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Version: 8.10 (unreleased)

Relational databases

Relational database (RDBMS) support is a core capability of the Orchestration Cluster in Camunda 8 Self-Managed.

RDBMS is a standard secondary storage option for Orchestration Cluster installations, alongside Elasticsearch and OpenSearch.

With RDBMS secondary storage, the RDBMS exporter writes orchestration data to your relational database, and the Orchestration Cluster API queries it. Operate, Tasklist, and Admin use that API rather than querying the database directly.

In this context:

  • Primary storagePrimary storagePrimary storage is the authoritative store for workflow execution state managed by the Orchestration Cluster. In Self-Managed deployments, Zeebe brokers persist partition logs and snapshots on local disk. This data is required to execute workflows, recover after failures, and replicate state across brokers. is the broker-managed store for workflow execution state management.
  • Secondary storageSecondary storageSecondary storage is used for indexing, search, analytics, and long-term retention. Data in secondary storage is typically exported from primary storage and consumed by tools for observability and analytics. is an external store used for indexing, querying, analytics, and retention.

For a deeper conceptual comparison, see understanding primary vs secondary storage.

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