In this blog post we share a discussion we had recently with an organization that was evaluating Windocks vs Delphix for SQL Server data delivery. The conversation ended up focusing on relative costs of operation in the public cloud, and the value of data compression. Read on to learn what the analysis reveals.
I spoke recently with someone who was evaluating Windocks vs Delphix for SQL Server data delivery. Delphix is a UNIX BSD storage system that is known for Oracle data delivery. Delphix has been around for a decade and has a reasonable reputation among the Oracle users, where it’s “enterprise” price tag is acceptable. By comparison Windocks is a relatively newcomer that was launched in 2016, and offers a more open approach to data delivery by working with existing storage arrays and/or Windows based clones, and is distinctly more affordable.
Windocks offers a number of advantages over Delphix for SQL Server support. Windocks supports data delivery to the full range of SQL Server environments, including Microsoft’s new SQL Server containers, SQL Server instances, and Kubernetes. In addition to supporting storage arrays, Windocks also supports creation of Windows based Virtual Hard Drives providing an economical alternative to storage arrays for data delivery. Windocks is not only more affordable, but offers lower Total Cost of Ownership by avoiding the need for new storage admins.
Our discussion shifted to the public cloud, where Delphix ZFS volume cloning seems to offer value. In the public cloud most customers use Windocks native database cloning, which lack storage based data compression.
“Isn’t the lack of storage compression a big deal?” he asked?
“Not unless you prefer spending 4x more for Delphix,” I replied.
Delphix is essentially a secondary storage system that was built to deliver fast volume clones for application use. All modern storage systems offer similar volume cloning, and Windocks is designed to enable SQL Server DBAs to create and manage the cloning and data delivery process. Windocks is a modern Docker derived design, that doesn't involve implementing more infrastructure to be useful.
Both solutions deliver cloned database environments in seconds, with read/write support, using minimal storage. For comparison we assume 10 TB of block storage, and triple the storage for Windocks to account for the lack of storage data compression. The lowest price Delphix VM starts at $144,000/year on the AWS marketplace, and AWS cloud storage for 10 TB costs $12,000/year ($0.10/GB/month). For comparison Windocks is assigned 30 TB of storage, with a Windocks annual cost of $6,000 per VM.
Delphix plus 10 TB of storage . . . . . . . . . $156,000/year
Windocks plus 30 TB of storage . . . . . . . $42,000/year
Windocks is a modern, open data delivery platform that combines Docker SQL Server containers and instances with database cloning, to modernize software development and delivery, reporting and BI. Windocks works with existing systems and infrastructure to provide a solution at a fraction of the cost of alternatives.
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