TimesTen
Encyclopedia
TimesTen is an in-memory relational database
software product from Oracle Corporation
. TimesTen is designed for low latency, high-volume data, event and transaction
management. Unlike disk-optimized relational databases such as the Oracle database
, DB2
, Informix
, and SQL Server
, TimesTen's data is located entirely in memory; no disk I/O is required for query operations. As memory is far faster than hard disk, TimesTen is used in applications where Service level agreements require very fast and predictable response time, such as network equipment, telecommunication, real-time financial services trading applications, and large web applications. Unlike custom-built memory structures such as Hash tables, TimesTen is a relational database that is accessed with standard ODBC and JDBC, providing the rich functionality of the SQL
query language.
labs in Palo Alto, California
by Marie-Anne Neimat, Sherry Listgarten, and Kurt Shoens. In 1996, the product was spun off into a separate venture capital
funded startup
company based in Mountain View, California
under the leadership of CEO Jim Groff. The product became popular for telecommunications equipment, as response times in the milliseconds or even microseconds were required for applications like packet switching. The company had 80 employees and was profitable when it was acquired by Oracle Corporation
in 2005. Since the acquisition, Neimat remains the director of TimesTen development at Oracle, adding many Oracle database features to the product such as PL/SQL
stored procedures.
, query optimization
, and storage management, for example, are designed specially for in-memory data access. The result is high throughput and low, predictable response times, even on commodity hardware. The product also incorporates replication
facilities, non-blocking operation, and an event-notification mechanism that works together with materialized view
s to convey changes to other systems. TimesTen saves each transaction in its log and checkpoint files on disk, so data is not lost in the event of system failure.
TimesTen provides the capability of caching data from an Oracle database
backend. SQL
predicates are used to specify what data is cached, or data can be loaded into the cache on demand (and later automatically aged out). Data can be changed in the cache, with writes being propagated synchronously or asynchronously back to Oracle.
TimesTen products run on the major Unix
/Linux
platforms and on various Windows
platforms, in both 32-bit and 64-bit modes.
segment), the size of the database is limited to the amount of RAM
available on its host computers. Although some customers have production TimesTen databases as large as one terabyte
, most customers have smaller databases that are utilized for on-line transaction processing.
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
software product from Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
. TimesTen is designed for low latency, high-volume data, event and transaction
Database transaction
A transaction comprises a unit of work performed within a database management system against a database, and treated in a coherent and reliable way independent of other transactions...
management. Unlike disk-optimized relational databases such as the Oracle database
Oracle database
The Oracle Database is an object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation....
, DB2
IBM DB2
The IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition is a relational model database server developed by IBM. It primarily runs on Unix , Linux, IBM i , z/OS and Windows servers. DB2 also powers the different IBM InfoSphere Warehouse editions...
, Informix
Informix
IBM Informix is a family of relational database management system developed by IBM. It is positioned as IBM's flagship data server for online transaction processing as well as integrated solutions...
, and SQL Server
SQL Server
SQL Server may refer to:* Any database server that implements the Structured Query Language* Microsoft SQL Server, a relational database server from Microsoft* Sybase SQL Server, a relational database server developed by Sybase...
, TimesTen's data is located entirely in memory; no disk I/O is required for query operations. As memory is far faster than hard disk, TimesTen is used in applications where Service level agreements require very fast and predictable response time, such as network equipment, telecommunication, real-time financial services trading applications, and large web applications. Unlike custom-built memory structures such as Hash tables, TimesTen is a relational database that is accessed with standard ODBC and JDBC, providing the rich functionality of the SQL
SQL
SQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
query language.
History
TimesTen was originally designed and implemented at Hewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
labs in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
by Marie-Anne Neimat, Sherry Listgarten, and Kurt Shoens. In 1996, the product was spun off into a separate venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
funded startup
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
company based in Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
under the leadership of CEO Jim Groff. The product became popular for telecommunications equipment, as response times in the milliseconds or even microseconds were required for applications like packet switching. The company had 80 employees and was profitable when it was acquired by Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
in 2005. Since the acquisition, Neimat remains the director of TimesTen development at Oracle, adding many Oracle database features to the product such as PL/SQL
PL/SQL
PL/SQL is Oracle Corporation's procedural extension language for SQL and the Oracle relational database...
stored procedures.
Product information
TimesTen is an in-memory database management technology that speeds access to data. IndexingIndex (database)
A database index is a data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table at the cost of slower writes and increased storage space...
, query optimization
Query optimization
Query optimization is a function of many relational database management systems in which multiple query plans for satisfying a query are examined and a good query plan is identified. This may or not be the absolute best strategy because there are many ways of doing plans. There is a trade-off...
, and storage management, for example, are designed specially for in-memory data access. The result is high throughput and low, predictable response times, even on commodity hardware. The product also incorporates replication
Replication (computer science)
Replication is the process of sharing information so as to ensure consistency between redundant resources, such as software or hardware components, to improve reliability, fault-tolerance, or accessibility. It could be data replication if the same data is stored on multiple storage devices, or...
facilities, non-blocking operation, and an event-notification mechanism that works together with materialized view
Materialized view
A materialized view is a database object that contains the results of a query. They are local copies of data located remotely, or are used to create summary tables based on aggregations of a table's data. Materialized views, which store data based on remote tables, are also known as snapshots...
s to convey changes to other systems. TimesTen saves each transaction in its log and checkpoint files on disk, so data is not lost in the event of system failure.
TimesTen provides the capability of caching data from an Oracle database
Oracle database
The Oracle Database is an object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation....
backend. SQL
SQL
SQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
predicates are used to specify what data is cached, or data can be loaded into the cache on demand (and later automatically aged out). Data can be changed in the cache, with writes being propagated synchronously or asynchronously back to Oracle.
TimesTen products run on the major Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
/Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
platforms and on various Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
platforms, in both 32-bit and 64-bit modes.
Limitations
Since all of TimesTen's data must reside in memory (in a shared memoryShared memory
In computing, shared memory is memory that may be simultaneously accessed by multiple programs with an intent to provide communication among them or avoid redundant copies. Depending on context, programs may run on a single processor or on multiple separate processors...
segment), the size of the database is limited to the amount of RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
available on its host computers. Although some customers have production TimesTen databases as large as one terabyte
Terabyte
The terabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The prefix tera means 1012 in the International System of Units , and therefore 1 terabyte is , or 1 trillion bytes, or 1000 gigabytes. 1 terabyte in binary prefixes is 0.9095 tebibytes, or 931.32 gibibytes...
, most customers have smaller databases that are utilized for on-line transaction processing.