Microsoft Unveils Azure HorizonDB: The Latest PostgreSQL Database Solution

Microsoft Launches Azure HorizonDB: The Next Generation of PostgreSQL Cloud Database

During the Ignite conference, Microsoft unveiled its latest innovation, Azure HorizonDB, which is now in private preview. This fully managed database service, compatible with PostgreSQL, is designed for cloud applications, incorporating scalable shared storage and elastic scale-out compute, enhanced with a tiered caching system.

Impressive Performance and High Scalability

Azure HorizonDB stands out with its capability to handle up to 3, 072 vCores spread across primary and replica nodes. The innovative auto-scaling shared storage can accommodate databases as large as 128TB, ensuring remarkable performance with sub-millisecond commit latencies across multiple zones. Microsoft asserts that HorizonDB can achieve up to three times the throughput of traditional open-source PostgreSQL when processing transactional workloads.

Enterprise-Ready with Robust Integrations

To bolster enterprise readiness, Microsoft has ensured seamless integration with various tools and services including Microsoft Foundry, Microsoft Fabric, Visual Studio Code, and Entra ID. Each instance of data within HorizonDB is automatically replicated across Azure availability zones, enhancing resilience. Additionally, customers can enhance their security posture by utilizing the built-in Azure Defender for Cloud, providing a comprehensive safeguard for their data.

Enhanced Capabilities for AI Applications

PostgreSQL has gained traction among AI startups, primarily due to its inherent support for vector indexing. Microsoft is further enhancing this feature within HorizonDB, introducing advanced filtering capabilities for the DiskANN vector index. This allows for efficient query predicate pushdowns directly in vector similarity searches. Moreover, a built-in AI model management feature integrates generative, embedding, and reranking models sourced from Azure AI Foundry, empowering users to leverage advanced AI capabilities.

Simplifying Database Migration with GitHub Copilot

For organizations transitioning from Oracle to PostgreSQL, Microsoft is introducing a preview of a GitHub Copilot-powered migration tool within the PostgreSQL Extension for Visual Studio Code. This resource aims to streamline the automation of complex database code conversion, equipped with features for rich code editing, version control, and extensive text authoring capabilities.

Availability and Access

Currently, Azure HorizonDB is available in private preview across the Central US, West US3, UK South, and Australia East regions. Interested organizations can apply for preview access here.

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