Actian Zen v16 Product Information

Press Release: Read Actian's Release Here

Actian Zen v16 was first released on June 17, 2024. This page has been populated from the initial release documents, and is likely to change as we start to understand more about these changes. Pricing was formally released on July 1, and although Zen Cloud Server 16 downloads are not yet available, licenses can be purchased for Zen v16 starting on July 8, 2024.

What's New In Zen v16?

Here is a list of the major new features in this release:

• New v16 File Format: A new file format (v16.0) is required to implement some of the other improvements and features.
• Long Keys: The new file format supports key values larger than 255 bytes in length, up to 1024 bytes.
• Simple Replication: Expanding on the System Data V2 added in the previous release, Zen v16 supports a simplified replication solution called "EasySync" that can properly replicate insert and update operations to a secondary data set. (It will not replicate delete operations, and it is one-way only.) This is ideal for those running small data sets in remote environments that need to push data to a parent data set, so it can be very useful for IoT, POS, and other such solutions.
• Universal Triggers: A long-awaited feature, Universal Triggers now allows programs running at the Btrieve API layer to fire SQL-based triggers. Older versions prevented operations with triggers from running (returning Status 149), so this will open up a whole new infrastructure for application developers!
• Microkernel Page Read-Ahead: By pre-reading expected pages, performance of STEP operations should be improved.
• SQL Query Logging: Improved support for SQL query logging, including the ability to configure through ZenCC (and possibly DTI/DTO) and the ability to include or exclude FETCH statements (to reduce log size).
• Offline Rebuild: A faster rebuild function will be available that can be implemented while the database is offline or on a machine without an engine. This can allow users to rebuild files in parallel, and will be required to convert any Btrieve 5.x data files, which can no longer be read by the v16 engine.
• Secured SQL Rights: The USER.DDF and RIGHTS.DDF tables are encrypted on disk.
• Developer Changes:
  • SQL LIKE Changes:Support for LIKE with ESCAPE, to allow you to change the escape character in strings from backslash to some other value.
  • SQL Large Column Binding: The ability to BIND to columns with data up to 2GB for INSERT/UPDATE operations (instead of the previous 64K limit).
  • .Net 8 Support: New ADO Driver supporting .Net 8
  • Nested JSON Objects: Support for nested JSON objects with the Step/Get Extended JSON query operator.
  • Btrieve 2 API Updates: Ability to retrieve SysData fields during bulk retrievals, improved examples and docs for BRestful and Document API's, and a Python package distributed via PyPl.
  • PDAC Discontinued: The PDAC API (for Delphi) has been discontinued. Existing applications developed with PDAC should continue to work in v16.
• Linux Install/Uninstall Changes: Scripts have been consolidated, and the RPM downloads have been removed, so only TAR downloads are provided.
• Containerization: Kafka integration using a Docker image with Btrieve source and sink connectors.
• Licensing Changes: Actian is EXPECTED TO implement several changes to the licensing:
  • Subscription Model: Users will be able to purchase an annual subscription (pricing TBD) that is expected to include all updates.
  • Perpetual Licensing: Perpetual licensing will still be available, but will no longer provide included patches and updates.
  • Product Maintenance: Annual software maintenance will be available for perpetual users who do want to receive updates and patches.

Check out the official What's New document for additional information.

Supported Operating Systems and Hardware Requirements

Officially supported operating systems include Windows 10/11 and Windows Server 2016 (and newer, through Server 2022), along with various OS X and Linux distributions and versions. Windows 8, 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Server 2003, Server 2012 (and older) operating systems are not formally supported by Actian with this release.

There are no stated minimum hardware requirements. Essentially, if you can run the OS, you can run the database engine. However, performance will be commensurate with the resources provided, as well as the workload.

Actian Zen v16 License Models

Actian Zen v16 has four different license models to choose from:

• Workgroup Engine: Per-user licensing, up to a maximum of 5 concurrent users
• Enterprise Server Engine: Per-user licensing, starting at 6 concurrent users
• Cloud Server Engine: Data size licensing (with unlimited users), required for web/SaaS installations
• Edge Engine: Small edge devices with support for ARM (Raspbian) or x86 (Windows IoT Servers)
• Core Library: An ultra-small (and free) database library for your Android or iOS applications

Please see our Zen v16 License Primer for more information on the various license types and other factors that might help you determine the best license type for your environment.

If you have decided on per-user licensing, but you are still not sure if you want the Workgroup Engine or one of the server engines, check out our Workgroup Versus Server Comparison Chart.

Pricing for each of these license models can be found on our Actian Zen v16 price list, or you can BUY IT AFTER JULY 8 from our on-line store. If you want to try out different license models before you buy (a really good idea!), you can get trial downloads from here.

If you have additional questions about the product, please contact us!