Rackspace snaps up ObjectRocket to offer MongoDB NoSQL database as a cloud service

Rackspace has acquired database firm ObjectRocket to add its NoSQL database-as-a-service (DBaaS) platform to its ever-growing portfolio of cloud computing offerings.

The move will help customers to implement a big data strategy, according to Rackspace, as well as helping to differentiate its offerings from other cloud providers.

With the acquisition expected to close Wednesday, Rackspace said it intends to move quickly to integrate ObjectRocket's technology with its OpenStack-based open cloud platform in order to make the service available to its customers.

It is set to be up and running from Rackspace's Chicago datacentre in March, and will roll out to the firm's other global datacentres throughout the rest of the year.

European datacentre support is expected "sooner rather than later," Rackspace vice president of technology Nigel Beighton told V3.

ObjectRocket's platform is based on the MongoDB open-source database, which does not rely on traditional relational database techniques to store and retrieve information, making it a "NoSQL" class of tool.

"Companies are starting to realise that they shouldn't throw any data away, and instead of worrying about the cost of very expensive proprietary systems, they are now looking at NoSQL and open-source technologies as a very cost-effective way of handling all the data they will ever have," said Beighton, explaining Rackspace's reasons for the acquisition.

ObjectRocket built its service from the outset to be able to partition - or "shard" - the database across multiple servers, enabling it to scale easily, while also adding greater resilience and recovery capabilities.

For this reason, it is expected to attract existing MongoDB users who are looking for a way to scale up, or those taking their first steps in the NoSQL world and don't want to have to build it all themselves.

"If I was creating an e-commerce solution now, I'd really think about using NoSQL for driving the catalogue, for giving a really fast user experience when searching for products, while a relational database would be best for recording purchase transactions," Beighton said.

Rackspace said that the ObjectRocket service will store data entirely on Solid State Drives (SSDs), with redundancy built-in, and that in tests it delivered a latency of just 2ms, making it 10 times faster than rival database services.

The new platform will also be backed by Rackspace's Fanatical Support services.

Rackspace has yet to disclose pricing, but Beighton said it would likely be in line with ObjectRocket's existing licensing structure, which starts at $29 per month for a 1GB shard.

No financial details on the deal were disclosed.