Mondrian 2.4 comes with advanced SQL functions that speeds up query performance against large data sets. For example, the software now supports a Groupings Sets SQL construct that improves performance by reducing the number of individual SQL queries required to satisfy an analytic query.
Pentaho said the construct is extensively used by most leading data warehousing platforms like IBM DB2, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and NCR Teradata.
Mondrian 2.4 also deepens support for industry analysis standards like MDX (multidimensional expression) and XMLS (XML for Analysis) web-services protocol. It also integrates with the Apache Virtual File System (VFS).
Pentaho claims the upgrade was promoted by customers using Mondrian to analyze as much as half a terabyte of data in multi-server, clustered environments.
Mondrian is part of Pentaho’s BI Suite that also includes query and reporting, data integration, and data mining.
This is the second major upgrade of Mondrian this year. In April Orlando, Florida-based Pentaho added more advanced caching to improve scalability into a 2.3 release that makes the OLAP engine more suitable for mixed query and analysis workloads.
Mondrian, which was set up in 2001, was acquired by Orlando, Florida-based Pentaho in November 2005 and has been integrated into the Pentaho BI Suite as Analysis Services. The company has been aggressively upgrading the software since, adding more administration and richer end-user features including a graphical cube designer and optimized SQL querying.
Subscription-based support and indemnification for Mondrian is available from Pentaho.
Pentaho was founded in 2002 by former executives of leading commercial software firms like IBM, Hyperion Solutions, Cognos, Oracle and SAS. The company is effectively stewarding the development of a LAMP-like BI stack that pulls together a set of interoperable open source BI tools into a comprehensive integrated BI stack.
Pentaho also owns other open source projects like JFreeReport (enterprise reporting), Kettle (ETL), and Weka (data mining) that integrate to form the backbone of its BI suite.
