The evolution of the Database - from Lotus 123 to the cloud
5 Steps to Bullet-proofing your Online Infrastructure
What is Database Scalability and Why Do You Need It?
Scaling simply refers to expanding your computing resources to handle the exponential growth of work. It is the capacity of a system or a network to increase the output as load increases. Under heavy loads, the database can slow or even fail, crippling your business operations. Database scalability enables a database to grow to a larger size to support more transactions as the volume of business and/or customer count grows. Vertical database scalability and horizontal scaling are two effective ways to turn your fundamentally flawed database into an agile and powerful framework. Let’s explore the strengths and weaknesses of these two models and how they work to accommodate the rapid growth in data volume and traffic.
Spending last week at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) was a total rush for us here at ScaleArc. We had dozens of meetings with Microsoft execs, as well as sellers from across the country, and the awesome combination of SQL Server + ScaleArc just keeps getting better.
Microsoft outlined several key goals for its work with partners for the new fiscal year, which just began. Hearing all these goals and initiatives shows ScaleArc – just named Microsoft Partner of the Year Finalist for Data Platform – is the perfect fit.
Prasad Parvathaneni already had a tough job – maintain the stock quote service for Nasdaq with no downtime – when it got even harder. He needed to move an entire network of apps and databases to an upgraded network segment, with no downtime.
Starting at WPC last year, the ScaleArc/Microsoft partnership took on a much higher level of intensity. Our joint success showed last week with ScaleArc being named a Finalist for 2016 Microsoft Partner of the Year in Data Platform. Considering Microsoft had more than 2500 applicants to choose from, we’re really proud of this award!
Today Microsoft releases SQL Server 2016, the first version of the flagship database “born in the cloud,” since the company debuted SQL Server 2016 on Azure first. This latest release builds on the strong partnership between ScaleArc and Microsoft in augmenting SQL Server to enable a zero downtime environment. We’ve supported Microsoft at recent SQL Server 2016 launch events, and our database load balancing software provides the perfect complement to 2016’s enhancements.
Here at ScaleArc, we've made our mark in delivering zero downtime for apps in a database environment. We're proud to announce that our latest release of ScaleArc for SQL Server extends our secret sauce to the SQL Mirroring world - our patented technology now supports application-transparent failover on SQL Server mirroring clusters without the need for or cost of a witness server.
Application availability is an “across the stack” problem – straddling the app tier, database, virtualization, and cloud infrastructure. DBAs, IT ops, and architects must do more to improve app uptime, particularly at the database tier, where failovers and maintenance cycles disrupt the app, impacting the customer experience.
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
As much fun as it is to meet a new customer, I really love spending time with customers we’ve had for years. I got to do that last week – visiting with Craig Thayer, CTO at eCommerce provider Sazze, to award him ScaleArc’s most recent Uptime Hero Award.
