ObjectRocket Goes South (In a Good Way)

It’s no secret that NoSQL databases have been growing in popularity in recent years. The development community has latched onto NoSQL as one of the most effective ways to streamline key database and application development processes. Rackspace’s new acquisition of ObjectRockets shows that the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) giant is actively trying to step up to compete with the likes of Amazon S3 by aiming to offer a multitude of DBaaS options for developers.

What is ObjectRocket?

In a nutshell, ObjectRocket is a cloud-powered database management service that allows for simplification in developing and deploying applications with MongoDB. It allows developers to easily build, scale and deploy databases based on their specific workload. These databases can be scaled from a single gigabyte to multi-terabyte workloads and without putting massive strain on the developer’s IT infrastructure since computing and processing workloads are offloaded to multiple cloud servers.

A Little More about the ObjectRocket Acquisition

In mid to late February 2013 it was determined that ObjectRocket would join the Rackspace family. The acquisition resulted in what many in the VC industry call an “AcquiHire.” This means that the ObjectRocket team – while continuing to manage MongoDB services for Amazon S3 and other already-serviced aspects of MongoDB – will move to Rackspace’s Austin, TX location and be incorporated into Rackspace’s OpenStack platform.

Benefits of MongoDB

• Simplified Provisioning – ObjectRocket provisions all components of the MongoDB server stack. This includes everything from Mongo servers to Mongod servers to load balancers to API access and everything in between. Each instance can be seamlessly replicated. Adding more components to your development environment can be done in a single click.

• High Performance: Speed & Reliability – ObjectRocket optimizes the server stack for quick and easy application development and deployment. All data related to app development is stored and managed on high performing Solid-state drives (SSDs).

• Automated Administration – ObjectRocket comes with a robust set of tools that make life easier for developers with complex development cycles. For instance, the APIs included with ObjectRocket are expertly designed to ensure higher instances of uptime, help you save time on development cycles and simplify administration processes. The QueryGuard tool, for instance, lets you create some hard and fast rules to help protect you from long-running processes that cause applications to lag. Additionally, ObjectRocket automatically monitors all connections made during your development cycle – everything from logs to the number of queries to the status of component replicas.

Conclusion

As application data becomes more complex, the databases become difficult to manage. This is the problem that MongoDB has always aimed to solve, and that ObjectRocket aims to make easier on the developer. Rackspace has taken notice of these problem solving measures carried out by ObjectRocket, and the plan to fully integrate the DBaaS tool. Whatever makes life easier for cloud application developers is good for cloud storage.