What to Expect with MongoDB 3.2

MongoDB is a popular NoSQL database designed specifically for online transaction processing. It can be used for mobile applications, customer data management, and content management.

You may have only begun exploring this open-source database environment, but the newest features available in MongoDB 3.2 may prove irresistible.

This will be a major release. Kelly Stirman, vice president of strategy at MongoDB, told a technology news website:

This release will expand the types of use cases that MongoDB is great for, such as in-memory computing and use within highly regulated industries. To enable this expansion we’re releasing features such as: encryption for data at rest, heterogeneous data analysis and a new graphical interface to simplify everyday use of MongoDB.

To broaden these use cases and attract a wider array of users, Mongo will be moving past “what developers could do with the database” to examine “how to manage infrastructure, fit into the wider stack and deliver insights into the data.” This means the goal is make MongoDB more accessible to various people throughout an organization.

One of the key new features is data-at-rest encryption. Data encryption will reportedly be configured as a separate storage engine for MongoDB based on WiredTiger. The key will be secured using the Key Management Interoperability Protocol. This option will allow MongoDB to run only in-memory for those users needing a database with low latency and high performance. This should make it ideal for applications within regulated industries such as financial services and healthcare as well as government.

The new release will also offer users the ability to use standard business intelligence and visualization tools. The database will have a connector for translating between queries tools such as Tableau, QlikTech, Spotfire, Business Objects, and Cognos generate and the data within MongoDB.

As Andrew Oliver, writing on InfoWorld, explains:

Technologically I thought this was a snoozer until I talked to Stirman. He explained the big differentiating feature was that MongoDB’s new connectors move more of the processing to the database, whereas most of the existing connectors do a lot of filtering and aggregation on the client. Having seen this with the rather crappy Hadoop connectors, I can say this is a real thing that matters. More interesting is the way this positions MongoDB.

Along these same lines, the new release also includes the Mongo Scout schema visualizer, a tool from MongoDB Management Service, designed to allow users to better understand the data within MongoDB. The tool allows users to sample data from the database, then visualize and query it. This can help the user better gain insights into the data—such as those fields across all the data—enabling them to manage it more effectively.

The aggregation framework will now support dynamic lookups. This feature is a bit confusing in that it applies to left outer joins only. MongoDB is eschewing use of “the word ‘join’ because people might think it supports other types of joins.

Document validation will be added to help users maintain data quality and integrity. This feature allows users to define rules to enforce data governance. A user can indicate which fields are mandatory. In a customer record, for example, this feature could be used to require a value for the phone number or e-mail address fields. The user could also specify for the input to follow a specific format.

MongoDB 3.2 is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Some companies have been hard-pressed to find database professionals with the needed expertise to work effectively with MongoDB. Remote staffing enables them to find Mongo-experienced experts able to supplant their existing staff.

To learn more about our remote database services and how our experts can help with your ongoing database operations, please contact Datavail to discuss a custom solution designed for your enterprise. Our Mongo DB experts can help provide the support and services you need to successfully move to or upgrade this NoSQL database.

If you’d like to learn more about MongoDB, please download our whitepaper MongoDB: Is it Right for You?. For more solutions to both common and advanced DBA-related questions, please visit Datavail’s blog.