Data Lakes: A Survey of Concepts and Architectures

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive literature review on the evolution of data-lake technology, with a particular focus on data-lake architectures. By systematically examining the existing body of research, we identify and classify the major types of data-lake architectures that have been proposed and implemented over time. The review highlights key trends in the development of data-lake architectures, identifies the primary challenges faced in their implementation, and discusses future directions for research and practice in this rapidly evolving field. We have developed diagrammatic representations to highlight the evolution of various architectures. These diagrams use consistent notations across all architectures to further enhance the comparative analysis of the different architectural components. We also explore the differences between data warehouses and data lakes. Our findings provide valuable insights for researchers and practitioners seeking to understand the current state of data-lake technology and its potential future trajectory.