IBM Cloudant Config Builder

StorageIBM Cloud

Build Cloudant NoSQL database configurations with partitioned databases, indexes, and replication.

Last verified: May 2026

IBM Cloudant Configuration

Build Cloudant NoSQL database configurations with partitioned databases, indexes, design docs, replication, and capacity planning.

Required Fields

instanceNameplancapacity

{
  "instanceName": "prod-cloudant",
  "plan": "standard",
  "region": "us-south",
  "resourceGroup": "prod-resources",
  "environment": {
    "type": "multitenant",
    "dedicatedHardware": false
  },
  "capacity": {
    "throughput": {
      "reads": 500,
      "writes": 250,
      "queries": 100
    },
    "storage": "100GB"
  },
  "databases": [
    {
      "name": "users",
      "partitioned": true,
      "partitionKey": "region",
      "indexes": [
        {
          "name": "by-email",
          "type": "json",
          "fields": ["email"],
          "partitioned": false
        },
        {
          "name": "by-status-created",
          "type": "json",
          "fields": ["status", "createdAt"],
          "partitioned": true
        }
      ],
      "designDocs": [
        {
          "name": "user-views",
          "views": [
            {
              "name": "active-users",
              "map": "function(doc) { if (doc.status === 'active') emit(doc.email, 1); }",
              "reduce": "_count"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "events",
      "partitioned": true,
      "partitionKey": "date"
    }
  ],
  "replication": [
    {
      "source": "users",
      "target": {
        "instance": "dr-cloudant-us-east",
        "database": "users"
      },
      "continuous": true,
      "filter": null
    }
  ],
  "authentication": {
    "iamOnly": true,
    "legacyCredentials": false
  },
  "cors": {
    "enabled": true,
    "origins": ["https://app.example.com"]
  }
}

Generated Output

Output will appear here...

How This Tool Works

The builder collects instance name, region, plan (Lite, Standard), throughput units (reads/sec, writes/sec, queries/sec), and a list of databases (each with partitioned flag and named indexes). It validates the throughput against plan limits and emits `ibm_cloudant` Terraform plus `cloudant_database` and `cloudant_index` resources from the Cloudant Terraform provider.

Overview

IBM Cloudant is a managed CouchDB-compatible NoSQL database with global replication, partitioned-database support, and predictable per-second pricing. The Cloudant Config Builder generates database definitions with partitioning strategy, index configuration, and replication topology. Output is `ibm_cloudant` Terraform-ready and includes any associated continuous replication rules.

How Engineers Use This

•Provisioning a new Cloudant instance with the right capacity (in throughput units) for the application's expected read/write patterns.
•Designing a partitioned database where each tenant's documents are partitioned for scalable per-tenant queries.
•Setting up continuous replication from one Cloudant instance to another for cross-region read replicas or disaster recovery.
•Configuring an index strategy (Mango or map-reduce views) for the queries your application actually runs.

A Real Example

A multi-tenant SaaS application has been hitting Cloudant query latency issues — each tenant's queries scan the entire database. You redesign with a partitioned database keyed on tenant_id, use the builder to generate the new schema and migration plan, and migrate tenant by tenant. After the migration, p99 query latency drops from 800ms to 60ms with no change in throughput cost.

Tips & Gotchas

TIP

Indexes cost storage and write-throughput per write. An over-indexed database is slow to write and expensive to store. Only create indexes for queries you actually run.

TIP

Use Mango (JSON) queries rather than map-reduce views unless you have a specific reason. Mango is easier to write, easier to debug, and performs adequately for most workloads. Map-reduce is the right tool for true aggregations.

Questions & Answers

What's the difference between partitioned and non-partitioned databases?

Partitioned databases require every document to have a partition key (often the tenant or user ID). Queries that include the partition key are dramatically more efficient — they scan only that partition rather than the whole database. Non-partitioned databases are simpler but don't scale to large document counts efficiently. Plan for partitioned from day one if you can; retrofitting is hard.

How does Cloudant pricing differ from DynamoDB?

Cloudant prices on throughput units (provisioned reads/writes per second) and storage; DynamoDB prices on capacity units and storage. The two are comparable for typical workloads but Cloudant has a Lite tier for free experimentation, while DynamoDB has on-demand for bursty workloads. Cloudant's native CouchDB compatibility makes it easier if you're coming from PouchDB on the client side.

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