Presto

Presto is a distributed SQL query engine designed for big data, emphasizing high performance and scalability. It was originally developed by Facebook to handle massive amounts of data stored across multiple sources, from Hadoop-based file systems to traditional database management systems. Since its inception, Presto has become a popular choice for interactive analytic queries over large datasets.

Overview

Presto allows users to query data where it lives, including Hadoop, S3, Cassandra, relational databases, and proprietary data stores. A single Presto query can combine data from multiple sources, allowing for analyses across entire organizations. Presto is designed to be fast, with a state-of-the-art distributed query engine that runs queries using a network of machines.

Architecture

Presto's architecture is a classic master-worker model. It consists of a coordinator node that manages the system state and worker nodes that execute tasks. The queries are submitted to the coordinator, which parses, plans, and schedules query execution across the worker nodes. Each node operates in a separate JVM, allowing them to be independent and isolated from each other, which enhances the stability and scalability of the system.

Features

• Federated Queries: Presto can execute queries across different data sources within a single query.
• In-memory processing: Data is processed in-memory, which speeds up the query processing time.
• Scalability: The system is designed to scale out horizontally with the addition of more nodes to the cluster.
• Plug-in architecture: Presto supports a plug-in architecture that allows for the addition of custom functions and data connectors.

Use Cases

Presto is used by large internet companies such as Facebook, Uber, and Twitter for a variety of use cases including:

• Real-time analytics
• Data lake exploration
• Interactive data analysis
• Reporting and dashboards

Comparison with Other Systems

Presto is often compared to other SQL-on-Hadoop technologies like Apache Hive and Apache Impala. While Hive is highly optimized for batch jobs, and Impala is designed for low latency queries, Presto balances both needs by providing support for complex queries with reasonable latency without sacrificing the ability to handle large-scale data processing.

Development and Community

Presto is an open-source project hosted on GitHub. It is under active development by a wide community of developers and is used by companies worldwide. The project is governed by the Presto Foundation, which is part of the Linux Foundation.

Future Directions

The future development of Presto includes improvements in performance, enhanced support for additional data sources, and richer SQL functionalities. As data continues to grow in volume and variety, tools like Presto that can efficiently process and analyze data at scale will become increasingly important in the data-driven decision-making process.

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