Question 1

What is Teradata Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself)?

Accepted Answer

Teradata Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) combines powerful Vantage software with the agility and flexibility of Amazon Web Service infrastructure. Benefits include self-service, under-an-hour provisioning, and pay-as-you-go — plus the ability to extend an on-premises analytic ecosystem into the AWS environment. Additional advantages:

Rapid and easy procurement — quick proofs of concept for analytic exploration
Hourly or Annual subscriptions — pay only for what’s used to optimize spend
Software consistency with on-premises — leverage existing Teradata investments

By incorporating AWS for deploying a Vantage environment, Teradata makes it easier for companies to become data-driven with best-in-class analytics.

Question 2

What products are offered with Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself)?

Accepted Answer

The following Teradata products are being offered with Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself):

Teradata Vantage — The platform for Pervasive Data Intelligence
Teradata Data Mover — Data movement between or within deployments
Teradata Data Stream Controller — Back up Vantage to Amazon S3
Teradata Ecosystem Manager — Multi-Teradata system monitoring
Teradata QueryGrid — Connects queries to other data repositories
Teradata Query Service — RESTful interface to Teradata Vantage
Teradata Server Management — Teradata system server management
Teradata Studio — GUI for administration and query development
Teradata Tools and Utilities — GUIs for integrating Teradata into your enterprise systems
Teradata Viewpoint — Portal for managing Teradata systems

Question 3

For whom is Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) intended?

Accepted Answer

Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) is intended for the same accounts that Teradata serves across all other deployment options. Existing customers of Teradata on-premises products will find it just as capable as customers who are new to Teradata. The ability to self-provision, launch quickly, pay-as-you-go, and integrate with a wide variety of complementary software tools are all key benefits.

Question 4

What are the expected use cases of Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself)?

Accepted Answer

Try the latest version of Vantage software to explore new features — with no commitment
Do Test and Development in an agile environment separate from on-premises resources
Conduct Proofs of Concept (POCs) to examine new hypotheses or validate software integration
Perform analytics on cloud-based data repositories, including data stored in Amazon S3 or Hadoop

Question 5

How does Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) compare to other Teradata products?

Accepted Answer

One of the key tenets and differentiators of the Teradata strategy is offering the same software everywhere. As such, the same features, capabilities, and benefits of world-renowned Teradata software are available on a pay-as-you-go basis in the AWS environment. In fact, the hybrid combination of on-premises, as-a-service consumption, and do-it-yourself deployment offerings — all using the same Teradata software — is key to making it easy for users to extract the most value from their data.

Question 6

How do I do a proof of concept (POC)?

Accepted Answer

The Teradata Services team is available to assist in determining the right architecture, configurations, and parameters to address the requirements of specific use cases — and Teradata encourages users to reach out to the Teradata Account Team. For new-to-Teradata customers, there are a variety of options available to assist in the evaluation and section process; please contact Teradata for more information. If performing a POC independently, please register for a Teradata site ID via the support registration form on this page to receive support.

Question 7

May I directly query data in Amazon S3?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Users may directly query data in Amazon S3 by using QueryGrid Manager and the optional (paid) Teradata-to-Presto QueryGrid Connector. This capability is a wonderful feature because it helps save time and money by avoiding egress charges and effort when moving data from S3 into Vantage.

The optional (paid) Teradata-to-Presto QueryGrid Connector interfaces with the Teradata distribution of Presto running on Amazon Elastic MapReduce (EMR), the AWS Hadoop-as-a-Service offering, or either Hortonworks (HDP) or Cloudera (CDH) on EC2 instances.

The Teradata distribution of Presto is open source (and thus free of charge), but to get support for Teradata Presto nodes users must engage Teradata Customer Services. Teradata QueryGrid Connectors are licensed separately for use with Teradata Vantage. Read the product documentation for more details.

Question 8

Can Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) be used as disaster recovery solutions?

Accepted Answer

Yes, users may choose to use their Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) instance(s) as primary or secondary environments in conjunction with other Teradata environments. They may configure these environments for disaster recovery on their own or contract with the Teradata Services team for assistance.

Question 9

Can I transfer data back-and-forth between this and other Teradata systems?

Accepted Answer

Yes, users can transfer data between on-premises, as-a-service, and do-it-yourself deployment instances of Teradata. Please take note of any AWS-related data transfer fees associated with this activity.

Question 10

How secure is Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself)?

Accepted Answer

Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) offers all the same security options that exist for any Amazon EC2-hosted offering. For example, EC2 compute instances are in a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) with an IP range that you specify. Users decide which instances are exposed to the Internet and which remain private. Security Groups and networks access control lists (ACLs) allow you to control inbound and outbound network access to and from the instances. Users can connect an existing IT infrastructure to resources in the VPC using industry-standard encrypted IPsec VPN connections.

Furthermore, users can provision your EC2 resources as Dedicated Instances, which are Amazon EC2 Instances that run on hardware dedicated to a single customer for additional isolation. Teradata refers users to AWS for details. For more information on Amazon EC2 security, refer to the Amazon Web Services: Overview of Security Process document.

Question 11

What compliance levels are in place?

Accepted Answer

The same compliance levels that exist for all AWS-deployed software are in place for Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself). Teradata refers users to AWS for those specifics. Ultimately, users are responsible for ensuring that they meet whatever requirements are applicable for their industry, operating environment, and end-user expectations.

Question 12

Will the same monitoring tool be able to monitor this and other Teradata systems?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Teradata Viewpoint may be used to monitor multiple instances of Teradata regardless of deployment option. Be sure to choose the multi-instance version of Viewpoint rather than a single instance version to take advantage of this capability.

Question 13

What AWS resource monitoring capabilities are available?

Accepted Answer

Amazon CloudWatch is a web service that provides monitoring for AWS cloud resources and applications, starting with Amazon EC2. It provides visibility into resource utilization, operational performance, and overall demand patterns — including metrics such as CPU utilization, disk reads and writes, and network traffic. Users can get statistics, view graphs, and set alarms for metric data. Amazon CloudWatch aggregates and stores monitoring data that can be accessed using web service APIs or Command Line Tools.

Question 14

What is AWS Marketplace?

Accepted Answer

AWS Marketplace is an online store that helps customers find, buy, and immediately start using the software and services they need to build products and run their businesses. Visitors to the marketplace can use AWS Marketplace’s 1-Click deployment to quickly launch pre-configured software and pay only for what they use. AWS handles billing and payments, and software charges appear on the customer’s AWS bill.

Question 15

What do I need to subscribe to software on AWS Marketplace?

Accepted Answer

Any customer eligible to use AWS products is also able to shop on AWS Marketplace, but must have an Amazon EC2 account. Software charges appear on the same monthly bill as AWS infrastructure charges.

Question 16

How do I pay for AWS Marketplace subscriptions?

Accepted Answer

When using a Teradata AMI product that has an hourly fee, users will be billed by AWS for use of this software. At the beginning of the month, they will receive a bill from AWS for your AWS Marketplace charges, which will include one or both types of charges:

The hourly fee for the software multiplied by the number of hours an instance with this software was running.
Infrastructure charges such as EC2 usage, EBS usage, and Bandwidth usage.

For EC2 resources, each instance will run until one of the following occurs: the user terminates the instance, the instance shuts itself down, or the host terminates due to software or hardware failure. Partial instance hours consumed are billed as full hours.

Question 17

What is Teradata ecosystem software and why might I want to include it in my database subscription?

Accepted Answer

Teradata ecosystem software is comprehensive with extraordinarily powerful capabilities to ingest, access, manage, and deploy analytical ecosystems such as:

Teradata Data Lab
Teradata Data Mover
Teradata QueryGrid (with Connectors)
Teradata Viewpoint (Multiple Systems)

Additional information about this flexible, affordable solution for the Enterprise, Advanced, and Base tiers is available at www.teradata.com/Products/Ecosystem-Management/IntelliSphere.

Question 18

What happens to Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) subscriptions when Teradata updates its products?

Accepted Answer

When Teradata publishes an update to an AMI to which a user is subscribed, the user will be sent a notification email from AWS Marketplace that contains information about the latest version provided by Teradata.

Question 19

What partner software is available?

Accepted Answer

Numerous options exist to provision and deploy alliance partner software in combination with the Teradata solutions on AWS. Many Teradata partners offer their software on AWS, making it easy for both Teradata and alliance software to be deployed in the same environments. Other options include on-premises partner software connected to Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself), as well as cloud-to-cloud connectivity between partner cloud environments and Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself). When planning to deploy Vantage in conjunction with partner software on AWS, first find the Teradata alliance partner in the Teradata partner network directory and check compatibility with Teradata Vantage.

Question 20

Where is Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) available?

Accepted Answer

Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) is available in all nearly every AWS Marketplace region. Here are the countries and regions from which Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) is available on a do-it-yourself basis:

Australia

Sydney (ap-southeast-2)

Brazil

São Paulo (sa-east-1)

Canada

Canada Central (ca-central-1)

Germany

Frankfurt (eu-central-1)

India

Mumbai (ap-south-1)

Ireland

Ireland (eu-west-1)

Japan

Tokyo (ap-northeast-1)

Korea

Seoul (ap-northeast-2)

Singapore

Singapore (ap-southeast-1)

United Kingdom

London (eu-west-2)

United States

N. Virginia (us-east-1)
Ohio (us-east-2)
N. California (us-west-1)
Oregon (us-west-2)

Question 21

Does Vantage allow me to use AWS private (dedicated) cloud instances?

Accepted Answer

Yes, users may use Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) on dedicated EC2 instances.

Question 22

Are there automated deployment options via AWS CloudFormation?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Teradata has harnessed AWS CloudFormation templates to help streamline the provisioning process for bringing up the numerous Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) involved in a Teradata ecosystem. Teradata established three ecosystems: Test and Development, Minimum Production, and Full Production, each of which contains increasing quantities of Teradata software. To use the launch templates, first subscribe to the AMIs in the desired ecosystem. Then launch the Teradata Ecosystem template and from there it’s a straightforward fill-in-the-blank step-by-step process to bring up the AMIs much easier than doing so manually.

Question 23

What are the EC2 deployment considerations between choosing Local Storage or EBS?

Accepted Answer

AWS offers EC2 instances with local storage (SSD and HDD) as well as network attached storage (i.e., Elastic Block Store, or EBS, which is always SSD). Storage type should be selected carefully according to the intended use case because there are tradeoffs involved with each choice:

Local Storage (SSD)

Highest performance
Highest cost per vCPU / TB
Lower reliability than EBS
Storage is ephemeral (e.g., requires a running instance)
Potential for data loss if EC2 instance fails
Data protection via DSU Backup

Local Storage (HDD)

Lower performance than SSD
Lower cost per vCPU / TB than SSD
Lower reliability than SSD
Storage is ephemeral (e.g., requires a running instance)
Potential for data loss if EC2 instance fails
Data protection via DSU Backup

Elastic Block Store (EBS)

Highest reliability
Lower performance than local storage
Lowest cost per vCPU /TB (even with extra charges for EBS)
Storage expandable by attaching additional EBS volumes
Data persists independent of running instance which provides option to shut down instance between sessions to reduce EC2 costs (lower TCO)

Question 24

What is automatic node failure recovery?

Accepted Answer

Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) includes automatic node failure recovery capabilities, which apply to EC2 instances using EBS. Node failures may be related to hardware, software, or the operating system. When a node fails, Node Failure Recovery:

Automatically spins up a virtual hot standby node instance
Detaches the attached storage of the failed node
Configures a new instance
Reattaches the attached storage to the new instance
Reinstates the configuration

The replacement node is based off an image recorded when the system is first launched, or an updated image if the proper tools are run after a software upgrade. The replacement node has the same secondary IP, elastic IP, and identifiers as the replaced node. By default, the downed node continues running and can be used for diagnostic purposes.

Question 25

May I backup and restore to/from Amazon S3?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In addition to using EBS, users may directly backup and restore to and from Amazon S3. Using Teradata Data Stream Controller, this capability applies whether the source is a cloud or on-premises Teradata system and whether the restore target is a cloud or on-premises Teradata system. The benefit of using low-cost Amazon S3 is that users pay only for what’s used and storage scales automatically. It is easy to create and manage jobs in Viewpoint for backup and restore at the database or object level, and incremental backup means that only changed blocks are streamed from the database. Multiple parallel data streams between each Teradata node and the Amazon S3 storage bucket minimizes backup and restore windows.

Question 26

Where is documentation for how to launch, provision, and use Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself)?

Accepted Answer

Teradata provides easy-to-follow documentation on how to launch, provision, and use our software with AWS infrastructure on the following pages:

Question 27

What kind of support is included with my Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) subscription?

Accepted Answer

Teradata Premier Cloud Support, bundled with your paid software subscription, helps you react quickly and effectively to events that put your analytics at risk. Backed by our extensive network of remote service representatives, we provide comprehensive problem resolution when it counts.

Teradata Premier Cloud Support provides:

24x7 Resolution: Around-the-clock incident creation through Teradata Access
Adaptive Response: Hours of coverage and response times by customer-defined severity levels
Support Forum: Access to helpful resources for Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) and the Teradata Support Knowledge Base
Customized Add-ons: Additional Teradata Services to help you manage your environment may be purchased separately

Registration to a Teradata Access account is required to:

Request support from Teradata regarding an incident
Download software releases
Access educational materials

Note: Every Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) customer must register their AWS account for a Teradata Access account.

Question 28

How do I register for support?

Accepted Answer

If you’ve not yet registered for Teradata Access for your do-it-yourself subscription, please do so now at this Support Registration page.

Registration for Teradata Premier Cloud Support for do-it-yourself subscriptions on AWS requires a public cloud site ID. If you already have a public cloud site ID and Teradata Access account for AWS, just log in to Teradata Access, or track down your AWS Account ID.

Note: If you have a Teradata Access account for a site other than Teradata Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself), you'll need to register your AWS account for Teradata with your existing Teradata Support login (email). After that you can link the accounts together.

Question 29

After I&rsquo;ve registered for support, how do I get support?

Accepted Answer

Teradata Access is the service portal for Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself).

Included with the paid Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) subscription is Teradata Premier Cloud Support, which provides 24x7 incident creation for problem resolutions, coverage and response times by customer-defined severity levels, and entitlement to software updates.

Premier Cloud Support provides users access to Teradata Customer Service’s 24x7 Service Portal to engage in community forums for sharing ideas and discovering solutions, searching knowledge articles for relevant product and service information, downloading software updates, and accessing the Teradata Support Team for problem resolution.

Note: Every Vantage on AWS (do-it-yourself) customer must register their AWS account for a Teradata Support account.

Question 30

When is support available?

Accepted Answer

The Teradata Cloud Service Portal is available 7 x 24 x 365 for the submission of incidents, changes, and requests for information.

Business Day: Monday-Friday 9:00 AM EST-8:00 PM EST.
Next Business Day: Example: If a S2 or S3 incident is opened in the Teradata Cloud Service Portal after 8:00 PM EST on Friday, Teradata Staff will respond to this incident on Monday at 9:00 AM EST.

For general AWS or AWS Marketplace issues, please contact AWS Support directly.

Question 31

What are restricted support requirements?

Accepted Answer

The 24x7 support available via Teradata Premier Cloud Support is provided through a highly trained group of Teradata experts across the globe. If a customer’s site has certain restrictions, Teradata Premier Cloud Support response service level agreements (SLAs) may not be applicable. Examples of support restrictions include policies such as, "Only US citizens on US soil can provide support to us,” or "Remote access to Teradata nodes for troubleshooting is not allowed.”

In these cases where restricted support is required, additional approvals will be required before Teradata can provide the level of support that meets restricted requirements and the support SLAs that such customers are looking for. For more information about restricted support, please email restricted.sites@teradata.com.

Get ready to Focus

Teradata Vantage on AWS
(Do-it-Yourself)

Glossary

AMI

AZ

CDS

EBS

EC2

IAM

S3

SLA

VPC

Customers

Get started now with Vantage on AWS

Get ready to Focus

Teradata Vantage on AWS(Do-it-Yourself)

Glossary

AMI

AZ

CDS

EBS

EC2

IAM

S3

SLA

VPC

Customers

Get started now with Vantage on AWS

Teradata Vantage on AWS
(Do-it-Yourself)