Quest Software has released a beta version of Toad for Cloud Databases, a new management tool designed to "put NoSQL databases within reach of traditional relational database developers and administrators."
Quest Software is targeting the adherents of the NoSQL movement with
the launch of a beta program for a new data access and management tool.
The tool is called Toad for Cloud Databases,
and is meant to help users unlock data stored in the cloud using either
the SQL language or Toad's visual query and data access capabilities.
With the tool, users can query and report on non-relational data, as
well as migrate data in cloud and relational databases from one to the other and create queries that combine the two.
"For DBAs, the tool allows you to see the data assets in the
databases, at to move or extract data and schema between databases,"
explained Guy Harrison, director of research and development at Quest.
"Most of these databases offer little or no utilities for viewing the
database outside of programmatic APIs."
"Developers get a similar advantage and also the ability to be able
to move test data into these databases from relational DBs," he
continued. "For instance, a developer might want to copy product codes
from their RDBMS so they can build out an order entry facility. They
can also use TOAD to validate the data that the application has
created."
Non-relational databases, he said, are generating interest for a
number of reasons. In cloud environments, relational database systems
are insufficiently elastic - hard to scale up and down across multiple
hosts. NoSQL databases offer more economical solutions for massive
databases, he said, and the cost of a commercial SAN and clustered
database (RAC for instance) is much higher than what is promised by
non-relational databases.
The NoSQL movement has been gaining
momentum, and consists of a variety of non-relational data stores that
spans open source projects such as Cassandra to products from
companies such as MarkLogic, which makes a native XML database.
In its pitch for the tool, Quest argued that currently, complex
programming is required to access data stored in the cloud and
creates significant barriers for users who want to build
applications or use the data for business intelligence. Toad for Cloud
Databases solves this problem by providing query building and
reporting capabilities familiar to Toad users, as well as migration and
management for developers who want to experiment with the cloud through
a SQL-based interface.
The current beta supports Amazon SimpleDB, Microsoft Azure
Table services, Apache HBase, and any Open Database Connectivity
(ODBC)-enabled relational database. The second beta release will add
full support for Apache Cassandra, as well as Apache Hadoop through
Hive. In addition, Quest has an Eclipse-based version of Toad for Cloud
Databases on its roadmap for a future release.
"The database market is experiencing a very exciting, significant shift with these new types of data stores,
and the future of Toad will reflect these changes in the market by
providing freedom of platform choice," said Billy Bosworth, vice
president and general manager for Enterprise Database at Quest
Software, in a statement.
Outside of the cloud, adoption of NoSQL is mainly in pilot projects, Harrison said.
"Enterprise adoption hinges I think on manageability,
interoperability with relational databases and [the] ability to
use BI/reporting tools against the databases," he said. "The existence
of third-party systems management solutions from vendors like Quest
could be critical here."
This story was updated to add additional comment from Quest.
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