Teradata Leverages In-Memory Technology For Big Data

Teradata (TDC) introduced Intelligent Memory, a new database technology that creates extended memory space beyond cache that significantly increases query performance and enables organizations to leverage in-memory technologies with big, diverse data.

"The introduction of Teradata Intelligent Memory allows our customers to exploit the performance of memory within Teradata Platforms, which extends our leadership position as the best performing data warehouse technology at the most competitive price," said Scott Gnau, president Teradata Labs. "Teradata Intelligent Memory technology is built into the data warehouse and customers don't have to buy a separate appliance. Additionally, Teradata enables its customers to buy and configure the exact amount of in-memory capability needed for critical workloads. It is unnecessary and impractical to keep all data in memory, because all data do not have the same value to justify being placed in expensive memory."

Intelligent Memory is a part of the overall Unified Data Architecture strategy, which leverages Teradata, Teradata Aster, and open source Apache Hadoop. It manages the data by predictively placing the "hottest" or most frequently used data into memory, then automatically updating and synchronizing it. Access to data in-memory eliminates disk I/O bottlenecks and query delays, and increases system throughput.

Intelligent Memory uses algorithms that automatically age, track, and rank data to ensure effective data management and support for user queries. Data can be stored and compressed in columns and rows, which maximizes the amount of data in the memory space. Teradata Intelligent Memory places only the hottest data to the new extended memory space.

“Teradata’s new in-memory architecture is integrated with its management of data temperature,” said Richard Winter, chief executive officer, WinterCorp. “This is very significant, because the hottest data will migrate automatically to the in-memory layer -Teradata Intelligent Memory; the next hottest data will move automatically to solid state disk; and, so on. Teradata also provides the column storage and data compression that amplify the value of data in memory. The customer sees increased performance without having to make decisions about which data is placed in memory.”