Main Memory Databases

Abstract

For a long time, hard disks were the only technology that could store enough information to hold a database and offered random access at the same time. Therefore, conventional database management systems were tuned to take this technology to the maximum. But in recent years, main memories have become cheaper and grown to a point that for some fields of application it allows one to keep the whole information of a database in main memory and therefore speed up operation. This article focuses on the differences in conventional databases that affect both performance and internal structure of a database management system.