Data migration is the process of moving data from one or more sources to cloud database or another database.. Many organizations create a database migration strategy to help align the process with their business needs.
To reduce costs, an organization might decide to move its data from on-premises to a cloud-based platform. A different business might choose to migrate to a database with more features that are better suited to their current needs.
What is a Cloud Database?
A cloud database can be accessed via a cloud platform and used to build or manage managed services. A cloud provider will provide a database instance, which can be requested by users. The instance is then automatically deployed to cloud infrastructure.
A cloud database can perform many of the same functions as a traditional database but with the added flexibility that cloud computing offers.
These are some of the most common features of cloud databases.
- Databases can be hosted by users without the need to purchase dedicated hardware.
- Providers manage database infrastructure.
- You can scale the database according to your needs.
- It supports relational databases engines such as PostgreSQL and MySQL, as well as NoSQL databases such as Apache Couch DB and MongoDB.
- The database can be accessed via APIs or web interfaces.
Why You Should Migrate Your Database to The Cloud
These are the top reasons to move your database from on-premises to the cloud.
1. Cost Savings
Migration to the cloud will reduce the need for IT staff and data center facilities in-house.
Cloud database migration is also possible without the need for specialized tools or resources to manage complex IT environments.
Database cloud migration leads to lower capital costs and decreased HVAC and electrical operating expenses over time.
2. Elimination of All Physical Infrastructure
Cloud computing vendors offer storage, servers, as well as other infrastructure, in a cloud database environment. It is responsible to maintain a high availability and maintain the infrastructure.
The database's owner and operator are responsible for its configuration, loading, managing, and protecting it.
3. Flexibility And Scalability
Cloud computing allows you to scale up or down a database more quickly. Cloud computing offers greater flexibility and elasticity.
Cloud database migration allows dynamic scaling. Additional database instances can also be created to support changing application loads.
4. Disaster Recovery
The cloud is being used by organizations to enforce strong disaster recovery plans. With cloud computing, organizations can back up and copy entire virtual servers to an offsite data center.
In a matter of minutes, you can set up the virtual server on a host virtual machine.
This allows you to safely and accurately recover a database from a remote server without having to reinstall the server. This allows you to reduce disaster recovery times.
5. Analytics Capabilities Enhanced
When migrating databases from the old system to the cloud, one of the main organizational goals is to improve analytics capabilities. This includes data lakes and data warehouses. Advanced analytics can be prepared, such as machine learning or artificial intelligence.
Data modernization is the first step in establishing scalable analytics capabilities. Cloud computing can be used by organizations to have real-time access to data.
The cloud allows organizations to visualize their data and give access to more employees, allowing them to make better decisions.
Cloud providers provide a wide range of data analytics services and machine learning services, which can be used to help companies gain deeper insights without having to invest in infrastructure.
Top Cloud Database Offers
These cloud database offerings are from two of the most trusted cloud providers in the world Amazon and Microsoft.
AWS
Amazon Web Services provides the following cloud database services.
Amazon RDS: This relational service for managing data eliminates the need to perform most tasks (but not application-specific configurations).
Administrators can manage RDS via the AWS Management Console (CLI) or API calls. There are six options for database engines:
- Amazon Aurora
- MySQL
- PostgreSQL
- Oracle
- MariaDB
- Microsoft SQL Server
Amazon Aurora: Amazon’s relational database engine can be accessed under RDS.
This is the best choice for database administrators to make necessary changes and prioritize performance. It also provides high performance for PostgreSQL compatibility modes and MySQL compatibility modes.
If compatibility is a priority, however, it might be better to migrate to a different engine.
Amazon DynamoDB: This document and key-value database deliver scalable performance within milliseconds of the single digits. It is robust, fully managed, multi-master and multi-region and provides built-in capabilities like in-memory cache, security, backup, and restore, as well as in-memory caching and security. DynamoDB processes over 10 trillion requests per day and can handle peaks of more than 20 million requests every second.
Amazon ElastiCache: This web service allows you to deploy, scale, and manage in-memory cloud caches. This allows you to quickly retrieve data from an in-memory cache managed by Amazon ElastiCache. It improves web application performance and decreases your dependence on slow, disk-based databases.
Azure
Azure offers these cloud database services:
- Azure Cosmos DB: This database service can be fully managed and offers transparent multi-master replication as well as turnkey global distribution. It provides 99% low latency reads/writes, with single-digit reads of milliseconds. Cosmos DB offers elastic and automated storage, throughput scaling, and high availability of 99.999%. It also offers five consistency options, backed up by industry-leading SLAs.
- Azure SQL Database: This cloud database service offers the most compatibility with the SQL Server engine and an ROI of up to 2212%. Azure SQL Database allows you to build new apps or migrate existing apps to the Azure cloud. Azure Database to MySQL: This database-as-a-service (DBaaS), provides a fully managed community database that is enterprise ready. MySQL Community allows for lift-and-shift cloud migration using the frameworks and languages you choose. This option allows you to adjust according to customer needs.
- Azure SQL Database for PostgreSQL: This fully managed offering allows you to focus on creating innovative apps and not on managing databases. This service is available on both on-premise and cloud infrastructures. It also offers cloud capabilities such as automation, hyperscaling, central management, and cloud pricing that uses a reserved capacity billing model. SQL Server for Azure virtual machines This option allows you to use the full SQL Server version in the cloud and eliminates the need to maintain on-premise infrastructure. SQL Server VMs are available on a pay-as-you-go basis. This helps reduce licensing costs.
- Azure Database to MySQL: This database-as-a-service (DBaaS), provides a fully managed community database that's enterprise-ready. MySQL Community allows lift-and-shift cloud migration using the frameworks and languages you choose. You can adjust the service to meet changing customer needs by using dynamic scaling and high availability.
- Server for Azure virtual machines: This offering allows you to use the full SQL Server version in the cloud and eliminates the need to maintain on-premise infrastructure. SQL Server VMs can be used on a pay-as-you-go basis. This helps reduce licensing costs.
Prepare For a Cloud-Hosted Future
Cloud database services have become a key component of cloud IT operations. Because databases are mission-critical applications, the IT team had to prioritize managing the database infrastructure as well as concerns such as high availability and scaling. Many organizations today are shifting to the cloud and outsourcing these concerns to third-party providers.
Although it is easy to migrate a database from the cloud, there are some risks. IT personnel could select their database version, make customizations, tune performance, and integrate their database with legacy systems in the on-premise data center. Managed services make these tasks much more difficult, or even impossible.
However, there are strong reasons to migrate to the cloud such as cost savings and elimination of physical infrastructure, easier scaling, disaster recovery, improved analytics, and better data management.
Savings
Cloud databases offer a way to significantly lower upfront costs and maintain low operating costs.
No need for physical infrastructure. Cloud-based databases reduce the need to keep servers and high-end networking equipment on-premises.
Easier Scalability
The biggest advantage of the cloud is that you can scale up and down your database much faster than you could on-premises. This can either be automated or manual depending on which deployment model you choose.
Disaster Recovery
It is easy to create a remote disaster recovery site in the cloud that can assist you with recovering from an outage.
No Need for Physical Infrastructure
Cloud-based databases reduce the need to keep servers and high-end networking equipment on-premises.
Improved Analytics
Cloud providers offer cloud services for analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), which integrate seamlessly with cloud databases.
Additionally, I discussed the most popular cloud database offerings of the three major cloud providers. These are Amazon RDS and Azure SQL Database. You can try any of the top providers' services for free and get a quote on any service.