MongoDB users will soon be able to pick from three different engines to run their data, as the database giant expands its offering with the latest version of its NoSQL technology.
The firm has announced MongoDB 3.0, and the newest iteration of the database will let customers choose between its standard read-intensive engine, a write-intensive engine and an "experimental" in-memory engine.
The in-memory engine will let customers process data 100,000 times faster by writing to RAM, as compared to writing to disk, said the firm.
The other new option leverages WiredTiger, the open source storage engine MongoDB acquired in mid-December last year.
Now bundled into the latest database upgrade, the WiredTiger engine lets developers build applications that deliver between seven and 10 times better write-throughput performance, the company said.
It also compresses the data to cut storage costs by as much as 80 per cent, according to CTO Eliot Horowitz.
He said: "With 3.0, MongoDB's performance, scalability, and manageability now set the standard for today's most demanding applications."
The ability to switch between engines should allow customers to optimise their databases for different kinds of workloads while using a single query language (NoSQL).
The firm claims this will help customers build a more diverse set of applications at lower cost and less complexity.
Charity Majors, production engineering manager for Facebook, a customer, said: "The storage API opens the door for MongoDB to leverage write-optimised storage engines, improved compression and memory usage, and other aspects of cutting edge modern database engines.
"We're excited for the release and can't wait to see further innovation in the MongoDB storage engine space."
MongoDB's director of products Kelly Stirman told IT Pro: "With this performance MongoDB moves to the head of the class. New applications see huge volumes of data written very quickly. The first iPhone release had one sensor, its camera. The current iPhone has a dozen - a camera, a GPS tracker and a lot more.
"This release allows you to quickly and efficiently pull that data in."
A spokesman noted that customers can upgrade their database with zero downtime, adding that just a single commannd line is required to start MongoDB with the WiredTiger engine.
He added: "Multiple MongoDB storage engines can co-exist within a single MongoDB replica set, making it easy to evaluate and migrate engines."
Online auction site eBay is a MongoDB customer, and plans to make use of the WiredTiger engine.
"MongoDB 3.0 enables a new dimension for community innovation with its pluggable storage engine feature," said Yuri Finkelstein, enterprise architect at eBay. "There is no greater customisation than being able to choose the engine in your database.
"I look forward to the enhanced write performance and compression available with WiredTiger, and a flurry of new storage engine options for MongoDB, developed by the MongoDB community."
Ops Manager
The 3.0 release also includes Ops Manager, a database management tool for MongoDB that integrates with most popular operations tools, according to the company, which claims it reduces operational overheads by up to 95 per cent.
The on-premise software lets operations teams and database managers deploy, upgrade, maintain and back up their systems with the click of a button.
The 3.0 iteration of the database will be widely available from March.
