lancedb/docs/web/architecture.mdx

---
title: "Architecture"
sidebarTitle: "Architecture"
description: "How LanceDB Enterprise separates query serving, background work, and storage, and how it compares with embedded LanceDB OSS."
icon: cubes
keywords: ["architecture", "embedded", "distributed", "object storage", "compute", "deployment"]
---

LanceDB OSS is an embedded library for working with Lance tables. LanceDB
Enterprise is a multimodal lakehouse for data curation, feature engineering,
search, and training data access. Its architecture separates query serving,
read execution, caching, and background work. Both use the open
[Lance](/basics/lance) format.

Teams can curate datasets, derive features, search multimodal records, and
read the resulting tables into training frameworks. Enterprise separates the
resources that serve shared data from those that build indexes and run
background work, so teams can size them for these different workloads.

![LanceDB OSS runs the application and embedded library in one process, using local disk or object storage. Enterprise applications connect to query serving, with separate read execution and caching, indexing and background workers, and durable object storage. Both use the Lance format, but they do not share a storage location automatically.](/static/assets/images/overview/lancedb-architecture.svg)

The diagram shows the main compute and storage boundaries, not every request
path. The control plane governs the Enterprise service.

## A shared format, different storage choices {#storage}

Lance stores table data, versions, and indexes. OSS can read and write tables on
local disk or in object storage. Enterprise keeps durable table data and index
artifacts in object storage, independently of the machines serving requests.
Its caches accelerate reads; they are not the durable source of truth.

Sharing a format does not mean that an Enterprise deployment automatically
opens an existing OSS database. Plan how to move or connect your data and
configure access for your deployment.

## OSS: an embedded library inside your application {#embedded}

With an embedded connection, the LanceDB library plans and executes queries,
builds indexes, and updates tables inside your process. There is no separate
database server to deploy.

This fits local retrieval applications, notebooks, development, and
single-node data pipelines. Your application controls the compute resources and
when to run [table maintenance](/maintenance/compaction). You also manage access
to the local files or object storage that hold your tables.

## Enterprise: a multimodal lakehouse for shared workloads {#distributed}

Applications connect to remote tables through a LanceDB SDK. The service handles
requests across a fleet, with components sized for different kinds of work:

- **Query serving** receives requests, resolves tables, and plans operations.
  Add serving capacity as more applications and users depend on your data.
- **Read execution and caching** use separately provisioned resources. Executors
  cache table data to reduce repeated reads from object storage.
- **Indexing and background workers** build indexes and perform maintenance
  outside the query request path. Size this work separately from query serving
  as your data grows.

The control plane manages configuration, identity, policy, and cluster
lifecycle. It governs the service rather than executing table queries.
[Authorization](/governance/authorization) lets teams control access to catalog
objects when enabled and configured by the administrator. Deployment settings govern background
[compaction](/maintenance/compaction) and
[cleanup](/maintenance/cleanup), including retention.

These boundaries support different parts of an AI data workflow.
[SQL curation](/curation) requires a deployment with SQL enabled.
[Feature engineering](/feature-engineering) can produce derived columns and
tables; computed columns and materialized views require a deployment that
enables them. [Geneva](/geneva) runs distributed Python feature backfills while
its capabilities continue to transition to LanceDB APIs.
[Training data loaders](/training/data-loading) read tables into model training
frameworks in both offerings. LanceDB provides data access for training; the
training framework runs the model.

Size and monitor each tier for your workload. Read the
[Enterprise architecture](/enterprise/architecture) for the component details
and request flows.

## Familiar APIs, a different operating model {#differences}

Core operations remain familiar: create a table, add data, and run a search.
With OSS, the application executes those operations. With Enterprise, the SDK
sends requests to the service, and the service manages execution and configured
background maintenance.

Moving an application involves more than changing a connection string. Plan
for data migration, connection settings, credentials, and SDK methods that
behave differently on remote tables. See
[Moving to LanceDB Enterprise](/basics/sdk#moving-to-enterprise) before adapting
an existing application. If you plan to use materialized views, check the
[stable row ID requirements](/basics/limits#schema) before creating source tables.

## Choose for the workload you need to run {#choosing}

Choose OSS when you want an embedded library and can manage its resources and
maintenance in your application.

Choose Enterprise when multiple applications or teams need a shared multimodal
lakehouse for curation, feature engineering, search, and training data access.
It also fits workloads whose query and indexing demand grow at different rates,
or that need configured service-level access controls and background operations.
You can begin with Enterprise.

[Talk to us about your workload](https://www.lancedb.com/contact) to plan capacity,
deployment options, and the path from your existing data to Enterprise.

## Where to go next {#next}

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Enterprise architecture" icon="cubes" href="/enterprise/architecture">
    Query serving, execution, and background work in detail.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Connect to Enterprise" icon="plug" href="/basics/connect#enterprise">
    Connect an application to your deployment.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Guarantees" icon="shield-check" href="/basics/guarantees">
    What a write promises, and what a reader sees.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Lance format" icon="layer-group" href="/basics/lance">
    The open format underneath both offerings.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>