Cloud SQL Database

A cloud SQL database is a relational database that operates on the cloud. Data is stored in a highly ordered, tabular format in a relational database. SQL (Structured Query Language) is a type of programming language used to understand how the data housed in the relational database is connected to each other. Using SQL, you can derive critical insights from your data to keep your business competitive. A cloud SQL database combines the query (search) power and storage capacity of the SQL relational database with the scalability and flexibility of the cloud.

Traditionally, a SQL database would have been hosted on-premises. With the advent of cloud computing, however, cloud service providers have offered various Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) cloud deployment models. Google Cloud SQL, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon RDS are common examples of DBaaS providers. All three providers offer integration with common SQL server applications such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Microsoft SQL Server.

With a DBaaS, you gain access to your SQL database over the internet. First, you need to migrate your existing SQL database to a cloud SQL database. With Google Cloud SQL, the migration process is serverless and is compatible with other cloud platforms. You will need your data source (type of SQL server) to make a connection to a new Google Cloud SQL instance. Once connected, you can now access and operate your SQL database on the cloud.

Google Cloud SQL and other cloud SQL database service providers list a high availability of ~99%. This should translate to minimal disruptions to your database service. However, if you’ve been following the news lately, you’ll see that cloud outages happen every day. For some providers, outages can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Think of being unable to access your valuable data on your cloud SQL database for a few days. Can your core business operations afford to be down that long?

On that note, how about performance? You might be surprised at the significant slowdown you experience once you’ve migrated your SQL database to the cloud. This poor performance issue is so prevalent, that many businesses have opted to keep their SQL databases on-premises. By staying on-premises, however, your business will miss out on the almost limitless scalability and flexibility of the cloud.

With Silk, you can have the best of both worlds when you move your SQL database to the cloud. On the cloud, you can enjoy the best features of the cloud including scalability and flexibility. By partnering with Silk, you can meet your performance goals as your business grows. In fact, Silk has been shown to actually exceed on-premises performance.

The Silk Cloud DB Virtualization Platform sits between your SQL database and the cloud. Silk breaks the link between computing power and performance on the cloud. As a result, you don’t need to overprovision cloud resources to achieve peak performance. Silk’s data services help to minimize the amount of cloud resources you ultimately need, which in turn, helps to keep your cloud costs under control. Silk also offers rich, enterprise data services such as zero-footprint snapshots, data reduction, deduplication, and thin provisioning. These features are not available in native cloud alone.

Cloud SQL Database FAQs

Are Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL both Cloud SQL databases?

Both Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL are popular types of relational database systems that businesses use to store, manage and extract insights from their data. These SQL databases are primarily based on premises.

To enjoy the flexibility and scalability of the cloud, migrating your SQL databases to the cloud is the way to go. Migrating your SQL databases is no easy feat and may involve refactoring or rewriting underlying code. Small changes to your code can make a big impact to your business if not done correctly. That’s why you need Silk! By partnering with Silk, you can continue to enjoy the performance you were used to when on-premises with the added scalability and flexibility of being on the cloud.

What is the best Cloud SQL database?

Each of the major cloud providers offers a unique way to host and manage your SQL database system on the cloud. The best Cloud SQL database will bring the most value to your business. Cloud SQL database providers handle the daily management of your underlying cloud database, so you don’t have to. This frees you up to focus your attention on gaining as much valuable insights from your SQL databases.

However, with the exponential growth of data you can start to see slips in performance over time. Being on the cloud means you’re entering a shared service to manage your SQL database. DBaaS providers throttle speeds for the benefit of all users. But it’s your data that keeps your business competitive. Silk supercharges your performance on the cloud, all without affecting your bottom line. With Silk, your business gets to enjoy the benefits of the cloud, while keeping its competitive edge.

What is the difference between a Cloud Database and a Cloud SQL Database?

A cloud database is designed to operate on a platform powered by a cloud service provider. A cloud database can be used to store and manage a wide variety of applications, workloads, and structured or unstructured data. A cloud SQL database is a sub-type of cloud database specialized to host SQL databases.