NoSQL Databases: Yearning for Disambiguation

Abstract: The demanding requirements of the new Big Data intensive era raised the need for flexible storage systems capable of handling huge volumes of unstructured data and of tackling the challenges that traditional databases were facing. NoSQL Databases, in their heterogeneity, are a powerful and diverse set of databases tailored to specific industrial and business needs. However, the lack of theoretical background creates a lack of consensus even among experts about many NoSQL concepts, leading to ambiguity and confusion. In this paper, we present a survey of NoSQL databases and their classification by data model type. We also conduct a benchmark in order to compare different NoSQL databases and distinguish their characteristics. Additionally, we present the major areas of ambiguity and confusion around NoSQL databases and their related concepts, and attempt to disambiguate them.