A distributed query execution engine that extends Apache DataFusion to run SQL queries in parallel across multiple nodes.
Ballista is a distributed query execution engine that extends Apache DataFusion to run SQL queries in parallel across a cluster of nodes. It solves the problem of scaling data processing workloads by distributing execution across multiple machines, enabling faster query performance on large datasets.
Data engineers and developers building scalable data processing applications who need to execute complex SQL queries on large datasets efficiently.
Developers choose Ballista for its seamless integration with Apache DataFusion, allowing existing applications to be distributed with minimal code changes, and its performance optimizations that can outperform alternatives like Apache Spark in benchmarked scenarios.
Apache DataFusion Ballista Distributed Query Engine
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The README demonstrates that existing DataFusion applications can be distributed with just a few lines of code changed, using the standalone SessionContext to enable Ballista support.
Benchmarks in the README show a 2.9x overall speedup over Apache Spark for TPC-H-like queries at 100 GB scale, highlighting significant optimization for large-scale processing.
It supports deployment via Docker Compose and Kubernetes, as detailed in the architecture section, making cluster management straightforward in containerized environments.
Ballista executes a wide range of SQL queries, including CTEs, joins, and subqueries, per the project status, enabling complex analytical workloads.
The README explicitly warns of a 'gap between DataFusion and Ballista' that can cause incompatibilities, requiring community effort to resolve and potentially hindering seamless migration.
Setting up and maintaining scheduler and executor processes adds operational overhead compared to single-node solutions, with no out-of-the-box managed service.
Compared to mature alternatives like Apache Spark, Ballista has fewer built-in features, with capabilities like Spark compatibility and REST APIs being optional, non-default features.
Apache Ballista is an open-source alternative to the following products: