Managing large databases is hard. Having changes go through a dynamic environment to production with thorough testing is also hard. When you have a 100TB+ production system, keeping non-production copies up to date is even harder still. Most companies can’t afford to keep exact copies of production due to the size and scale, so compromise the non-production environments. This is no longer necessary. Nutanix Era solves this acute database management problem, and many others!
Nutanix Era is a Database-as-a-Service Solution that solves many of the acute problems facing businesses and DBA’s today when managing large number of databases, or large databases, which impact productivity, reliability, availability and performance.
One of the biggest benefits for customers that have large databases is the ability to take a complete clone of the production system and make multiple copies for non-production uses. Any number of clones can be created without impacting storage capacity requirements, this is due to using native Nutanix API’s in the cloning process. The following 9 minute video shows an example of a 100TB Production Oracle RAC DB being refreshed to 10 clones, for use in testing and development. The clones don’t take up any additional space until the moment data is changed. I hope you like the Jazz music :).
If you like what you see and you’d like to get some hands on experience with Nutanix Era, please take a look at the Nutanix Era Test Drive – Available Online from the comfort of wherever you are.
Recently version 2.0 of Era was released, including the following enhancements.
Hybrid Cloud Flexibility and Multi-cluster Management
With Era 2.0 we have extended our database platform capabilities across clusters and hybrid cloud. This provides our customers the flexibility to build and manage databases on their own terms, giving them the freedom to develop and deploy databases of their choice in the environment they want.
Expanding Database Engine Portfolio with SAP HANA
SAP/HANA has joined Oracle, MS SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, & MariaDB in the portfolio of database engines supported by Nutanix Era. SAP/HANA customers can now leverage Era’s 1-click capabilities to create an end-to-end sandbox environment on the Nutanix HCI platform.
Extended Choice and Support with PostgreSQL
With Era 2.0, PostgreSQL admins can now take full advantage of all Era capabilities, including patching and in-place restore. In addition, Nutanix will now provide 24×7 support for PostgreSQL databases provisioned by Era, allowing customers to call our support number with any issues.
Enhancing Service Model Delivery with HCL Partnership
For customers seeking fully-managed database services, Nutanix has partnered with global technology company HCL, to offer a joint solution called SKALE DB powered by HCL and Nutanix. The partnership provides a secure, scalable, cloud-ready managed DBaaS offering integrated with Nutanix Era and Prism for automation and management for database & hyperconverged infrastructure.
There is much more to come in future releases!!
Final Word
Good DBA’s are far too valuable to allocate to mundane tasks that can be automated. The DBA’s can create and control the policies, and delegate to competent team members the rights to perform tasks for themselves. DBA’s can then focus on solving real business problems, improving data efficiencies and delivering far greater insights. Utilising Nutanix Era can greatly reduce the storage required to manage database environments and maintaining large numbers of non-production systems. The capital saved from not needing excess storage infrastructure can be redeployed to more business focused investments. There is no need to migrate defects to production because you couldn’t test changes on a full scale copy in your non-production systems! Don’t forget to get some hands on experience with Nutanix Era, please take a look at the Nutanix Era Test Drive – Available Online from the comfort of wherever you are.
This post first appeared on the Long White Virtual Clouds blog at longwhiteclouds.com. By Michael Webster. Copyright © 2012 – 2021 – IT Solutions 2000 Ltd and Michael Webster. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission.
[…] database doesn’t move anywhere quickly, which is exactly why I was so excited when we could refresh one into 10 non-production copies in about 20 minutes without consuming extra capacity. AI doesn’t change the physics. It makes the gravity […]
[…] heart happy. NDB already does space-efficient clones and refreshes. I’ve written before about refreshing a 100TB production Oracle database to 10 non-prod copies in 20 minutes. The agent finds the right snapshot and drafts the clone request with the target cluster, masking […]