In simple English
Neon is a database system that splits how your data is stored from how your queries are run. This design lets your database grow and shrink automatically based on traffic. You can also make instant copies of your entire database for testing, just like making a branch in git. The project is open source under the Apache 2.0 licence. You can run it yourself or use their hosted cloud service.
What it is
Neon is a serverless PostgreSQL database written in Rust that decouples compute nodes from the storage layer. It uses custom components called pageservers and safekeepers to manage WAL (Write-Ahead Logging) data and distribute storage across a node cluster.
What it is good for
Developers who want to host their own serverless PostgreSQL infrastructure with branch management and automatic scaling will find this useful.
- Separates storage and compute for independent scaling.
- Supports instant database branching for testing.
- Open source under the Apache 2.0 licence.
- Requires compiling a large Rust codebase with many system dependencies.
- Needs significant memory and storage resources to run locally.
- Complex architecture with multiple moving parts like pageservers and safekeepers.
Traditional self-hosted PostgreSQL instances with fixed resource limits
psql or DBeaver for database management
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git clone --recursive https://github.com/neondatabase/neon.git cd neon make -j`nproc` -s