Percona Live 2016: Talking Database Abstraction and Cloud
I spent most of last week in the Expo Hall talking with attendees and learning more about problems they are trying to solve. They represent companies like: TiVo, Shopify, Gameloft, and Workday. As we talked, two themes stood out:
1. Database abstraction layer is no longer a foreign concept
2. Cloud database services is taking hold in the enterprise
Database abstraction layer – separates your apps from your database
When I greet someone at our booth, I typically start out by asking if they have heard of ScaleArc. Many have heard of us! In fact, quite a few attendees have tried their hand with open source load balancing software such as HA Proxy and MaxScale. They found that the do-it-yourself (DIY) software was simply not robust enough to meet their growing enterprise needs. Hence the people I spoke with are looking for an alternative like ScaleArc to provide high availability and scalability.
For those that have never heard of ScaleArc, I start by asking if they are familiar with load balancers – like what F5 sells. Many would say yes. I go on to explain that F5 load balances at the http layer, while ScaleArc load balances at the SQL layer. And they get that connection right away.
For the uninitiated reader, ScaleArc’s database load balancing software sits transparently between your app servers and your database servers. This creates an abstraction layer that provides continuous availability and increased performance for all apps. Some use cases for ScaleArc include:
- Automated Failover – shield apps from downtime and prevent app errors
- Zero Downtime Maintenance – avoid app disruptions while upgrading or patching
- App Performance Improvement – increase app performance 20x to 60x
- Database Scalability – scale up or scale out transparently
Cloud is no longer a risk
A few years ago, the thought of migrating your database workload to the cloud was anathema. This is no longer the case. In my discussions this week, people asked about how they can get more performance and resiliency from their cloud deployments.
I explained that ScaleArc’s database load balancing software can also be deployed in the cloud to meet the performance and resiliency requirements they are looking for – whether it is for cloud failover or for database aggregation of multiple instances. We work with Amazon, Azure, Rackspace and a host of other cloud providers.
Percona Live 2016 is in our rearview mirror, but I am excited with the conversations. The talk about database abstraction at the show triangulates very well with Gartner’s recognition of SQL load balancers as a maturing technology. The cloud is no longer scary for enterprises and companies are shifting the money to the cloud. If you are thinking of migrating some or all of your workload to the cloud, or you have an interest in ScaleArc’s load balancing software, please contact us for more information.
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