Cloud Databases in Multi-Layer Architecture, Three main types of cloud services, Benefits of cloud databases
CLOUD DATABASES IN MULTI-LAYER ARCHITECTURE
A tier refers to
software or a hardware layer. But in the terms of database architecture, it
refers to hardware. A single-tier architecture was dominant before the ‘90s and
it was mostly personal computers connected to monitors. Multi-tier
architectures became popular which are two or more tiers that are connected. The
web is a multi-tier architecture where the tiers are connected by the internet.
The top tier is typically your web browser and the tier below is the web-server.
Even lower tiers can be application servers, databases, or other services. Before
the 2000s most commercial software was located on-site. Companies had huge
server rooms with lots of connected servers running enterprise applications.
For example, when Sony PlayStation
launches a new game it may need let's say 150 servers to set up the game and
the game architecture includes authentication servers, proxy servers, database
servers, matchmaking servers, lots of game servers, and a whole bunch of other
servers to make up these 150 servers. So that the game can run on the PlayStation
network and maybe 150 servers were necessary for the game launch where they
expected say a hundred thousand players on launch day. After a few months when after
the game has launched and the game becomes less and less popular. Let's say now
only 2,000 players are playing this game and we don't need 150 servers for only
2,000 players. So many of these servers become underutilized or not used at all
and let's just say now that only five servers are needed and then there are 145
servers are sitting around using up electricity and may encounter hardware
failures and other problems. So companies had to pay IT people to set up all
these servers connect them all keep the server room cool, earthquake-proof, and
fix any hardware failures that came along and it was a costly thing to
maintain. Also, they needed more server rooms in other countries like Japan or England
so that international players that are playing that same game don't have any
kind of lag in the game. Because they don't want to have to connect to servers
in the US if they live in Japan. But luckily cloud computing came along and
companies like Amazon, AWS, or Microsoft Azure, and Google cloud come along to
make this entire process easier. So rather than having to buy all this hardware
set it up and maintain it companies can just rent the number of virtual
machines that they need and then give them back when they're no longer needed.
A virtual machine is a software that feels like an operating system it has its memory
and CPU allocated to it and it's similar to having a Nintendo emulator on your
phone or your computer where it looks and feels like a Nintendo but you know
it's a software that's imitating an operating system. You can even install Windows
on a MacBook you don't have windows on your MacBook but you need software that
looks and feels like windows.
Another way to think about
cloud services is like having your server room like buying your own house where
you have to pay for the house, to maintain it fix any kind of leaking pipes,
and faucets with it and repair any kind of roof damage and pay all the
utilities and bills yourself. Whereas cloud computing is kind of like a hotel
where you can go in and rent a room if you have a lot of guests rent a couple
of rooms and then give them back when you're ready to go and you're paying for
that short time that you're there and using what you need in that hotel. Instead
of having to own the entire complex and dealing with it all yourself.
Three main types of cloud services
Infrastructure-as-a-service
(IaaS)
Cloud computing provides
there is infrastructure as a service which is a server that provides computer processing
memory and storage media. It is kind of like a customer renting a computer and an
example of that is EC2 from AWS. EC2 stands for elastic cloud computing and
these are the most popular types of servers that are rented from AWS or these
ec2 servers and companies get a whole bunch of these deploy their software on
them and release them when they don't need them anymore.
Platform-as-a-service (PaaS)
There is also a platform
as a service (PaaS) that provides a database, application development tools,
and messaging services. For example, RDS which stands for the relational data
store is a popular database that AWS provides.
Software-as-a-service (SaaS)
Finally, there is a software
as a service (SaaS) which is a software subscription that you use like office
365 where you pay monthly for it to use the software or salesforce. Most
databases today are cloud databases which are platforms as a service.
Benefits of Cloud Databases
One of the benefits of cloud databases is an administration that is handled by cloud providers. So you don't have to worry about installing, managing, upgrading, or backing up database systems and this is time-consuming, expensive, and complex. So there is a lot of features built-in that do all that for you it also provides great security and reliability. Elasticity means the ability to adapt to changes such as increasing the size and numbers of copies of a database on demand. The cost for cloud computing is a lot cheaper than having to host and buy all those servers yourself save on storage, support hardware, maintenance, electricity and so much more. The main concern with cloud computing is data privacy. Because a lot of companies don't want their data on another company's servers. So cloud database companies offer data policy regulations that most companies choose to accept. Based on cloud, databases are divided into relational and non-relational database. Most banking sectors or traditional way of using database is relational. Non-relational database is used for unstructured or nosql data like social media content or videos.
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