This is the first part of a two-part blog post that discusses the recent release of SingleStoreDB Self-Managed 7.0, which includes high-throughput, synchronous replication as one of its major features. The database's underlying architecture and how it achieves fast performance are also discussed, including the use of a transaction log to maintain durability and availability. The focus is on transactions, which are used by applications to interact with the database, and how replication is used to ensure that data is always available and can withstand failures. The presentation also touches on the concept of primary-secondary replication and statement replication, and concludes with an overview of the revamped replication system in SingleStoreDB Self-Managed 7.0.