May 13, 2013 at 9:45 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Platform Problem
May 14, 2013 at 1:20 am
Spot on Steve.
We haven't made a commitment to the cloud as yet but vendor lock-in is a major consideration.
It has to be said that Microsoft have made a huge investment in Azure. Within the EU Amazon has a datacentre in Ireland but Microsoft have invested both in Ireland and in Holland.
Connor Cunningham's keynote at SQL Bits was predominantly SQL Azure.
It has to be said that each cloud vendor has some form of vendor lock-in. The framework and APIs of their services are similar but not the same. Eventually the cloud will evolve to provide commodity computing in the same way that the energy companies provide electricity. You don't have to rewire your house every time you change electricity provider!
Taking the analogy further, in Britain electricity generation preceded the standardisation of electrical plugs by a good 25 years!
May 14, 2013 at 3:38 am
Last month Microsoft announced general availability of Windows Azure Infrastructure Services (IaaS).
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/04/16/the-power-of-and.aspx
http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/home/scenarios/infrastructure-services/
VMs running full versions of SQL Server are now available.
Definitely worth checking out.
May 14, 2013 at 6:14 am
Yes, I agree 100% percent.
When I worked for a large building automation company, we moved one of our tools to Microsoft Azure. It was a foregone conclusion that we'd use Azure, because of the strong working relationship we had with Microsoft. However, that didn't ease my concerns over vendor lock-in.
IaaS solutions are probably the best bet at this point, for those really concerned about vendor lock-in. Although, I'd hazard to bet there would still be issues moving between vendors.
When you go the PaaS route, you're really buying in to the platform. Which at this point is pretty strongly tied to the vendor. Even if multiple vendors offered the same platform, you'd still be tied to whatever platform you targeted. So, you'd still have platform lock-in. Of course, that's an issue we had long before the current cloud platforms.
Thanks,
MKE Data Guy
May 14, 2013 at 7:02 am
As much as I like SQL Server and the folks that support it, I have some qualms about vendor lock in and Microsoft as a whole. With the slap in the face to developers and power users that is Windows 8 desktop and the changes in development frameworks in the past, I don't trust the current management in Redmond.
A perspective: developers vs Microsoft: http://www.reactos.org/node/637
If I use Azure, I'm going to use the service options that can eventually brought in house or be hosted elsewhere. And since I'm already considering migration, I may as well as a developer/admin, consider other database and programming options.
May 14, 2013 at 7:49 am
chrisn-585491 (5/14/2013)
As much as I like SQL Server and the folks that support it, I have some qualms about vendor lock in and Microsoft as a whole. With the slap in the face to developers and power users that is Windows 8 desktop and the changes in development frameworks in the past, I don't trust the current management in Redmond.A perspective: developers vs Microsoft: http://www.reactos.org/node/637
If I use Azure, I'm going to use the service options that can eventually brought in house or be hosted elsewhere. And since I'm already considering migration, I may as well as a developer/admin, consider other database and programming options.
Lol I despise windows 8 / server 2012. Microsoft has also changed direction with their application programming tools to a stupid degree. Azure itself will probably have a considerable changing featureset and Microsoft has stumbled to a stupid degree in just trying to provide a web service people can depend on. Heck, I really thought with windows 7 and server 2008 Microsoft was really getting their act together, and then we get 8 / 2012 which is a pretty big disappointment.
I'd be interested in how many folks here at sql server central are active with other technology. In my own case, I've used linux personally quite a bit, can put it to work at my place of employment, and while I'm not big on Mysql, I really like Postgresql, although I'm still pretty early on in my education regarding its use.
May 14, 2013 at 8:54 am
patrickmcginnis59 10839 (5/14/2013)
Lol I despise windows 8 / server 2012. Microsoft has also changed direction with their application programming tools to a stupid degree. Azure itself will probably have a considerable changing featureset and Microsoft has stumbled to a stupid degree in just trying to provide a web service people can depend on. Heck, I really thought with windows 7 and server 2008 Microsoft was really getting their act together, and then we get 8 / 2012 which is a pretty big disappointment.
Not sure I agree. There are a few user things in Win 8 that I think were not well thought through, mostly because they're not completely implemented. The switch from full screen apps to the desktop isn't well integrated. However the quick start times, and improvements in internals (disk transfers, HA stuff), seem to be positive steps.
I'd be interested in how many folks here at sql server central are active with other technology. In my own case, I've used linux personally quite a bit, can put it to work at my place of employment, and while I'm not big on Mysql, I really like Postgresql, although I'm still pretty early on in my education regarding its use.
I use SQL Server, and I like it. However I'm agnostic. I've managed DB2, Oracle, worked with MySQL and PostgreSQL for pet projects, and for the most part they're databases. They work well. I like that SQL Server includes lots of extras that make my whole life easier, though I'm sure the other tools are learning and catching up quickly.
I use OSX and Linux and they do the job, though not necessarily better than Windows. I like OSX better, but not enough to complain about going back to Windows. They're all close.
May 14, 2013 at 10:08 am
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (5/14/2013)
patrickmcginnis59 10839 (5/14/2013)
Lol I despise windows 8 / server 2012. Microsoft has also changed direction with their application programming tools to a stupid degree. Azure itself will probably have a considerable changing featureset and Microsoft has stumbled to a stupid degree in just trying to provide a web service people can depend on. Heck, I really thought with windows 7 and server 2008 Microsoft was really getting their act together, and then we get 8 / 2012 which is a pretty big disappointment.
Not sure I agree. There are a few user things in Win 8 that I think were not well thought through, mostly because they're not completely implemented. The switch from full screen apps to the desktop isn't well integrated. However the quick start times, and improvements in internals (disk transfers, HA stuff), seem to be positive steps.
I'd be interested in how many folks here at sql server central are active with other technology. In my own case, I've used linux personally quite a bit, can put it to work at my place of employment, and while I'm not big on Mysql, I really like Postgresql, although I'm still pretty early on in my education regarding its use.
I use SQL Server, and I like it. However I'm agnostic. I've managed DB2, Oracle, worked with MySQL and PostgreSQL for pet projects, and for the most part they're databases. They work well. I like that SQL Server includes lots of extras that make my whole life easier, though I'm sure the other tools are learning and catching up quickly.
I use OSX and Linux and they do the job, though not necessarily better than Windows. I like OSX better, but not enough to complain about going back to Windows. They're all close.
When I talked to users wondering about upgrading from XP and the path forward, I could happily point to Windows 7. Whats my story now? "There is a measurable percentage of people who like 8, so you the cranky user of Windows XP should just shut up about your selfish preferences and happily purchase the product a significant percentage of the marketplace seems to be disparaging?"
Frankly I apologise to users about the computer marketplace now. At least Windows 7 was a decent rebound from Vista and offered a hope that there were cluebats available in Redmond when needed. I don't know what happened up there, probably the Sinofsky guy. Maybe 8 is the new Vista.
May 14, 2013 at 10:23 am
Win 7 is a great upgrade. I'm not sure Win 8 is compelling from 7. From XP, either one.
For the most part, the only thing that I had to change moving from Win 7 to 8 is pressing the Windows key and typing the name of the app instead of pressing start and looking through menus.
Other stuff is minor, though if you can move to a touch screen, 8 provides some nice improvements.
May 14, 2013 at 11:05 am
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (5/14/2013)
Win 7 is a great upgrade. I'm not sure Win 8 is compelling from 7. From XP, either one.For the most part, the only thing that I had to change moving from Win 7 to 8 is pressing the Windows key and typing the name of the app instead of pressing start and looking through menus.
Other stuff is minor, though if you can move to a touch screen, 8 provides some nice improvements.
I do acknowledge this point. When I moved from Windows XP on a 2ghz processor to a 300mhz processor running a 10yo distribution of Slackware, it was merely a matter of make config; make; make install repeated a few (dozen) times and a few bash tricks and I was up and running!
Ok I jest LOL!!!! (I do like that bash prompt!)
One hope I have with Windows 8 is that http://www.stardock.com/products will make the UI into something I like again. What I've seen so far with Start8 is awesome, and the list of what they're doing could really make Windows 8 a nice system. I'm surprised that these guys seem to be cranking all this out when Microsoft couldn't (or wouldn't).
May 14, 2013 at 2:38 pm
Agree! As another application developer I'm keenly aware that MS not only feel free to change their toolset at the whim of their developers, but they seem to have made it an essential part of their business strategy.
We have a major Windows app which is now a couple of decades old. If we'd chosen to use MS tools we would have had to substantially recode it every 3-5 years. Instead, the tool we chose still uses the original code without modification.
May 22, 2013 at 2:48 am
Sometimes the perception of competition, or rather the perception of alternatives existing, is more of a comfort blanket than a reality. This is often a fallacy as you just have to look at how many SQL features that are used in any given application that are not standards compliant i.e. it would take a serious amount of work to migrate. The further up the management tree you go the more the perception appears a reality as the more likely the individuals have read white papers or marketing fluff as opposed to SDK documentation.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply