Interview with Laoyu (Part 1) | How a Chinese Database Reliably Supports Core Business Operations

Introduction

Recently, the well-known self-media Laoyu Notes conducted an in-depth interview with Cui Zhiwei, General Manager of the GBase 8s Product Department at General Data Technology Co., Ltd. When discussing core business scenarios, it was noted that in critical industries like finance and transportation, the stable operation of core business systems is directly tied to social order and people's livelihood. As the underlying support, the maturity and stability of the database are truly its lifeline. GBase 8s, an enterprise-class transactional database from GBase, has served heavyweight clients such as China Merchants Bank and the State Grid Corporation of China with its core strengths of high reliability and high security. The high-load scenario at Shenzhen Metro, with an average daily ridership of 10 million, has become an excellent testing ground for its maturity and stability. This interview focuses on the practical performance of GBase 8s in core business, deeply analyzing the key logic behind its market recognition.

I. Core Business Delivery: The Ultimate Test of Maturity

Laoyu: May I ask, what do you think is the most critical criterion for deciding whether a database is "mature"?

Cui Zhiwei of GBase 8s: I believe the core criterion is very simple: whether customers dare to entrust you with their core, mission-critical business. For example, Shenzhen Metro, with a daily ridership of 10 million, faces enormous data volumes and concurrency pressure. If the system fails, it could trigger a societal incident. Their choice to use GBase 8s from GBase to support core operations is the strongest endorsement of the product's maturity.

II. Key Capabilities: Architecture, Performance, and Proven Cases

Laoyu: What tangible capabilities of GBase 8s won over such a major client as Shenzhen Metro?

Cui Zhiwei of GBase 8s: We focused primarily on their Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) system and centralized clearing system—two systems as critical as a bank's core accounting system. On the performance front, we conducted simulated stress testing in advance and achieved results that exceeded expectations. The architecture also offers advantages: the shared storage cluster supports dynamic scaling of compute nodes, and storage can be expanded online without complex data redistribution, making it very convenient. Additionally, application cases from the high-load scenarios of the State Grid, along with the precedent of China Merchants Bank running its core accounting system stably on our product for three years, gave the customer greater confidence and further solidified their trust.

III. Real-World Validation: Optimization Capability and Long-Term Assurance

Laoyu: Over the years since deployment, have there been any specific instances that highlight its maturity?

Cui Zhiwei of GBase 8s: Indeed, there was one. Last November, when 80% of Shenzhen Metro's stations were connected to the system, we noticed that CPU utilization had reached 50%–60%. The customer was worried the system might not handle future business growth. Our engineers immediately intervened and quickly pinpointed the need for SQL statement optimization. After targeted adjustments, CPU utilization dropped to 30%. Following a full optimization, it has now stabilized at around 10%. This not only resolved the customer's immediate concern but also demonstrated the product's optimizability and our technical support team's responsiveness, leaving ample headroom for future business growth.

IV. Differentiated Advantage: Quantified Comparisons Break Psychological Reliance on Foreign Brands

Laoyu: Many industries still habitually use foreign databases. In terms of maturity and stability, where does GBase 8s stand competitively against foreign products?

Cui Zhiwei of GBase 8s: Honestly, GBase 8s is in no way inferior to foreign products in maturity and stability. Our core advantage lies in "quantifiable comparison." Performance shouldn't be judged by subjective feeling; it requires solid data. Under clearly defined hardware configurations, system environments, data scales, and business models, we can quantify key indicators such as SQL response time and concurrent processing capability, allowing customers to clearly see the differences. This gives objective data to support decisions to replace foreign databases and helps break the blind reliance on foreign brands.