In preparation for this New Years Day I was reviewing some of our online video with Stephen Wynkoop and Kevin Kline, and was reminded of some of the innovative features released in SQL Server, that, not necessarily being storage engine extensions, are radical in the flexibility we have for managing our data environments. I’m speaking of the hybrid capabilities of the windows services, with the ability to have some of them on site, and others hosted in the Cloud (Azure). You can watch the video by selecting the “Videos” button, and then Kevin Kline. The title is, “SSWUGtv: Kevin Kline and Steve discuss where database services will go in 2014…”
Kevin compares it to having a diversified portfolio. Or, not having all your eggs in one basket. You may have some of your data hosted “On Premise”, and other data hosted in Azure. The same may be true in the application tier.
Hosting On Premise provides you with an environment more under your control, and may be required based on security or other requirements you are not able to achieve in the Cloud.
Hosting in the cloud enables continuous integrations. Microsoft has moved to a Cloud First delivery model for enhancements and releases of upgrades to their various services. Hosting your services in the cloud enables you to garner these new enhancements earlier in the development lifecycle. You don’t have to worry about applying monthly patches, or services packs. Those are automatically applied to your Azure services, without disruption.
Next time we’ll talk about the different ways to take advantage of the Cloud for different disaster recovery options.
Are you using hybrid services? What are some of the challenges you have faced? Do you find it difficult when you require services from the cloud and on site? Has it changed your application architecture? Please join the conversation with your comments.
Cheers,
Ben