Database Reference
In-Depth Information
proximity to the data to reduce the mean time to value when analyzing the
data.
In addition, the farther apart the systems are, the more expensive and
potentially brittle the networking becomes. This is especially apparent in
ultra-low latency network topologies where expensive InfiniBand cables
may be used to move data at significant velocity. For example, FDR
InfiniBand networks can move data at 56Gbps. However, that performance
comes at a price, so the shorter the network cables are the better.
Consequently, and by way of simple example, if the data is born in the
cloud, it will often make sense to provide analytics in the cloud. By doing so,
your network will be local, and the performance between environments will
be LAN Ethernet speed rather than Internet/VPN (virtual private network)
speed. Your environment and total cost of ownership (TCO) will also benefit
because you will avoid data egress charges.
Functionality
Althoughperhapsnotimmediatelyobvious,youneedtomakesurethatyour
target platform offers the functionality you want to use. Not all Hadoop
distributions are created equally. A simple example is differing support
for versions of Hive or the inclusion of HBase in a Hadoop distribution.
That is not to say that you cannot add/upgrade Hadoop projects to your
deployment. However, when you do this, you are stepping outside of the
boundaries of the hardened distribution.
Your choice of operating system also dictates the range of distributions of
Hadoop available to you and therefore your deployment options.
Usability
Getting started with Hadoop can sometimes feel like a rather daunting
prospect, especially if you are exclusively used to the Microsoft ecosystem.
At its most extreme, you could download the source code from the Apache
website, compile the code yourself, and then manually deploy the code to
build the cluster. However, deployment can be as simple as configuring a
wizard. Usability therefore is a sliding scale, and the spin-up cost you can
accept will help to drive you toward one solution vs. another.
