Hybrid Database Environments
I had lots of great feedback on the types of environments that people are working with. My specific question, I *thought* in the editorial earlier this week had to do with multiple database platforms. Microsoft, Oracle, DB2, yes. But also the relative newcomers to the scene. Things like Hadoop and others. What are you all facing, and how does it influence your work.
At the same time, Ben’s editorials had an interesting tangent. Ironically, it had to do with database "ownership" and control. One commenter pointed out that, as DBAs, we sometimes forget that we don’t necessarily "own" the database, the customer/end-user/project does. Our work as DBAs is to support the necessary data environment. In the case of Ben’s discussions, they were talking about architecture more, but it holds true as well for the overall administration and tool selection discussion I was approaching.
Wow. That’s a mouthful, but the point is that it really is our responsibility to bring analysis and support to the selection process, then support and wisdom to the ongoing management of the environment. This is where things started to get more complex in the feedback received.
Specifically, applications and solution requirements are pushing data management pieces to not only consider appropriate data systems, but also infrastructure…. the cloud. The requirements from users to have support for widely varying workloads, and to support access and utility. Essentially, the question of where and how to host is about 2x as complex as we’ve worked with in the not very distant past.
The questions are the same though – understanding the workload, the requirements. Then, applying that information to the different required functionality abilities, then to the tools that will support that (and, of course, the environment that will best support the tools in that manner).
I think too that the question of knowledge and integration into the overall plans for the company comes into play, but more and more, it’s so easy to spin up environments specific to an application’s requirements, that you’re able to pay less attention to this aspect than historically. It’s almost like the days of (gasp!) Access departmental databases are coming back into play, but at the environment level on the whole.
SO, I think we’re almost in a position of being "wranglers" in a sense. Providing the overall guidance, solutions and ideas, then supporting what needs to happen to make the solution work. And yes, hybrid solutions are the norm, and are driving great solutions.