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Amazon Keyspaces (for Apache Cassandra) now supports now(), uuid() functions in SELECT and Duration data type

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Amazon Keyspaces (for Apache Cassandra) now supports the now() and uuid() functions in SELECT clauses, expanding their functionality beyond the previously supported WHERE, INSERT, and UPDATE clauses, as well as the Duration data type. These improvements provide greater compatibility with Apache Cassandra, making it easier to work with time-based operations and unique identifiers in your applications.

Amazon Keyspaces (for Apache Cassandra) is a scalable, highly available, and managed Apache Cassandra–compatible database service. Amazon Keyspaces is serverless, so you pay for only the resources that you use and you can build applications that serve thousands of requests per second with virtually unlimited throughput and storage.

With the now() function, you can now generate current timestamps directly in your SELECT statements, making it easier to track when data was retrieved or to perform time-based calculations within your queries. Similarly, the uuid() function allows you to generate unique identifiers within SELECT statements, which is particularly useful for creating reference values or temporary identifiers during data retrieval operations. The new Duration data type represents time elapsed between two timestamps, supporting use cases like tracking task completion times or code execution intervals. This eliminates the need to store time intervals as strings or bytes, removing the burden of manual parsing from your applications.

The now(), uuid(), and Duration data type enhancements are available today in all AWS Commercial and AWS GovCloud (US) Regions where Amazon Keyspaces is available. To learn more, visit the Amazon Keyspaces CQL documentation .

Announcing AWS Neuron SDK 2.26.0

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Today, AWS announces the general availability of Neuron SDK 2.26.0, delivering improvements for deep learning workloads on AWS Inferentia and Trainium-based instances. This release introduces support for PyTorch 2.8 and JAX 0.6.2, along with enhanced inference capabilities on Trainium2 (Trn2) instances. These updates enable developers to leverage the latest frameworks while benefiting from improved model deployment flexibility and performance optimizations.

With Neuron SDK 2.26.0, customers can now deploy FLUX.1-dev image generation model, along with Llama 4 Scout and Maverick variants (beta) on Trn2 instances. The release introduces expert parallelism support (beta) for efficient distribution of Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) models across multiple NeuronCores, and adds new capabilities through new Neuron Kernel Interface (NKI) APIs. The updated Neuron Profiler provides improved capabilities, including system profile grouping for distributed workloads.

The new SDK version is available in all AWS Regions supporting Inferentia and Trainium instances, offering enhanced performance and monitoring capabilities for machine learning workloads.

To learn more and for a full list of new features and enhancements, see:

Amazon Redshift announces the general availability of Multidimensional Data Layouts

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Amazon Redshift announces the general availability of Multidimensional Data Layouts (MDDL) that dynamically sort data based on actual query filters, accelerating query performance. Unlike traditional sorting methods that sort data based on fixed columns, MDDL sorts data based on query filters (for example, Sales in US), achieving up to 10x better end-to-end performance compared to using only optimal single-column sort keys for query workloads with repetitive query filters.

For each table with an AUTO sort key, which is the default for tables without an explicit sort key, Redshift analyzes the table’s query history and automatically selects either a single-column sort key or MDDL for your table, depending on potential performance improvements for your workload. Redshift with MDDL automatically constructs a multidimensional virtual sort key that co-locates rows typically accessed by the same queries. This virtual column, equivalent to a new sort key for the table, is subsequently used during query execution to skip data blocks and even skip scanning entire predicate columns. Redshift with MDDL provides a more expressive generalization of existing compound and interleaved sort keys that significantly improves the performance of table scans, especially when your query workload contains repetitive query filters. For pre-existing tables with manually defined sort keys, you can take advantage of MDDL by altering the sortkey of the table to AUTO.

MDDL is available in all AWS commercial regions where Redshift is available. To get started, read the documentation , blog , and Amazon Science publication to learn more about benchmarks on query performance improvements. 

AWS launches SiteWise MCP Server for Simplified Modeling

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AWS announces Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for AWS IoT SiteWise in the AWS Labs MCP open-source repository . This MCP server simplifies industrial data modeling by providing built-in domain validation and automated modeling capabilities, eliminating the need for extensive API knowledge. The server supports existing AWS IoT SiteWise functionality through familiar tools while adding new conversational interfaces for enhanced user interaction.

The server comes with built-in industrial knowledge and best practices, automatically applying proper units, data types, and quality indicators. This means your industrial models are production-ready from the start, saving valuable time and resources that would otherwise be spent on multiple iterations and corrections. This foundation enables you to easily implement advanced capabilities like anomaly detection and streamlined asset onboarding, while seamlessly integrating with your existing industrial systems.

Download SiteWise MCP server from AWS Labs MCP open-source repository. To get started, visit:
AWS Labs MCP repository on GitHub
SiteWise MCP server documentation

Amazon RDS for MySQL announces Innovation Release 9.4 in Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment

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Amazon RDS for MySQL now supports community MySQL Innovation Release 9.4 in the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment , allowing you to evaluate the latest Innovation Release on Amazon RDS for MySQL. You can deploy MySQL 9.4 in the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment which provides the benefits of a fully managed database, making it simpler to set up, operate, and monitor databases.

MySQL 9.4 is the latest Innovation Release from the MySQL community. MySQL Innovation releases include bug fixes, security patches, as well as new features. MySQL Innovation releases are supported by the community until the next innovation minor, whereas MySQL Long Term Support (LTS) Releases, such as MySQL 8.0 and MySQL 8.4, are supported by the community for up to eight years. Please refer to the MySQL 9.4 release notes and Amazon RDS MySQL release notes for more details.

Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment supports both Single-AZ and Multi-AZ deployments on the latest generation of instance classes. Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment database instances are retained for a maximum of 60 days and are automatically deleted after the retention period. Amazon RDS database snapshots created in the Preview Environment can only be used to create or restore database instances within the Preview Environment.

Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment database instances are priced the same as production RDS instances created in the US East (Ohio) Region . For further information, see Working with the Database Preview Environment . To get started with the Preview Environment from the RDS console, navigate here.

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