ClickHouse Release 25.4

The ClickHouse Team
10 min readintermediate
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Overview

ClickHouse version 25.4 introduces 25 new features, 23 performance optimizations, and 58 bug fixes, enhancing query performance and community contributions. Key highlights include lazy materialization, Apache Iceberg time travel, and support for correlated subqueries in the EXISTS clause.

What You'll Learn

1

How to implement lazy materialization to optimize query performance

2

Why using Apache Iceberg for time travel enhances data analysis capabilities

3

How to configure CPU workload scheduling for resource management

Prerequisites & Requirements

  • Understanding of SQL and database management concepts
  • Familiarity with ClickHouse and its features(optional)

Key Questions Answered

What are the new features in ClickHouse version 25.4?
ClickHouse version 25.4 introduces 25 new features including lazy materialization, Apache Iceberg time travel, and support for correlated subqueries in the EXISTS clause. Additionally, it includes 23 performance optimizations and 58 bug fixes, significantly improving overall performance.
How does lazy materialization improve query performance?
Lazy materialization defers reading column data until needed, allowing ClickHouse to skip loading unnecessary data. This results in significant performance improvements, as demonstrated by a 1,576× speedup in query execution time and reduced I/O and memory usage.
What is the significance of CPU workload scheduling in ClickHouse?
CPU workload scheduling allows users to limit concurrent threads for specific workloads, enabling better resource management. This ensures that heavy ad-hoc queries do not impact high-priority real-time reporting, thereby optimizing performance across different workloads.
How can I use Apache Iceberg for time travel in ClickHouse?
Apache Iceberg time travel allows users to query previous snapshots of data. By setting the iceberg_timestamp_ms parameter, users can access historical data states, enhancing data analysis capabilities and enabling easier data versioning.

Key Statistics & Figures

Speedup achieved with lazy materialization
1,576×
This speedup was observed when executing a query with lazy materialization enabled compared to when it was disabled.
Reduction in I/O with lazy materialization
40× less
The implementation of lazy materialization significantly decreased the amount of data read from disk.
Memory usage reduction with lazy materialization
300× lower
Enabling lazy materialization led to a drastic decrease in peak memory usage during query execution.

Technologies & Tools

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Key Actionable Insights

1
Implement lazy materialization in your ClickHouse queries to drastically reduce execution time and resource usage.
This feature is particularly beneficial for queries that involve sorting and limiting results, as it minimizes unnecessary data loading, leading to faster query responses.
2
Utilize Apache Iceberg's time travel feature to enhance your data analysis workflows.
By querying historical snapshots, you can gain insights into data changes over time, which is crucial for auditing and trend analysis.
3
Configure CPU workload scheduling to optimize resource allocation in your ClickHouse environment.
This allows you to run multiple workloads without interference, ensuring that critical queries maintain performance during heavy usage periods.

Common Pitfalls

1
Failing to enable experimental features like correlated subqueries can lead to incomplete query results.
If you do not enable the necessary settings, your queries may not execute as expected, missing out on new functionalities that could enhance performance.

Related Concepts

Data Lakes
Performance Optimization
Workload Management