Data Warehouse

Vector 6.2 Delivers Even Faster and More Secure Analytics

Teresa Wingfield

November 17, 2021

Analytics Database

Actian Vector is a vectorized columnar analytics database designed to deliver extreme performance with a high level of security. But who wouldn’t want analytics that are even faster and more secure? For those who do, the new Vector 6.2 release available on November 10, 2021, is a winner, continuing to push the limits of what is possible in operational data warehousing. Here’s a summary of just a few of Vector’s most important new features.

Vector 6.2 is Faster

Vector has long been the industry’s fastest analytics database. It’s designed for speed and efficiency using column-based storage and vector processing. With the incorporation of query result caching and queue-based workload management in the 6.2 release, Vector just got another performance boost.

Query Result Caching

If you’ve previously run a query and the data hasn’t changed since the last run, Vector doesn’t need to run the full query again. Instead, it leverages query result caching to retrieve the previous result instantaneously from the cache. This substantially reduces the time and system resources required to obtain the insights you seek.

Queue-Based Workload Management

Queue-based workload management dynamically adjusts workload queues based on available resources and resource quotas. Key benefits include:

  • Prevents system overload and workload starvation by limiting resource usage per the database administrator’s configuration.
  • Allows system administrators to quickly run high-priority reports even on a fully loaded system.
  • Enables the user to have very small queries answered independently of system load.
  • Manages usage by prioritizing resources appropriately across people, groups, and applications, even enabling specific profiles to run at different priorities during specified time slots.

Vector 6.2 is More Secure

Re-Keying Encryption

Previous releases of Vector have enabled organizations to maintain tight security for sensitive data, with support for encryption at rest and in transit as well as dynamic data masking of fields containing personally identifiable information and other sensitive data. Vector 6.2 extends security further, providing the ability to re-key the database with new encryption keys as recommended by NIST guidelines. This feature is valuable since it enables an enterprise to limit the amount of time a bad actor can use a stolen key to access your data.

Secure User-Defined Functions

This new release enhances security by executing Python, JavaScript and NumPY UDFs within a container that is sandboxed from the rest of the database. The NumPY UDF support is new and enables the vector-based execution of numeric data.   

Learn More About Vector

Visit our website to learn more about analytics database Vector’s extensive performance optimization, features, and use cases.

About Teresa Wingfield

Teresa Wingfield is Director of Product Marketing at Actian where she is responsible for communicating the unique value that the Actian Data Platform delivers, including proven data integration, data management and data analytics. She brings a 20-year track record of increasing revenue and awareness for analytics, security, and cloud solutions. Prior to Actian, Teresa managed product marketing at industry-leading companies such as Cisco, McAfee, and VMware.