Database As A Service: When, Why, And How To Use DBaaS In The Cloud

Many cloud platforms offer Database as a Service (DBaaS). The base can be created in the cloud in a few clicks without wasting time on configuration and support. However, not all applications are suitable for cloud databases. At the start of the project, we will tell you how not to be mistaken with the choice of a cloud DBMS. This article is a free reworking of our webinar. 

We will analyze when it is worth and not to use DBaaS, what features need to be taken into account when working with them and how to choose the appropriate Database, taking into account the peculiarities of the IT infrastructure, the volume, and specifics of tasks. In the end, let’s see how the creation of a database in the cloud works and what operations are available with it.

Who Is And Is Not Suitable For DBaaS

Experience shows that DBaaS is most often used in the following cases:

Capacities Required For Dev And Test Environments With Pay-As-You-Go

It often happens that a production environment in a company is deployed on On-premise servers. Still, engineers and developers for testing applications require additional capacity for regularly created and removed databases. It is convenient to do this in the cloud, where resources are provided on-demand, and you can flexibly manage their consumption by setting limits for each project or developer.

In this case, only the used computing power is paid with per-second billing. At any time, you can stop a new database, after which it will pay only disk space, not CPU and RAM.

You Need To Deploy a Solution Certified Under 152-FZ Quickly

If a company works with personal data and needs to comply with the requirements of 152-FZ, using DBaaS in a certified cloud may be the fastest and easiest solution, since in this case, you do not have to spend time and resources on self-deployment and attestation of a closed circuit.

At the same time, companies often transfer only part of the data to the cloud, leaving the most “sensitive” ones on their side. This allows significant savings in the utilized capacity, especially when processing large amounts of data.

Inexpensive Backup Storage Is Required

In the MCS cloud, you can use fault-tolerant object storage S3 to store database backups. Storing massive backups with rare access in such storage will be much cheaper than on local servers. S3 allows you to keep an unlimited amount of data without any particular user action to increase storage, and you only pay for the amount of storage used.

In addition, the backups themselves are automated, and the schedule for their creation is easily customizable. If necessary, you can always upload backups from S3 to On-premise storage.

The Team Lacks Experience In Self-Tuning And Administering a DBMS

Installing and configuring any DBMS takes time, and creating a fault-tolerant system requires high team skill. Using DBaaS, you can launch any database in just a few minutes using the API or UI and get all the necessary functionality out of the box: autoscaling the Database as the load grows, backups, and geo-distributed replicas for more excellent reliability. In addition, providers provide a specific SLA for the operation of their services, often with financial guarantees.

However, DBaaS is not always the best solution. It is essential to keep in mind that cloud providers do not provide Root access to database server settings: this is a kind of payment for the provider guaranteeing SLA, minimizing errors, and ensuring the availability of services. 

Therefore, in cases where complete control over the system, including its administration, is required, the On-premise option looks preferable – of course, with a sufficient level of expertise in self-installation and deployment of the Database. Likewise, in cases where fine-tuning of the DBMS is required, that is, again, access to its “internals” is needed.

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