--- title: "Release notes" slug: "dev-database-release-notes" description: "Explore VAST Cluster 5.5 updates: new partitioned tables, vector indexing, blob expansion, and SQL enhancements for optimized database management." updated: 2026-10-30T18:19:06Z published: 2026-10-30T18:19:06Z canonical: "docs.vastdata.com/dev-database-release-notes" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vastdata.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Release notes *Applies to VAST Cluster 5.5.* This page lists the changes in each VAST Cluster 5.5 release that affect people who build on VAST DataBase: new things you can do, fixes, and known limitations. It's a digest of the full [VAST Cluster 5.5 release notes](/docs-5-5/docs/vast-cluster-5-5-release-notes), which also cover storage, networking and administration. To find out which release your cluster runs, see [find your versions](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-versions#find-your-versions). For which SDK and connector versions go with each release, see [version compatibility](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-versions). ## 5.5.0 ### What you can now do **Partitioned tables.** You can partition a table by up to four columns or column transforms, such as `day(event_time)`, and also give it up to four sort columns. Queries skip partitions that can't match, and you can delete a whole partition at once. Supported operations are creating a partitioned table, listing its partitions, inserting, importing Parquet files, querying and deleting a partition. You can create partitioned tables from the Python SDK, Trino and Spark. Deleting partitions is controlled by the `s3:TabularDeletePartitions` permission. See [data modeling](/develop/docs/dev-database-guides-data-modeling#partitioned-tables). The VAST Query Engine doesn't work with partitioned tables in 5.5; use the Python SDK, Trino or Spark. **Vector-indexed tables.** You can create a table with a vector index on one vector column, using Euclidean or cosine distance, for similarity search. Newly inserted vectors can be queried straight away. See [VAST Vector Search](/develop/docs/dev-vector-search-overview) and, for how vector tables combine with other table types, [limits](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-limits#combining-table-structures). **Blob expansion.** Events published to an event topic can be expanded from JSON into rows of a VAST DataBase table, in the same transaction as the event. You query the result like any other table. It needs the `s3:TabularCreateBlobExpansion`, `s3:TabularAlterBlobExpansion`, `s3:TabularDropBlobExpansion` and `s3:TabularGetBlobExpansion` permissions. See [blob expansion](/develop/docs/dev-event-broker-guides-blob-expansion). **Larger cells.** The maximum cell size, including metadata, went up from 126 KB to 5 MB. Fixed-size binary columns are limited to 64 KB per cell, and the maximum statement size is 5 MB. The new limit doesn't apply to semi-sorted projections. See [limits](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-limits#sizes). **More SQL in the VAST Query Engine.** - DDL: `CREATE SCHEMA`, `CREATE TABLE` (including a sort key), `DROP TABLE`, `DESCRIBE`, `ALTER TABLE` to rename a table, rename, add or drop a column, or add a sort key, and `CREATE VIEW` / `DROP VIEW`. There are no commands for projections or partitions. - DML: `INSERT ... VALUES`, `INSERT ... SELECT`, insert from a Parquet file, `UPDATE` and `DELETE`. - Aggregate functions such as `SUM`, `MIN`, `MAX` and `AVG`, including the `FILTER` clause. `DISTINCT`, `ORDER BY` and `GROUP BY` aren't supported with aggregate functions. - Sorted tables are supported without caveats. See the [SQL reference](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-index). **Trino 478.** The VAST connector for Trino supports Trino 478. See [version compatibility](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-versions#trino). **Spark.** Enabling table sorting from Spark, and row and column security for Spark, are listed as new in 5.5.0 (5.5.0 release notes). Neither is confirmed; see [Spark](/develop/docs/dev-database-integrations-spark). **Sorting status for small tables.** Before 5.5, the sorting status of a table with fewer than 5 million rows was reported as a constant. That limitation is gone. ### Fixed - An invalid input to a VAST DataBase operation could restart a CNode container. Fixed. ### Known limitations These are listed in the 5.5.0 release notes and repeated in SP2, SP3 and SP6 unless noted. **Partitioned tables** - You can't partition on nested columns (`list`, `map`, `struct`). - Partition columns can only be updated if the update doesn't move rows to another partition, and they can't be dropped. - Partitioning can't be combined with vector indexing, semi-sorted projections or user-defined row IDs. - A partitioned table can be sorted, but only if the sort order is set when the table is created. - The same column can't be used for both sorting and partitioning. - Quotas and replication aren't supported on partitioned tables. **Sorted tables** - Sorting can't be removed, and the sort columns and their order can't be changed. Values in sort columns can't be updated. - Up to four sort columns and one sort order per table. - Tables with fewer than 512K rows don't get sorted, although you can enable sorting on them. - Sorted tables can't be replicated, and replicated tables can't be sorted. - Sorting can't be combined with semi-sorted projections, nested-type sort columns, or exposing the internal row ID through the `vastdb_rowid` column. **Vector-indexed tables** - The index can't be removed, and its distance function can't be changed. Only one vector column per table can be indexed, and it can't be called `vector`. - You can't add an index to an existing table, or add or drop columns in an indexed table. - Vector indexing can't be combined with sorted or partitioned tables. - The VAST connectors for Trino and Spark don't support vector search. **Views (table views)** - View properties aren't supported, and queries in a view must use full table names. - Only Spark can redefine a view. If a redefined view's query changes schema, user-defined column names and comments are lost. - The Trino connector doesn't support the `SECURITY` clause of `CREATE VIEW`. **Row and column security** - Row filtering and column masking are listed as supported for Trino only. - The Trino user's identity policy must allow end-user impersonation and getting row and column security; the action names are `s3:EndUserImpersonation` and `s3:TabularGetRowColumnSecurity`. See [security](/develop/docs/dev-database-operations-security). - With protocol auditing on, impersonated access is logged with the original user's UID only, not their login name or SID. **VAST Query Engine** - The `map` type isn't supported. - A virtual IP pool with the Query Engine role can't be modified after it's created. Your platform team has to delete it and create a new one, so expect the Query Engine address to change if they do. **Ingest** - Importing into a table that's both sorted and partitioned takes considerably longer than importing into a table that's neither. - Blob expansion: one expansion table per event-topic column; the target table must exist (without columns) first; target columns used by the expansion can't be renamed or removed; the source table can't be renamed; updates and deletes on the source don't reach the target. **Replication and other features** - Asynchronous replication of VAST DataBase replicates only committed transactions. VAST Catalog and the audit log aren't replicated, and multi-tenant replication isn't supported. See [snapshots and replication](/develop/docs/dev-database-operations-snapshots-and-replication). - Global Access doesn't support VAST DataBase views. - A view with the Database protocol can only be created on a cluster with data reduction enabled. Fixed in SP6. **Trino as a managed application on the cluster** - A Trino cluster needs at least three CNodes: one coordinator and two or more workers. - Queries may fail during a cluster upgrade, and work again when it's complete. ## 5.5.0-SP2 No new VAST DataBase features or fixes. The known limitations are the same as 5.5.0. ([5.5.0-SP2 release notes](/docs-5-5/docs/vast-cluster-5-5-0-sp2-release-notes)) ## 5.5.0-SP3 No new VAST DataBase features or fixes. The known limitations are the same as 5.5.0. ([5.5.0-SP3 release notes](/docs-5-5/docs/vast-cluster-5-5-0-sp3-release-notes)) ## 5.5.0-SP6 **Fixed:** a view with the Database protocol can now be created on a cluster with data reduction disabled. Before SP6 this failed with `DR_IS_NOT_ACTIVE view_create returned an error: ObjectResultCode: INVALID_PARAM`, and the limitation is gone from the SP6 list. Other known limitations are the same as 5.5.0. ([5.5.0-SP6 release notes](/docs-5-5/docs/vast-cluster-5-5-0-sp6-release-notes)) ## See also - [Version compatibility](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-versions): cluster, SDK and connector versions. - [Limits](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-limits): sizes, counts and which table structures combine. - [VAST Cluster 5.5 release notes](/docs-5-5/docs/vast-cluster-5-5-release-notes) in the KB.