Sybase announced a beta of the new Sybase IQ 15.3, which
now supports massively parallel processing (MPP) architecture.
Sybase IQ 15.3 will be generally available in the first
half of 2011, Sybase said. The beta is invitation only.
Featuring the new PlexQ Distributed Query Platform, the
beta of the column-oriented database offers high performance, high scalability
and architectural flexibility, according to Sybase. PlexQ improves response
time for highly complex queries by distributing work to many computers in a
grid configuration, Sybase said.
PlexQ dynamically manages and balances query workloads
across all the computer nodes running under a Sybase IQ configuration,
according to Sybase. The automatic workload re-balancer monitors and adjusts system
resources to users, to deliver high performance for concurrent workloads,
Sybase said. This way, a smaller, new query can execute and return results even
if a more complicated query is already running and using up the bulk of
resources, the company said.
"Most competitors’ shared-nothing MPP systems execute
queries serially without adequate load balancing," said Joydeep Das, Director
of Analytics Product Management at Sybase. In contrast, Sybase contends its MPP
is "shared-everything."
Under "shared-everything" each server can share memory,
processing, and storage with other servers. Previous versions were used in
clusters, but was not designed with share everything components, according to
Das.
PlexQ increased performance levels while maintaining
simplicity of deployment and administration, according to Sybase. PlexQ offers
a simple and flexible resource provisioning tool that groups multiple servers
together before assigning sets to specific application profiles.
Sybase claims IQ is ten to hundred times faster than
conventional transactional databases, and that data compression reduces total
storage volume by 70 percent or more.
Designed for data warehouses, Sybase IQ 15.3
automatically indexes all columns when the table is created. Part of the
movement to shift away from SQL-databases, column-oriented databases are
non-relational, distributed, and horizontally scalable.
The new Sybase IQ beta continues support for heavy
concurrent usage, ad hoc queries and flexible scaling. The previous update, Sybase
IQ 15.2 was in March, which added full
text search, query federation and role-based access controls.
This version is Sybase’s first beta since the SAP
acquired Sybase in May for $5.8 billion. The Sybase acquisition was a
culmination of a strategic partnership that goes back several years. Sybase and
SAP were already working together to add mobility features to its customer
relationship management and sales force automation applications. The
acquisition strengthened SAP against major rivals Oracle in the database and
mobile Web platform, and Microsoft in the midmarket space.
Microsoft also announced its own beta of SQL
Server with MPP, code named Denali. The company declined to say when the
final release will be available for general download.
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