Item: Couchbase Server
Rating: 10
Author: Gilad Teller

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Couchbase is being used in our web site. It is the main caching system and we use it for shared sessions across the cluster.

It is being used for all layers of our website, and by several other support systems, again mainly as a fast caching system across multiple servers in a cluster.

Pros and Cons

Fast fetching of data
Easy to implement N1QL queries
Even faster queries when using indexes

Easier method to increase the number of nodes in a cluster
Official support for Node.JS sessions
The ability to see when a document will expire

Return on Investment

Faster app keeps the customer returning to our site
The free community edition allows us to use Couchbase with only development time and infrastructure costs in mind
Development time of shared session was very fast and easy

Scalability

It is very easy to add more nodes to the Couchbase cluster. This allows us to add and remove nodes according to the load on the site. Especially since we work in a domain with a lot of change between seasons.Couchbase session allows us to easily add more servers to our app cluster for the same reason.

Performance

We never had any issues with performance. Couchbase is able to handle every load we have been throwing at it for the past 3 years. Soon we will upgrade to the Enterprise edition, and I am looking forward to seeing how well it works. Enterprise edition has some very interesting new features I am looking forward to working with.

Alternatives Considered

MongoDB

MongoDB is a very similar solution to Couchbase. I believe the N1QL query language Couchbase provides is better and easier to use than the query language provided by MongoDB. Also, the .NET session support is very important to us, and it is not present in MongoDB, which requires the user to develop this feature on his own.

Likelihood to Recommend

Couchbase is a very good caching system. Getting data by key is very easy and intuitive. Getting data by a more complex N1QL requires a bit more learning, but is still easy for anyone who ever used SQL. Indexing is a bit more of an issue, and can make your app slower if it is not done correctly.

Why I like Couchhbase

Overall Satisfaction with Couchbase Data Platform