Oracle claims that version 6 includes a four-fold increase in cache update performance and says that cache load times have also significantly improved. Additionally, the software now works with Oracle 10g Release 2 and has added support for newer version SQL languages and Java APIs like JDBC 3.0.
Oracle has also decoupled two features of the product — TimesTen replication software and the Cache Connect to Oracle software — and sells them separately.
In-memory databases store data in memory as opposed to disk allowing for lightning quick response times. The database usually sits on a dedicated mid-tier adjacent to application servers. In-memory databases are used in applications like financial services (stock trading) and mobile telecoms (billing) which both mandate fast response times.
Redwood Shores, California-based Oracle is hoping to expand the reach of TimesTen beyond these core verticals and convince enterprise users of the wider benefits of buying specialized in-memory databases to bump up the performance of applications like business intelligence (BI).
Oracle certainly has the well-oiled distribution channels necessary to take in-memory databases into the enterprise mainstream.
The company plans to develop a future release of TimesTen compatible with its Real Application Clusters (RAC) technology and also make it available in more languages.
When Oracle bought Mountain View, California-based TimesTen in June, Oracle was the only database supported out-of-the-box. At the time officials said that the software will continue to work with other databases so long as customers demanded it. But there is not doubting that the product is being optimized from Oracle environments.
TimesTen had around 1,500 customers including JP Morgan and Sprint.
Entry level pricing for TimesTen starts at $12,000 per CPU for up to 2 gigabytes of memory. This increases to $18,000 for up to 10GB of memory and $24,000 for unlimited memory. The TimesTen replication and Oracle cache components are priced at $6,000 to $12,000 per CPU, depending on the size of the database licensed.
TimesTen pretty much stands alone in the in-memory database market, citing custom build and in-house systems as its biggest competitors. But other database vendors like IBM Corp and Sybase Inc and Burlingame, California start-up ANTs Software Inc also claim to offer similar in-memory capabilities.
