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Intro to ClickHouse® Clusters
ClickHouse is fundamentally a distributed system, not just a database. Start with a single-replica configuration, then add replicas for high availability. Configure ZooKeeper to coordinate DDL operations and part replication. Use hybrid storage (local SSD cache + cloud storage) for the best balance of cost and performance.
Understanding ClickHouse's Distributed Architecture
ClickHouse's official definition describes it as "a high-performance column-oriented SQL database management system for online analytical processing." But this definition misses something critical: ClickHouse is fundamentally a distributed system, and with that comes layers of operational complexity.
When you configure a ClickHouse cluster, you're setting up a sophisticated distributed system with multiple moving parts. Even a basic architecture includes several components that must work in harmony.