Vstick

Introducing the V-Stick

Powered by Vertica and LogiXML

Features

• A bootable USB Stick
• A full blown Linux OS with GUI
• Evaluation Edition of the Vertica Analytics Database Fully installed and configured
• Apache/Tomcat Web Server installed and configured
• LogiXML Dashboard Reporting installed and configured
• Sample Data and Dashboards

We are currently putting the final touches on a sample dashboard and will begin testing the V-Stick on different configurations shortly. We have setup a forum specifically to support the V-Stick, so feel free to post your questions there.

FAQ

Q) Whats the V-Stick for?
A) The primary purpose of the V-Stick is to test out Vertica without having to procure hardware or have knowledge of Linux . You simply boot up the V-Stick and you are ready to kick the tires of Vertica.

Q) How does it perform?
A) Considering thumb-drives are slow and we are working with a minimalistic environment, It performs remarkably well. This is a testament to the concept of minimizing I/O through compression combined with the Columnar approach. We haven’t done any formal benchmarking, but a few queries,  summations, and joins  against 100 million records resolved within a second or two.

Q) What else can the V-Stick be used for?
A) We will be doing a proof of concept for a large data provider as a means to distribute their business intelligence platform.

• For a data provider, instead of managing a very large and very expensive infrastructure, secure and encrypted V-Sticks can be distributed directly to their customers.
• Customers will have the ability to view business intelligence dashboards without being connected to the network or internet. (Ideal for road-warriors and frequent fliers)
• The possibility exists for military use where large volumes of data need to be accessed in remote areas of the world where access to a network is unlikely.
• Information booths or kiosks may be a good candidate
  
• The embedded controller market is quite large and may also provide opportunity for the V-Stick.
  

One of the take-ways from the development of the V-Stick is how well Vertica performs even in a minimalistic envrionment. If Vertica outperforms traditional DB’s when constrained to a thumb-drive, how incredible will it perform on an actual MPP grid?