IBM launched a new Database as a Service (DBaaS) toolkit for its Power Systems that's optimized for use with major open source database services.

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IBM announced a new Database as a Service (DBaaS) toolkit on Wednesday that makes open source services like MongoDB, EDB PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Redis, Neo4j, and Apache Cassandra more accessible on private cloud deployments.

The toolkit's formal name is Open Platform for DBaaS on IBM Power Systems, and it runs on IBM's OpenPOWER LC servers, according to a press release. Compared to x86 for EDB PostgreSQL 9.5 and MongoDB, this service offers a 1.8x price-performance advantage, the release said.

The overall goal is to make it easier to deploy infrastructure that is compliant with policy and fits the organization's needs. According to the release, the platform gives developers and database admins the "ability to easily deploy a fully configured private cloud with automated provisioning for open source database services." However, it's built on OpenStack, so it will work with a hybrid cloud strategy as well.

SEE: CIOs growing weary of database lock-in, increasingly buying into open source

Citing Forrester Research, IBM noted in the release that the DBaaS market is projected to be the fastest-growing database category through the next four years. The core values of this approach to infrastructure are increased flexibility and potential for automation.

Models like DevOps and Everything as a Service have emerged to handle the needs of next-generation applications, Terri Virnig, vice president of the Power ecosystem and strategy at IBM, said in the release. "With Open Platform for DBaaS, IBM is supporting these cloud development models to provide greater control of data, access and security, as well as the choice and flexibility for agile development of innovative new applications," Virnig said in the release.

Admins can deploy their database of choice through a self-service portal, but users can build and deploy their own custom databases as well, the release said. Additionally, on-premise, private cloud delivery of DBaaS is made easier through the product's elastic cloud infrastructure.

Dashboards, visualization tools, and monitoring features are available to admins through an open source operations manager. The platform also includes a "turnkey, engineered solution comprised of compute, block and archive storage servers, JBOD disk drawers, OpenStack control plane nodes, and network switches pre-integrated with the open source DBaaS toolkit," the release said.

The 3 big takeaways for TechRepublic readers

IBM's Open Platform for DBaaS on IBM Power Systems makes it easier to deploy pre-configured private cloud with automated provisioning for certain databases. The platform focuses on open source services like MongoDB, EDB PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Redis, Neo4j, and Apache Cassandra. Forrester Research predicts that the DBaaS market could be the fastest growing database category in the next four years.

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