Zero Downtime Database Deployments by Alex Yates

Session Title: Zero downtime database deployments
Speaker: Alex Yates

Abstract: You understand that big bang deployments are painful, but each deploy may disrupt users, so you are restricted to tight deployment windows for your database. The consequences of missing your windows aren’t worth thinking about – but it gets more difficult each time.

In order to move to smaller, more frequent and more reliable deployments you need to demonstrate that you can safely deploy during business hours – without disrupting users.

In this session we’ll discuss the most popular strategies: Blue/Green and Canary deploys, Cluster Immune Systems and Feature Toggles. Then we’ll discuss the fundamental changes that we need to make to the way we think about database “deployments” and “releases” in order to support these strategies.

We will finish with a SQL Server demo that uses a feature flag and the expand/contract model to support backward compatibility and safe, fast rollback options.