Cloud Computingamp;Databases How databases can meet the demands of cloud computing.PDF

Cloud Computing Databases How databases can meet the demands of cloud computing by Mike Hogan, CEO ScaleDB Inc. November 14, 2008 Introduction The potential benefits of cloud computing are overwhelming. However, attaining these benefits requires that each aspect of the cloud platform support the key design principles of the cloud model. One of the core design principles is dynamic scalability, or the ability to provision and decommission servers on demand. Unfortunately, the majority of today’s database servers are incapable of satisfying this requirement. This paper reviews the benefits of cloud computing and then evaluates two database architectures—shared-disk and shared-nothing—for their compatibility with cloud computing. Cloud computing is the latest evolution of Internet-based computing. The Internet provided a common infrastructure for applications. Soon, static web pages began to add interactivity. This was followed by hosted applications like Hotmail. As these web applications added more user-configuration, they were renamed Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Companies like S have led this wave. With a growing number of companies looking to get in on the SaaS opportunity, Amazon released Amazon Web Services (AWS) that enables companies to operate their own SaaS applications. In effect, Amazon hosted the LAMP stack, which they have since expanded to include Windows as well. Soon others followed suit. Then, large companies began to realize that they could create their own cloud platform for internal use, a sort of private cloud. So, just as the public Internet spawned private corporate intranets, cloud computing is now spawning private cloud platforms. Both public and private cloud platforms are looking to deliver the benefits of cloud computing to their customers. Whether yours is a private or public cloud, t