MIS 2502 Research
Distributed Data Technologies
Distributed data technologies is the term to describe the process of storing vast amounts of data over multiple machines. Rather than relying on a single machine, the workload is distributed of many machines. This is advantageous because the infrastructure can be more easily maintained; when the system needs upgrading, new machines can be added which will contribute additional storage and processing. Companies that handle large amounts of data such as Google or Amazon use distributed data technologies to store vast amounts of data from users and customers on their cloud infrastructure.
Data distribution technologies relate to and build on to the concepts we learn in class (MIS 2502) because data distribution is a concept used in database management. Distributed data can be a key component of an organizations’ information infrastructure because it enables the online distribution of data on external systems, which is essentially the cloud. We learned that the creation of data bases and models based on business rules and preformed data analysis. Distributed data technologies enable the analysis of large databases by connecting multiple machines in order to complete a task that would otherwise require one more powerful machine.
Some companies rely on these technologies to improve service. Netflix is using the distributed data technology, a platform known as Video Metadata Service (VMS), in order to supply all of its data about its movies and TV shows, data that ranges from video titles and descriptions to the bitrates of streams for playback. VMS works on a framework called Zeno, which is used to distribute and keep up to date object data on thousands of servers across the globe. By implementing Zeno, Netlix has successfully significantly reducing server startup times, reduced the development maintenance effort required to evolve their data model, and created a reduction of memory footprint by roughly 50% for Netflix’s largest in-memory dataset servers. With these data distribution technologies, Netflix is able to support the billions of requests from its users every day.
Works Cited
- Koszewnik, Drew. “The Netflix Tech Blog: Announcing Zeno – Netflix’s In-Memory Data Distribution Framework.” The Netflix Tech Blog: Announcing Zeno – Netflix’s In-Memory Data Distribution Framework. N.p., 5 Dec. 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
- Shectman, Joel. “Netflix Uses Big Data to Improve Streaming Video.” The CIO Report RSS. The Wall Street Journal, 26 Oct. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.