EnterpriseDB announced a new Multi-Master Replication (MMR) capability that will be available with the  9.2 release of Postgres Plus due this fall. It’s currently available in beta under the name xDB Replication Server with Multi-Master support, and offers an entire set of features that didn’t previously exist in EnterpriseDB’s software.

First and foremost – and as the title suggests – the new component supports multi-master replication.

Replication is done by rolling out updates to the ‘master database’ at the primary storage site, and once the changes are logged they are rolled out to other databases. Multi-master replication lets you roll out updates to any DB and have it automatically ripple to the others, which can come in very handy when the people who need the data are geographically dispersed but need quick access nevertheless.

The catch behind multi-master replication is that it significantly increases complexity on the DBA’s end, and there’s always a potential for data loss. EnterpriseDB says that it its solution prevents this using “sophisticated conflict resolution strategies” as well as asynchronous replication. The latter enables a master server to accept an update without having to wait for the destination server(s).

Other features include a graphical management and monitoring panel, the ability to customize conflict resolution, and group tables.

“With MMR, our customers will enjoy better performance and lower costs,” Ed Boyajian, President and CEO of EnterpriseDB, said. “Having more than one server that can handle write transactions speeds up processing. And replicating data from an older, more costly traditional database and utilizing it in Postgres for reporting eliminates some expensive licenses. Our customers have been looking forward to this release.”

EnterpriseDB is growing steadily thanks to continuous R&D investments. A few months ago the company announced that one of the newest additions to its portfolio, a cloud-based version of its database solution, has seen a surprising amount of demand since launch.