Using SSD as a Foundation for New Generations of Flash Databases - Nati Shalom

“You just can't have it all” is a phrase that most of us are accustomed to hearing and that many still believe to be true when discussing the speed, scale and cost of processing data. To reach high speed data processing, it is necessary to utilize more memory resources which increases cost. This occurs because price increases as memory, on average, tends to be more expensive than commodity disk drive. The idea of data systems being unable to reliably provide you with both memory and fast access—not to mention at the right cost—has long been debated, though the idea of such limitations was cemented by computer scientist, Eric Brewer, who introduced us to the CAP theorem.

The CAP Theorem and Limitations for Distributed Computer Systems

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Event: MySQL Conference & Expo 2009

The 5th annual MySQL Conference & Expo, co-presented by Sun Microsystems, MySQL and O'Reilly Media. Happening April 20-23, 2009 in Santa Clara, CA, at the Santa Clara Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, brings over 2,000 open source and database enthusiasts together to harness the power of MySQL and celebrate the huge MySQL ecosystem. All around the world, people just like you are innovating with MySQL—and MySQL is fueling the innovation engine by releasing new mission critical solutions to help you work smarter. This deeply technical conference brings all of that creativity, energy, and knowledge together in one place for four very full days. Early registration ends February 16, 2009. The largest gathering of MySQL developers, users, and DBAs worldwide, the event reflects MySQL's wide-ranging appeal and capabilities. The open atmosphere of the MySQL Conference & Expo helps IT professionals and community members launch and develop the best database applications, tools, and software. As companies of all sizes look for ways to remain competitive and manage costs, open source software and tools provide valuable and efficient solutions for the enterprise. The 2009 edition of the MySQL Conference & Expo will present strategies for businesses to not just survive, but thrive in a challenging economy. Through expert instruction, hands-on tutorials, and readily available MySQL developers, users at all levels gain the knowledge they need to rapidly build solid applications with MySQL that scale with the enterprise. New to the 2009 program will be MySQL Camp, a space where any and all participants can create an "unconference" within the larger event.

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MySQL Database Scale-out and Replication for High Growth Businesses

It is widely recognized that MySQL is the most popular database software in the world. Since its inception in 1995, there have been 11 million product installations around the world in a wide variety of markets. There are more installations of MySQL in use today than any other database architecture. From startup companies hoping to be the next Web2.0 poster child to large global enterprises, the MySQL database architecture has proven to be flexible, extendable, scalable, and more than capable of filling high-capacity database roles in very different venues.

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OpenSpaces.org community site launched - framework for building scale-out applications

GigaSpaces launched OpenSpaces.org, a community web site for developers who wish to utilize and contribute to the open source OpenSpaces development framework. OpenSpaces extends the Spring Framework for enterprise Java development, and leverages the GigaSpaces eXtreme Application Platform (XAP) for data caching, messaging and as the container for application business logic. It is designed for building highly-available, scale-out applications in distributed environments, such as SOA, cloud computing, grids and commodity servers. OpenSpaces is widely used in a variety of industries, including financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing and retail -- and across the web in e-commerce, Web 2.0 applications such as social networking sites, search and more. OpenSpaces.org already lists more than two dozen projects submitted by the developer community, including GigaSpaces customers, partners and employees. Innovative projects include an instant messaging platform, integration with PHP, configuration via JRuby, an implementation of Spring Batch and a scalable dynamic RSS feed delivery system. GigaSpaces recently announced the OpenSpaces Developer Challenge, a developer competition with $25,000 in total prizes and a $10,000 grand prize. The prizes will be awarded to the most innovative applications built using the OpenSpaces framework or plug-ins that extend it. The Challenge deadline is April 2, 2008 and ‘early bird’ prizes are available for those who submit their concepts by February 13, 2008. Additionally, in November of 2007 GigaSpaces launched its Start-Up Program, which provides free software licenses for qualifying individuals and companies.

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Scalability Developer Competition Launched by GigaSpaces - $25k in prizes

Today GigaSpaceslaunched the OpenSpaces Developer Challenge, which will award $25,000 in prizes to developers who build the most unique and innovative applications or plug-ins for the OpenSpaces Framework. OpenSpaces is an open source development solution from GigaSpaces for building linearly scalable software applications. It is widely used in a variety of industries, such as Wall Street trading applications, telecommunications platforms and online gaming.

The Challenge is designed to encourage innovation around OpenSpaces and support the developer community. Prizes ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 will be awarded to those who submit the most promising applications that were built using OpenSpaces, or plug-ins, and other components that extend OpenSpaces in pioneering ways.

The OpenSpaces development framework is designed to simply and dynamically scale out a software application across many computers -- also referred to as "cloud computing." It is unique in that it addresses applications that have been traditionally difficult to distribute in this manner, including high-throughput applications that are stateful, transactional or data-intensive. OpenSpaces leverages GigaSpaces' eXtreme Application Platform (XAP) as the middleware implementation, and is based on the popular Spring Framework developed by SpringSource .

Submissions for the OpenSpaces Developer Challenge will be accepted between December 10, 2007 and April 2, 2008. All applications will be reviewed and judged by a panel of industry experts, and the winners will be announced on the OpenSpaces.org Web site on April 22, 2008. The awards -- including the $10,000 first prize -- will be presented to the winners at a gala in San Francisco during the JavaOne 2008 conference in May. Winners will also be recognized in a worldwide press announcement.

The OpenSpaces Developer Challenge marks the latest initiative by GigaSpaces to encourage development and innovation in the developer community. The Company provides developers with easy access to GigaSpaces' products and solutions through its Start-Up Program, which provides qualified companies and individuals with full, free and perpetual use of the Company's flagship product, GigaSpaces XAP. In addition, the Company provides a free Community Edition of its product and contributes to several open source initiatives, including the Spring Framework and the Mule ESB.

To encourage "early bird" applications for the OpenSpaces Developer Challenge, ten $1,000 prizes will be drawn among those applicants who submitted an application concept (not actual code, just the concept of the proposed submission) by January 29, 2008.

Interested developers should:

1. Go to the OpenSpaces Developer Challenge Web site

2. Read the Challenge guidelines and FAQs

3. Develop a killer application or plug-in based on OpenSpaces

4. OPTIONAL: Submit their application concept by January 29 to be eligible for the ten $1,000 "early bird" prizes

5. Submit their actual application (including code) by April 2, 2008

Additional information on the Challenge is available here . 

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