Lakebase: OLTP Databases on the Lakehouse
Who this is for:
Architecture / Concept Overview: Lakebase: OLTP Databases on the Lakehouse
Lakebase sits at the intersection of operational and analytical data, providing a managed PostgreSQL-compatible engine that integrates natively with the Databricks ecosystem.
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flowchart LR
classDef source fill:#3F4B59,stroke:#9CA3AF,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef ingestion fill:#5A4B36,stroke:#C9A86B,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef processing fill:#535072,stroke:#8E82B4,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef storage fill:#2E4A4A,stroke:#5FAFA8,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef serving fill:#3D5550,stroke:#6BB7AA,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef governance fill:#5A3F52,stroke:#C28BB0,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
A[Web / Mobile Apps] -->|OLTP Writes| B[Lakebase Engine]
B -->|Sync to Delta| C[Unity Catalog Tables]
C -->|Analytics| D[Databricks SQL / Spark]
D -->|Sync Back| B
B -->|Serve| E[Databricks Apps]
C -->|Govern| F[Unity Catalog Policies]
A:::source
B:::processing
C:::storage
D:::serving
E:::serving
F:::governance
*Lakebase bridges OLTP application workloads with the analytical Lakehouse through bidirectional sync with Unity Catalog.*
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graph TD
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classDef ingestion fill:#5A4B36,stroke:#C9A86B,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef processing fill:#535072,stroke:#8E82B4,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef storage fill:#2E4A4A,stroke:#5FAFA8,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef serving fill:#3D5550,stroke:#6BB7AA,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
classDef governance fill:#5A3F52,stroke:#C28BB0,stroke-width:2px,rx:8,ry:8,color:#E0E6ED
A[Lakebase Platform] --> B[Projects]
B --> C[Databases]
C --> D[Branches]
D --> E[Tables & Schemas]
A --> F[SQL Editor]
A --> G[User & Role Management]
A --> H[Unity Catalog Sync]
H --> I[Delta Tables]
H --> J[Change History]
A:::processing
B:::storage
C:::storage
D:::ingestion
E:::source
F:::serving
G:::governance
H:::ingestion
I:::storage
J:::storage
*Lakebase organizes resources into projects, databases, and branches with integrated governance and catalog sync.*
Key Terms
Prerequisites and Setup
- A Databricks workspace on a supported cloud (AWS, Azure, or GCP) with Lakebase enabled
- Workspace admin or metastore admin privileges to create Lakebase projects
- Familiarity with PostgreSQL SQL syntax and relational database concepts
- A Unity Catalog metastore attached to your workspace for sync features
Step-by-Step Implementation
Configuration Reference
| Parameter | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
project.name | Unique project identifier within the workspace | Required |
database.branch | Active branch for the database | main |
sync.target_catalog | Unity Catalog destination for synced tables | None |
sync.target_schema | Schema within the target catalog | None |
sync.interval | Frequency of sync operations | 5 minutes |
sync.change_history | Enable change history Delta table | false |
connection.max_connections | Maximum concurrent connections | 100 |
connection.ssl_mode | SSL enforcement for external connections | require |