The Versant Object Database is primarily targeted to C++/Java developers (the vendor offers a separate product, Versant FastObjects .NET for .NET developers) which seeks to blend object oriented application development with database storage needs by building object awared-ness directly into the database structure. In the Versant Object Database, developers can work with and store objects in the DB without requiring the mapping of the object data to a traditional relational database schema. The DB facilitates such features as transparent object persistence in both C++ and Java, as well as the ability to apply concurrency locks at the object level.

With Versant, when a developer needs to retrieve an object from the DB a single query will do the job; resulting, according to the vendor, in a 3 to 50 times performance improvement over traditional O/R mapped DB retrieval, depending on the complexity of the object itself. Behind the scenes, transparent persistence (for both C++ and Java-based objects) is provided, as state changes are tracked such that when the associated transaction commits all required changes are then automatically sent to the DB.

Other features include "Lazy" schema evolution, which allows for schema modifications without requiring immediate remapping of the related objects (instead, the objects are converted from the old to new schemas as they are touched); support for DB federation such that clients can interact with one or many DBs transparently; support for both pessimistic and optimistic object-level locking; and the ability to embed the DB in applications.

Onto this core DB platform, the vendor additionally offers multiple add-on modules that enhance the DB with specific features:

- High Availability Backup, which enables online backup of large data volumes by leveraging the disk mirroring features of EMC Symmetrix or other storage systems

- Asynchronous Replication, supporting both master-slave and peer-to-peer replication between servers

- Fault Tolerant Server (FTS), providing automated failover and recovery (including transparent re-synchronization)

- Versant Vorkout, which enables online reclamation of unused space (from deleted objects)

- Versant Vitness, the newest entry in the product line, which provides object database monitoring and management features for admins. Vitness is based on an SNMP-based agent/client architecture (the agent is deployed to the Versant server, while an Eclipse-based RCP client provides the real-time graphical views of database activities and performance metrics), and includes tweakable alert/alarm/notification features in addition to its monitoring capabilities. Data from multiple DBs can be viewed simultaneously by a single client.

The Versant Object Database is available now. Visit the vendor's Web site for further information.