DataDB

DataDB is the subsystem within CGRateS responsible for storing runtime data like accounts, rating plans, and other objects that the engine needs for its operation. It supports various database backends to fit different deployment needs.

Database Types

DataDB supports the following database types through the db_type parameter:

  • *redis: Uses Redis as the storage backend

  • *mongo: Uses MongoDB as the storage backend

  • *internal: Uses in-memory storage within the CGRateS process

When using *internal as the db_type, CGRateS leverages your machine’s memory to store all DataDB records directly inside the engine. This drastically increases read/write performance, as no data leaves the process, avoiding the overhead associated with external databases. The configuration supports periodic data dumps to disk to enable persistence across reboots.

The internal database is ideal for:

  • Environments with extremely high performance requirements

  • Systems where external database dependencies should be avoided

  • Lightweight deployments or containers requiring self-contained runtime

  • Temporary setups or testing environments

Remote and Replication Functionality

Remote Functionality

DataDB supports fetching data from remote CGRateS instances when items are not found locally. This allows for distributed setups where data can be stored across multiple instances.

To use remote functionality:

  1. Define RPC connections to remote engines

  2. Configure which data items should be fetched remotely by setting remote: true for specific items

  3. Optionally set an identifier for the local connection with remote_conn_id

Replication

DataDB supports replicating data changes to other CGRateS instances. When enabled, modifications (Set/Remove operations) are propagated to configured remote engines, ensuring data consistency across a distributed deployment.

Unlike the remote functionality which affects Get operations, replication applies to Set and Remove operations, pushing changes outward to other nodes.

Configuration

A complete DataDB configuration includes database connection details, remote functionality settings, replication options, and item-specific settings. For reference, the full default configuration can be found in the Configuration section.

"data_db": {
    "db_type": "*redis",
    "db_host": "127.0.0.1",
    "db_port": 6379,
    "db_name": "10",
    "db_user": "cgrates",
    "db_password": "",
    "remote_conns": ["engine2", "engine3"],
    "remote_conn_id": "engine1",
    "replication_conns": ["engine2", "engine3"],
    "replication_filtered": false,
    "replication_cache": "",
    "replication_failed_dir": "/var/lib/cgrates/failed_replications",
    "replication_interval": "1s",
    "items": {
        "*accounts": {"limit": -1, "ttl": "", "static_ttl": false, "remote": false, "replicate": true},
        "*rating_plans": {"limit": -1, "ttl": "", "static_ttl": false, "remote": true, "replicate": true}
        // Other items...
    },
    "opts": {
        // Database-specific options...
    }
}

Parameters

Basic Connection

db_type

The database backend to use. Values: <*redis|*mongo|*internal>

db_host

Database host address (e.g., “127.0.0.1”)

db_port

Port to reach the database (e.g., 6379 for Redis)

db_name

Database name to connect to (e.g., “10” for Redis database number)

db_user

Username for database authentication

db_password

Password for database authentication

Remote Functionality

remote_conns

Array of connection IDs (defined in rpc_conns) that will be queried when items are not found locally

remote_conn_id

Identifier sent to remote connections to identify this engine

Replication Parameters

replication_conns

Array of connection IDs (defined in rpc_conns) to which data will be replicated

replication_filtered

When enabled, replication occurs only to connections that previously received a Get request for the item. Values: <true|false>

replication_cache

Caching action to execute on replication targets when items are replicated

replication_failed_dir

Directory to store failed batch replications when using intervals. This directory must exist before launching CGRateS.

replication_interval

Interval between batched replications: - Empty/0: Immediate replication after each operation - Duration (e.g., “1s”): Batches replications and sends them at the specified interval

Items Configuration

DataDB manages multiple data types through the items map, with these configuration options for each item:

limit

Maximum number of items of this type to store. -1 means no limit. Only applies to *internal database.

ttl

Time-to-live for items before automatic removal. Empty string means no expiration. Only applies to *internal database.

static_ttl

Controls TTL behavior. When true, TTL is fixed from initial creation. When false, TTL resets on each update. Only applies to *internal database.

remote

When true, enables fetching this item type from remote connections if not found locally.

replicate

When true, enables replication of this item type to configured remote connections.

Internal Database Options

When using *internal as the database type, additional options are available in the opts section:

internalDBDumpPath

Defines the path to the folder where the memory-stored DataDB will be dumped. This path is also used for recovery during engine startup. Ensure the folder exists before launching the engine.

internalDBBackupPath

Path where backup copies of the dump folder will be stored. Backups are triggered via the APIerSv1.BackupDataDB API call. This API can also specify a custom path for backups, otherwise the default internalDBBackupPath is used. Backups serve as a fallback in case of dump file corruption or loss. The created folders are timestamped in UNIX time for easy identification of the latest backup. To recover using a backup, you can do so manualy by simply transfering the folders from a backup in internalDBBackupPath to internalDBDumpPath and start the engine. If backups are zipped, they need to be unzipped manually when restoring. Or automatically using APIerSv1.RestoreDataDB API call

internalDBStartTimeout

Specifies the maximum amount of time the engine will wait to recover the in-memory DataDB state from the dump files during startup. If this duration is exceeded, the engine will timeout and an error will be returned.

internalDBDumpInterval

Specifies the time interval at which DataDB will be dumped to disk. This duration should be chosen based on the machine’s capacity and data load. If the interval is set too long and a lot of data changes during that period, the dumping process will take longer, and in the event of an engine crash, any data not dumped will be lost. Conversely, if the interval is too short, and a high number of queries are done often to DataDB, some of the needed processing power for the queries will be used by the dump process. Since machine resources and data loads vary, it is recommended to simulate the load on your system and determine the optimal “sweet spot” for this interval. At engine shutdown, any remaining undumped data will automatically be written to disk, regardless of the interval setting.

  • Setting the interval to 0s disables the periodic dumping, meaning any data in DataDB will be lost when the engine shuts down.

  • Setting the interval to -1 enables immediate dumping—whenever a record in DataDB is added, changed, or removed, it will be dumped to disk immediately.

Manual dumping can be triggered using the APIerSv1.DumpDataDB API.

internalDBRewriteInterval

Defines the interval for rewriting files that are not currently being used for dumping data, converting them into an optimized, streamlined version and improving recovery time. Similar to internalDBDumpInterval, the rewriting will trigger based on specified intervals:

  • Setting the interval 0s disables rewriting.

  • Setting the interval -1 triggers rewriting only once when the engine starts.

  • Setting the interval -2 triggers rewriting only once when the engine shuts down.

Rewriting should be used sparingly, as the process temporarily loads the entire internalDBDumpPath folder into memory for optimization, and then writes it back to the dump folder once done. This results in a surge of memory usage, which could amount to the size of the dump file itself during the rewrite. As a rule of thumb, expect the engine’s memory usage to approximately double while the rewrite process is running. Manual rewriting can be triggered at any time via the APIerSv1.RewriteDataDB API.

internalDBFileSizeLimit

Specifies the maximum size a single dump file can reach. Upon reaching the limit, a new dump file is created. Limiting file size improves recovery time and allows for limit reached files to be rewritten. It is recommended to have this limit to at most half of the machines memory, since the file will be put in memory while being read.

The internal database also provides APIs for creating snapshots and restoring from backups.

APIerSv1.RestoreDataDB

Restores the internal DataDB from the path to the zip file or folder provided. If more than 1 backups are found in the path, it will select the latest generated one.

  • If no backup path is provided in the API call, the configured internalDBBackupPath is used.

  • Before restoring, all live data and currently dumped data from the internal database is cleared.

  • The restore process replaces the existing dump state with the selected backup contents.

APIerSv1.SnapshotDataDB

Creates a backup of the currently active dump state after which, it rebuilds the live dump files from the current in-memory DataDB.

The snapshot process performs the following steps:

  • Copies the current live dump folder to the specified backup location (or internalDBBackupPath if none is provided).

  • Optionally compresses the backup into a ZIP archive when the zip parameter is enabled.

  • Clears the current live dump folder.

  • Recreates fresh dump files directly from the current in-memory DataDB state.

Snapshotting is useful for:

  • Creating compact and consistent recovery points.

  • Cleaning up fragmented or heavily appended dump files.

  • Reducing recovery time by rebuilding optimized dump files.

  • Preparing backups before maintenance operations.

Redis-Specific Options

The following options in the opts section apply when using Redis:

redisMaxConns

Connection pool size

redisConnectAttempts

Maximum number of connection attempts

redisSentinel

Sentinel name when using Redis Sentinel

redisCluster

Enables Redis Cluster mode

redisClusterSync

Sync interval for Redis Cluster

redisClusterOndownDelay

Delay before executing commands when Redis Cluster is in CLUSTERDOWN state

redisConnectTimeout, redisReadTimeout, redisWriteTimeout

Timeout settings for various Redis operations

redisTLS, redisClientCertificate, redisClientKey, redisCACertificate

TLS configuration for secure Redis connections

MongoDB-Specific Options

The following options in the opts section apply when using MongoDB:

mongoQueryTimeout

Timeout for MongoDB queries

mongoConnScheme

Connection scheme for MongoDB (<mongodb|mongodb+srv>)

Configuration Examples

Persistent Internal Database

"data_db": {
    "db_type": "*internal",
    "opts": {
        "internalDBDumpPath": "/var/lib/cgrates/internal_db/datadb",
        "internalDBBackupPath": "/var/lib/cgrates/internal_db/backup/datadb",
        "internalDBStartTimeout": "5m",
        "internalDBDumpInterval": "1m",
        "internalDBRewriteInterval": "15m",
        "internalDBFileSizeLimit": "1GB"
    }
}

Replication Setup

First, define connections to the engines you want to replicate to:

"rpc_conns": {
    "rpl_engine": {
        "conns": [
            {
                "address": "127.0.0.1:2012",
                "transport": "*json",
                "connect_attempts": 5,
                "reconnects": -1,
                "max_reconnect_interval": "",
                "connect_timeout": "1s",
                "reply_timeout": "2s"
            }
        ]
    }
}

Then configure DataDB replication (showing only replication-related parameters):

"data_db": {
    "replication_conns": ["rpl_engine"],
    "replication_failed_dir": "/var/lib/cgrates/failed_replications",
    "replication_interval": "1s",
    "items": {
        "*accounts": {"replicate": true},
        "*reverse_destinations": {"replicate": true},
        "*destinations": {"replicate": true},
        "*rating_plans": {"replicate": true}
        // Other items...
    }
}

Notes

  • By default, both replication and remote functionality are disabled for all items and must be explicitly enabled by setting replicate: true or remote: true for each desired item

  • When using replication with intervals, make sure to configure a replication_failed_dir to handle failed replications

  • Failed replications can be manually replayed using the APIerSv1.ReplayFailedReplications API call

  • Remote functionality and replication can be used independently or together, depending on your deployment needs