ANTs Granted U.S. Patent for Core, Lock-Free Database Technology

Revolutionary Method Eliminates the Most Time-Consuming Part of Database Transaction Processing

BURLINGAME, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ANTs software inc. (OTCBB:ANTS), a leader in compatible, high-performance SQL database management systems, today announced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted the company a patent for a key component of the technology responsible for the ANTs Data Server’s high-performance, lock-free operation. The newly issued patent number US 7,185,340, titled “Multiphase System and Method for Performing Operations on Data Structures,” describes how ANTs’ unique technology improves a key step in database transaction processing, resulting in more efficient, higher speed database operations.

Granted on February 27, 2007, this is the fifth patent granted to ANTs Software, and highlights the company’s innovation in lock-free database technology. Traditional database systems such as Oracle, Sybase and SQL Server lock data structures when there can be conflicts between concurrent operations, resulting in performance degradation because one database operation may have to wait for another to complete.

“The granting of this patent validates the originality and usefulness of a key technology that the ANTs Data Server and this company are built upon,” said Joe Kozak, president and CEO of ANTs Software. “ANTs pioneered lock-free database technology, and this patent gives us a tool to continue protecting our technology and our product while ensuring the strength of our intellectual property portfolio.”

The ANTs Data Server employs unique, lock-free internal data structures. The ANTs patented technology is based upon the discovery that the execution of operations upon a data structure can be divided into two phases in such a way that the overall efficiency of the computing system is improved by reducing the time during which the data structure is locked. This also improves the efficiency of heavily loaded systems, as well as the responsiveness of systems that are not heavily loaded.

In the ANTs architecture, all indexes, queues and other internal ANTs data structures are fully concurrent, with no lock waiting. This results in greater performance, especially when multiple clients are updating the database. Unlike traditional databases, the ANTs Data Server also rarely write-locks rows.

Because of its patented, non-blocking operation, ANTs Data Server performance actually improves under pressure, and can handle hundreds or even thousands of active clients with superior performance. In fact, as the number of clients is increased, the opportunities for concurrent operation (and better performance) increase as well.

About the ANTs Data Server

The ANTs Data Server is a full-featured, standards-compliant relational database management system based on a breakthrough, high-performance SQL query execution engine that incorporates innovative lock-free operations. It can typically be deployed on fewer, low-cost servers with the potential to reduce hardware, software and system administration costs by 60 to 90 percent. Through its compatibility with Oracle, Sybase, and SQL Server databases, and its embedded deployment mode that supports Oracle-TimesTen applications, the ANTs Data Server allows applications to be moved without the major rewrites and cost usually associated with application migration.

ANTs software inc.

ANTs software inc. (OTCBB:ANTS), based in Silicon Valley, develops and sells the ANTs Data Server, an affordable, high-performance relational database that is compatible with popular databases. The company's mission is to help customers reduce hardware, software and development costs by providing exceptional database price/performance. For more information on ANTs Software, visit www.ants.com.