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Amazon DynamoDB Development
A fully managed key-value and document database on AWS, suited to known access patterns and serverless architectures, and unforgiving when queries are not known in advance.
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What Amazon DynamoDB is
Amazon DynamoDB is a managed NoSQL database on AWS. Data is organised by a partition key, optionally with a sort key, and reads are fast and predictable when they follow those keys. There are no servers to provision or patch.
It rewards designing the table around the queries you will run, not around the shape of the data. Secondary indexes add alternative access paths, but anything the key design does not anticipate is awkward or impossible to query efficiently.
Suitability
And when it is not. Choosing the wrong tool costs more than any implementation detail.
Good fit for
- Workloads with well-understood access patterns, such as look up by user, order or device
- Serverless systems on AWS where a managed database with no connection pool suits Lambda
- Very high write volume of simple records with predictable key-based reads
- Teams already committed to AWS who want minimal database operations
Consider alternatives for
- Applications with evolving, ad hoc querying, reporting or many relationships, where PostgreSQL is far easier to live with
- Data needing rich joins, aggregations or flexible filtering across many fields
- Systems that need to run outside AWS or avoid a single-vendor database
In practice
01
Serverless application state
Sessions, user profiles, carts and event records read by key from functions that scale without a connection pool.
02
High-volume event storage
Append-heavy records such as device events or activity logs, queried by entity and time range.
03
Single-table designs
Modelling several related entity types in one table so a screen's data comes back in a single query.
Considerations
Practical notes from running this in production.
- 01
DynamoDB is a capability we take on per engagement. AWS is our primary cloud and PostgreSQL our primary database, so we recommend DynamoDB only where the access patterns genuinely fit.
- 02
Access patterns must be known before the table is designed. Changing them later often means a data migration, which is the most common source of regret with this database.
- 03
Hot partitions are a real risk. A key design that concentrates traffic on a few partition keys will throttle regardless of how much capacity you buy.
- 04
Items have a size limit of 400 KB, and cost depends on read and write capacity and on-demand versus provisioned choices. Model your real traffic before choosing.
FAQ
DynamoDB or PostgreSQL?
PostgreSQL unless your access patterns are narrow, known and key-based, or you are building serverless on AWS and want no database to manage. Most business applications need flexible queries and reporting, which Postgres handles well and DynamoDB handles poorly. We would rather tell you that than sell you a design that fights your requirements.
Can we start with DynamoDB and move later?
Moving is possible but not cheap, because the table design encodes your queries. If you expect your questions of the data to change often, starting on a relational database is the safer path.
Do you build on DynamoDB?
We take it on per engagement where it fits, and we say plainly that PostgreSQL is our primary database. We do not publish client work or throughput figures for DynamoDB.
How long does a Amazon DynamoDB development project take?
It depends on scope. A focused first release is usually weeks rather than months, while larger platforms are delivered in phases. We give a written estimate after a short discovery conversation and agree milestones before work starts.
How is Amazon DynamoDB development work priced?
We work either to a fixed scope with agreed milestones or on a time-and-materials basis, whichever suits how well the requirements are known. You receive the estimate and its assumptions in writing before committing.
By industry
Where we apply Amazon DynamoDB. Tiles marked "Guide" open a dedicated write-up; the rest open the industry page.
Related
- ServicesCloud Solutions
- ServicesDatabase Development
- ServicesAPI Development
- ServicesSaaS Development
- SolutionsSaaS Platform Development
- SolutionsDigital Transformation
- IndustriesGaming
- IndustriesLogistics
- IndustriesE-commerce
TechnologiesAWS
TechnologiesNode.js
TechnologiesPostgreSQL
TechnologiesMongoDB
TechnologiesRedis
TechnologiesTerraform
Let’s talk about your Amazon DynamoDB project
Tell us what you are trying to build or fix. We will come back with scope, approach and an honest view on cost and timeline.