databricks Platform · Updated Jun 30, 2026

Lakehouse Real-Time

Now in Beta for low-latency analytics.

What it does

Lakehouse Real-Time (Lakehouse//RT) is a serverless SQL warehouse designed for low-latency, high-concurrency workloads, enabling sub-second SQL read queries against Unity Catalog tables. It supports Delta Lake and Apache Iceberg formats, allowing users to serve analytical data to applications, run operational analytics, and power dashboards for hundreds to thousands of concurrent users. Users can create and manage Lakehouse//RT similarly to other SQL warehouses, with specific permissions assigned to users.

Why it matters

This feature significantly enhances the ability to deliver real-time analytics, improving decision-making speed and operational efficiency. Organizations can leverage Lakehouse//RT to support high-demand applications and BI dashboards, ultimately driving better insights and responsiveness to business needs. The serverless nature reduces infrastructure management overhead, allowing teams to focus on data insights rather than system maintenance.

Key capabilities

Sub-Second Query Performance

Delivers sub-second latency on SQL read queries for high-concurrency scenarios.

Serverless Architecture

Eliminates the need for infrastructure management, allowing for automatic scaling.

Unity Catalog Integration

Queries data exclusively from Unity Catalog, ensuring optimized performance with managed tables.

Monitoring and Management

Provides comprehensive monitoring tools for query history and performance metrics.

Prerequisites

Must be in a supported region.

Lakehouse//RT Beta must be enabled in your workspace.

Recommended use cases

Serving real-time analytics to applications.Running operational analytics for immediate insights.Powering BI dashboards for high user concurrency.Executing low-latency queries on large datasets.

Limitations · remember

!Does not support write operations or DDL commands.

!Only ANSI-compliant read queries are supported.

!Certain table types and SQL functions are not supported.

!Legacy Thrift protocol connections are not allowed.

Architecture

Data Ingestion → Unity Catalog → Lakehouse Real-Time → BI Dashboards

Get started

Enable Lakehouse//RT

Workspace admins can enable the Lakehouse//RT Beta in the workspace menu under Previews.

Create SQL Warehouse

Navigate to Compute > SQL Warehouses and select 'Create SQL Warehouse'.

Select Real-Time Type

Choose 'Real-Time' as the warehouse type during creation.

Assign Permissions

Grant appropriate permissions to users and groups for warehouse access.

Monitor Activity

Use the monitoring page to track query throughput and performance.

Key takeaway

Lakehouse Real-Time empowers organizations to achieve real-time analytics with sub-second query performance, enhancing decision-making and operational efficiency.

2026-06-30-lakehouse-real-time-beta Generated by the Databricks Updates Agent · browse all updates