Secure, Segregated Multi-tenant Analytics in PostgreSQL^® using Aiven for Apache Kafka^®, Debezium^®, and Aiven for ClickHouse^®

In the realm of multi-tenant Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, managing a centralized PostgreSQL® database for multiple customers can present challenges in maintaining secure segregation of their data. While a single database offers infrastructure efficiency, it becomes crucial to ensure each organization has isolated access and control over their information. This blog post introduces a groundbreaking solution that shatters these limitations, enabling secure and performant multi-tenant analytics for your PostgreSQL® deployments.

Technology Overview

The key to unlocking this potential lies in a powerful combination of technologies:

• Apache Kafka® and Debezium®: This dynamic duo captures changes (inserts, updates, and deletes) in real-time from your PostgreSQL® database and streams them to Apache Kafka®, a high-throughput messaging system.
• ClickHouse®: This column-oriented database swoops in, boasting exceptional query speeds and storage compression with some key features to enhance multi-tenant environments:
  • Materialized Views: These pre-processed datasets offer lightning-fast querying for frequently accessed data, securely segregating each organization's data.
  • ReplacingMergeTree Engine: This engine efficiently stores and manages historical data without duplicates, allowing you to analyze trends across different tenants over time.

Unleashing Real-Time Analytics with Secure Multi-tenancy

Imagine you provide a SaaS platform for e-commerce businesses. Traditionally, storing all customer data in a single PostgreSQL® database creates a complex environment where providing data only to the organization it belongs to is challenging.

This CDC (Change Data Capture) solution built with Apache Kafka®, Debezium®, and ClickHouse® breaks free from these limitations. Here's how it empowers real-time analytics in a multi-tenant environment with secured, segregated databases:

1. Real-time Change Capture: Debezium acts as a watchful guardian, constantly monitoring your PostgreSQL® database for any modifications. Inserts, updates, and including deletes are captured in real-time, ensuring your data reflects the latest customer activity.
2. Streaming Updates via Apache Kafka®: These captured changes are then streamed to Kafka®, a robust messaging system that acts as a central hub. Kafka® buffers and delivers this data stream efficiently, ensuring reliable delivery for further processing.
3. ClickHouse® Takes the Stage: ClickHouse®, the star of the show, subscribes to relevant Kafka® topics using the ClickHouse® Kafka Engine. It continuously ingests the updates, keeping your data perpetually fresh.
4. Secure Segregation with Materialized Views: ClickHouse® shines even brighter with materialized views. These act as pre-aggregated datasets specific to each tenant (e.g., Where only user group A have access to organization A and user group B could only access organization B in the code example). They offer blazing-fast query speeds for frequently asked questions, allowing each organization to gain immediate insights into their own segregated data without compromising security or performance.
5. Historical Analysis with ReplacingMergeTree: But what about analyzing trends over longer periods? ClickHouse® has you covered with the ReplacingMergeTree engine. This engine excels at storing and managing historical data efficiently, enabling you to analyze customer behavior across different tenants over time.

Benefits Highlights

This CDC solution unlocks a multitude of benefits for multi-tenant SaaS applications with secured segregated databases:

• Real-time Analytics: Gain immediate insights into the latest data, allowing tenants to make data-driven decisions faster.
• Reduced Latency: Eliminate delays in data processing, ensuring analytics reflect the current state of each tenant's business.
• Scalability: The solution scales seamlessly to accommodate growing data volumes from multiple tenants.
• Improved Efficiency: Streamlined data pipelines minimize operational overhead for managing a multi-tenant infrastructure.
• Enhanced Security: Ensure robust isolation between tenant data, fostering trust and regulatory compliance.

Conclusion

By leveraging CDC with Kafka®, Debezium®, and ClickHouse®, you can revolutionize the way you manage data in your multi-tenant PostgreSQL® environment. This powerful combination ensures secure segregation of data, fosters secure multi-tenancy, and unlocks real-time analytics, ultimately giving your SaaS application a significant competitive edge.
Ready to break down limitations in managing secured segregated databases and empower your tenants with real-time insights? Get started with building your CDC pipeline today!

Launch a fully automated working data pipeline in minutes with our GitHub example here:
https://github.com/aiven/aiven-examples/tree/main/solutions/clickhouse-cdc