GBase Homegrown Database: A View from the Jiangsu Newland Project

By Tian Yifeng

Having worked in the database industry all along, I never imagined that the wave of domestic database adoption would arrive so swiftly, resolutely, and unstoppably. This is my biggest takeaway from participating in the GBase 8a Certification Western China Special Training Camp organized by General Data Technology. Not long ago, my impression of homegrown databases was that they merely pursued comprehensiveness, lacked technological innovation and distinctive features, had unstable product quality that never improved, and dared not attempt challenging performance tests. As a result, neither stability nor performance could convince the market. Consequently, no one dared to use them for even slightly critical systems. However, through this training and the patient answers instructors from General Data Technology gave to participants' practical questions, I experienced firsthand the advantages of GBase over traditional databases like Oracle, and also witnessed everyone's high enthusiasm for learning, an atmosphere I truly enjoyed.

One advantage of GBase is its speed. Jiangsu Newland has a project co-developed with Jiangsu Mobile that uses GBase 8a. However, most of our existing data is stored in Oracle, so we need to export data from Oracle and then import it into GBase table by table, a huge and painful workload. While traveling on a high-speed train, I chatted with the data warehouse department manager and intentionally brought up this topic. I asked, "Mr. Wang, why not just use Oracle, which is more familiar to our company, instead of introducing the unfamiliar GBase?" Mr. Wang answered without hesitation, "GBase is faster. When it comes to detail-level data, queries that take Oracle two hours finish within half an hour in GBase." I was half skeptical at the time, but after returning to the company, I actually tested it and found it to be true. This immediately turned my indifference into a great impression of GBase. This incident also gave me an insight: a tool truly enters production not because of how great its interface is or how well-made its PowerPoint presentations are, but always because it solves real production problems. It has advantages that can replace and upgrade existing tools.

The second advantage of GBase is complete independence and full controllability. Starting in early 2019, a concept gradually became known—"De-IOE," which stands for removing IBM minicomputers, Oracle databases, and EMC storage devices. GBase aims to replace the Oracle in this "De-IOE" drive with its own self-developed data management system. For a long time, Oracle databases have dominated many critical sectors in China, posing a huge threat to China's information security. Although "de-Oracle" has always been extremely difficult because Oracle’s simplicity, powerful features, and ease of use are deeply ingrained, many thought it nearly impossible. However, through this training, I gained a deeper understanding of homegrown databases and felt that we are making steady progress step by step, and I am now full of confidence in a true "de-Oracle."

Finally, I want to say that my understanding of GBase is still quite superficial, but I have already felt its immense power. What kind of earth-shaking impact will this energy bring to enterprise database operations once injected? At least based on our current results, I believe we can and are confident in what the future holds. After all, the road is under our feet, and we must take it step by step.