arXiv:2603.23710cs.DBcs.AI2026-03被引 6

在真实数据库中发现向量搜索最优算法取决于系统开销,而非理论速度。

An In-Depth Study of Filter-Agnostic Vector Search on a PostgreSQL Database System: [Experiments and Analysis]

  • 对比后过滤与内联过滤,在多种筛选率下评估性能差异。
  • 图结构方法因频繁页访问导致开销过大,反而不如聚类索引高效。
  • 适合关注生产环境向量搜索优化的数据库工程师和研发人员。

过滤向量搜索(FVS)对支持语义搜索和生成式AI应用至关重要。然而,现有研究多在专用库中评估算法,假设过于理想化,与企业级数据库系统实际不符。本文首次在生产级PostgreSQL兼容系统中深入分析无过滤依赖的FVS算法。我们系统性地评估了后过滤与内联过滤策略在广泛选择性和相关性条件下的表现。核心发现表明,最优算法并非仅由距离计算成本决定,而是受距离计算与过滤操作(如页访问、数据读取)带来的系统级开销显著影响。实验显示,基于图的方法(如NaviX/ACORN)会引发大量过滤检查及系统开销,往往抵消其理论优势;而基于聚类的索引(如ScaNN)在真实数据库环境中更具实用性。最终结论是:最优的无过滤依赖FVS算法选择并非绝对,而是需根据工作负载特征与底层数据访问成本进行系统感知决策。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Filtered Vector Search (FVS) is critical for supporting semantic search and GenAI applications in modern database systems. However, existing research most often evaluates algorithms in specialized libraries, making optimistic assumptions that do not align with enterprise-grade database systems. Our work challenges this premise by demonstrating that in a production-grade database system, commonly made assumptions do not hold, leading to performance characteristics and algorithmic trade-offs that are fundamentally different from those observed in isolated library settings. This paper presents the first in-depth analysis of filter-agnostic FVS algorithms within a production PostgreSQL-compatible system. We systematically evaluate post-filtering and inline-filtering strategies across a wide range of selectivities and correlations. Our central finding is that the optimal algorithm is not dictated by the cost of distance computations alone, but that system-level overheads that come from both distance computations and filter operations (like page accesses and data retrieval) play a significant role. We demonstrate that graph-based approaches (such as NaviX/ACORN) can incur prohibitive numbers of filter checks and system-level overheads, compared with clustering-based indexes such as ScaNN, often canceling out their theoretical benefits in real-world database environments. Ultimately, our findings provide the database community with crucial insights and practical guidelines, demonstrating that the optimal choice for a filter-agnostic FVS algorithm is not absolute, but rather a system-aware decision contingent on the interplay between workload characteristics and the underlying costs of data access in a real-world database architecture.

向量搜索数据库优化PostgreSQL

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