Chapter 3. How DynamoDB Works
In the previous chapter, we saw the features DynamoDB has, and learned how to perform various operations on DynamoDB using a variety of APIs. We also saw various application-oriented examples, and what features of DynamoDB fit well in what conditions. Now it's time to understand its internals. In this chapter, we are going to talk about why DynamoDB was developed. What is the architecture underneath that makes it so robust and scalable? How does DynamoDB handle failures? So, let's get started.
In Chapter 1, Getting Started, we discussed DynamoDB's history; DynamoDB was built to address the scaling needs of Amazon's worldwide e-commerce platform, and also provide high availability, reliability, and performance. Amazon's platform is highly decoupled, consisting of thousands of services running on storage machines. Amazon needs reliable storage systems that can store and retrieve data even in conditions like disk failures, network...
