---
title: "Inside a vector database"
description: "A real vector database's architecture as a case study: Milvus separates access, coordination, compute (query/data/index nodes), and storage layers so each"
canonical_url: "https://fanout.sh/ai-engineering/lessons/milvus-db"
md_url: "https://fanout.sh/ai-engineering/lessons/milvus-db.md"
access: "public"
---

# Inside a vector database

A real vector database's architecture as a case study: Milvus separates access, coordination, compute (query/data/index nodes), and storage layers so each

## Public overview

A real vector database's architecture as a case study: Milvus separates access, coordination, compute (query/data/index nodes), and storage layers so each scales independently. Reading one production system closely beats memorizing feature tables — the same separation-of-concerns shows up in every serious vector DB.

---
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