# Data modeling schema design packages in DynamoDB
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Learn about data modeling schema design packages for DynamoDB, including use cases, access patterns, and final schema designs for social networks, gaming profiles, complaint management, recurring payments, device status, and online shops.

![\[Image showing the conceptual relationship between the data, the blocks that sit under them, and then the foundation that sits under the blocks. Emphasis on the foundation.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/images/DataModeling/SchemaDesignData.png)


## Prerequisites
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Before we attempt to design our schema for DynamoDB, we must first gather some prerequisite data on the use case the schema needs to support. Unlike relational databases, DynamoDB is sharded by default, meaning that the data will live on multiple servers behind the scenes so designing for data locality is important. We'll need to put together the following list for each schema design:
+ List of entities (ER Diagram)
+ Estimated volumes and throughput for each entity
+ Access patterns that need to be supported (queries and writes)
+ Data retention requirements

**Topics**
+ [Prerequisites](#data-modeling-prereqs)
+ [Social network schema design in DynamoDB](data-modeling-schema-social-network.md)
+ [Gaming profile schema design in DynamoDB](data-modeling-schema-gaming-profile.md)
+ [Complaint management system schema design in DynamoDB](data-modeling-complaint-management.md)
+ [Recurring payments schema design in DynamoDB](data-modeling-schema-recurring-payments.md)
+ [Monitoring device status updates in DynamoDB](data-modeling-device-status.md)
+ [Using DynamoDB as a data store for an online shop](data-modeling-online-shop.md)