Microsoft adding in-retentivity technology to SQL Server

Code-named Hekaton, Microsoft'due south in-memory technology will permit an entire database to be run from retention

U.Due south. Correspondent, IDG News Service |

In a move to speed online transaction processing (OLTP), Microsoft is adding in-memory capabilities into its SQL Server relational database direction organisation.

The next version of SQL Server will feature the ability to host database tables or even entire databases within a server's working retention. "Any application that is throttled by the I/O of a hd would do good by [having its data] moved into retentivity," said Doug Leland, Microsoft general manager. Currently Microsoft is testing this in-retentiveness technology, codenamed Hekaton, with a number of customers.

By belongings a database table in retentiveness, a server tin execute transactions using that table much more apace because the database server doesn't take to immediately read data from, nor write information to, a deejay. Microsoft predicts that its in-memory engineering can run transaction fifty times faster than a standard SQL Server setup.

The Hekaton engineering is geared for OLTP workloads, such as online banking systems, ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems, and other heavily used disk-jump transactional systems, Leland said. Hekaton runs simply on a single server, though information technology has no hard limit on how much retention it tin can utilise, so it tin scale up to however much RAM can be installed on a single server.

Hekaton maintains all the Acid (atomicity, consistency, isolation, immovability) properties required of relational databases. It writes serialized transaction logs in-memory then periodically writes these logs to disk, Leland said. The software uses a number of pinch algorithms to fit more data in retention. For example, the content is stored in a column store, so like information types are clustered together.

To assist database administrators deploy the in-memory engineering, the side by side version of SQL Server volition include a tool to hands designate databases or private database tables that can be run in memory. No changes will be required of the applications that utilise these databases. Additionally, Hekaton will be able to compile shop-procedures so that they run in-memory too. "You tin compile your stored procedures and run them equally native machine code," Leland said.

In-memory technologies have grown more pop amidst enterprises that desire to process data more quickly. Oracle'south Exadata and SAP's HANA both address this market too. Grafting the in-memory technology into SQL Server itself will simplify the customer's It compages because it eliminates the need to procure and maintain separate stand-lone in-retention technology, Leland argued.

Leland points out this is not Microsoft'south kickoff foray into in-retentivity technology. Both PowerPivot and Power View use in-memory technologies to allow users to quickly manipulate big swaths of information within Excel.

Microsoft announced the new engineering science at the Professional Clan for SQL Server (PASS) Superlative, being held this week in Seattle. Microsoft unveiled a few other new products at the conference too

The company also announced that it would before long release the next version of its data warehouse appliance, SQL Server 2012 Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW). Using a new data processing engine called PolyBase, this version of PDW will be able to run queries against both relational data and non-relational data managed past Apache Hadoop. Hadoop queries volition be channeled through the Apache Hive data warehouse software.

The company has also released SQL Server 2012 SP1 (Service Pack 1), which, among other features, includes the ability for Excel 2013 users to piece of work directly with SQL Server data.

Microsoft did not divulge any details about when the next version of SQL Server would exist released.

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general engineering breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at @Joab_Jackson. Joab'southward east-mail address is Joab_Jackson@idg.com

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