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Most SQL databases are vertically scalable, which means that you can increase the load on a single server by increasing components like RAM, SSD, or CPU. In contrast, NoSQL databases are horizontally scalable, which means that they can handle increased traffic simply by adding more servers to the database.
The main reason relational databases cannot scale horizontally is due to the flexibility of the query syntax. SQL allows you to add all sorts of conditions and filters on your data such that it's impossible for the database system to know which pieces of your data will be fetched until your query is executed.
NoSQL databases are a great fit for many modern applications such as mobile, web, and gaming that require flexible, scalable, high-performance, and highly functional databases to provide great user experiences.
Horizontal Scaling - The real advantage of NoSQL is horizontal scaling, aka sharding. Considering NoSQL 'documents' are sort of a 'self-contained' object, objects can be on different servers without worrying about joining rows from multiple servers, as is the case with the relational model.
Recently I have read a lot about different NoSQL databases and how they are being effectively deployed by some major websites out there. I'm starting a project in which I think the schema-free nature of a database such as MongoDB would be tremendously useful. Everything I have read though seems to indicate that the main advantage of a NoSQL database is scalability. Is choosing a NoSQL database for the schema-free design just as legitimate a design decision as that of scalability?
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