What’s Big Data?

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Big data is too large for ordinary databases and requires special machines. It comes in three sizes: small, medium, and large. Big data starts around the terabyte level and causes problems when attempted on non-specialized databases. Defense, military, and scientific agencies use big data for modeling and archiving.

Big data is measurement of data that has grown so large that ordinary databases are unable to hold and work with the massive amount of information. The data comes in three sizes: small, medium, and large; none of these measurements are rigorous; instead, each depends more on ease of use and the type of machine that can handle the information. Big data requires special machines, much larger and more complex than those used for normal databases. These types of data are typically found in government and scientific agencies, but some very large websites also contain this vast amount of information.

The data comes in three standard, but not strict, sizes. Small data is able to fit on a single computer or machine, such as a laptop. Medium data is able to fit on a disk array and is best managed by a database. Databases, no matter how large, are not capable of working with big data, and special systems are used instead. While there are no strict guidelines for what big data is, it typically starts around the terabyte (TB) level and works its way up to the petabyte (PB) level.

Attempting to work big data on a non-specialized database for this amount of data will cause several substantial problems. The database cannot handle the amount of information, so some data needs to be cleared. It’s like trying to fit 100 gigabytes (GB) on a computer with only 50GB of hard drive space; It can not be done. The remaining data will be cumbersome both to control and to manage, because any function would take a long time to complete and the database must be closed to new submissions.

While you can keep buying machines and adding new data to databases, this creates the cumbersome problem. This is because database software is only made to work with average data. Larger datasets lead to errors and administrative problems, because the software simply can’t move or work with large data without running into problems.

Big data goes undetected by most organizations or websites. Defense and military agencies use this amount of information to build models and archive test results, and many large scientific agencies need these specialized machines for similar reasons. Some very large websites require large data machines, but websites are not as common as agencies in this market. These organizations need to keep all their data, because it helps to better analyze future data and make predictions.




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