Detailed Implementation of XYZ United Web Database in a Cloud Instance

This report explores the implementation of XYZ United's web database within a cloud instance. The process begins with migrating existing data, potentially involving the physical transfer of hard drives due to large data volumes. Subsequent steps include setting up ongoing replication for synchronization, migrating Business Intelligence (BI) components, and moving legacy data and ETL processes. The report emphasizes the critical importance of security, advocating for end-to-end data encryption, including SSL/TLS 1.2, and encryption of sensitive data both at rest and in transit. It also highlights the need for user-level data protection, role-based access control (RBAC), and multi-factor authentication to mitigate risks associated with cloud-based infrastructure. Furthermore, the report stresses the importance of managing database accessibility and considering unique policies for different cloud storage services offered by CSPs.

Running Head: IMPLEMENTATION OF WEB DATABASE IN A CLOUD INSTANCE 1
IMPLEMENTATION OF WEB DATABASE IN A CLOUD INSTANCE
Student Name
Institution Affiliation
Facilitator
Course
Date

IMPLEMENTATION OF WEB DATABASE IN A CLOUD INSTANCE 2
Introduction
One of the common misconceptions about migrating organization services into a cloud
platform is its consideration as a one-time trip. This can be considered as a misconception
because the reality is totally different. The process of migrating local data infrastructure into a
cloud platform takes place gradually. This is because it must be seamless as possible to avoid
organization interruptions. The migration process closely resembles the story of 59 Citigroup
center in New York which had its critical infrastructure reinforcement carried out during the
night hours for several months, so the public wouldn’t notice. The same way, to implement XYZ
United web service database in a cloud instance, it should be done step by step to ensure minimal
disruptions and downtimes on the users.
Implementation of XYZ United Web Database in a Cloud Instance
The initial step of implementing XYZ United database in a cloud instance will be the
migration of its existing data. Through this step, an initial copy of the existing data will be
created in the cloud data warehouse. The main challenge in this step will be to copy all the
existing club data which could be in hundreds of terabytes, an amount that is not easily
transferable over the internet to cloud. This challenge will however be overcome by Amazon and
Google which will allow transportation of hard drives, trucks and USPS (Baun, Kunze, Nimis &
Tai, 2011)
The second step involved in the implementation process will be setting up an ongoing
replication. This will come right after copying the on premise data to the cloud data warehouse
for synchronization purposes. In this step, all the synchronization solutions will be benchmarked

IMPLEMENTATION OF WEB DATABASE IN A CLOUD INSTANCE 3
for both latency and reliability. This will be performed in consideration to the fact that these two
parameters are very crucial for ensuring the database functions effectively.
Migration of the Club’s Business Intelligence (BI) will be the third step in the
implementation of the database in the cloud instance. From the past experience, the very first key
functionality an organization will be willing to move into a cloud is the analytics infrastructure
because it’s the major component of data infrastructure. It is also an ideal and less risky
migration target. The second last part of this implementation process will entail moving any
legacy data related to the database and which entails the migration of all the BI teams to start
using the available cloud BI tools and prioritization of migration process to customize related
data applications and reporting tools (Cecchet, Singh, Sharma & Shenoy, 2011). Finally, all the
legacy ETL processes which are involved in accessing the Club’s database will be linked to the
cloud data warehouse. This will mainly involve changing configurations or in other cases a
complete re-writing.
Security Aspect in XYZ United Database Implementation in Cloud Instance
Because of the high risks in regard to security of cloud based infrastructure and services,
implementation of XYZ United web database in a cloud instance must be accompanied with
certain measures to ensure that the database under this platform is secure. First of all, data in
transition should be encrypted in an end to end manner. This can be achieved by making sure
that all interactions with servers will be done over SSL transmissions (preferably TLS 1.2). This
will ensure that security is maintained at the highest levels possible. The SSL should also be
terminated only within the cloud service provider. Also, encryption of sensitive data should be
implemented even when it’s at rest as well as when being transmitted (Cecchet et al, 2011).
Through this approach, data will be confidently in line with the regulatory requirements as well

IMPLEMENTATION OF WEB DATABASE IN A CLOUD INSTANCE 4
as contractual obligations of sensitive data. Protective layers based on user-level data should also
be added on implementing the database on a cloud instance. The functionality should also adhere
to the role-based access control (RBAC) provided by the cloud service providers to allow
customers set user-specific access permissions for the data.
Managing database accessibility should also be accorded the necessary attention
considering the fact the three goals of security are confidentiality, integrity and availability hence
allowing uncontrolled access to the database will be compromising the integrity aspect. Access
management entails three capabilities: assigning users specific access rights, authenticating users
before giving them access and creating and enforcing access control policies (Cecchet et al,
2011).
Multifactor authentication should be implemented in order to reduce the risks of
credential compromise. This is because stolen privileges will definitely allow the attackers to
control and reconfigure the cloud resources to suit their needs. So, use of multiple factor
authentication will reduce the likelihood of compromise because they will be required to have
multiple, independent and authentication elements (Baun, et al, 2011). The implementation
should also ensure that the access to the database is controlled in that, only authorized people can
access certain resources in the database. This will limit the impact of credential compromise and
malicious insiders. Finally, because CSPs usually offer different storage services like the virtual
disks, content delivery and blob storage, the unique policies based in each of these must be put
into consideration on the implementation phase.
References

IMPLEMENTATION OF WEB DATABASE IN A CLOUD INSTANCE 5
Baun, C., Kunze, M., Nimis, J., & Tai, S. (2011). Cloud computing: Web-based dynamic IT
services. Springer Science & Business Media.
Cecchet, E., Singh, R., Sharma, U., & Shenoy, P. (2011, March). Dolly: virtualization-driven
database provisioning for the cloud. In ACM SIGPLAN Notices (Vol. 46, No. 7, pp. 51-
62). ACM.