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Zerops provides a fully managed ClickHouse columnar database optimized for blazing-fast analytical queries on massive datasets, making it ideal for data warehousing and real-time analytics applications.

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Supported Versions

Zerops supports ClickHouse versions:
  • ClickHouse 24.x (latest)
  • ClickHouse 23.x
Use clickhouse@latest in your import YAML to always deploy the newest supported version.

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Service Configuration

ClickHouse implementation in Zerops features optimized default settings designed for analytical workloads and data warehousing use cases.

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Resource Allocation

Zerops automatically allocates resources to your ClickHouse service based on demand within the limits defined in your automatic scaling configuration.

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High Availability and Deployment Modes

Deployment mode is selected during service creation and cannot be changed later.

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High-availability (HA) setup

The recommended solution for production workloads and mission-critical analytics:
  • 3 data nodes with automatic monitoring, repairs, and replication factor of 3
  • Default cluster name: zerops (currently 1 shard with 3 replicas)

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Replication Configuration

The Replicated database engine handles replication automatically, but there are specific requirements you need to follow: For Database Operations Use this configuration when creating/managing databases: 
CREATE DATABASE uk ON CLUSTER '{cluster}'
ENGINE = Replicated('/clickhouse/databases/{uuid}', '{shard}', '{replica}');
For Table Operations Use ENGINE = ReplicatedMergeTree when creating tables (without the ON CLUSTER '{cluster}' clause): 
CREATE TABLE uk.uk_price_paid
(
    price     UInt32,
    date      Date,
    postcode1 LowCardinality(String),
    postcode2 LowCardinality(String),
    type      Enum8('terraced' = 1, 'semi-detached' = 2, 'detached' = 3, 'flat' = 4, 'other' = 0),
    is_new    UInt8,
    duration  Enum8('freehold' = 1, 'leasehold' = 2, 'unknown' = 0),
    addr1     String,
    addr2     String,
    street    LowCardinality(String),
    locality  LowCardinality(String),
    town      LowCardinality(String),
    district  LowCardinality(String),
    county    LowCardinality(String)
) ENGINE = ReplicatedMergeTree ORDER BY (postcode1, postcode2, addr1, addr2);
For more details, see the official ClickHouse replication documentation.
You can use other Replicated* engines from the MergeTree family. Replication is only supported for tables in the MergeTree family:
  • ReplicatedMergeTree
  • ReplicatedSummingMergeTree
  • ReplicatedReplacingMergeTree
  • ReplicatedAggregatingMergeTree
  • ReplicatedCollapsingMergeTree
  • ReplicatedVersionedCollapsingMergeTree
  • ReplicatedGraphiteMergeTree
User management (users, grants, etc.) is replicated by Keeper by default. The ON CLUSTER '{cluster}' clause is not needed when creating/deleting users or changing grants.

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Single container installation

Suitable for development and testing environments:
  • Consists of 1 ClickHouse node
  • Lower resource requirements
  • No automatic replication
Use for development purposes or non-critical data only. Make sure to have backups enabled if using in production, as you can lose your data due to container volatility.

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Network Access & Protocols

Zerops automatically configures secure authentication for your ClickHouse service.

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Default Database

Zerops creates a default database with the same name as your service hostname (<service-hostname>) during service creation.

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Default Users

zerops User
  • Created automatically upon service creation
  • Has privileges for the default database
  • Password available as environment variable password
super User
  • Administrative user for cluster management
  • Can create new databases, users, and manage permissions
  • Password available as environment variable superUserPassword

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Access Methods

Services within the same project can access ClickHouse directly using: 
<service-hostname>:<port>
For HA cluster setups, you can also access specific data nodes: 
node-stable-<1..3>.db.<service-hostname>.zerops:<port>
For external access, use zcli VPN to connect using the same connection strings.

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Connection Protocols

ClickHouse offers multiple interfaces for different use cases:

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Native TCP Protocol

Port: 9000 (Environment variable: port or portNative) Optimal for high-performance applications and ClickHouse-native clients. See the official ClickHouse TCP documentation.

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HTTP/HTTPS Interface

Port: 8123 (Environment variable: portHttp) Ideal for web applications and REST API integrations. You can setup HTTPS domain access or enable subdomain for access from outside the project:
  • HTTPS URL: https://clickhouse.my-awesome-domain.tld
  • JDBC connection string example: jdbc:clickhouse:https://clickhouse.my-awesome-domain.tld:443/?ssl=true&sslmode=NONE
See the official ClickHouse HTTP documentation.

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MySQL Protocol

Port: 9004 (Environment variable: portMysql) Enables connectivity from MySQL-compatible tools and applications. See the official ClickHouse MySQL documentation.

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PostgreSQL Protocol

Port: 9005 (Environment variable: portPostgresql) Allows integration with PostgreSQL-compatible clients and ORMs. See the official ClickHouse PostgreSQL documentation.

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Backup and Recovery

Zerops provides comprehensive backup functionality using ClickHouse’s native backup capabilities.

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Backup Process

  • Backups are performed using ClickHouse SQL command BACKUP ALL ... with super user permissions
  • All databases are backed up (excluding system databases)
  • Backup files are stored as tar.gz archives
  • Contains the complete folder structure produced by the SQL backup command

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Restore Options

  1. Download backup from Zerops GUI or via API
  2. Extract the tar.gz archive and upload to your S3 bucket
  3. Restore using ClickHouse SQL commands:
-- Restore specific table
RESTORE TABLE mydb.mytable AS mydb.mytable2
FROM S3('https://storage-prg1.zerops.io/mybucket/path/to/dir/with/untarred/backup',
        'my-access-key-id', 'my-secret-key');

-- Restore all data
RESTORE ALL FROM S3('https://storage-prg1.zerops.io/mybucket/path/to/backup',
                   'my-access-key-id', 'my-secret-key');
See the ClickHouse backup documentation.
A simple GUI/API action for backup restoration is on our roadmap for future releases.

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Troubleshooting

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Connection Problems

  • Verify you’re using the correct port for your chosen protocol
  • Check that your service is running and healthy in the Zerops dashboard
  • For HA clusters, try connecting to specific nodes if the main endpoint fails
  • Ensure authentication credentials are correct

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Replication Issues

  • Verify you’re using ON CLUSTER '{cluster}' for database operations
  • Confirm tables use ReplicatedMergeTree engines
  • Check cluster health in the Zerops dashboard

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Use Cases

ClickHouse excels in:
  • Real-time Analytics - Process and analyze billions of rows in milliseconds
  • Data Warehousing - Store and query massive datasets efficiently
  • Time-series Data - Monitor metrics, logs, and event streams
  • Business Intelligence - Power dashboards and reporting tools
  • Ad-tech & Clickstream - Track user behavior and campaign performance

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Support

For advanced configurations or custom requirements:

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