Big Data Fundamentals: Storage, Processing, and Insights
Big Data Fundamentals: Storage, Processing, and Insights Big data projects start with a clear goal. Teams collect many kinds of data—sales records, website clicks, sensor feeds. The value comes when storage, processing, and insights align to answer real questions, not just to store more data. Storage choices shape what you can do next. A data lake keeps raw data in large volumes, using object storage or distributed file systems. A data warehouse curates structured data for fast, repeatable queries. A catalog and metadata layer helps people find the right data quickly. Choosing formats matters too: columnar files like Parquet or ORC speed up analytics, while JSON is handy for flexible data. In practice, many teams use both a lake for raw data and a warehouse for trusted, ready-to-use tables. ...