xVelocity and Analysis Services
Along with the SQL Server 2012 launch, Microsoft announced xVelocity in-memory technologies, delivering huge performance improvements for data warehousing and business intelligence. The purpose of this blog post is to clarify what xVelocity means for business intelligence and Analysis Services in particular.
In SQL Server 2008 R2, Microsoft released PowerPivot for Excel which introduced an in-memory analytics engine called VertiPaq. Vertipaq enables Excel to process hundreds of millions of rows with sub-second response times on desktop hardware. This engine uses in-memory column-oriented storage and innovative compression techniques to achieve these remarkable results.
In SQL Server 2012, Microsoft has taken the same Vertipaq engine and integrated it into Analysis Services. The results have been staggering with scan rates up to 10s of billions of rows per second on typical server hardware. Customers who previewed SQL Server 2012 have also experienced compression ratios in excess of 100 times.
In SQL Server 2012, we are re-branding the Vertipaq engine that runs inside PowerPivot and Analysis Services to xVelocity in-memory analytics engine. This engine is part of the xVelocity family that represents the next generation performance improvements across SQL Server. We will stop using the Vertipaq name and transition the product, documentation and other collateral to use the xVelocity name.
For more information about xVelocity:
- Read the xVelocity in-memory technologies announcement on the SQL Server 2012 blog.
- Attend the SQL Server 2012 virtual launch experience.
- Download an evaluation copy of SQL Server 2012 to try xVelocity for yourself.
SQL Server Marketing Team
Comments
- Anonymous
March 11, 2012
Just installed PowerPivor 2012 and tried it out. It's amazing. What took 5 minutes before, now result would come in seconds. We switched to PP initially for ease of data accumulation and analysis. xVelocity makes it complete. Your team is something great! - Anonymous
June 06, 2012
can you please clarify your statement regarding "Microsoft has taken the same Vertipaq engine and integrated it into Analysis Services"?Are you saying that the xVelocity technology has been integrated in BOTH Multidimensional and Tabular modes of Analysis Services in SQL Server 2012?http://businessintelligist.com - Anonymous
June 07, 2012
No, xVelocity is only available in the tabular mode of Analysis Services.