The latest company to merge analytics and transactions into a single operation, Terracotta has added search functionality into the latest version of its Ehcache Java cache software.
The search feature, available in the newly released version 2.4 of the software, will allow organizations to perform analysis directly against their online data stores, which could simplify their architecture and cut the time it takes for analyzing data, when compared to performing analysis against disk-based databases or data warehouses, the company claims.
When used with the Ehcache BigMemory option, users can query up data stores of up to 1 terabyte or more.
"By combining the analytical and transactional dimensions in the same application, users can analyze business trends as things happen, thus improving their insights and responsiveness," said Gartner vice president Massimo Pezzini in the Terracotta press release.
Ehcache is open source cache software that can be used to store modified programs and databases in the working memory of a server, or across multiple servers. Terracotta assumed stewardship of the technology when it acquired the Ehcache company in 2009.
Access to the Ehcache search feature has built into the core Ehcache API (application programming interface). Using the Ehcache Query Language (EQL), searches can be performed against element keys and values, as well as attributes within keys and values. Specific keys and values can be returned, as can the results of basic aggregating functions, such as summing.
Terracotta is not alone in its attempts to bring analytic capabilities to the databases that now are largely used to record transactions and other events. SAP's High-Performance Analytics Appliance (HANA) also allows analysis of in-memory data, according to a GigaOm article. Earlier this week, Kogitio announced it was augmenting its WX2 database with the ability to generate virtual data cubes on the fly, potentially doing away with the need for stand-alone data warehouses in some cases.
Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at @Joab_Jackson. Joab's e-mail address is Joab_Jackson@idg.com
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