Cloud First

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Cloud First

Steve Jones - SSC Editor

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April 26, 2016 at 9:15 pm

#400075

Comments posted to this topic are about the item Cloud First

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Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1003851 More actions · Answer 1

From the Article:
We just want the database platform to work, wherever we run may run it.

If you add the words "quickly and properly" to that (and I'm sure that's what you meant), then truer words cannot be spoken, IMHO. Unfortunately, it seems that has been forgotten along the way.

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Gary Varga SSC Guru Points: 82166 More actions · Answer 2

If they do this right (see Jeff for a description of right :-P) then this will definitely benefit SQL Server and its users. Feature toggles, in one form or another, have been around longer than I and that says something (to some at this site I am ancient, to others a mere kid).

I think that feature toggles are underused. In both products and in-house developments.

Gaz

-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!

David.Poole SSC Guru Points: 75893 More actions · Answer 3

I've been using AWS for the past 12 months. The beauty of it is that I have more time using the DB rather than managing it.

I'd be fascinated to know how it all works so well for the various RDS's and if you talk to an AWS engineer they will tell you but I don't have to know.

In terms of "quickly" there are price points for the size of the instances. The point is that the servers are treated on a "cattle not pets" principle. You get what it says on the tin. On- premise I might try all sorts of tricks to eak every last bit out of the CPU, memory and disk but I would end up with a huge job come hardware upgrade time to implement what has become a bespoke server.

Cloud DB Servers mean you have to rely on architecting your solution correctly and designing your schema properly. Failing to do so results in a big bill every month.

If you are smart you will use this as a lever to get things fixed.

In the UK the cost of the equipment can be capitalised over a number of years to spread the cost. This can be used to hide various evils. In the cloud it is operating expenditure and you pay straight away.

On premise there is the sheer Joy of practising craftsmanship but the misery of all but a few being oblivious to it

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akljfhnlaflkj SSC Guru Points: 76202 More actions · Answer 4

Sounds like a longer testing period before we would use it in-house. As to flags turning features on and off well nothing new. We used to sell an accounting product back in the 80's where the only difference between a single user version and the multi-user version was a single value in the code we shipped, oh and the price of course.

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1003851 More actions · Answer 5

David.Poole (4/27/2016)
Cloud DB Servers mean you have to rely on architecting your solution correctly and designing your schema properly. Failing to do so results in a big bill every month.

Heh... I'm betting that Cloud service providers know that, too! 😉 Sounds like a lucrative endeavor.

If you are smart you will use this as a lever to get things fixed.

So, I shouldn't use my crow bar on people? :hehe:

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 734416 More actions · Answer 6

Cloud providers know this, but I think they'd like to get you to code better. After all, they want successes and more customers, not just overcharging a few.

Part of the issue from companies I've seen succeed is that they need better programmers. Lots of the "proper" error handling, retries, defensive coding people are taught and never implement is needed with the Cloud.

And I completely agree with Gary. Feature flags are great, especially for database apps. Let me rev the db first, turn on the feature later. Vastly underused.

j_e_o SSC Eights! Points: 959 More actions · Answer 7

Just to reinforce what Steve mentioned in his editorial, while meeting with Microsoft six years ago to discuss Azure and what it meant to the solutions we provide our customers, they made it perfectly clear on numerous occasions that Azure would be hosting much of the new technology first and they have been true to their word ever since.

David.Poole SSC Guru Points: 75893 More actions · Answer 8

Steve Jones - SSC Editor (4/27/2016)
Cloud providers know this, but I think they'd like to get you to code better. After all, they want successes and more customers, not just overcharging a few.

Definitely, after all, unless you pay for dedicated hardware you are on shared instances. My experience is that AWS are pretty clear what you are buying into and I would hope Azure is much the same.

It isn't in the cloud provider's interests to be anything other than honest. Pay as you go can easily turn into Paid and you've gone. The vendor lock in comes as you expand your usage of the cloud providers API and infrastructure build techniques. Even here things like OpenStack attempt to put an abstraction layer over the top of that.

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Alan Burstein SSC Guru Points: 61136 More actions · Answer 9

Cloud DB Servers mean you have to rely on architecting your solution correctly and designing your schema properly. Failing to do so results in a big bill every month.

The ability to install a full blown version of SQL Server on my laptop (either via MSDN subscription of Developer Edition which is a [now] free, full-blown version of SQL Server) has helped make me a much better SQL/BI Developer.

You can get a free AWS account[/url] but look at how they explain it (emph mine):

The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Free Tier is designed to enable you to get hands-on experience with AWS Cloud Services. The AWS Free Tier includes services with a free tier available for 12 months following your AWS sign-up date, as well as additional service offers that do not automatically expire at the end of your 12 month AWS Free Tier term.
After creating your AWS account you can use any of the products and services, listed below, for free within certain usage limits.
You can start today and automatically take advantage of the AWS Free Tier by following the steps below:
1. Sign up for an AWS account.
2. Enter your billing address and credit card information. You will not be charged unless your usage exceeds the free tier limits.
3. Start using AWS Cloud services, choosing from any of the products listed below.

My employer would love for me to become an AWS guru and I'd like that too. The Credit Card thing is a roadblock. Call me paranoid but I'm just not comfortable with that at all and won't do it. I am in the process of working something out where I can use a company Credit card and we'll just keep a few pork chops warm in case I screw up and we accidentally get charged.

"I cant stress enough the importance of switching from a sequential files mindset to set-based thinking. After you make the switch, you can spend your time tuning and optimizing your queries instead of maintaining lengthy, poor-performing code."

-- Itzik Ben-Gan 2001