Decision Support System for Database Placement

Database Application managers face hard decisions when locating the placement of a database. Should it be hosted internally or externally? Should it be local or offshore? If offshore, where should this database be placed geographically? Can it be supported in that geographic location? What will the hardware and software costs be to implement and support the database? If there are several dispersed geographical teams that use the same database, where should the database be placed with the least network latency? Finally, once a database has been placed, the life cycle of the database should be considered. This paper will discuss aspects of placing databases and introduce decision and operational research models that help define where to place databases. Factors considered will be hardware, software, and support costs. Network latency and bandwidth based on geographic locations will also be included. Weights will be given for decision factors based on the Database Application Managers’ input. The output of the models should provide insight to make correct decision based on the needs