Analytics platforms are commonly constrained by a familiar trade‑off: file‑based storage delivers the performance and semantics that analytical databases expect, while object storage delivers cost efficiency at scale.
Bridging the two characteristics typically introduces ingestion pipelines, data duplication, caching layers, or intermediary query engines—each adding operational complexity and failure modes. Instaclustr Managed ClickHouse integrated with Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP helps address this trade‑off by allowing analytical queries to run directly against file‑based data that transparently tiers to lower‑cost capacity. ClickHouse is designed around file‑based access patterns, and with FSx for ONTAP it accesses data in place. There are no additional staging layers, ingestion pipelines, or format‑specific copies required to make data queryable.
Because the advanced storage layer behaves like a standard file system, ClickHouse can execute interactive and high‑concurrency analytical queries without requiring application-level changes to accommodate for storage behavior. FSx for ONTAP presents the data as continuously addressable through a single namespace regardless of whether it resides on performance or capacity tiers. From the database’s perspective, hot and cold data are queried the same way, without changes to schemas, query paths, or application logic.
With Managed ClickHouse on FSx for ONTAP, analytics platforms take on a simpler shape:
- Queries run directly on a unified file‑based storage layer, with hot data on high‑performance tiers and cold data can be transparently tiered where configured with BYO FSx to lower‑cost capacity
- Cost and performance can be balanced without intermediate copies, secondary systems, or data movement as datasets age
What’s new?
Instaclustr Managed ClickHouse integrated with Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP now expands deployment options to support customer VPCs and architectures where compute and storage may reside in different VPCs or AWS accounts.
This enables ClickHouse clusters running in customer VPCs to consume file‑based storage from FSx for ONTAP hosted in separate VPCs or accounts, while maintaining consistent and transparent storage access. These capabilities align with enterprise AWS architectures that separate compute and storage to support flexible network and account boundaries.
- Storage placement is not constrained to a single AWS account. ClickHouse clusters can consume FSx for ONTAP from external AWS accounts using standard file‑system access.
- Compute and storage do not need to be co‑located. FSx for ONTAP can be attached to ClickHouse clusters running in external AWS VPCs, allowing file‑based analytics without requiring compute and storage to reside in the same VPC.
For enterprises more advanced on their analytics journey, you likely already have existing data lakes that are separated from the storage environments that serve them. Network boundaries, account isolation, and organisational separation are common design constraints in enterprise AWS environments, particularly where storage is shared across teams or governed independently from compute. You may connect an existing FSx filesystem that you already operate. NetApp Instaclustr Support documentation provides step-by-step setup guidance for this deployment.
If you are beginning your analytics journey, the NetApp Instaclustr platform provides flexibility in how Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP is introduced. You may choose an Instaclustr‑managed option where the filesystem is provisioned, configured, and managed on your behalf. Documentation describing the Instaclustr‑managed option is available in NetApp Instaclustr Support documentation for ClickHouse and FSx for NetApp ONTAP.
In both cases, the filesystem is integrated with an Instaclustr‑managed ClickHouse cluster, allowing data to be consumed without additional manual configuration and reducing the operational overhead required to get started.
No matter your filesystem configuration, the ClickHouse service itself is fully managed by NetApp Instaclustr. This covers provisioning, lifecycle management, and operational tuning. As compute scales, adding nodes increases query capacity and concurrency without introducing proportional administrative overhead. Storage and compute scale independently, allowing performance, cost, and operational effort to remain aligned as analytical ambition grows.
Get started with Managed ClickHouse and FSx for ONTAP
NetApp Instaclustr provides a managed ClickHouse service integrated with FSx for ONTAP, handling provisioning, lifecycle management, and support. To use Managed ClickHouse integrated with Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP, simply access from the NetApp Instaclustr Console or API. Or get started with technical guidance using NetApp Instaclustr Support Documentation.
Do you have a large PostgreSQL footprint in your enterprise environment? Trial the NetApp Instaclustr for PostgreSQL on Amazon FSx for ONTAP, currently in public preview. Instaclustr PostgreSQL® running on Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP gives you enterprise-grade storage capabilities for mission critical PostgreSQL workloads in the cloud. Check out our support documentation to start building your low-latency analytics platform today.
