ANTs Data Server 2.4 Takes Databases To New Heights

Data Server 2.4 arrives with many of the same features as competing databases from Oracle, IBM and Sybase. Features such as remote management through SNMP, high availability and scalability, backup and master/slave replication with automatic failover are required for large-scale enterprise deployments. However similar Data Server 2.4 may seem, there are many features that set it apart from big-name database contenders.

Data Server 2.4 reaches 64 Gbytes of memory on 32-bit x86 hardware. To accomplish this, Data Server 2.4 creates a virtual memory system that takes advantage of extended memory features in 32-bit chips. The software creates additional partitions of addressable memory in a file system. If all available server memory is full, Data Server 2.4 allocates 64-Kbyte chunks of memory from these partitions on a hard drive. This is a great feature for administrators working on a 32-bit platform, since these combined memory chunks can create up to 64 Gbytes of extra space. However, a more efficient process would be to simply deploy Data Server 2.4 on a true 64-bit platform.

Most RDBMS-based data-access algorithms were designed using methodologies from the 1970s and early 1980s with low transaction volumes in mind. This was done to compensate for the slow speeds of available hardware and to ensure data integrity. To compensate for the lack of throughput, database companies such as Oracle, IBM and Sybase depend on clustering servers, which makes large volume transaction systems extremely expensive and complex to operate, even over inexpensive Gigabit Ethernet networks that use multiprocesser servers.

Data Server 2.4 uses seven patent-pending algorithms that can virtually eliminate locking on the server side and maintain data integrity and high throughput.

The Data Server 2.4 architecture can maintain thousands of connection states to a single database with little overhead, allowing multiple users to access a database simultaneously. The algorithms and the architecture accomplish the same goal as the use of server clustering with faster, more efficient and reliable results.

To increase speed even further, the software integrates a preload function that loads entire data tables into memory at startup so the data is precached. It also will compile SQL queries to machine code on the fly and execute them, thus producing the same throughput speed for new queries as for stored procedures on competing database servers. In addition, Data Server 2.4 has an efficiency mechanism in its main memory environment that performs all operations directly in memory without caching out results.

By default, Data Server 2.4 will use all available memory in a system. The server will automatically detect its server operating environment and determine hardware configurations automatically, including the number of processors, whether those processors use Hyper-threading technology and the amount of available memory and storage resources. The ANTs Data Server 2.4 eliminates the need for tweaking by a database administrator (DBA) to improve performance.

Most in-memory databases depend on proprietary APIs, which make application migrations cumbersome. The database supports ANSI SQL92, ODBC and JDBC clients, allowing integrators or administrators to easily migrate any SQL-based application to Data Server 2.4. In addition, it supports all the functionality of standard RDBMS such as stored procedures, triggers and events and complex queries and analytics in applications.

Data Server 2.4 also provides dynamic data views of analytical applications. Each time data is changed, a time-stamped snapshot is taken of the database. The server’s engine can identify which database snapshot is applicable to specific applications by the query’s time stamp.

Inside the database, the query engine does not lock tables, indexes, queues or lists to one user at a time, even during query executions. For example, if two users want to change the same field in the same table in a database at the same time, the server identifies this action as a commutative process and allows both users to make changes without either user being blocked.

The vendor’s channel program is in its initial stages and the company is actively seeking partners experienced in financial services, logistics, telecommunications and retail. ANTs offers 30 percent to 50 percent margins based on sales volume and provides in-person training and technical support for its partners. The company plans to add more benefits in the future. ANTs Data Server 2.4 Professional Edition is priced at $5000 per CPU, and the Enterprise Edition costs $25,000 per CPU.

CHANNEL PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS
>ANTs Data Server 2.4
COMPANY: ANTs Software, Inc.
Burlingame, Calif.
(650) 692-0219
www.ants.com
DISTRIBUTORS: Direct from Vendor
PRICE: $5000 per CPU Professional Edition, $25,000 per CPU Enterprise Edition
AUTHORIZATION REQUIREMENTS: Certified in either Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, Sybase or MySQL and proven customer success
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Note: Recommended status is earned with a score of eight stars out of 10