DBMSaaS – Database Management System as a Service
Bill Schoonmaker - Vice President of Data Architecture at Adaptivity, Inc
Bill Schoonmaker - Vice President of Data Architecture at Adaptivity, Inc
May 10th, 2012
Consider cost savings, risk reduction and space
savings. While these may not be the
first things you think of when you think of your database, all are reasons to discover
that recently, a new paradigm shift has begun.
While there seems to be some disagreement on a proper acronym or even
name, for this blog, I will refer to it as DBMSaaS, or Database Management
System as a Service. This is different
than DaaS (Data as a Service) as that is typically used for data sets that can
be used across various lines of business, usually slowly changing lookup data. A good example of DaaS would be the Microsoft Azure Markeplace. There you’ll find subscription ready data to
access from your applications. You don’t
have to manage or maintain the data, you just use it. Now that we understand the differences
between DaaS and DBMSaaS, why exactly would someone be interested in putting
their database in the cloud?
In today’s cloud centric world, there are many vendors that
are offering infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Vendors such as Amazon, Microsoft, 6 Fusion,
Rackspace and dozens more provide the ability to quickly stand up all types of
virtual servers. Typically if you are
using an IaaS vendor you will deploy a virtual server for your database in
addition to your application and web servers.
Your database software is then installed on the server and the databases
you need are configured and maintained.
This is similar to what would be done in your own environment only you
are not housing the server on your own hardware.
With DBMSaaS, there is no need for you to manage the server or
in some cases even manage the database.
You simply set up the structure of your database and load the data. Backups and database upgrades are handled by
the vendor and in some cases horizontal scalability is as easy as clicking a few
buttons or may be automatic. Microsoft
SQL Azure, Amazon Relational Database
Service and Oracle Database
Cloud Service are just three of the ready to deploy solutions for setting
up and maintaining your database in the cloud.
In addition to these three, there are a growing number of DBMSaaS providers. You should have no trouble finding one that
suits your needs. But, outside of vendor
selection, how do you make a choice to go to the cloud with your database at
all?
There are a few important questions you will need to answer first
about your existing database before you can consider the move to DBMSaaS. Questions such as, how secure does my data
need to be? Or, how much data do I need
to store in my database? And, what kind
of throughput do I need for my database?
Addressing these questions up front will help you begin to understand if
your database is right for cloud deployment.
If you need absolute control over your data and manage access on a user
by user basis then your database is probably better off in your own environment
behind your own firewall. If you need to
store more than a terabyte of data, you’re more than likely better serviced by using
your own infrastructure. Finally, if you
need extremely fast (sub second) access to your data and most of your access
happens on your own network then you are probably better off rolling your own.
The next logical step is find support for your particular
DBMS. What database engine does it run
on? There are solutions for Oracle, SQL
Server, MySQL, CouchDB and a few others.
If your database currently runs on Sybase ASE for example, you would not
be a candidate for DBMSaaS as there isn’t vendor support for it yet. Sybase is working with Amazon RDS to
implement their DBMS in the Cloud but no release date has been specified. Similarly, if you are running DB2 then there
currently isn’t an option either. If you
find that your DBMS is not supported by a DBMSaaS vendor then you will either
be tackling a DBMS migration project or considering traditional IaaS.
Now, you’ve made it to the next step. There is a vendor that supports your DBMS and
you’ve answered some high level questions about your database and its needs. Now what?
There are myriad additional questions that should be asked before you
make the leap to DBMSaaS. These
questions range from low level database features such as high availability,
backup operations and encryption all the way to business intelligence support. Each
vendor offers their own feature set so you will need to explore each one in
order to find out what is best for you.
In general, pricing is competitive.
Especially when you factor in the cost of a full-time database
administrator and the license for the database itself these services begin to
make a lot of sense. That is, IF your
database meets the right criteria. The
vendors will continue to enhance their DBMSaaS offerings. Staying informed through the various blogs
and product announcements may mean that an answer of no today may be an answer
of yes in the future. The right partner
can help you make intelligent decisions.
Adaptivity prides itself on our ability to help you make the right
decisions with regard to cloud suitability for your applications and
databases. Check out our offerings today
at www.adaptivity.com.
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