ScaleOut hServer™ V2 Introduces Real-Time Analytics to Hadoop MapReduce

New In-Memory Data Grid Provides 20x Speedup in Hadoop Execution

BELLEVUE, Wash. – October 1, 2013 – ScaleOut Software, a leading provider of in-memory data grids (IMDGs), today announced the general availability of ScaleOut hServer V2, incorporating new technology that runs Hadoop MapReduce on live data. ScaleOut hServer V2 provides a self-contained execution engine for Hadoop MapReduce applications to significantly accelerate performance and eliminate overheads inherent in standard Hadoop distributions. Initial benchmark tests with ScaleOut hServer V2 have demonstrated a 20x speedup in Hadoop execution times.

The initial ScaleOut hServer release in April 2013 provided low-latency data access for Hadoop. ScaleOut hServer V2 takes the next step in delivering real-time analytics by accelerating the execution of standard Hadoop MapReduce code. Importantly, it also enables fast, concurrent access and updating of data sets held in the IMDG while continuous MapReduce analyses are being performed. This opens the door to the use of Hadoop MapReduce in operational systems which host live, fast-changing data and need to perform real-time analytics within seconds instead of minutes or hours. It also enables scenarios that require fast execution times on static data sets.

“This release marks a huge step forward for real-time data analytics,” said Bill Bain, ScaleOut Software’s CEO. “By enabling real-time analytics for Hadoop, which has emerged as by far the most popular platform for analyzing big data, we aim to dramatically improve the effectiveness with which organizations can manage their live data. Reducing Hadoop’s execution time by more than an order of magnitude will make a tremendous difference in the ability to better understand – and predict – key patterns and trends with live, fast-changing data. We expect to see this exciting new technology deployed in a wide range of applications, including financial services, e-commerce, logistics, and many others.”

While ScaleOut hServer is not intended to replace Hadoop, it does not require Hadoop to be installed. Instead, the product integrates MapReduce functionality and selected Hadoop components within ScaleOut’s in-memory data grid and analytics engine, which reduces installation time from days to a few minutes and simplifies deployment. This capability also enables ScaleOut hServer V2 to be used as a fast, easy to use development platform for Hadoop MapReduce applications.

“ScaleOut Software continues to take innovative steps to solve the problems associated with real-time analytics,” said Wayne Pauley, senior analyst for Enterprise Strategy Group. “While the previous release of the ScaleOut hServer platform focused on providing an in-memory data grid for speeding up MapReduce, the latest version implements the guts of Hadoop MapReduce’s execution engine. This allows real-time operational data to be analyzed on the fly instead of in batch modality.”

ScaleOut hServer is designed to be compatible with most Java-based Hadoop MapReduce applications developed for the standard Hadoop distributions, requiring only a one-line code change to execute applications using ScaleOut hServer. Applications can input and output data stored either in ScaleOut hServer’s IMDG or in external storage repositories, such as the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). The product does not impose a specific limit on the size of the input or result data sets. Instead, only the intermediate data set, which the application inputs to the reducers, must fit within the memory of the IMDG.

To minimize execution time, ScaleOut hServer employs numerous optimizations to minimize data motion during the execution of MapReduce applications, and it can automatically cache HDFS data sets within the IMDG (a feature introduced with ScaleOut hServer V1). In addition, ScaleOut hServer’s memory capacity and throughput can be scaled by adding servers to the IMDG’s cluster. The product automatically rebalances the data set and execution workload when servers are added or removed.

“Being able to provide real-time analytics for Hadoop MapReduce is an extremely compelling value proposition across many vertical industries including financial services, transportation systems and retail,” continued Pauley. “The demand for such a capability continues to increase.”

ScaleOut hServer Available in Both Community and Commercial Editions

ScaleOut hServer is available in both a free community edition and in several commercial editions. The community edition enables up to a four-server ScaleOut hServer grid for analyzing memory-based data sets of up to 256GB. It is supported by a forum site sponsored by ScaleOut Software. The commercial editions are licensed using annual subscription-pricing and perpetual-pricing models based on the size of the deployment and include ScaleOut’s standard support and maintenance, with additional support options available to users.

About ScaleOut Software, Inc.

ScaleOut Software (www.scaleoutsoftware.com) develops software products that provide scalable, highly available memory-based storage and analysis for fast-changing, operational data on server farms, compute grids, and public clouds. It has offices in Bellevue, Washington and Beaverton, Oregon. The company was founded by Dr. William L. Bain, whose previous company, Valence Research, developed and distributed Web load-balancing software that was acquired by Microsoft Corporation and is now called Network Load Balancing within the Windows Server operating system.

Please visit www.scaleoutsoftware.com or follow us on Twitter @scaleout_inc for more information.

Media Contact:
Matt Collidge
LEWIS PR for ScaleOut Software
Matt.Collidge@lewispr.com
(415) 432-2445