Paraphrasing on Donald Knuth’s, the operation of software is hard. The more complex software is, so do the challenges involved in keeping it up and running become harder. Database management systems are not only complex systems, but are also a key component in the operation of most software stacks. Given its criticality and complexity, operating a database can be a daunting task that requires significant expertise and considerable resources that are not always readily available to everyone.

Operational Database Management:

Operational database management is made up of many different topics. Most of these aspects are by no means unique solely to databases and are shared by other types of software deployments. Databases, however, are unique both because of the variety as well as the number of the operational aspects that affect them.

To illustrate the point, consider some common examples of database management activities:

• Deployment that consists of the installation, configuration, integration and upgrading of database software (and required infrastructure) in a repeatable and predictable manner
• Software stack maintenance via patches and upgrades
• Setup, maintenance and monitoring of solutions to increase the database’s availability
• Ongoing monitoring of the database’s health, resource levels, performance and supporting processes
• Resolve potential and existing capacity and throughput issues by scaling the database
• Around the clock, as instantaneous as possible recovery of the database a host of failure types

At Xeround, we always strive to simplify and streamline the way databases are ran and managed in the cloud – so running your MySQL in the cloud is as easy and as hassle free as possible.

Zero-Management Cloud Database:

Xeround Cloud Database service is zero-management – and by that we mean that our users don’t need to manage their database because we do.

Our database-as-a-service is designed to free our users from the need to understand, invest time and effort, and become more proficient in managing their DB. If you’re like most of our users – you’d also prefer focusing on your code than mastering the IT side of things.

With Xeround, all DB management tasks – including complex, time-consuming and failure-prone activities such scaling your database and ensuring its availability – are carried out transparently and automatically by the service itself – without any efforts on your behalf. You do not need to become an expert in MySQL scalability or high availability;  You do not need to configure anything or go into the nitty-gritty of how the service is actually delivered – It simply automagically makes sure your DB is always running effectively.

Keep it Simple!

Any good “-as-a-service” needs to be simple to use and unobtrusive so that once it is employed, you can just “forget about it”.

Xeround’s database-as-a-service is designed towards maximal easy-of-use so our users get a pure service experience and do not need delve into its inner workings. We invest vast efforts in building a powerful and robust database solution without sacrificing the users’ experience from it.

We keep it simple.

1. Instant one-click deployment – your MySQL database is up and running in the cloud in a matter of seconds. Nothing to install, nothing to configure, nothing to test – it’s just there- waiting for your command(line).
2. No need to provision any cloud resources – we do it all for you
3. Built-in High-Availability – we keep your database running off multiple nodes and replicas so infrastructural failures are mitigated without discernible impacts
4. Transparent, automatic scaling – we continuously gauge your database’s usage levels and ensure optimal operation by adding and subtracting resources on the fly
5. No need to set up monitoring tools and alerts – these are included our service and we act on them on your behalf
6. Secure, automated off-site backups – we take both on-demand as well as automated backups and keep them off-site in Amazon’s S3 for maximal resiliency
7. Restore your database to an existing instance, a new instance and even to an instance on a different cloud effortlessly
8. Manage many database instances effectively – our API is the perfect tool to provision and manage multiple database instances from within your application

A simple service doesn’t necessarily imply that its operations are simple. In our case, this is actually quite the opposite, since the challenges involved in managing thousands of database instances across multiple nodes and compute clouds are anything but simple. Success in doing so, however, means that our users get exactly what they need – a database service that they can simply use without any worries.

We are constantly adding new features all aimed at making our service even simpler for you guys- so if you ever have any feedback or feature requests – don’t hesitate to share!