AI Vector Database
What is Milvus?
Milvus is an open-source vector database built for GenAI applications. It stores, indexes, and searches embedding vectors at scale, enabling high-speed vector similarity search and the ability to handle tens of billions of vectors with minimal performance loss. It can be installed with pip and provides a quickstart path to get started.
What deployment options does Milvus offer?
- Milvus Lite: Lightweight, library-first deployment that runs in notebooks or on laptops with a pip install. Best for learning and prototyping.
- Milvus Standalone: Robust single-machine deployment suitable for production or testing, ideal for datasets up to millions of vectors.
- Milvus Distributed: Enterprise-grade, highly reliable distributed vector database that scales horizontally to handle tens of billions of vectors.
- Zilliz Cloud (fully managed Milvus): Hassle-free, fully managed service with serverless and dedicated cluster options, offering SaaS and BYOC options for different security and compliance needs. It is 10x faster than traditional Milvus deployments.
How can I get started quickly with Milvus?
Milvus provides a Quickstart to get you up and running in seconds. The Quickstart guides you through creating a collection, inserting data, performing searches, and deleting data. It’s designed to help you begin experimenting and building with Milvus fast.
What search capabilities does Milvus support?
Milvus enables high-speed vector similarity search at scale and supports a range of search techniques, including RAG, image search, multimodal search, hybrid search, and Graph RAG.
Which AI development tools does Milvus integrate with?
Milvus works well with popular AI development tools and ecosystems, including LangChain, LlamaIndex, OpenAI, and Hugging Face. It also provides guided notebooks and resources to facilitate integration into your AI workflows.
What are the key benefits of Milvus for developers?
- Scale elastically to tens of billions of vectors with a fully distributed architecture.
- Blazing fast data retrieval via the Global Index, regardless of scale.
- Reusable code: write once, deploy with minimal friction into production.
- Active, supportive community with extensive resources.
- Feature-rich capabilities such as metadata filtering, multi-vector search, and hybrid search.
What are the pricing options for Milvus?
Zilliz Cloud offers a fully managed Milvus service with a flexible pricing model. Pricing starts at US$25.00 per month, and you pay for the resources you consume. Options include serverless and dedicated clusters, with SaaS and BYOC availability to fit security and compliance needs.
What tools are available to work with Milvus?
- Attu (Milvus GUI)
- Milvus CLI
- Milvus Sizing Tool
- Milvus Backup Tool
- Vector Transport Service (VTS)
- Deep Searcher
- Claude Context
Where can I find Milvus documentation and tutorials?
Milvus provides comprehensive resources including Docs, Tutorials, Bootcamps, Demo videos, and Tutorials. Additional materials are available in the Blog and Community sections.
Is Milvus open-source and under what license?
Yes. Milvus is open-source and released under the Apache License 2.0.
