Bigtable in Action
Interactive visualization: Write (Client→Master→Tablet), Read (Tablet→Master→Client), Scan (sequential range). Switch modes, press Pause/Reset, and adjust the speed.
Client API (Put/Get/Scan). Caches tablet locations.
Client
Requests (Put/Get/Scan)
source
Master: assigns tablets, balances load, tracks metadata.
Master
Tablet assignment & metadata
routing
Tablet Server: Memtable, WAL, SSTables, caches, compactions.
Tablet Servers
Serve & store tablets
target
Speed
Write (client→master→tablet)
Read (tablet→master→client)
Scan (sequential range)
Tablet Server Internals (Write Path)
WAL First append to the Write-Ahead Log (GFS) for durability.
Memtable Update in-memory (skiplist). Fast writes/reads.
SSTables When memtable fills → Minor compaction into immutable sorted files.
Bloom + Block Cache Avoid blind I/O and speed up reads.
Major Compaction Merge SSTables; purge old versions/deletes.
Event Log
Ready. Choose a mode or press ⏸/↺. Adjust speed for smoother/faster flow.