DynamoDB: A Scalable, Predictably Performant, and Fully Managed NoSQL Database Service
2022 · paper · Computer science
Describes Amazon DynamoDB, a fully managed NoSQL cloud database service, and Amazon's experience operating it at massive scale. It reports peaking at 89.2 million requests per second during Prime Day 2021 with single-digit millisecond performance, and covers how the architecture has evolved.
Checked: PDF from usenix.org, fetched 4 Oct 2026. Page numbers are those of that PDF.
3 findings
Substance Worked example: "If the table's capacity was decreased to 5000 WCUs, then each partition's capacity would be decreased to 675 WCUs". With eight partitions and equal division, 5000/8 = 625.
- p. 6 Section 4, worked example of throughput allocation
then each partition’s capacity would be decreased to 675 WCUs
- p. 6 Section 4 example
decreased to 675 WCUs
- p. 6 Section 4, worked example
each partition’s capacity would be decreased to 675 WCUs
Judge's note: Page 6. Every other step divides equally (3200/4=800, 3600/4=900, 6000/8=750), and nothing says the eight child partitions are merged. 675 matches neither 5000/8 nor any other partition count.
Second check: another model agreed
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Reference or label "Other DynamoDB services not shown in in Figure 4 support ... global admission control" lists global admission control as absent from Figure 4, but Figure 4 has a box labelled 'GLOBAL ADMISSION CONTROL'. The sentence also doubles the word 'in'.
- p. 5 Section 3, last paragraph
Other DynamoDB services not shown in in Figure 4 sup-
- p. 5 Figure 4
GLOBAL ADMISSION CONTROL
- p. 5 end of Section 3
not shown in in Figure 4
- p. 5
r DynamoDB services not shown in in Figure 4 sup- port
Judge's note: Figure 4 on page 5 shows a GLOBAL ADMISSION CONTROL box connected to the request router, which contradicts the closing sentence of Section 3. The 'in in' on one line is also visible.
Second check: another model agreed, code check
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Reference or label Figure 4 labels its three storage nodes "STORAGE NODE (AZ1)", "STORAGE NODE (AZ2)" and "STORAGE NODE (AZ2)"; the third presumably should be AZ3.
- p. 5 Figure 4, storage node labels
STORAGE NODE (AZ2)
Only the authors can say what is right here.
Judge's note: In the page 5 image the bottom storage node reads AZ2, the same as the middle one. The paper describes replicas spread across AZs, so a duplicated label is likely, but only the authors can confirm.
Second check: another model agreed
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13 minor (typos and the like; most checked by the judge only)
Wording The text says the core services, including "the autoadmin service, as shown in Figure 4", but Figure 4 has no autoadmin component.
- p. 5 Section 3, description of core services
service, as shown in Figure 4
- p. 5 Figure 4
Figure 4: DynamoDB architecture
Judge's note: Figure 4 boxes: request router, global admission control, authentication system, partition metadata system and three storage nodes. None is labelled autoadmin. The pointer partly misdescribes the figure.
Second check: another model agreed
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Wording Section 7 says read latencies "show very little variance and remain identical even as the throughput of the workload is increased" and write latencies "remain constant no matter the throughput", but the bars in Figures 5–6 visibly differ between 100K and 1M ops/sec (e.g. YCSB-B P99, where the 1M bar is the tallest).
- p. 12 Section 7, discussion of Figure 5
remain identical even as the throughput
- p. 12 Section 7, discussion of Figure 6
the write latencies remain constant no matter the
- p. 12 Section 7, discussion of Figure 5
show very little variance and remain identical even as the throughput
- p. 12 Figure 5
Figure 5: Summary of YCSB read latencies
Judge's note: I viewed page 12. In Figure 5 the four throughput bars differ within every group. For YCSB-B Read P99 the bars rise steadily and the 1M ops/sec bar is clearly the tallest. Figure 6 shows the same pattern for the P99 writes. The same sentence says both 'very little variance' and 'identical', so 'identical' and 'constant' are loose wording that overstates the plotted data. The size of the differences cannot be judged because the charts have no y-axis scale (see C017). This is a wording issue, not a data error.
Second check: another model agreed
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Wording "Figure 5: Summary of YCSB read latencies" and "Figure 6: Summary of YCSB write latencies" are bar charts with no y-axis, tick values or units, so the size of the latency differences behind the claims of 'very little variance' and 'constant' latencies cannot be read from them.
- p. 12 Figure 5 and Figure 6
Figure 6: Summary of YCSB write latencies
Judge's note: I viewed page 12. Both figures show only the legend and the category labels on the x-axis. There is no y-axis line, no tick labels and no unit. The authors may have omitted absolute numbers on purpose, so this is an observation rather than an error. Still, the text makes quantitative-sounding claims about variance that the figures cannot be checked against.
Second check: another model agreed
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Typo Author list has a misplaced comma: "Somu Perianayagam ,Tim Rath" should read "Somu Perianayagam, Tim Rath".
- p. 2 Author list
Somu Perianayagam ,Tim Rath
Judge's note: The author block on page 2 shows the space before the comma and none after it.
Second check: none (judge only)
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Typo Figure 1 caption reads "Figure 1: DynamoDB yimeline"; it should be "timeline".
- p. 3 Figure 1 caption
Figure 1: DynamoDB yimeline
- p. 3 Figure 1 caption
DynamoDB yimeline
Judge's note: Page 3 image shows 'yimeline' in the caption under the 2007–2021 timeline graphic.
Second check: none (judge only)
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Typo Subject–verb disagreement: "Mechanisms such as formal proofs ..., and deployment safety provides the freedom" should be "provide".
- p. 3 Introduction, third lesson bullet
and deployment safety provides the freedom to
Judge's note: Page 3, second lesson bullet. The subject 'Mechanisms' is plural.
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Typo Garbled phrase: "where DynamoDB replicates across tables across multiple AWS Regions". The first 'across' is extraneous.
- p. 3 Introduction, 'DynamoDB is highly available' paragraph
where DynamoDB replicates across tables across multiple AWS Regions
Judge's note: Page 3, left column, 'highly available' paragraph. The text runs over a line break, but the doubled 'across' is printed.
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Typo "Section 5 and 6 discusses how log replicas" should read "Sections 5 and 6 discuss".
- p. 5 Section 3
Section 5 and 6 discusses how log replicas
Judge's note: Page 5, left column; the text is as quoted.
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Typo Ungrammatical: "If the leader of the group is failure detected (considered unhealthy or unavailable)".
- p. 5 Section 3
is failure detected (considered unhealthy or unavailable)
Judge's note: Page 5, left column. The phrasing is garbled; it presumably means 'if failure of the leader is detected'.
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Typo Missing article: "Two most commonly faced challenges by the applications were".
- p. 6 Section 4
Two most commonly faced challenges by the applications
Judge's note: Page 6, right column. Minor stylistic grammar slip ('The two most common challenges faced by applications').
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Typo Ungrammatical: "DynamoDB realized it would going to be beneficial to remove admission control".
- p. 7 Section 4.2, first paragraph
realized it would going to be beneficial
- p. 7
DynamoDB realized it would going to be beneficial to remove
Judge's note: Seen at the bottom of the left column on page 7.
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Typo Missing word: "When the request router runs of tokens" should be "runs out of tokens".
- p. 7 Section 4.2, second paragraph
When the request router runs of
- p. 7 Section 4.2
When the request router runs of tokens
Judge's note: Page 7, right column. The previous sentence uses 'run out of tokens'.
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Typo Reference [2] reads "AWS Identity and Account Management Service." but Section 6.5 cites the same service as "AWS Identity and Access Management Services (IAM) [2]"; the reference title should read 'Access'.
- p. 13 Reference [2]
AWS Identity and Account Management Service.
- p. 11 Section 6.5
AWS Identity and Access Management Services (IAM) [2]
- p. 13 Reference [2]
AWS Identity and Account Management Service
- p. 11 Section 6.5
AWS Identity and Access Management Services (IAM)
Judge's note: I viewed both crops. Reference [2] on page 13 says 'Identity and Account Management Service', with the URL https://aws.amazon.com/iam/. The body text in Section 6.5 on page 11 expands IAM as 'Identity and Access Management Services'. The paper is therefore inconsistent with itself. That the official service name is 'Identity and Access Management' rests on outside knowledge, but the internal mismatch alone is enough to confirm the slip. It is a word error in a reference title and the citation target is correct.
Second check: none (judge only)