Connecting MongoDB to SQL-Based Applications

NewSQL and NoSQL options like MongoDB offer the agility and scalability necessary to fulfill a Big Data strategy.

Ever since their inception in the 1970s, relational databases have dominated the world of data. The stability, compatibility and security that these traditional databases offer have granted them a long life that should continue for years to come. The only problem is that traditional databases weren’t designed with the challenges of Big Data in mind, so after nearly forty years, many organizations are looking for something new to supplement or replace their existing systems.

New problems require new solutions, and non-relational databases are rising to the challenge. This new generation, including NewSQL and NoSQL options like MongoDB, was designed in response to the rise in data volume, frequency of access, and need for agility and scalability that comprise a Big Data strategy.

MongoDB in the era of Big Data

As we learned in our 2015 Data Connectivity Outlook survey, MongoDB is the clear leader of the NoSQL movement and is only expected to grow over the next few years. It’s easy to see why. Rather than the impossibly large tables and pre-defined schema of a traditional RDBMS, MongoDB stores data in “documents” with dynamic schema that can be modified on the fly. It’s horizontally scalable and makes many common operations significantly faster. Unfortunately, despite its many advantages, MongoDB is not a drop-in replacement for relational databases connected to SQL-based applications—at least, not without a little help.

The best of relational and non-relational data

Progress® DataDirect® provides robust relational connectivity to MongoDB databases from your existing SQL-based applications, including BI, analytics, and data warehousing projects. To do this, we leverage ODBC and JDBC industry standards and, unlike other drivers, normalize MongoDB data across multiple databases into relational views rather than flattening it into one giant table. This way, you don’t have to worry about a massive data integration project, and you can preserve all the complex schemas that were the reason you moved to MongoDB in the first place. DataDirect for MongoDB also features:

• Support for common RDBMS functionality such as joins
• Deep normalization to any level of nested JSON
• QL-92 compliance with industry-leading breadth of SQL coverage
• An advanced tool for complete control of the schema exposed via the driver, enabling:
  • Fine-grain control of lengths for string columns, which prevents ODBC apps from allocating more memory than needed
  • Detecting changes in the MongoDB schema, giving you full control of when and which schema changes are exposed to the ODBC/JDBC application
• SSL encryption

Get Started with DataDirect for MongoDB

If you’re ready to upgrade your SQL-based applications with connectivity to MongoDB, download a free trial of our wire-protocol driver on our website. Tell us about your experience by contacting us, or leaving a comment below!