McObject's extremeDB In-Memory Database System (IMDS) has been upgraded to version 4.5. The upgrade introduces an integration option with third-party message router hardware to accelerate communication functions. Aimed for high-availability deployments, the new version also features a new Java API as well as an improved SQL interface and more scalable versions of popular database indexes.
Although extremeDB already includes a Java Native Interface (JNI) with all editions, extremeDB 4.5 now adds a Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) driver for developing applications and accessing databases in Java. The driver supports JDBC version 4, level 4 and is included with eXtremeSQL (extremeDB's SQL ODBC interface). McObject points out that JDBC can deliver higher efficiency than native APIs for certain operations, such as complex queries and mass updates/deletes.
extremeDB targets mission-critical applications in the high performance computing sector by integrating the database system's High Availability (HA) edition with Solace Systems' Solace Message Router appliance. The integration enables the Solace device to serve as the communication channel in an extremeDB-HA deployment.
With Solace Systems' hardware-based messaging middleware as the "wire" between master and replica database nodes, the Solace router's guaranteed message delivery feature enables extremeDB-HA to use a streamlined HA protocol and to eliminate one part of the messaging process (namely the "message acknowledgement" step). According to McObject, the result is less network traffic with reduced latency and a significantly faster transaction rate.
"The new extremeDB 4.5 bundles major improvements with many new features and refinements of existing capabilities. JDBC enjoys wide familiarity among enterprise developers and the new driver meets a growing need as extremeDB's use expands beyond its embedded systems origins," said Steve Graves, McObject CEO and cofounder. "The extremeDB High Availability - Solace Message Router integration emerged from a successful McObject consulting project, and has applicability in low latency/high frequency trading, network infrastructure, and other uses where mission-critical infrastructure applications demand both fault-tolerance and low-latency."
The new edition also has better R-tree and hash indexes. Previously, developers sized hash indexes when defining a database. An overly small size estimate could lead to performance-reducing collisions. extremeDB 4.5 introduces a dynamic hash index that grows as data is added, for greater speed and scalability. extremeDB's implementation of the R-tree index — used in mapping/geospatial applications — is also said to be faster and now includes the MCO_NEIGHBORHOOD search type, which facilitates a search for index entries within a given radius of a point, to simplify searches.
