News

Open Source MongoDB Updated with Enterprise Features

• By David Ramel
• November 5, 2015

MongoDB Inc. announced a new version of its open source-based NoSQL database with features designed to make it more attractive for enterprise use.

MongoDB 3.2 can handle a wider range of mission-critical applications, its parent company said, and has been extended to handle new enterprise-oriented tasks "by deeply integrating with the modern CIO's technology stack."

Those new mission-critical use cases are enabled by new storage engines incorporated in the document-oriented database that's popular in the Big Data analytics realm. These include an encrypted storage engine and an in-memory storage engine.

"For developers building increasingly complex data-driven apps, there is no longer a 'one size fits all' database storage technology that will perform optimally for every type of application required by the business," MongoDB said in a statement this week. Hence the two new storage engines to join two existing options.

The encrypted storage engine can be used to secure critical data at rest and in motion and provide trusted access, making it attractive for regulated industries, the company said.

"Encryption and access controls for data at rest in MongoDB 3.2 allow companies to gain peace of mind that their most sensitive data is safe and in compliance with demanding regulations, said Arun Gowda, an exec at Vormetric. "We're excited with the certification of the Vormetric Data Security Manager as a key management solution for MongoDB. Our customers can now store their data securely in MongoDB and reduce operational overhead with a robust, standards-based platform for managing encryption keys across their entire organization."

The in-memory storage engine brings into MongoDB the speedy technology that's already popular in data-driven applications such as Apache Spark, SQL Server 2014 and others.

"The unmatched performance of in-memory computing has become essential to many modern applications, but existing technologies have forced users to choose between performance, functionality and data safety," the company said. "A new in-memory storage engine provides highly predictable throughput and low latency for essential applications such as fraud detection, ad tech and user profile management. This engine supports all MongoDB features, and complements other storage engines in mixed deployments to ensure data durability."

Other new features targeting enterprise users such as business analysts, data scientists and executives include MongoDB Compass, which provides a graphical tool to visually construct queries and inspect records; MongoDB Connector for BI, which helps enterprise users leverage existing BI tools; and application performance monitoring, to help DBAs and operations teams "operationalize MongoDB alongside their relational databases, preserving investments in skills and popular APM tools such as New Relic and AppDynamics."

MongoDB the database is available as an open source project on GitHub, which serves as the basis for MongoDB the company's value-added enterprise offerings.

"This release continues to make the case for MongoDB as the default database for an organization, by meeting the needs of more mission critical use cases, and by meeting the needs of more roles within an organization," company exec Eliot Horowitz said in a blog post.