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Merge pull request #177 from vshn/add/vector_databases
Evaluating Vector Databases as AppCat services
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‎docs/modules/ROOT/pages/adr/0048-evaluating-vector-databases-as-appcat-services.adoc‎

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= ADR 0051 - Evaluating vector databases as AppCat services
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:adr_author: Simon Beck
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:adr_owner: Schedar
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:adr_reviewers:
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:adr_date: 2026-01-14
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:adr_upd_date: 2026-01-14
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:adr_status: draft
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:adr_tags: database,service
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include::partial$adr-meta.adoc[]
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[NOTE]
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.Summary
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====
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Exisitng AppCat services already provide some vector capabilities.
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For any other use-cases the required databases should be provided as solutions.
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====
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== Context
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More customers require vector databases for various AI related workloads.
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To provide the best services possible some of the most popular open source solutions are evaluated in this ADR.
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Solutions being evaluated:
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- OpenSearch/ElasticSearch
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- PostgreSQL with pgvector
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- Redis
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- Chroma
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- Qdrant
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- Milvus
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=== OpenSearch/ElasticSearch
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OpenSearch/ElasticSearch provides vector capabilities https://opensearch.org/platform/vector-search/[out of the box].
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Either one of these products are already on the roadmap for AppCat.
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=== PostgreSQL with pgvector
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StackGres and CNPG both already provide the pgvector extension.
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For StackGres it needs to be installed via the `extensions` stanza.
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CNPG pre-installs it in their default image.
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So the vector capabilities of our PostgreSQL offering is already there.
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Additional documentation to make users aware of this feature is recommended though.
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=== Redis
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Redis also provides vector capabilities out of the box.
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Redis provides documentation on how to use it: https://redis.io/docs/latest/develop/get-started/vector-database/#prepare-the-demo-dataset
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=== Dedicated Vector databases
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[cols=4]
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|===
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|Criteria
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|Chroma
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|Qdrant
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|Milvus
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|Installation
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|https://github.com/amikos-tech/chromadb-chart[community helm chart], but very limited functionality, missing HA
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|Official Helm chart available, enterprise operator
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|Official chart and operator available
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|Backup
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|https://cookbook.chromadb.dev/strategies/backup/[Export tool available, filesystem snapshots and filesystem snapshots]
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|https://qdrant.tech/documentation/database-tutorials/create-snapshot/[Pretty involved process for clusters]
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|https://milvus.io/docs/milvus_backup_cli.md[Backup tooling available]
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|Metrics
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|https://docs.trychroma.com/guides/deploy/observability[Opentelemetry traces]
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|https://qdrant.tech/documentation/guides/monitoring/[OpenMetrics/Prometheus]
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|https://milvus.io/docs/monitor.md[OpenMetrics/Prometheus]
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|Maintenance/2nd-day operations
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|https://cookbook.chromadb.dev/running/maintenance/[Chroma ops tool to do maintenance on the database]
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|https://qdrant.tech/documentation/guides/administration/[Administration guide]
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|Administration guides available that cover a lot of topics
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|Update/Upgrade
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|https://docs.trychroma.com/docs/overview/migration[Migration guide available], recent rewrite in rust, rewrite doesn't have authentication
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|https://qdrant.tech/documentation/faq/qdrant-fundamentals/?q=upgradeupgrade+guide#how-do-i-avoid-issues-when-updating-to-the-latest-version[Updates to the next consecutive version are supported]
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|Automated via their operator
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|License
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|Apache License 2.0
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|Apache License 2.0
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|Apache License 2.0
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|===
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=== Chroma
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Chroma's maturity doesn't seem to be there, many things are not documented on the official page but rather on a community driven page.
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Only a rudimentary helm chart is available.
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The recent rewrite in rust dropped features that were previously available.
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=== Qdrant
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Qdrant's documentation is excellent.
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However, there's a lot of "available on our cloud offering" there as well for features like cluster backups, which might be concerning for future anti-consumer decisions.
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The overall architecture and concepts are very inspired by ElasticSearch.
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=== Milvus
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Milvus is by far the most complex solution of the three.
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Although it provides an operator to handle the deployment, the amount of services it needs and deploys is extensive:
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- dedicated etcd
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- message queue
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- minio
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- zookeeper
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This rivals Kafka in complexity.
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== Decision
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The AppCat portofolio already contains two existing services that provide vector capabilities.
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OpenSearch/ElasticSearch is on the roadmap.
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These services and products are very well understood and widely used.
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AppCat should provide documentation to make users aware of the vector capabilities of these services.
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The dedicated vector databases might fit some use cases better, but of the three concrete requests we got, three different products were mentioned or requested.
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Given the initial effort to make a service AppCat managed, it's not feasible to add these services just for 1-2 instances.
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In these cases the databases should be handled as a solution.
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If at one point the adoption and demand for a specific product increases, the need to provide it as a self-service AppCat service can be re-evaluated.
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== Consequences
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We do not adopt any new vector database services into the AppCat service catalog.
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Instead we make users aware about the vector capabilities of the existing services.
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For any specific vector database deploying it as a solution should be considered.

‎docs/modules/ROOT/pages/adr/index.adoc‎

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`framework, networking, tcp`
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|accepted |2025-10-01 |2025-10-27
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|xref:adr/0041-migrate-minio-to-rclone.adoc[]
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`minio,rclone,objectstorage`
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|rejected |2025-12-29 |2026-01-06
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|xref:adr/0042-backup-encryption-for-mariadb-galera-and-postgresql.adoc[]
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`backup,encryption,galera,postgresql`
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|draft |2025-10-06 |2025-10-06
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|xref:adr/0043-wazuh-agent-for-appcat-services.adoc[]
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`siem,xdr,security`
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|draft | |2026-01-08
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|xref:adr/0044-configuration-language-kcl-vs-cue.adoc[]
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`framework,framework2,kcl,cue`
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`framework,framework2,kcl,cue,configuration`
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|draft |:adr_upd_date: |
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|xref:adr/0045-service-orchestration-crossplane-2-0.adoc[]
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`framework,framework2,crossplane,composition`
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`framework,framework2,crossplane,composition,orchestration`
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|draft |:adr_upd_date: |
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|xref:adr/0046-secret-management-framework-2-0.adoc[]
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`framework,framework2,billing,odoo`
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|draft | |
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`framework,framework2,secrets,crossplane,vault,openbao`
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|draft |:adr_upd_date: |
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|xref:adr/0047-service-maintenance-and-upgrades-framework-2-0.adoc[]
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`framework,framework2,testing`
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|draft | |
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|xref:adr/0041-migrate-minio-to-rclone.adoc[]
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`framework,framework2,maintenance,upgrades,crossplane,workflows,cronoperations`
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|draft |:adr_upd_date: |
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|xref:adr/0048-evaluating-vector-databases-as-appcat-services.adoc[]
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`minio,rclone,objectstorage`
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|rejected |2025-12-29 |2026-01-06
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|xref:adr/0043-wazuh-agent-for-appcat-services.adoc[]
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`siem,xdr,security`
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|draft | |2026-01-08
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`database,service`
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|draft | |2026-01-14
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|===

‎docs/modules/ROOT/partials/nav-adrs.adoc‎

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** xref:adr/0044-configuration-language-kcl-vs-cue.adoc[]
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** xref:adr/0045-service-orchestration-crossplane-2-0.adoc[]
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** xref:adr/0046-secret-management-framework-2-0.adoc[]
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** xref:adr/0047-service-maintenance-and-upgrades-framework-2-0.adoc[]
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** xref:adr/0047-service-maintenance-and-upgrades-framework-2-0.adoc[]
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** xref:adr/0048-evaluating-vector-databases-as-appcat-services.adoc[]

‎templates/adr/cookiecutter.json‎

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{
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"adr_number": "0051",
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"adr_number": "0049",
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"full_name": "VSHNeer Name",
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"adr_title": "Title",
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"adr_reviewers": "",

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