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As Whitepages Expands, It Relies on Redis on Flash to Keep Operational Costs Low and Performance High
Technology Category
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Virtual Private Cloud
Applicable Industries
- Software
- Professional Service
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Predictive Maintenance
- Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
- Remote Asset Management
Services
- System Integration
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
The Challenge
Users of Whitepages’ people search and identity verification services expect instant results from a single piece of contact information, which requires a highly efficient and fast database system. The company's proprietary Identity Graph™ database, which houses billions of person-identity records, generates a high volume of calls to Redis, especially during peak times. Initially, Whitepages used Amazon ElastiCache to store IDs, but as the company expanded globally, this solution became resource-intensive and unwieldy. The company evaluated MongoDB, Apache Cassandra, and Couchbase as potential replacements, but none could handle the full dataset size while providing the required single-digit latency. Whitepages' applications are extremely latency-sensitive, and customer SLAs promise sub-hundred millisecond latency, leaving no room for error.
About The Customer
Whitepages is a global leader in digital identity verification services for businesses and consumers. The company offers innovative people search tools powered by more than five billion global identity records. As Whitepages expands its identity dataset beyond North America, it increasingly relies on advanced database solutions to maintain high performance and low operational costs. The company's proprietary Identity Graph™ database is a key component of its services, enabling comprehensive and verified views of individuals' public footprints, including past addresses, family members, and legal documents. Whitepages' commitment to customer experience and performance drives its continuous search for efficient and scalable database solutions.
The Solution
After several failed attempts with other NoSQL databases, Whitepages began researching enterprise-grade Redis from Redis Labs. Redis on Flash, a unique offering from Redis Labs, caught their attention. Redis on Flash stores hot values and keys in RAM and cold values in cost-effective flash-based SSDs, drastically reducing operational costs without compromising performance. Whitepages now uses only 30% of the RAM storage it previously used, resulting in significant infrastructure savings. The company stores more than three terabytes of data in Redis on Flash, deployed in its virtual private network. Replication is achieved through a master/slave configuration across two availability zones, ensuring high availability. Redis on Flash provides the single-digit latency required to meet customer SLAs, allowing Whitepages to deliver top-of-the-line services without compromising performance. The company is also exploring additional features offered by Redis Labs, such as Redisearch and geo-replication, to support future plans.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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