Optimizing the management of a database in a virtual environment

Abstract

Recent studies have demonstrated advantages in using Data Base Management System (DBMS) in virtual environments, like the consolidation of several DBMS isolated by virtual machines on a single physical machine to reduce maintenance costs and energy consumption. Furthermore, live migration can improve database availability, allowing transparent maintenance operations on host machines. However, there are issues that still need to be addressed, like overall performance degradation of the DBMS when running in virtual environments and connections instabilities during a live migration. In this context, new virtualization techniques are emerging, like the virtual database, which is considered a less intrusive alternative for the traditional database virtualization over virtual machines. This paper analyzes aspects of this new virtualization approach, like performance and connection stability during a database migration process and its isolation capabilities. Our evaluation shows very promising results compared to the traditional approach over virtual machines, including a more efficient and stable live migration, maintaining the required isolation characteristics for a virtualized DBMS.