Volt Active Data (VoltDB)
activeby Volt Active Data, Inc. · since 2010 · also known as VoltDB, Volt, Volt Active Data
In-memory, partitioned SQL engine running Java stored procedures serially for millisecond decisioning.
Overview
Volt Active Data, the product formerly known as VoltDB, is an in-memory distributed SQL database that descends from the H-Store research project led by Michael Stonebraker. Data is partitioned across CPU cores, and each partition executes stored procedures serially, which avoids locking and delivers ACID transactions with predictable single-digit-millisecond latency at very high throughput. Snapshots and command logging provide durability, and import/export connectors plus topics connect it to Kafka-style streams. Today it is sold as a commercial real-time decisioning platform, mainly to telecom (charging, policy) and fraud-prevention customers. The open-source community edition stopped receiving updates in 2022.
Strengths & trade-offs
Strengths
- +Serial execution per partition gives ACID with no locks or latches
- +Predictable single-digit-millisecond latency at millions of transactions per second
- +Java stored procedures keep decision logic next to the data
- +Built-in import/export and topics for streaming pipelines
- +Active-active cross-datacenter replication
Trade-offs
- −Entire dataset must fit in memory
- −Multi-partition transactions are much slower than single-partition ones
- −Commercial-only; open-source edition is frozen since 2022
- −Small community and limited ecosystem tooling
Great for
- +Telecom online charging and policy control
- +Real-time fraud and risk decisions
- +Ad bidding and personalization at high TPS
- +Gaming leaderboards and in-game economies
Think twice for
- −Datasets larger than available RAM
- −Ad-hoc analytics or BI
- −Teams wanting an open-source or managed-cloud option
Capabilities
Native or official first-party support · 15 of 25 tracked
Scale & consistency
- Comfortable data size
- Medium · ≤ 10 TB
- Horizontal scaling
- Native
- Multi-region
- Active active
- Transactions
- Full ACID
- Consistency
- Strong
- Schema
- Strict
- Architecture
- Distributed, In memory, Client server
- Query languages
- SQL, Java (stored procedures)
Data must fit in cluster RAM; scales by adding nodes and partitions; cross-datacenter replication (XDCR) supports active-active.
Deployment
available on · AWS · Google Cloud
Ecosystem
Alternatives to Volt Active Data (VoltDB)
Distributed SQL mixing in-memory rowstore and columnstore for real-time analytics, search and vectors.
volt-active-data vs singlestore →Flash-optimized distributed key-value and document database for predictable sub-millisecond latency at scale.
volt-active-data vs aerospike →The in-memory data structure server that became the default cache, now with search, JSON and vectors built in.
volt-active-data vs redis →A Java in-memory data grid and stream processor that embeds in your app or runs as a cluster.
volt-active-data vs hazelcast →Oracle's in-memory relational database: microsecond SQL, PL/SQL, and a cache tier for Oracle Database.
volt-active-data vs oracle-timesten →A distributed, memory-first SQL database and compute grid; Ignite 3 rebuilt it around Raft and Calcite.
volt-active-data vs apache-ignite →Volt Active Data (VoltDB) FAQ
What is Volt Active Data (VoltDB)?
Volt Active Data (VoltDB) is a relational database by Volt Active Data, Inc., first released in 2010. Volt Active Data, the product formerly known as VoltDB, is an in-memory distributed SQL database that descends from the H-Store research project led by Michael Stonebraker. Data is partitioned across CPU cores, and each partition executes stored procedures serially, which avoids locking and delivers ACID transactions with predictable single-digit-millisecond latency at very high throughput. Snapshots and command logging provide durability, and import/export connectors plus topics connect it to Kafka-style streams. Today it is sold as a commercial real-time decisioning platform, mainly to telecom (charging, policy) and fraud-prevention customers. The open-source community edition stopped receiving updates in 2022.
Is Volt Active Data (VoltDB) open source?
No. Volt Active Data (VoltDB) is proprietary, closed-source software.
Does Volt Active Data (VoltDB) support ACID transactions?
Yes. Volt Active Data (VoltDB) supports full ACID transactions, with strong consistency.
Does Volt Active Data (VoltDB) scale horizontally?
Volt Active Data (VoltDB) scales horizontally out of the box, with built-in sharding or partitioning. It is comfortable at medium scale (≤ 10 TB). It supports active-active multi-region writes.
How can I run Volt Active Data (VoltDB)?
You can self-host it. It is available on AWS and Google Cloud.
What is Volt Active Data (VoltDB) best for?
Volt Active Data (VoltDB) is a strong fit for telecom online charging and policy control; real-time fraud and risk decisions; and ad bidding and personalization at high TPS. Think twice for datasets larger than available RAM.
What are the best alternatives to Volt Active Data (VoltDB)?
Common alternatives to Volt Active Data (VoltDB) include SingleStore, Aerospike, Redis, Hazelcast and Oracle TimesTen. The right choice depends on your workload, scale and hosting; WhichDB's smart match ranks them against your requirements.
How popular is Volt Active Data (VoltDB)?
Volt Active Data (VoltDB) ranks #154 of 844 databases on the WhichDB Score (20.7/100), and #50 among relational databases. The score combines public adoption signals such as package downloads, GitHub activity, job posts and developer discussion.