January 2021 Summaries

AWS instances for Aerospike clusters are selected based on a combination of factors including storage, memory, network, CPU, and cost considerations. The optimal instance type depends on the specific use case, performance requirements, and budget constraints. Instance families such as i3en, i3, r5, r5d, c5d, and m5 are considered for their unique characteristics, including storage capacity, throughput, memory-to-disk ratio, network performance, and CPU power. The instance type selection process involves evaluating the cost per GB of RAM, SSD storage, and vCPU, as well as considering the impact of clustering and scaling on performance and cost. A conservative approach can be taken initially, with room for adjustment based on real-world production metrics, allowing for rolling updates and zero downtime to optimize performance and cost.

The Aerospike Standup Vol. 20 newsletter for developers has been released, marking the second year of this publication. It includes blog posts, community questions, documentation updates, and event announcements from the Aerospike team. The upcoming Aerospike Summit '21 will take place on May 4-6, with a call for papers open until February 15. Subscribers can receive updates via email by signing up. Recent releases include Docker images for both Community and Enterprise editions of the server, as well as Helm charts for Aerospike on Kubernetes. The user summit is scheduled for May 4-6, with the call for papers already open.

This is a newsletter written by developers for developers, that brings together blog posts, questions from the community, documentation, releases and events, written by the Aerospike team. The Aerospike Summit '21 will take place on May 4-6 with a call for papers open until February 15. Updates about new articles, user summit, release notes, and upcoming events will be shared every other week via email subscription. The Aerospike user summit is also taking place on May 4-6 with its CFP already open, saving the date. Releases include updates to Helm charts for both CE and EE versions of Aerospike on Kubernetes.

Spring Data Aerospike supports creating secondary indexes in Aerospike, allowing for modeling one-to-many relationships and improving query performance. Two methods are available to create secondary indexes: using the `createIndex` method of the `AerospikeTemplate`, or by annotating a field with the `@Indexed` annotation on an entity class. The first approach involves creating the index at application startup manually, while the second approach allows for automatic creation of secondary indexes based on annotations in the entity class. Both methods can be used to improve query performance and data modeling capabilities in applications using Spring Data Aerospike.

Aerospike Connect for Presto is a new tool that accelerates time-to-insight by enabling business and data analysts to use ANSI SQL queries on massive amounts of data stored in the Aerospike NoSQL database. This solution eliminates the need for complex data copying processes, supports various Presto data types, and allows for query federation across multiple Aerospike clusters or between Aerospike and other databases. It also enables users to create insightful dashboards using popular BI tools such as Tableau, Looker, and Qlik. The key use cases include interactive queries, BI dashboarding, and data preparation for AI/ML Python projects.

Aerospike has announced the release of Aerospike Database 5.4, which will be available in January 2021. The update focuses on usability improvements and modest memory usage enhancements. Key changes include the ability to fetch Feature Keys via HashiCorp Vault or environment variables, making XDR Filter Expressions human-readable, and minor features such as altered logging levels for scans and policy violations in CDT, HLL, and bitwise operations. Additionally, memory usage has been reduced for in-memory namespaces when XDR bin shipping is not enabled.

Aerospike has released version 5.4, which is expected to be available in January 2021. This release focuses on foundational improvements and usability enhancements, particularly in operational contexts. The new version introduces features such as fetching Feature Keys from HashiCorp Vault or environment variables, human-readable XDR Expressions, and reduced memory usage for in-memory namespaces. Minor features include changes to logging levels, which aim to reduce log pollution, and improved memory efficiency. These improvements are designed to prepare the platform for future feature releases and enhance overall usability.

Aerospike has certified its Aerospike Connect for Kafka with Confluent Platform, enabling a low latency and high throughput streaming pipeline. The platform combines the Aerospike database's scalability and hybrid memory architecture with the advanced capabilities of the Confluent Platform to accelerate application development and connectivity. The certified Aerospike Kafka connector supports various message formats and offers routing options for specific data consumption. Use cases include fraud detection, offloading Mainframe data, creating 360-degree customer profiles, Industrial IoT, etc., which demand low latency and high throughput.

Aerospike and Unisphere Research conducted a survey to analyze IT leaders' budget priorities in North America amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The study segmented respondents based on their seniority level, experience, and company size across various verticals such as technology, financial services, and healthcare. Key insights from the survey include: 1. Major impact of COVID-19 on IT budgets in 2020. 2. Strategic use of public cloud infrastructure with significant investment in private clouds. 3. A growing concern about handling data coming from multiple sources and formats, putting strain on IT infrastructure. 4. Variation in cloud adoption strategies based on company size, but no clear preference for public or private clouds. 5. Factors driving cloud adoption include cost, innovation, and the need to rethink approach due to COVID-19.

The survey, conducted by Aerospike and Unisphere Research in collaboration with Database Trends and Applications, provides insights into the priorities of IT leaders in various verticals in North America regarding their digital transformation and cloud adoption strategies. The study reveals that companies of all sizes are prioritizing innovation to gain an edge in their market, but the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted how they adopt new technologies. The survey segments respondents by seniority level and company size, providing a diverse view of IT leaders' priorities and budget allocations. Key findings include the growing importance of data management, cloud adoption, and digital transformation, with companies preparing for the future by investing in public cloud infrastructure, private clouds, and innovative solutions to address the challenges posed by COVID-19. The study highlights the complexity of cloud adoption, with no single cloud provider dominating the market, and companies considering factors beyond cost when making decisions about their cloud deployments.