Running ParadeDB on Simplyblock – Scalable Storage for Hybrid Search Workloads

ParadeDB is a PostgreSQL-based vector database built for hybrid search—combining vector similarity, full-text search, and structured filtering in one engine. It’s ideal for GenAI applications, semantic product search, and real-time recommendation systems. But while the engine itself is designed for performance, the storage layer often becomes the limiting factor.

Hybrid search workloads are storage-intensive. Large embedding indexes, vector data, and full-text documents all demand low-latency, high-throughput storage. Simplyblock makes this easy with NVMe-over-TCP volumes, zone-independent access, and seamless scaling—giving ParadeDB the speed and reliability it needs in production.

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Simplyblock ensures fast, scalable persistence for vector, text, & structured search workloads.
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Why ParadeDB Needs Proper Storage

ParadeDB supports advanced indexing methods (like HNSW and FAISS), PostgreSQL extensions (like pgvector and parquet_fdw), and hybrid queries that combine multiple data types. While these features are powerful, they push traditional storage to its limits.

Embedding tables grows quickly. Full-text indexes generate large writes. Checkpoints and background processes demand steady disk I/O. If storage can’t keep up, query latency spikes, snapshots slow down, and data durability becomes a risk.

Simplyblock eliminates these problems by delivering consistent IOPS, low latency, and scalable volumes that support multi-zone deployment. It’s a great fit for ParadeDB, especially when running on Kubernetes or other cloud-native environments.

Step 1: Prepare Simplyblock Volume for ParadeDB

Start by provisioning the storage where ParadeDB will persist its data and logs:

sbctl pool create paradedb-pool /dev/nvme0n1

sbctl volume add paradedb-data 250G paradedb-pool

sbctl volume connect paradedb-data

Format and mount the volume:

mkfs.ext4 /dev/nvme0n1

mkdir -p /var/lib/postgresql/15/main

mount /dev/nvme0n1 /var/lib/postgresql/15/main

Make the mount persistent:

/dev/nvme0n1 /var/lib/postgresql/15/main ext4 defaults 0 0

All provisioning and connection tasks can be handled using the simplyblock CLI, built for fast, reliable automation. 

Step 2: Configure ParadeDB to Use Simplyblock

Once mounted, you can configure PostgreSQL for ParadeDB and enable the required extensions.

In your postgresql.conf, preload extensions like:

shared_preload_libraries = ‘pgvector,parquet_fdw’

Then restart the PostgreSQL service:

sudo systemctl restart postgresql

Afterward, install and activate the extensions:

CREATE EXTENSION pgvector;

CREATE EXTENSION parquet_fdw;

Now you can define hybrid search tables:

CREATE TABLE items (

  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,

  description TEXT,

  embedding VECTOR(1536)

);

The data—including embeddings, text fields, and indexes—will now be written to high-performance simplyblock volumes. For more on PostgreSQL extensions, refer to the official pgvector documentation.

Step 3: Scaling Storage Without Downtime

As your ParadeDB workload grows, you’ll need more space—for vectors, metadata, and text indexes. Simplyblock lets you scale volumes live without impacting uptime.

sbctl volume resize paradedb-data 500G

resize2fs /dev/nvme0n1

This scaling approach works especially well in Kubernetes-based database environments where pods auto-scale based on traffic or job size. Simplyblock ensures the storage layer scales with you.

Step 4: Zone-Independent Deployment for HA

ParadeDB is typically deployed in cloud-native or containerized environments. This means your workloads may be rescheduled across zones—or even across cloud regions. Traditional storage tied to a single zone can’t keep up.

Simplyblock volumes are zone-independent. That means you can move your ParadeDB pod across zones without losing storage access. This improves availability, supports multi-zone failover, and simplifies DR planning.

It’s a critical feature for high-performance search systems that can’t afford downtime.

Step 5: Replicating ParadeDB Data

ParadeDB offers database-level replication, but adding storage-level replication provides another layer of protection. With simplyblock, you can replicate volumes across zones:

sbctl volume replicate paradedb-data –zones=zone-a,zone-b

This protects your vector data and full-text indexes from infrastructure failures and helps enforce RTO/RPO requirements for critical applications. All replication tasks are handled through simplyblock’s operational management tooling, so you stay in control.

Scaling ParadeDB with Simplyblock

ParadeDB is powerful, but it relies on fast, consistent storage to perform under real-world workloads. Simplyblock delivers the speed and resilience it needs.

With NVMe-over-TCP, zone-independent volumes, and built-in replication, Simplyblock simplifies ParadeDB deployments at any scale. From hybrid search to GenAI, it ensures your database stays fast, durable, and easy to manage—without adding operational overhead.

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