New in InterSystems IRIS 2023.2
This page describes new features, enhancements, and other significant updates in the 2023.2 release of InterSystems IRIS® data platform, which is an continuous delivery (CD) release.
For other information you may wish to consider related to changes included in this release, see Known Issues and Notes. For a more exhaustive list of the changes included in this release, refer to the Upgrade ChecklistOpens in a new tab.
Release Information for 2023.2
The current maintenance release is 2023.2.0. The posting for 2023.2.0 is build 2023.2.0.227.0.
Private Web Server (PWS)
Starting with this release:
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Local InterSystems IRIS installation will no longer install the private web server. Access to the Management Portal and other built-in web applications will require configuration of a connection to an external web server. Installation will include the option to automatically configure the Apache web server (on all platforms except Microsoft Windows) and the IIS web server (on Microsoft Windows), if already installed.
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InterSystems IRIS containers will no longer provide the private web server. Access to the Management Portal of containerized instances will require deployment of an associated Web Gateway container. Configuration examples will be available.
Note that the InterSystems IRIS Community Edition will continue to install a private web server. Remote configuration using the Web Gateway is still available.
Upgrades will not remove the private web server and existing instances may continue to use it; however, InterSystems strongly recommends the use of a web server that InterSystems IRIS supports. Automatic configuration during the installation (including upgrade installation) for Apache or IIS will assist with this change.
Users who do not need to serve InterSystems IRIS web applications can simply opt out of configuring a Web Gateway connection to a web server during installation.
Effective with the first EM release in 2026, the private web server will be discontinued; at that point, upgrades of existing InterSystems IRIS instances will remove the private web server.
An update of HealthShare Health Connect is not available with InterSystems IRIS 2023.2.
Enhancing Developer Experience
InterSystems SQL: Safe Query Cancellation
This release introduces a new command for InterSystems SQL to cancel running statements safely and reclaim any resources used by the statement, including memory and temporary space: CANCEL QUERY. The CANCEL QUERY command accepts the statement ID as an argument. This ID is available using the SQL Process View (INFORMATION_SCHEMA.CURRENT_STATEMENTS) which was introduced in a previous release. CANCEL QUERY ensures that participating worker threads are released without accidentally interfering with a different statement if the target one has already ended, which was a risk with manually terminating a query prior to the introduction of this capability. The InterSystems IRIS Management Portal has been updated to leverage this new functionality.
Enhancing Analytics and AI
Time Series Forecasting in IntegratedML (Experimental)
IntegratedML® can now be used for predicting future values for one or more time-dependent variables. The feature comprises new syntax for creating models (CREATE TIME SERIES MODEL), as well as for training models and consuming predictions (SELECT WITH PREDICTIONS). To use IntegratedML for time series forecasting, the source table or view must have a timestamp column that represents the collection time for the data. Time series models are only supported for the InterSystems AutoML and DataRobot providers; a future InterSystems IRIS release will extend this support to H20.
This feature is currently experimental; customers who are interested should apply to take part in the accompanying Early Access Program (https://www.intersystems.com/early-access-program/Opens in a new tab).
InterSystems Reports 2023.2
InterSystems Reports 2023.2 incorporates Logi Reports v23.2.Opens in a new tab New capabilities include:
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Increased functionality in Page Report Studio to enable customizations from Report Server.
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Additional Bookmark management.
This new component is available from WRC Software DistributionOpens in a new tab as InterSystems Reports Designer and InterSystems Reports Server 23.2.
InterSystems Adaptive Analytics 2023.2
InterSystems Adaptive Analytics 2023.2 incorporates AtScale version 2023.2Opens in a new tab. New capabilities include:
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Token-based authentication to support Microsoft PowerBI in Azure environment (as requested by InterSystems)
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Scheduling of aggregate builds on a per-cube basis at convenient times for better performance management
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Usage Metrics Dashboard
This new component is available from WRC Software DistributionOpens in a new tab as InterSystems Adaptive Analytics 2023.2.
Enhancing Speed, Scale, and Security
SQL Performance Improvements
This release includes various performance enhancement across InterSystems SQL process which are 100% transparent to users:
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The Global Iterator is an internal module that shifts much of the work traversing indexes and data maps into the kernel, as opposed to leveraging ObjectScript. The use of the Global Iterator has been significantly expanded since the previous release of InterSystems IRIS.
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The Adaptive Parallel Execution framework (APE) was first introduced for queries involving columnar storage: rather than preparing and executing separate parallel subqueries, APE generates parallel worker code into the same cached query class as the main query. APE is now being expanded to an increasing number of query patterns which access regular (row) storage. This should lead to increased performance and manageability for your SQL-based applications.
For all of the preceding features, more enhancements are planned for future releases, gradually expanding the scope of these newer, more efficient query processing paradigms and frameworks.
Kernel-Level Performance Improvements
This release includes several kernel-level performance improvements that transparently benefit customer applications:
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Where possible, the global module now reads a set of physically contiguous big string blocks using a single, large IO operation. Big string blocks are used for storing long strings and columnar data.
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Mirroring now uses large asynchronous IO operations to read and write journal files through the agent channel, leading to a significant increase in mirror agent throughput.
Notable Platform Changes
End of Support for Windows Server 2012
Effective with this release, InterSystems IRIS no longer supports Windows Server 2012. To continue to run on a supported Microsoft server platform, please upgrade your operating system to Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, or Windows Server 2022.