Why Aurora PostgreSQL loves B-tree indexes on OLTP but DynamoDB feels like an LSM—and how cost-based optimization surprises you when statistics go stale on RDS.
CAP is not a trivia question—it is the reason your global DynamoDB table shows stale inventory or why Aurora Global reads lag 80 ms behind the writer. This guide maps partition tolerance, consistency, and availability trade-offs to concrete AWS controls.
Last-write-wins is not a CRDT—it is how Global Tables lose cart merges. When to use counters, OR-Sets, and conflict-free merges vs when to keep a single Aurora writer.
Kinesis Data Streams combined with Lambda and DynamoDB is the simplest path to a real-time data pipeline on AWS. Here is the complete architecture, code patterns, and operational guidance.
Single-table design is either DynamoDB's superpower or a six-month rewrite waiting to happen. SaaS access patterns, tenant isolation, GSI strategies, and the patterns that make DynamoDB the right serverless database for multi-tenant apps — plus the patterns that get teams in trouble.
