Get Started with CockroachDB: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Distributed SQL Database

CockroachDB is an open-source, distributed SQL database that is designed to provide a highly available, resilient, and scalable database infrastructure. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to create a CockroachDB cluster from scratch.

Step 1: Download and Install CockroachDB

To start, download the CockroachDB binary for your operating system from the official CockroachDB website. The installation process is straightforward and consists of simply extracting the binary and moving it to a directory in your PATH.

Step 2: Initialize the Cluster

Once you have installed CockroachDB, you can start the initial node in your cluster by running the following command:

cockroach start \
  --insecure \
  --store=node1 \
  --listen-addr=localhost:26257 \
  --http-addr=localhost:8080 \
  --join=localhost:26257

The --insecure flag is used to start the cluster in insecure mode, which is recommended for development and testing only. The --store option specifies the name of the local directory where the node's data will be stored, while the --listen-addr and --http-addr options specify the address and port on which the node will listen for incoming SQL and HTTP requests, respectively.

Step 3: Add More Nodes

Now that you have started the initial node in your cluster, you can add additional nodes by running the same command on different machines or different terminal windows on the same machine, but specifying a different --store directory for each node. In addition, you must include the --join option and specify the address of the first node in the cluster.

For example, to start a second node, you could run the following command:

cockroach start \
  --insecure \
  --store=node2 \
  --listen-addr=localhost:26258 \
  --http-addr=localhost:8081 \
  --join=localhost:26257

Step 4: Connect to the Cluster

Once you have started all the nodes in your cluster, you can connect to the cluster using the CockroachDB client by running the following command:

cockroach sql --insecure

This will connect to any available node in the cluster and start a SQL shell. From here, you can run SQL commands to create and manage databases, tables, and data.

Step 5: Create a Database and Table

To create a database in your CockroachDB cluster, run the following SQL command:

CREATE DATABASE mydb;

Next, you can create a table in the database by running the following SQL command:

CREATE TABLE mydb.mytable (
  id INT PRIMARY KEY,
  name STRING
);

Step 6: Insert Data

Finally, you can insert data into your table by running the following SQL command:

INSERT INTO mydb.mytable (id, name) VALUES (1, 'John Doe');

And that’s it! You now have a working CockroachDB cluster that you can use for development and testing.

In conclusion, CockroachDB is a powerful, open-source, distributed SQL database that provides a highly available, resilient, and scalable database infrastructure. With a few simple steps, you can.