Basically we have clusters, Couchbase clusters, databases, and that is how we use Couchbase with XDCR. All the clusters are set up and then we use Couchbase. It is a complex application setup we use with Couchbase. We have replication and multi-node Couchbase setup.

The very useful feature of Couchbase is the online addition and deletion of nodes which we use because of XDCR replication. We use this very regularly.

Couchbase has an indexing part that is easy to build. We can create indexes in advance, before we have the data, and then we can stack in the data. This is something we use regularly.

The main issue we keep facing from the past couple of years, observing other teams using Couchbase, is that whenever there is an upgrade, we see many issues with compatibility or nodes not interconnecting after the upgrade. The upgrade part should be taken care of very carefully.

We contacted Couchbase support recently when we had a similar issue. They were helping, but it is a critical system and application we have set up. They need to rethink about their upgrade process and improve their validation part after the upgrade.

My team has contacted Couchbase support directly. I think they provide good support, but we prefer a proactive approach rather than reactive because this is not the first time we are facing issues after an upgrade. It has happened two or three times. We need to be very cautious during upgrades, and application teams get worried because of earlier experiences. We need to avoid these situations.

Our team has been using Couchbase for a while, but I started using it only in the last year.

We encounter compatibility issues with JDK and similar technologies whenever we perform upgrades. We had some issues recently.

We contacted Couchbase support recently when we had an issue. They were helpful, but since we have a critical system and application, they need to rethink their upgrade process and improve their validation after upgrades.

My team has contacted Couchbase support directly. They provide good support, but we prefer a proactive approach rather than reactive because this is not the first time we are facing issues after an upgrade. It has happened multiple times, requiring extra caution during upgrades, which causes worry among application teams due to previous experiences.

Positive

I worked with other document databases, MongoDB database and Firestore. Each database has its own advantages and disadvantages. When it comes to the deployment part, MongoDB was much easier to deploy, but there are many differences when comparing features.

I worked with other document databases including MongoDB and Firestore. Each database has its own advantages and disadvantages. When it comes to deployment, MongoDB was much easier to deploy, but there are significant feature differences.

I prefer both, but for complex applications requiring minimal downtime, I prefer Couchbase. If there is room for downtime, I would choose MongoDB.

It is a good solution, but as every product needs improvement, this also needs some enhancement. It is a good product. I rate Couchbase seven out of ten.

Hybrid Cloud

Google

I have two use cases right now. I have a shopping list app where users can share their lists, so I used the Sync feature with Sync Gateway.

In another product, I use what they call N1QL, which is a query language, and I use it to check if ads are available to show to a user. In one part of the product, I only use the Sync Gateway, and in another part, I use N1QL to query the database.

It just works. I used other products and they didn't do what Couchbase does. It works out of sight once everything is set up. When the user makes changes on their list in the app on their mobile phone, it syncs straight away. If there's an internet interruption, it resumes as soon as internet is available. I didn't have to do anything as a developer.

It's great because it's very different from MySQL where you have to update tables. With document type databases, you just say there's a new element in your document, and that's fine. It's really good to use.

What is missing is that they have a new version, Couchbase Mobile three, but they haven't really updated or provided help or documentation about what needs to change to update to the latest mobile version.

I'm looking into geospatial applications, and I know that Postgres has it more natively than Couchbase. However, I haven't done any testing yet to determine if I should switch databases or if Couchbase is fast enough with geospatial documents.

I have been using the solution for nine years.

Over the past years, it just worked. I updated the servers and versions, and if it wouldn't work, I would look for other solutions, but for now it runs fine every day, every minute of the day. That is really the single reason I haven't looked anywhere else.

Once it's set up, it's easy to use, and there are no headaches. I would recommend it. There might be people I wouldn't recommend it to who don't know anything about Linux or how to set up servers. They might need to go a different route, perhaps to the cloud, which is easier to use.

I've got millions of documents, and my servers are mostly idle, so it's really fine.

There was a service from Dropbox about 10 years ago. Just before I switched to Couchbase, that was sunset. I tried Firebase back then. They had a sync service too, but it was only partly offline. Only partly the data was available on the device, and querying wasn't really supported. This is what I knew 10 years ago, and I didn't look at different products during those 10 years. I was really happy with Couchbase.

I'd say it's a steep learning curve first, and there are three things to set up that take time. But once this is all done, it's really easy. There's no more maintenance or worrying that things don't work as advertised. They just work, which is a lot better than having a product that's easier to use at first but then afterwards you still have headaches, so I prefer Couchbase a lot to other products I tried in the past.

It's a lot to learn and to wire everything up, but that is with every good product, you've got to study. It's similar to studying English to speak it properly.

I've been on the enterprise plan, and I think it was a five-figure amount a year. It turns out that I'm totally fine not having this enterprise account.

That was years ago when I had the enterprise plan, and it wasn't really stable then. I think it was around 2018. They did update, and since then, I haven't had any problems anymore.

Currently, I only use it in a datacenter, not on AWS. The reason being is that when I started using Couchbase, they insisted on running Couchbase on bare metal servers, not on VMs or in a Docker container, so Couchbase has the full resources from a server. At the time, they didn't have any offers for AWS, such as Couchbase Capella. I'm really happy using it on premises.

I haven't used graphs yet. I use key value and document based functionality, and I actually used it 10 years ago. Now it's second nature to me.

I'll continue to explore using Couchbase, particularly looking into geospatial applications. While I know that Postgres has more native support for those uses, I haven't yet tested if Couchbase is fast enough with geospatial documents.

I rate Couchbase a nine out of ten.

On-premises

Other

I can see Couchbase is being used for various use cases, primarily to enhance data handling capabilities.

The best thing about Couchbase is its versatility in handling data.

Overall as a tool, I see room for improvement in Couchbase in certain aspects.

I have been using Couchbase for some time now.

When asked about stability issues with Couchbase regarding bugs or system breakdowns, this was specifically discussed.

Regarding the scalability of Couchbase, I think it shows great potential for growth.

For their support, I would rate them a 7 out of 10. I gave this rating because there are some areas where I think they could improve.

Neutral

The deployment and initial setup of Couchbase is straightforward, though some people might see it as complex.

The question was raised about whether Couchbase is completely free or if there are any hidden fees.

The discussion included whether Cassandra was being used in conjunction with Couchbase.

I am a user of Couchbase and would recommend it to other people. Giving practical insights would be valuable advice for anyone new to Couchbase.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate Couchbase an 8.

We used Couchbase as the primary data storage. Since our company was in the gaming industry, Couchbase stored data on players and related to games, levels, and similar objects for our mobile applications, aka games. There was a synchronization in place between Couchbase and another database, Elasticsearch. Some indices from Couchbase were periodically replicated to Elasticsearch.

I liked that Couchbase was stable and consistent, as much as possible with a NoSQL database. We didn't experience any downtime. Writing to the database was something we could rely on, and the database maintained reliable storage. This reliability was essential, giving us a good level of reassurance regarding data presence. Couchbase provided consistent productivity as a finished solution that worked well.

Couchbase needs to improve the consistent reliability of the replication feature. Sometimes, the replications would be delayed. This delay meant that data on another database, Elasticsearch, was not always up to date, which could be noticed in the games. Making replications more timely and consistent would be beneficial.

I worked with Couchbase at my last workplace for two and a half years.

Couchbase was a stable solution for us. We didn't experience any downtime, and the data stayed there consistently.

I would rate the scalability as ten out of ten. It was easily scalable, which is expected from a NoSQL database, and very important as player numbers could grow, so we needed to accommodate all that data.

We never contacted tech support while I was at the company. However, we used the documentation, which was well-written and clear. I'd rate it ten out of ten.

Positive

The DevOps team handled the implementation.

Couchbase maintained consistent productivity as a finished solution that worked well, saving us time dealing with something less efficient.

I would rate Couchbase nine out of ten, given some small hiccups. For example, the replication feature needs to operate in a more timely and consistent manner. Overall, I would rate the solution nine out of ten.

Public Cloud

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Our primary use case for Couchbase is related to the iGaming industry, particularly for high-performance reads and writes to meet our SLA for high volumes. We have a particular use case where there is an SLA of one second, and Couchbase is critical for ensuring our wallet operations function correctly.

Couchbase, being a multi-master solution, allows us to process more load and has enabled us to scale more significantly with lower costs, especially under high user spikes.

The most valuable features of Couchbase include the key-value storage due to its speed and the multi-master capability, which provides more speed and scalability compared to master-slave databases. 

The support for syntax that allows reading by properties sets Couchbase apart from alternatives like Redis. Additionally, Couchbase's N1QL query language minimizes the learning curve for developers, facilitating an easier adaptation to the technology.

I would like Couchbase to provide more functionality via the UI, as some operations, such as time-based scaling, currently require using the API. While I find Couchbase's feature set to be generally satisfactory, adding more UI-based configuration options would be beneficial.

I have used Couchbase for four years.

Couchbase is highly stable, rated at nine out of ten. 

Stability is crucial as it prevents users from turning to competitors.

Couchbase is extremely scalable, which is critical when handling high throughput and load. 

I rate its scalability at ten out of ten.

I rate customer service at ten out of ten. The support team has been helpful with VNET configuration, Sync Gateway, and other technical issues.

Positive

We previously used Mongo database but switched to Couchbase since it is a multi-master solution, allowing us to process more load and scale with lower costs.

The initial setup is quick with Couchbase Capella, taking about 30 minutes. Deployment on Kubernetes or VMs may require about half a day for setup.

Typically, one person is sufficient for deployment, especially with Couchbase Capella. For in-house deployment, one or a maximum of two people can handle the configuration.

Investing in Couchbase has significantly lowered our operational costs and increased throughput, reducing costs by half and supporting around five times the non-peak user volume during peak hours.

The pricing of Couchbase varies depending on the usage. It can range between 25,000 to 40,000 Euros per year depending on company requirements.

We evaluated Mongo database but chose Couchbase due to its multi-model flexibility and the advantages of being a multi-master database.

Couchbase, especially under high load conditions, is imperative for providing a great user experience due to its stability and scalability, which reduces costs and scales efficiently. 

I rate Couchbase at nine out of ten.

Public Cloud

Other

In my company, we use the enterprise version of Couchbase, and it is used across the organization for its database operations. We do only use the NoSQL database, not Couchbase Capella.

The tool is mostly for document-based storage of Cisco, which is a retail company. We manage a lot of product information and send a lot of metadata that we generate for all of our orders, including baskets and other aspects. We use Couchbase heavily for document-based storage purposes.

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the ease of operation with Couchbase, and it has a lot of extensive features that it provides because it's not a document-based storage. We can also do basic operations on those documents, like indexing important fields, a full-text search, and advanced machine learning operations, like vector search. The tool is pretty easy to use and work with as it is a schema-less tool, so we don't have to work too much on defining the schema for the tables or the documents. It is very easy to onboard the tool to work for the new teams. It is a very extensible tool. My company gets a lot of good support from them as well, and their documentation is also pretty good, which we have found. Compared to other tools, such as the best document-based storage, MongoDB, and others, Couchbase works pretty well. Couchbase also provides good offerings in terms of the different features that we need from different DBs, like searching operations and materialized views. The tool works pretty well. The tool also provides very good latency on high loads. The scalability and the reliability are also other important aspects of the tool.

With some of the operations, we used to face some challenges with scalability. Although it worked pretty well, in some scenarios, we noticed issues where the replications and the sharding were not happening correctly. In recent versions, we also faced some issues in terms of enabling advanced operations like FTS and vectors. Although it works pretty well, in some places, we do face challenges, especially on a heavy scale. I think all issues are being addressed in the latest version of Couchbase.

The resources are not that good for Couchbase. The tool's documentation is pretty extensive, but if you go for any kind of courses or tutorials, there are very limited resources available. It also becomes a little bit challenging for new people to get onboard into it. MongoDB and other such open-source database tools perform really well as they're really widely adopted, and they have resources available to get you onboarded pretty quickly. I think that we do face some challenges with Couchbase, but luckily, we have the tool's enterprise version solution, so we get all the support from the product team.

I have been using Couchbase for two or three years. I am a customer of Couchbase.

I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

Positive

The product's initial setup phase is easy.

The solution can be deployed in two to three minutes.

I suggest the tool to others as it is heavily, working a lot on improving the database framework.

The tool offers support for multiple data models.

We do need to maintain the tool as there is a need to upgrade it, and we do need to do continuous patching. We do have a central team for Couchbase, and they manage it for us. They are actively working with Couchbase's enterprise team to do all those operations, like patching, server upgrade, and backup, but it all requires some kind of support.

The tool has some AI capabilities, as you can do vector search, semantic search, groupings, and using open-source models and enabling them on the database so that we can structure our data better and do things like advanced search operations.

I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

Initially we were using the on-premise Couchbase Server which was maintained by the organisation with assistance from a consultant from Couchbase. After they came up with the cloud version of Couchbase called Capella, it was decided to migrate there to reduce the maintenance cost and to take advantage of the advanced features the product offers. 

Couchbase Capella offered distinct advantages like ease of horizontal and vertical autoscaling, ease of querying using the SQL++ language (which is not hard to learn), and the flexibility it offers while being hosted in the cloud and being served by the parent company.

We moved from a relational database to a non-relational database, where there is no format for storage of data, no linking of different tables, and not too much effort is required in learning the query language. This has made data storage an easier process and querying effort is optimum. 

Easy querying language. 

Easy to increase server capacity as per usage demand.

Easy UI interface.

Data storage is easy and we do not have to navigate different tables for extracting relational data.

Time to extract the data is faster than non-relational databases and hence there are fewer performance issues.

Earlier services were designed to be integrated with the non-relational databases and when a different type of database is introduced it is obvious that there will be issues in integrating with the existing infrastructure. Same was encountered when trying to integrate Couchbase and exhaustive testing of the setup was done to check for data integrity.

An area of improvement for Couchbase would be to integrate the 3 parts of the Couchbase server (Server, Sync Gateway and Couchbase Lite) into a single unit so the integration with the customer infrastructure becomes easier.

I have been using it for one year. 

For Couchbase server, nodes have to be created or reduced based on requirements, which is a technically complex task.

For Couchbase Capella, there are different combinations CPU and Memory available which can be configured as per requirements and hence it is more flexible. 

Couchbase could also improve with their technical support and provide project specific solutions rather than generic.

Positive

Couchbase is a good NoSQL server and I would recommend it to users, simply because if the simple way of storing the data (in the form of JSON) as well the easy process to retrieve it.

Customer support is good and they will help you in suggesting mitigation measures for most of the issues being faced by the project.

There is no major knowledge gap while transitioning to a non-relational database, knowledge of SQL querying and JSOn models are sufficient. 

Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten. 

We manage our telecommunication application using the product. 

The product's most valuable features are its overall availability and robustness. It is highly available for support and does not impact our operations significantly during failures. It performs very well in terms of speed, particularly for write operations.

The platform's grouping features need improvement. Additionally, it supports only a few storage types, which presents challenges, particularly for I/O operations.

I have been working on Couchbase for the last two and a half years.

I have never encountered any stability issues for the product. 

Sometimes, the technical support team responds promptly and helps with incidents, but other times, they require multiple logs and take more time to provide root cause analysis.

Positive

The licensing cost of Couchbase is quite expensive compared to other databases.

The platform's migration process, including upgrades, is quite easy compared to other databases like PostgreSQL. 

I rate a six out of ten.