The HPE GreenLake for databases solution is now updated with infrastructure configurations, automation tool, and competitive pricing for improved cloud management of on-prem SQL Server and other leading databases.
- By Mike Harding, HPE Storage
The challenge of cloud era database management
Today, a majority of companies have an IT strategy that includes cloud to achieve the benefits of agility, flexibility, and demand-based usage. But many face challenges in moving these workloads to a cloud environment, such as the need for consistent workload performance, maintaining control of the data, and lack of cloud system expertise.
Databases like Microsoft SQL Server benefit from workload-optimized infrastructure services to help deliver consistent, high performance and availability. And flexible, demand-based consumption models provide operational and financial flexibility. But the introduction of remote, hyperscaler-based services introduces the risk of data migration, as well as the loss of data control.
What’s the newly updated solution all about?
HPE GreenLake for databases is a workload-optimized IaaS solution that offers you a faster time to value with a turnkey cloud experience on-premises. The solution includes a set of pre-sized configurations, developed to deliver levels of availability, performance, functionality, and cost, to meet a range of enterprise database needs.
The cloud service solutions combine infrastructure elements optimized to run an enterprise database such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, EDB Postgres, PostgreSQL, MySQL, IBM DB2, SAP MaxDB, or SybaseIQ, as either self-managed infrastructure or as a fully managed HPE GreenLake service.
Microsoft SQL Server customers will appreciate the lab-tested infrastructure proven to increase performance for SQL Server, with latency reductions as much as 94% vs. last-gen hardware.
HPE produces valuable server and data storage products that stand out from the competition with unmatched availability, performance, and choice. This solution is no exception. It’s built on HPE Nimble Storage dHCI which combines both compute and storage into a single offering providing the simplicity of hyperconverged but without the limitations. The software layer of this stack uses a tightly integrated VMware vCenter-based private cloud for a high level of virtualized ease-of-use. It also includes the HPE Alletra 6000 which delivers fast, consistent all-NVMe flash performance along with 6-Nines availability guaranteed.
Performance testing of Microsoft SQL Server on this latest all-NVMe HPE Alletra 6000 storage vs. previous-gen storage infrastructure showed a 19X write performance improvement, with latency reductions as much as 94%.
This database-optimized IaaS solution has been updated since originally released, with updated bills of materials, inclusion of a new database management automation tool, and more competitive pricing.
Benefits of pay-as-you go database management
HPE GreenLake for databases provides benefits for a wide range of customers and uses, from business-critical database applications up to the largest and most mission-critical enterprise environments. You’ll get the familiar benefits of HPE storage and HPE server platforms for databases like SQL Server and Oracle in a consumption-based pay-per-use model. As an HPE GreenLake service, the value expands to include:
- Cost savings from flexible, consumption-based billing with simplified units of measure
- Risk reduction from a validated full stack solution right-sized for your database today
- Business agility by leveraging a scalable architecture with cloud-based administration
- Direct control of data and applications that remain safely on-premises
- HPE storage benefits that include AI-driven predictive analytics to speed troubleshooting and enable guaranteed data availability
Diving into the HPE GreenLake for databases solution
This solution update also includes information on an automated management tool as well as updated pricing. Pricing for the service is a monthly rate that comprises the cost of the hardware over a five year period, including factory integration, racking, and ongoing component Support services. Optional consulting and management services are available.
Expert-designed configurations serve deployments from small to large with detailed bills of materials that speed the order process, yet retain flexibility for customization.
Here you’ll see one of the solution configurations optimized for a medium-sized deployment. The bill of materials is designed by database solution experts to provide optimal infrastructure stacks for this and other sizes of environments. These are provided as guidelines and can be easily customized by the HPE Sales specialist.
Predefined configurations start at $13,000 per month, and vary mainly based on deployment size and level of additional services.
New tool adds database automation
The Database Platform Automation (DPA) tool introduces the ability to automate the deployment and configuration of the managed database environments. It improves quality of service, increases business agility with orchestrated workflows, and reduces overall time to benefits.
The tool came out of development for large clients who needed to automate the administration of enterprise database environments. It has its own management portal to enable customer self-service. The graphic user interface captures inputs to drive the orchestration of both initial provisioning, configuration as well as ongoing life cycle management and monitoring. It’s an API-centric orchestration layer that integrates with infrastructure components to enable provisioning and other management operations for both bare metal and virtualized environments, across server and storage resources.
The DPA tool is included with the solution, though requires advisory assistance for initial deployment, and currently supports Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and PostgreSQL.
DPA GUI is the entry point for database environment automation across the entire stack from database to O/S, VMs, containers, storage, and servers.
Manage your database challenges with the latest in on-prem cloud computing
HPE GreenLake for databases is available today throughout North America, serving a range of organizational sizes and application requirements, with global availability expected in the future. The solution provides superior uninterrupted operations for business-critical database environments while delivering cost savings from only having to pay for the infrastructure you need.
Get more details in this solution brief: HPE GreenLake for databases Cloud experience with on-premises data and application control
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