We are seeing many projects moving from etcd to custom metadata solutions or SQL-based systems in recent years. SQL as a meta store is quite underrated imo.
Debezium + Arrow Flight: Use Debezium as a library to grab PostgreSQL CDC events and stream them into Arrow for super-fast, columnar processing. Works great with Polars or DuckDB.
RisingWave: This is a lightweight stream processor that connects directly to Postgres CDC, lets you write SQL for transformations, and keeps everything updated in real-time. No Kafka or heavy setups required.
As others have mentioned, this acquisition leaves many Rockset customers in a tough spot with a short timeline to migrate. I'd like to bring attention to a potential alternative: RisingWave(https://risingwave.com/). RisingWave is an open-source streaming database designed for real-time analytics and data processing. Like Rockset, it offers PostgreSQL compatibility and impressive ability to handle both streaming and batch data.
What sets RisingWave apart is its focus on stream processing while maintaining SQL compatibility. This could be particularly valuable for users leveraging Rockset's real-time capabilities. RisingWave offers several features that may appeal to Rockset users. It's built to scale in cloud environments and can ingest data from a large variety of sources. The database supports materialized views for efficient query processing and ensures data consistency with ACID transactions.
For those concerned about vendor lock-in after this experience, RisingWave's open-source nature (Apache 2.0 license) provides an extra layer of assurance. There's also a managed cloud offering for those who prefer a hands-off approach.
I encourage impacted Rockset users to explore RisingWave as part of their evaluation process. The project has a welcoming community(join at risingwave.com/slack) and extensive documentation to help with the transition.
[Disclosure: I'm associated with RisingWave. Happy to answer any questions or provide more details about how it compares to Rockset for specific use cases.]