November 2024

These features and Databricks platform improvements were released in November 2024.

Note

Releases are staged. Your Databricks account might not be updated until a week or more after the initial release date.

Reuse SQL outputs as _sqldf in subsequent SQL cells

November 15, 2024

In Databricks Runtime 14.3 and above, running a SQL query in a Databricks notebook generates an implicit DataFrame (_sqldf) that you can use in downstream SQL cells. This adds to the support for using for using the _sqldf variable in Python cells introduced in Databricks Runtime 13.3. See Explore SQL cell results.

Warehouses system table is now available (Public Preview)

November 15, 2024

The system.compute.warehouses table records SQL warehouse configurations. Each row is a snapshot of a SQL warehouse’s properties at a specific point in time. A new snapshot is created when the properties change. See Warehouses system table reference.

Cross-platform view sharing (Public Preview)

November 14, 2024

Databricks recipients can now query shared views using any Databricks compute resource. Previously, if a recipient’s Databricks account was different from the provider’s account, recipients could only query a shared view using a serverless SQL warehouse. See Read shared views.

View sharing also now extends to open sharing connectors. See Read data shared using Delta Sharing open sharing (for recipients).

Clean Rooms public preview is ungated, with new features

November 13, 2024

Databricks Clean Rooms uses Delta Sharing and serverless compute to provide a secure and privacy-protecting environment where multiple parties can share sensitive enterprise data and collaborate without direct access to each other’s data. The Clean Rooms public preview is now open to all customers on Azure and AWS, and includes the following new features:

  • Output tables are temporary read-only tables generated by a notebook run and shared to the notebook runner’s Unity Catalog metastore.

  • Clean room notebook task types let you run Databricks notebooks in a clean room as part of a workflow. Along with support for task values and output tables, this is a powerful tool for running complex workflows on data shared in clean rooms.

See What is Databricks Clean Rooms?.

Databricks Runtime 16.0 is GA

November 11, 2024

Databricks Runtime 16.0 and Databricks Runtime 16.0 ML are now generally available.

See Databricks Runtime 16.0 and Databricks Runtime 16.0 for Machine Learning.

Breaking change: Hosted RStudio is end-of-life

November 11, 2024

In Databricks Runtime 16.0 and above, Databricks-hosted RStudio Server is end-of-life and unavailable on any Databricks workspace. To learn more and see a list of alternatives to RStudio, see Hosted RStudio Server deprecation.

Predictive optimization enabled for all new Databricks accounts

November 11, 2024

On November 11, Databricks enabled predictive optimization as the default for all new Databricks accounts. Previously, it was disabled by default and could be enabled through your administrator account. When predictive optimization is enabled, Databricks automatically runs maintenance operations for Unity Catalog managed tables. For more information on predictive optimization, see Predictive optimization for Unity Catalog managed tables.

Updated and unified read-only code blocks

November 8, 2024

A new read-only code block is now available across the Catalog Explorer, alerts page, and Genie.

Increased Quick Fix recommendations

November 8, 2024

Databricks Assistant Quick Fix now identifies and suggests corrections for a broader range of common SQL and Python errors. With a 50% increase in error detection, Quick Fix can help you debug your code faster. See Quick Fix.

Foundation Model APIs pay-per-token available in all Model Serving supported regions

November 7, 2024

Foundation Model APIs pay-per-token workloads are now supported in all regions where Mosaic AI Model Serving is available. If your workspace is in a Model Serving region but not in a U.S. or EU region, your workspace must be enabled for cross-Geo data processing. When enabled, your pay-per-token workload is routed to the U.S. Databricks Geo.

Unity Catalog-governed access to external cloud services using service credentials (Public Preview)

November 7, 2024

Service credentials enable simple and secure authentication with your cloud tenant’s services using IAM roles and Unity Catalog. Service credentials are in public preview and are supported on Databricks Runtime 15.4 LTS and above. See Manage access to external cloud services using service credentials.

Databricks Runtime 14.2 series support ends

November 5, 2024

Support for Databricks Runtime 14.2 and Databricks Runtime 14.2 for Machine Learning ended on November 5. See Databricks support lifecycles.