General Reference > What's New in Zen > What's New in Zen v16 SP1
What's New in Zen v16 SP1
The release of Zen v16 SP1, version 16.10, offers the following new features and changes:
This document may be updated after the release. Download the latest version from the Actian Electronic Software Distribution (ESD) website or visit docs.actian.com.
Table Column Masking Using SQL
To strengthen database security, Zen v16 SP1 supports masking of data in SQL so that it cannot be seen by users who do not have permission to view it. For these users, masked data values replace column contents in query results, while leaving the source table unchanged. For more information, see Masking Data in Zen Databases in Advanced Operations Guide.
Slow Query Logging
Zen v16 SP1 introduces query logging functionality that enables you to identify SQL queries whose execution shows query latency to help to detect performance bottlenecks. The new Query Log Threshold feature and guidance on interpreting slow queries are covered under SQL Query Logging in Advanced Operations Guide.
Other Improvements
Zen v16 SP1 offers a number of selected improvements and fixes, most notably the following:
• Files sparsely populated due to large deletes of physically contiguous records can negatively affect database performance. This release achieves significant performance improvement for data files that use Zen file version 16.0 format.
• The Rebuild and Defragmenter tools involve high use of L1 cached pages that may not return to a more normal level after these tools finish executing, negatively affecting performance. This issue has been addressed in this release.
Troubleshooting Utilities
A new offering of troubleshooting utilities is being released with Zen v16 SP1. These tools enable Zen database administrators, developers, and reliability engineers to collect data from the Zen engine for the purpose of monitoring and interpreting the behavior of Zen databases, especially to identify performance issues.
These tools are not installed with Zen but are available as a separate download, including documentation and release notes for each one:
• MKDE Trace Converter is a Python-based tool designed to process and convert MicroKernel Database Engine (MKDE) trace logs. It transforms these complex, low-level logs into a human-readable, tab-delimited format (.csv) files suitable for analysis in spreadsheets.
• Query Plan Converter is a Python-based tool that converts binary query plan files (.qpf) to human-readable .xml files.
• SQL Log Converter is a Python-based logging tool that generates SQL query log summaries and .tsv conversions based on Zen database engine SQL query logging trace files. It also includes features provided by the Python tqdm progress meter.
• The Zen Engine Statistics utility collects statistics for counter metrics from Zen database engines. It supports use of the Prometheus monitoring system and data model.
To learn more about these utilities, go to the Actian Electronic Software Distribution website to download their .zip archive.
Zen Kafka JDBC Dialect for Apache Kafka Containers
Zen Kafka JDBC Dialect is a custom implementation for the Confluent JDBC Kafka Connector that enables seamless integration between Apache Kafka and Zen databases. This dialect provides optimized support for the SQL implementation, data types, and connection requirements used by Zen database engines.
Support for SQLAlchemy
Zen v16 SP1 introduces SQLAlchemy Zen Dialect, a Python library that provides SQL and object relational mapping features for Zen database access. This library is not installed with Zen v16 SP1 but is a separate download, which includes a quick start guide. To learn more about this utility, download it from the Actian Electronic Software Distribution website.
Supported Platforms and Deprecated Features
• Zen v16 SP1 officially supports Windows Server 2025.
• For other information about supported platforms, visit communities.actian.com for a list of platforms currently supported by Zen.
• No features have been deprecated in this release.
History Log and Known Issues List
• An updated Zen history log lists fixed defects and selected enhancements in Zen v16 and any released service packs.
• An updated Zen known issues log lists unresolved technical and usage issues, with workarounds when available.
• You can download both of these files, as well as Zen v16 release notes and this What’s New document, at the Actian Electronic Software Distribution (ESD) website.
Documentation
The documentation for this release has been updated to cover new or changed functionality. It has also been revised for clarity, grammar, spelling, and changes to internet addresses and product names.
 
Last modified date: 12/12/2025