can also be set at the level of individual subqueries, simplifying the analysis of changes and data comparison.
- Support for the PostgreSQL client protocol, allowing existing applications and libraries designed for PostgreSQL to work with immudb. Additionally, typical client libraries such as Ruby, C, JDBC, PHP, and Perl can be used alongside native client libraries.
- Web Console for interactive data navigation and DBMS administration. Through the web interface, you can send queries, create users, and manage data. An additional training environment, Playground, is available.
Source: opennet.ru
