Saturday, January 31, 2009

Amazon SimpleDB 3rd Party Tools - updated


MindScape SimpleDB Management Tools

This is a Visual Studio plug-in. Those who work on Microsoft Platform will find it useful as they will be able to work with Amazon SimpleDB in a familiar environment. As I have a Microsoft background this is my favorite tool so far.
The free version has a limit of returning 20 results when writing queries, which is ok for those who want to explore Amazon SimpleDB. Full version is $29 per sit


http://www.mindscape.co.nz/Products/simpledbtools/

CloudAlly - Backup for SimpleDB


Activate daily backups of all your SimpleDB domains to Amazon S3 with no storage limitations or data size restrictions. You can also activate
backups for multiple SimpleDB accounts from a single CloudAlly account. Easily export data for on-premise use or restore your data from any point
in time with our one-click non-destructive restore feature.


http://www.cloudally.com/


Bolso - Amazon SimpleDB explorer

Bolso is a frontend utility (GUI) tool that allows you to view the data you have stored in the Amazon SimpleDB web service. It works for Windows and Mac OS X. 15 days evalutation version is available and the license costs only $20



SimpleDB Explorer
This is a standalone tool. It has been out for quite a while and should be quite stable. One of the advantages of the tool is that it is multiplatform and available for Windows, Mac and Linux. The price is $34.95 and volume discounts are available.


You can download fully functional 30 days evaluation version http://www.sdbexplorer.com/

Firefox plug-in

For those in love with Firefox there is a plug-in for the popular browser. The tool is absolutely free and the source code is available on Google code under Apache 2 license


More info about the tool and how to download it is available at http://bizo-dev.blogspot.com/2008/12/open-source-simple-db-firefox-plugin.html


SimpeDB Manager

Just came across yet another Amazon SimpleDB tool and decided to update this post. I have not downloaded it yet, so I don't have a screenshot yet. Apparently it is Windows only and requires .NET Framework 3.5, not sure what features of 3.5 those guys use. Anyways you can download a 30 days trial version and you can buy it for only 19.99 - limited time offer.  



SdbNavigator is a free and open source Amazon SimpleDB web interface. 

* No server-side scripts needed: do everything from your browser
* Manage domains, Create, Read, Update and Delete
* Manage records, Create, Read, Update and Delete
* Find records using your own queries, or by sorting on properties
* Quickly edit records using a convenient interface
* Convenient interface like PhpMyAdmin. 


https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ddhigekdfabonefhiildaiccafacphgg

SimpleDBAdmin






Supports saving multiple sets of AWS account credentials, useful if you manage SimpleDB data on multiple accounts.
Secret keys are encrypted and saved as cookies protected by a simple password.  You can access your SimpleDB account from the same computer without having to enter the AWS Access and Secret keys every time.
An elegant interface for storing, modifying and removing multiple values in the same attribute name.  Read about SimpleDB’s data model if you’re unfamiliar with SimpleDB’s ability to hold multiple values with the same attribute name.
Results are presented in a table format and are pageable.
Easily add and remove SimpleDB Domains.

http://awsninja.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/simpledbadmin-a-phpmyadmin-like-interface-for-amazon-simpledb/

+++

Even though SimpleDB is still in its infancy there are quite a few tools already for every taste. I am sure there are other tools to emerge over the time as SimpleDB will gain popularity.
If there is anything else I am missing please let me know.

I will try to continuesly add new stuff to this list as I find them.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ddhigekdfabonefhiildaiccafacphgghttp://awsninja.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/simpledbadmin-a-phpmyadmin-like-interface-for-amazon-simpledb/

Monday, January 12, 2009

CloudBerry Explorer and Amazon CloudFront

Amazon recently announced CloudFront service, its version of reliable and cost efficient Content Delivery Network that is seamlessly integrated with Amazon S3. Now it is a time to tell you how easy you can configure CloudFront using CloudBerry Explorer.

To create CloudFront distribution using CloudBerry explorer you have to click a bucket and choose “distribution” option from context menu. Notice that you can click “distribution” button in the toolbar





Click create link in the pop-up window. The screen will look like the one below after you click create.



Now all you have to do is to make sure you check “Enable Distribution” to “on” and click ok. You can also optionally specify CNAMEs and Comment to your newly create distribution. Note, that CNAMEs when it comes to CloudFront distributions are less restrictive than those you configure for a regular S3 bucket.
After you click ok, you will be presented with a confirmation dialog and you will see the progress.
Now you will experience some delay as it takes time to propagate your files to the edge servers. Once the distribution is ready you will see the whole bunch of new bucket properties on the property screen. Keep in mind that Status field will be “In Progress” while Amazon copies your files to the edge servers and turn to “Deployed” when done.





Notice how the icon of the bucket that has been configured for CloudFront distribution changes


To delete distribution simply go to distribution screen again and click “Delete CloudFront” link
Once again you will have to confirm the operation and wait before it is completed
Again, you will experience some delay as it takes time to remove files from edge servers.


Finally, you can temporarily disable distribution by clearing out “Enable Distribution” checkbox

We hope you will find our post useful and will enjoy the easiness of CloudBerry explorer coupled with effectiveness of Amazon Web Services. As always we appreciate your feedback as it helps to make the product better!