ScyllaDB Summit speaker interview: Nick Stott, Compose

Nick Stott, a software engineer at Compose, discusses his experience with developing application architectures and container orchestration infrastructure, particularly in the context of managing databases like ScyllaDB at an internet scale. During his interview, he highlights the challenges and solutions in adapting the Twelve Factor Manifesto, originally designed for stateless web applications, to work with stateful services such as databases. Stott emphasizes the importance of containers, noting their evolution since 2011 and the need for orchestration layers to manage essential database operations while containers handle configuration internally. He also addresses network security challenges, advocating for private VLANs and portal containers to secure database nodes from public exposure. The interview further explores the complexities of scaling JVM databases and the advantages of ScyllaDB's ability to scale dynamically, highlighting Compose's strategy for handling multi-tenant systems and the role of memory throttling in resource management. Stott expresses enthusiasm for engaging with the community at the ScyllaDB Summit and learning from customer interactions to enhance Compose's offerings.