Fujitsu Releases Symfoware Server V10

Fujitsu announced the immediate availability in Japan of Symfoware Server V10, the latest edition of its scalable database designed for high usability, performance, and reliability.

Symfoware Server, which is Fujitsu's flagship product in the relational database management software market, supports multiple platforms, including mainframes, UNIX servers, and PC servers. It is already widely used in mission-critical systems, being deployed on more than 100,000 systems in Japan. It is part of the new "arrowhead⁽¹⁾" trading system used by the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which began operation on January 4, 2010.

Symfoware Server V10 runs approximately ten times as fast⁽²⁾ as its predecessor. Capable of handling XML data with greater flexibility, the new edition implements the latest specifications of industry-standard application programming interfaces (APIs), making it a highly standardized open database for connecting to other systems. In addition to reducing the labor involved in developing and maintaining systems when building and operating them, Symfoware enables the creation of flexible database systems with high usability that are well-suited for use in cloud-computing platforms.

Symfoware Server represents Fujitsu's database knowledge and know-how gained over 40 years of development. Supporting platforms ranging from mainframes to PC servers, it has been deployed on many mission-critical systems, including large-scale social infrastructure systems. Because of its high reliability, excellent scalability, and flexibility to handle growing volumes of data, Symfoware Server was chosen as the database for the Tokyo Stock Exchange's new trading system, "arrowhead".

Along with the ability to handle large systems and complex configurations, the newly released Symfoware Server V10 is built for speed. It features several Fujitsu technologies, including "Direct Connect" for faster connections and "Multi Versioning" for faster execution of applications in parallel. These give the new edition processing performance that is approximately ten times faster than its predecessor.

Upgraded support for the latest specifications of industry-standard APIs (JDBC, .NET Framework, XQuery⁽³⁾) means that the database software can currently connect to some 100 different software packages. In two years, that number is expected to rise to 300. Aiming to increase its operability and accessibility, Fujitsu is actively working with partner companies to test interconnectivity, publish details, and improve the efficiency of processing large volumes of data. Fujitsu's goal is to provide customers the necessary tools to quickly and inexpensively build a database system that can respond flexibly to a changing environment.

Fujitsu will continue enhancing Symfoware Server's ability to ensure business continuity and customers' continued access to their information assets.

Symfoware Server V10: Key Features

1. High performance and reliability for business continuity
   The following Fujitsu technologies give the new edition approximately ten times the performance of Symfoware Server V9:
   
   1. "Direct Connect"
      Rather than tying multiple application servers and databases together through a process server, application servers link directly to a specific database, which raises access performance. In addition, continuous monitoring of access conditions means that even during database changes (fallback), connectivity is maintained while the connected database undergoes its change.
   2. "Multi Versioning"
      When a request to look up a record clashes with another request to update the same record, the conventional solution has been transaction delay controls, which ensure the integrity of the database. Through version management over the record in question, the lookup request looks up the most recently committed data, and the change request moves ahead, so that requests in parallel run with greater processing efficiency.
   Load-sharing functions, including dynamic scalability that allows servers to be added to a system while it is running, have been upgraded. Business continuity-related functions have also been upgraded to ensure higher reliability, including system redundancy using both cold-standby and hot-standby methods as well as disaster recovery with backups to remote sites.
2. Flexibility in handling XML data
   The database software has the ability to handle XML data, which offers a high degree of freedom and makes it possible to mix heterogeneous data formats. This also makes it possible to build systems with the flexibility to adapt to changes. Fujitsu began offering this XML feature in November last year, using it as the core engine of the Interstage XML Business Activity Recorder.
   
   • New custom elements added to existing relational databases are stored without conversion to XML-formatted data, eliminating the need for time-consuming database updates.
   • Users can work with existing relational databases as they did before. The XML-standard XQuery is used as the interface.
   • Search uses pattern-matching⁽⁴⁾ methods, which allows large volumes of data to be searched quickly without indexing.
3. Straightforward and efficient system configuration for developing applications and tools
   Symfoware supports latest specifications of standard language interfaces, such as JDBC and .NET Framework, giving developers the flexibility to choose the API they prefer. In addition, robust connections with excellent middleware from partner companies enable developers to build up highly optimized systems speedily.
   
   Fujitsu has recognized the need for enterprise systems to be able to connect to public data in cloud-computing environments. Toward that end, the company is working to make it easier to connect to a wide range of tools while verifying compatibility with these tools.

Comments from Partner Software Companies:

Mr. Yoshinobu Takeda, Chief Technology Officer & Director, Data Applications Co., Ltd.
"Data Applications welcomes the release of Symfoware Server V10. Its compatibility with both the XML flexible data structure and the many medium- and small-scale systems will encourage broad use of Symfoware Server as a highly reliable database. At the same time, we believe it will expand the sales of our "ACMS" electronic data interchange (EDI) products by providing customers with broader solutions options. Our next version of the "ACMS" series and our "AnyTran" data transformation application will be available for Symfoware Server V10. Data Applications will continue to offer cutting-edge products which maintain compatibility with a wide range of database products on the market and which consistently meet customers' needs."

Mr. Masahiko Uchida, Country Manager, Informatica Japan K.K.
"The combination of Symfoware Server V10 with the Informatica "PowerCenter" unified enterprise data integration platform can achieve seamless integration of all data silos and offer the customer higher value. Informatica will cooperate closely with Fujitsu in the future and offer solutions to answer the various data integration needs of the enterprise."

Mr. Yoichi Ishii, President, Insight Technology, Inc.
"We truly welcome the release announcement of Symfoware Server V10. One of the most important requirements for a mission-critical database is security. To develop solutions that meet this requirement, we developed the interface between Symfoware Server and our product "PISO" in collaboration with Fujitsu. This makes it possible to improve data security by collecting access logs and visualizing access for users' most valuable asset—data. This upgrade makes it possible to meet the ever-increasing demand for higher security and continually provide a secure database environment."

Mr. Yuji Hirokawa, President, Red Hat K.K.
"Red Hat Japan welcomes Fujitsu's release of their Symfoware Server V10. Symfoware Server V10 has been widely adopted in mission-critical area and will run on "Red Hat Enterprise Linux", and also be a landing platform for "JBoss Enterprise Middleware" solutions. With these open source solution stacks, customers can enjoy high-quality, flexible and low-cost solutions. Red Hat will continue to collaborate with Fujitsu and deliver solutions benefiting customers, and further contribute to the growth of open source solutions in the Japan market."