August 2026 Summaries

ClickBench is an extensive benchmarking platform initially developed for testing ClickHouse and later expanded into a comprehensive open benchmark for analytical databases, encompassing around 100 database systems. This platform allows users to conduct performance and correctness comparisons using preloaded datasets of 100 million records across diverse database systems, ranging from relational to unconventional ones. The infrastructure, built on a foundation of automation and flexibility, uses shell scripts for database installation and benchmarking, with adjustments made for cloud SaaS databases. Despite challenges in maintaining and updating these scripts, ClickBench has evolved to support a consistent interface across systems, enabling comparative analysis and experimentation with different queries and datasets. The initiative also includes a ClickBench Playground for interactive engagement, although hosting numerous databases presents logistical and security challenges, mitigated by employing virtualization and resource allocation strategies. The platform serves as a valuable tool for database collectors and enthusiasts, facilitating the exploration of database behaviors and compliance, while also supporting the ongoing development and testing of ClickHouse.

Joining ClickHouse to lead the new ClickHouse Labs research team, the author, a former Carnegie Mellon University professor, aims to advance database technology by closely collaborating with ClickHouse engineers and industry partners. The author has tracked the development of ClickHouse since its inception in 2016, noting its pioneering features like vectorized query execution using SIMD, which were previously only available in closed-source systems. ClickHouse Labs will focus on scientific research and practical innovations, leveraging the strengths of both ClickHouse and PostgreSQL to explore a range of database management system (DBMS) challenges, including integration with emerging AI technologies. The team aspires to emulate the impact of influential industry research organizations such as IBM Research and Microsoft Research, and plans to accelerate the validation and production of existing ideas while investigating new hardware, algorithms, and strategies for DBMS development. The author envisions ClickHouse's robust relational model as a strong foundation for evolving alongside data-intensive workloads and is committed to training future database researchers as part of this initiative.

ClickHouse has launched ClickHouse Labs, a new research group led by prominent database researcher Andy Pavlo, to advance foundational database technology and openly share its findings with the community. As Vice President of Database Research, Pavlo will spearhead efforts to explore innovative data processing methods, efficient data structures, and high-performance computing to address challenges posed by AI on data-intensive workloads. ClickHouse Labs aims to push the boundaries of database systems for ClickHouse and PostgreSQL, with a focus on real-world applications in real-time analytics, data warehousing, and AI. The initiative is inspired by successful industry research models like those at Google, which have historically turned foundational research into groundbreaking technology. By leveraging ClickHouse's strong open-source culture, the research group plans to develop and test new ideas against demanding workloads, working closely with ClickHouse engineers and contributing to the broader database ecosystem. Pavlo's background includes leading the Carnegie Mellon Database Research Group and co-founding OtterTune, cementing his reputation as a leader in autonomous databases and large-scale data analytics.