Databases Advanced

What is Database Proxy?

A middleware server that sits between applications and databases, providing connection pooling, load balancing, and query routing.

Database proxies intercept database connections and provide transparent features. PgBouncer (PostgreSQL) pools connections, dramatically reducing server overhead. ProxySQL (MySQL) adds query routing, caching, and read/write splitting.

Benefits include connection multiplexing (many app connections → few DB connections), transparent failover, query caching, read/write splitting (route reads to replicas), and traffic shaping. Proxies are essential for scaling database connections in microservices architectures.

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Related Terms

ORM (Object-Relational Mapping)

A technique that lets you interact with a database using object-oriented code instead of writing raw SQL queries.

A category of databases that store data in non-tabular formats, optimized for specific data models and access patterns.

An SQL operation that combines rows from two or more tables based on a related column between them.

A situation where two or more transactions permanently block each other by each holding locks that the other needs.

A database object that automatically executes a specified function when certain events (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) occur on a table.

Query Optimization

The process of improving database query performance through indexing, query rewriting, and schema design techniques.

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