MySQL vs PostgreSQL: Which is Better for Data Warehouses?
Tags: database, sql, datascience, postgres
Published: 2022-04-28 20:44:17


Both MySQL and PostgreSQL are open-source, relational database management systems (or databases, for short). They’re commonly used for storing data in web applications, but they can also be used for other kinds of applications, for example, as data warehouses. 

This article will introduce you to the main features of MySQL and PostgreSQL, and help you decide which one is best for your data warehouse. You will also get a look at how both databases handle data and how they’re structured.

## What Are Data Warehouses?
A data warehouse is a type of data management platform that is intended to aid business intelligence (BI) and analytics activities. Data warehouses are designed solely for querying and analysis, and they frequently store massive volumes of historical data. A data warehouse's data is typically derived from a variety of sources, including application event logs and transaction applications.

A data warehouse is a system that collects and organizes massive amounts of data from various sources. Its analytical capabilities enable businesses to gain vital business insights from their data, allowing them to make better decisions. It accumulates historical records over time that can be extremely useful to data scientists and industry experts.

A cloud data warehouse is a data repository that is stored in the cloud, rather than on-premises. This approach offers many advantages: it allows you to scale your data warehouse capacity as your business needs grow, it gives you access to a wide range of data storage and processing services, and it reduces your overall data center footprint. 

However, a cloud data warehouse requires a robust data infrastructure and processes to manage the increased workload and is typically more expensive to scale horizontally than on-premises data warehouses. On the other hand, a cloud data warehouse is a great option if your organization requires immediate access to a large amount of data, or if you want to test the waters with a data warehouse before committing to on-premises infrastructure.

## MySQL for Data Warehouses

![SQL architecture](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ccfc3q10y4yvcr4xaod8.png)
			                       [Source](https://www.stitchdata.com/blog/why-how-to-replicate-mysql-to-data-warehouse/)


MySQL is an open-source software, which means anyone can install, use, and tweak it. It also means it is simple to grasp and free. Its source code can be examined and modified to meet specific needs. It also offers support for various data types and character sets. It is particularly good for large databases with high-speed needs. 

MySQL is a widely used open-source database management system. It is not surprising that this database is used for data warehouses. While MySQL is great for creating fast transactional databases, it isn't great for serious analytical work, especially when faced with various data sources. 

If you find yourself in a situation where you need to perform deep analytical tasks involving different data sources, you should consider setting up a data warehouse. 

## PostgreSQL for Data Warehouses

![Postgres architecture](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/cjly914oggaadm5q1r87.png)
			[Source](https://severalnines.com/database-blog/running-data-warehouse-postgresql)

PostgreSQL is the most commonly used open-source data warehouse for mission-critical applications. PostgreSQL offers a wide range of features for large-scale data warehousing. These include a relational data model; advanced data analysis capabilities including data masking, window functions, and aggregation framework; and robust built-in replication, clustering, and failover replication. 

In addition to these, PostgreSQL also provides data scaling capabilities (up to thousands of nodes), data security and compliance, support for high availability, disaster recovery, multi-site deployments, and an integrated BI toolset (including reporting and data visualization). 

The most alluring feature of PostgreSQL is that is open source and enjoys wide community support. PostgreSQL is a great choice for building data warehouses because of its comprehensive features.

## MySQL vs PostgreSQL
 
When it comes to data warehousing, MySQL and PostgreSQL are two of the most popular open-source databases. Both databases are commonly used for building data warehouses due to their comprehensive feature sets. PostgreSQL, in particular, is a great choice for building data warehouses due to its robust replication and scaling features. On the other hand, MySQL is a great option for organizations that require a robust on-premises data warehouse but don’t need the high availability, scale, and functionality of a PostgreSQL data warehouse.

Because MySQL does not support subqueries in view definitions, it is effectively useless for BI systems, as data warehouses are commonly thought of as a type of mart. Postgres includes a number of tools and extensions, such as pgAgent and Language Pack, making it an excellent data warehouse solution.

For very huge OLTP-oriented systems with application-generated lookups and a very properly crafted schema, MySQL outperforms PostgreSQL. This is because InnoDB is very quick and convenient for this type of use case, whereas PostgreSQL's storage garbage collector can cause issues at scale. However, since data warehouses are typically bulk-loaded with relatively infrequent individual record updates, the garbage collector isn't a major issue.

While PostgreSQL has a much better query optimizer, much better join handling, and much more flexibility in general querying than MySQL, this is a huge asset in an analytics environment such as a data warehouse.

## Conclusion

Although MySQL's SQL flavor is very similar to that of most other leading dialects, MySQL still appears to lack some unique features that make analysis easier in Postgres. Postgres, despite being row-oriented, can easily handle analytical queries. It only takes a few adjustments and measurements. Though Postgres is an excellent choice, please remember that, in certain cases, a cloud-based warehouse might be easier to handle and sustain in the long run.
[](url)