# Why You Want a Database That Scales to Zero

DevFeed: [Why You Want a Database That Scales to Zero](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/why-you-want-a-database-that-scales-to-zero-5865.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://neon.com/blog/why-you-want-a-database-that-scales-to-zero>)

Author: Bryan Clark

Published: 2024-04-05T15:02:47Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Blog -- Neon Docs](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/blog-neon-docs.md>)

Topics: [Databases](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/databases.md>), [cloud-infrastructure](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cloud-infrastructure.md>), [Amazon S3](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/amazon-s3.md>)

Tags: [community](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/community.md>), [compute](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/compute.md>), [database](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/database.md>), [developer](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/developer.md>), [s3](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/s3.md>), [storage](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/storage.md>)

## AI overview

The article argues that databases that scale to zero are useful beyond development experiments and can support real workloads. It explains that Neon separates compute from storage, suspending compute when a database is idle while preserving data in S3 and waking the database when queried again. The article highlights temporary databases for prototyping, data analysis, schema experimentation, and load testing, and notes configurable inactivity periods and approximately 500 ms wake-up times.

## Source excerpt

Scale to zero is the Neon feature where you can say: "When my database is idle for X seconds, shut it off so I'm not paying for it, but wake it up when I need it again." This is possible because Neon separates compute and storage: we shut off compute, storage stays safe and sound...