ScyllaDB Adds Kubernetes Operator to NoSQL Database

ScyllaDB, a provider of an open source database based on a columnar architecture, has made available in beta an Operator to makes it easier to deploy the NoSQL platform on a Kubernetes cluster.

Company CEO Dor Laor says the Scylla Open Source database provides an alternative to both the open source Apache Cassandra database and Amazon DynamoDB, a key/value store database that Amazon Web Services (AWS) makes available as a service.

The Scylla Open Source database provides a drop-in replacement for Apache Cassandra that makes use of such things as the same types of tables in the Cassandra database. ScyllaDB also now provides access to application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable Scylla Open Source to run Amazon DynamoDB applications. ScyllaDB is providing those APIs to enable organizations to migrate applications from and prevent lock-in to the AWS cloud service, Laor says.

By adding Kubernetes Operator for Scylla, available in beta, it then becomes easier to install Scylla Open Source 4.0 on any platform, he says, adding IT teams previously would have had to manually employ YAML files to install on Kubernetes.

Laor says interest in deploying databases on Kubernetes clusters is on the rise because more stateful containerized applications are now being built and deployed. At the same time, developers are exercising more influence over the selection of the databases on which their applications will be deployed. Developers tend to prefer open source databases, which often are easier to install over legacy commercial relational databases. As a result, enterprise IT organizations are now supporting a panoply of databases.

In addition to the support for a Kubernetes Operator and DynamoDB APIs, the latest release of Scylla Open Source adds support for lightweight transactions using two-phase commits. Also, a Change Data Capture feature, available in beta, allows users to track changes in their data, recording both the original data values and the new value.

The choice of database will vary widely based on the use case and personal preference of the developer. However, databases that don’t support Kubernetes Operators are likely to be greeted with less enthusiasm than those that do. Neither developers nor database administrators (DBAs) have a lot of enthusiasm for deploying software using YAML files.

Of course, just because a developer favors one database over another, it doesn’t always follow that the application developed on that database will be the same one that is used in a production environment. DBAs are still trying to enforce database standards whenever possible. However, the more developers make use of features that are unique to a particular database, the more difficult it becomes to swap out one database for another. Regardless of what database is chosen, however, it’s increasingly probable that database will be deployed on a Kubernetes cluster, which will enable that application to be deployed anywhere.

Mike Vizard

Mike Vizard is a seasoned IT journalist with over 25 years of experience. He also contributed to IT Business Edge, Channel Insider, Baseline and a variety of other IT titles. Previously, Vizard was the editorial director for Ziff-Davis Enterprise as well as Editor-in-Chief for CRN and InfoWorld.

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