Scaling an application in the cloud often hits the most common bottleneck – the database tier. Not only is database performance the number one cause of poor application performance, but also the issue is magnified in cloud environments where I/O and bandwidth is generally slower and less predictable than in dedicated data centers. Database sharding is a highly effective method of removing the database scalability barrier, operating on top of proven RDBMS products such as MySQL and Postgres – as well as the new NoSQL database platforms. One critical aspect often given too little consideration is monitoring and continuous operation of your databases, including the full lifecycle, to ensure that they stay up.

Scaling SQL and NoSQL Databases in the Cloud (CodeFutures) from RightScale on Vimeo.