Having Trouble Finding DBAs for MongoDB?

MongoDB, the leading NoSQL software solution, has grown in popularity for many good reasons — it’s open-source, it’s scalable, can be used with a variety of storage solutions (on premises, in the cloud, or hybrid), and can hold documents of many different sizes and formats. Just like with any software, however, it’s prone to hacking and malfunction, especially with its unsupported versions.

Case Stories in MongoDB

Datavail recently released a white paper that explored three case stories of large MongoDB users who needed help solving their database problems and aligning with best practices for security and growth. As the white paper suggests, MongoDB requires continuous monitoring, patching and upgrading — again, just like any database software — so your best bet is to keep it healthy by keeping an eye on it and following best practices for maintenance and upgrades.

Also, don’t accept second best when it comes to database configuration and management. If your database is constantly having problems don’t just accept the fact that it’s necessarily due to its rapid growth and simply comes with the territory. A well-configured database should not experience frequent crashes, and should average only a small number of alerts per week.

Datavail’s recently published white paper, Why You Should Upgrade MongoDB Now, explains:

“People think that a large number of alerts just comes with the territory when you are a growing company. But the right software solution — combined with the right hardware solution — can virtually eliminate alerts. Your in-house DBA might tell you that a high level of alerts is normal, or might resist reaching out to a third party for help. But if you’re constantly having database problems, something is wrong — and it doesn’t have to stay that way. […]

When databases go bad, expensive employees spend more and more of their time troubleshooting tickets that could be handled less expensively, and less time optimizing data management as a strategic asset. Eventually, they are going to burn out and leave — taking a lot of institutional history and knowledge with them. You don’t have to settle for a DBA revolving door. You can fix this.”

After all, most DBAs have a lot on their plate as it is, and their responsibilities are expected to evolve and adjust in line with the company’s growth and expectations, not to mention having to constantly learn new technologies as they become available. Datavail can work with your in-house capabilities without overstepping anyone’s authority within the organization, and help your employees implement best practices as well as make recommendations to address your needs and expectations within a managed services agreement tailored for your company.

Sometimes You Need an Independent Assessment of Your MongoDB

Take, for instance, one of the use cases discussed in the white paper — a multinational entertainment provider delivering a wide variety of content including television, motion pictures and video on demand. This Datavail client maintained several production and development environments that were running different versions of software. As a result, delivery was complex, production servers were underused, and security was a major concern.

Datavail performed an assessment and recommended consolidating some of the environments as well as upgrading Mongo to the latest version. Datavail’s team of Mongo DBA experts managed the upgrade, strengthening security, consolidating testing and development on one server, reducing the number of alerts to an insignificant number. The team handled “any MongoDB related administration including installation and configuration of new MongoDB servers, monitoring, support, backup, index management, performance tuning and answering any questions the development team had,” according to the white paper.

As a result, the development team was freed up to take on tasks other than putting out fires:

“Using a combination of our Mongo and MySQL support, the client was able to conglomerate and analyze user comments and social media feedback (likes and shares) to drive marketing campaigns. Instead of spending all their time trying to hold the system together, the developers were able to extract real-time, actionable BI and feed it into marketing to increase viewership and improve the bottom line.”

You can have a high-performance system and a happy, productive staff. You don’t have to accept anything less.

If you would like to find our how you might benefit from a managed services contract as a staffing solution for your MongoDB operation, we encourage you to contact Datavail today or download the white paper. With more than 600 database administrators worldwide, Datavail is the largest database services provider in North America. As a reliable provider of 24×7 managed services for applications, BI/Analytics, and databases, Datavail can support your organization, regardless of the build you’ve selected.