Google F1

Google F1 is a distributed relational database developed internally at Google, designed to replace their sharded MySQL infrastructure for applications like Google Ads (formerly AdWords). It successfully combines the scalability and fault-tolerance of NoSQL systems with the strong consistency and…

Key facts

First appeared: 2010
Category: technology
Problem solved: Google F1 was created to solve the acute scaling and operational challenges faced by Google Ads, which relied on a massive, sharded MySQL setup. This architecture struggled with global consistency, schema evolution, cross-shard transactions, and operational complexity as the service grew to planetary scale. F1 aimed to provide a globally distributed, fault-tolerant, strongly consistent SQL database that could manage Google Ads' immense workload.
Platforms: Google's proprietary global infrastructure

Related technologies

Google Spanner (underlying storage)
Google Ads (formerly AdWords)
Protobuf (for schema definition)
SQL-based applications

Notable users

Google (for Google Ads and other internal services)