Aster Data’s nCluster is the fi rst MPP data warehouse architecture that allows applications to be fully embedded within the database engine to enable ultra-fast, deep analysis of massive data sets. Aster Data’s unique “applications-within™” approach allows application logic to exist and execute with the data itself. Termed a “Massively Parallel Data-Application Server”, Aster Data’s solution eff ectively uses Aster Data’s patent-pending SQL-MapReduce together with parallelized data processing and applications to address the big data challenge.