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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.