Data warehouses are collections of data designed to allow business analysts to analyze information.
Typically, data warehouses are distinct from production databases, to avoid interrupting daily operations. Data warehouses are often used as data stores on which to build decision support systems (DSS). A decision support system is a software application designed to allow an organization to analyze data in order to support business decision making.
All of Sybase IQ's capabilities are designed to facilitate DSS applications. A unique indexing system speeds data analysis. Query optimization gives you rapid responses, even when results include thousands or millions of rows of data. Concurrent data access for multiple query users, and the ability to update the database without interrupting query processing, provide the 24–hour, 7–day access that users expect.
Sybase IQ multiplex is a highly scalable shared disk grid technology that allows concurrent data loads and queries via independent data processing nodes connected to a shared data source. For details and syntax, see Using Sybase IQ Multiplex.