Data structures for mixed workloads in in-memory databases

Abstract

Traditionally, enterprise data management is divided into separate systems. Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) systems are focused on the day to day business by being optimized for retrieving and modifying complete entities. Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) systems initiate queries on specific attributes as these applications are optimized to support decision making based on the information gathered from many instances. In parallel both hardware and database applications are subject to steady improvements. For example, today's size of main memory in combination with the column oriented organization of data offer completely new possibilities such as real time analytical ad hoc queries on transactional data. Especially latest development in the area of main memory database systems raises the question whether those databases are capable of handling both OLAP and OLTP workloads in one system. This Paper discusses requirements for main memory database systems managing both workloads and analyses using appropriate data structures.