Issue TOC Print full article Print this page Download as PDF E-Mail this URL Discuss this article Flame the author     In this article Introduction Dell Computer Corp. Hewlett-Packard Co. RLX Technologies How We Tested Savantis Introduces Its DAN Online Only: Sweet Box, Big Price

As server consolidation becomes a viable option, it's likely you'll see some movement in vertical markets, as vendors take advantage of the concept and offer their own versions. The Database Area Network, or DAN, is one such technology and was recently introduced by Savantis in the form of its dbSwitch.

DAN is a concept that borrows from both server consolidation and SAN technology: It provides a reduction in the number of database servers and, ergo, a lower TCO; affords high availability where there may have been none before; and offers centralized management.

Mission-critical databases are likely to be served by a primary database server and a backup database server. This is not always the case for less critical databases, because the hardware and software costs of providing high availability to these noncritical applications is difficult, if not impossible, to justify. But by consolidating database servers into a DAN, all applications share a pool of database servers, managed by a single device--in this case, the Savantis dbSwitch.

The dbSwitch is responsible for management, monitoring and notification of all database servers residing within the DAN. If a single database instance fails, the switch can move the instance to another server within the DAN in a matter of minutes, ensuring that the applications using the database do not suffer unacceptable downtime.

This is not a load-balancing solution. The dbSwitch acts like a proxy--requests to databases are handled by the switch, which directs eacn request to the correct database server in the SAN transparently. Administrators can move database instances from one server to another if desired, but the dbSwitch will move a database instance on its own only if a database instance fails.

Savantis' solution is available only for Oracle. The company says it will support other databases in the near future. As a general concept, the DAN is an indication that server consolidation can be performed on a per-application basis to provide cost savings, and in the process, offer features that make the investment in this type of technology worthwhile. --Lori MacVittie