What really matters for performance: lessons from a year of benchmarks

The author reflects on the significance of benchmarks in their work over the past year, highlighting how benchmarks have provided clarity and challenged existing narratives in the field of data analytics, particularly with ClickHouse. Benchmarks like JSONBench and FastFormats have demonstrated ClickHouse's superior performance and storage efficiency compared to traditional systems, leading to practical changes in how data is managed and processed. The benchmarks explored various aspects, such as input formats, object storage caching, and update mechanisms, revealing insights into system efficiency, latency, and cost-effectiveness. This emphasis on performance has shown that an engine's ability to move and process data efficiently is crucial, with benchmarks serving as a tool to validate architectural decisions and drive real-world improvements. The author notes that these benchmarks not only corrected misconceptions but also influenced the development of analytical systems, underscoring the importance of measuring and publishing results to guide future innovations.