Cloud-Based Database Solutions
Many PaaS solutions include support for a database, such as MSSQL or MySQL. Often, these database solutions connect to a cloud-based server, as shown in FIGURE 6-12, and, as such, can be considered a cloud-based database.
FIGURE 6-12 A “cloud-based” database provided with a PaaS solution.
A better definition of a cloud-based database, however, is a database that can not only be used by applications that reside (are hosted) in the cloud, but also by applications that reside within the customer’s on-premise data center, as shown in FIGURE 6-13.
FIGURE 6-13 A cloud-based database should be accessible by systems across the web.
Cloud-based database solutions include the following advantages:
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Cost-effective database scalability: Cloud-based databases can scale dynamically to meet customer needs on a pay-as-you-go basis.
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High availability: Cloud-based database systems normally reside on redundant hardware, which results in high system up time.
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High data redundancy: Cloud-based databases are normally replicated behind the scenes to increase data availability.
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Reduced administration: The cloud-based database provider maintains the database version updates and patches.
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Data compression: Behind the scenes, the cloud-storage solution may compress content to reduce the amount of space, and thus costs, the cloud-based data requires.
Cloud-based databases can also include the following disadvantages:
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Data security concerns: Some users still do not feel comfortable storing a database system in the cloud.
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Performance: Because data queries may travel the Internet, the cloud-based database access will not be as fast as a local database solution would.