One of the most difficult architectural component decisions in
today’s information management environment is that which addresses
the choice of database management technology. By far the largest
market share in this type of software is held by the Oracle®,
Microsoft SQL Server® and IBM DB2TM products. In a recent release
of an ongoing study by the Solitaire Interglobal Ltd. (SIL)
research team, the production behaviors of Oracle and DB2 on the
IBM® System p® and similar behaviors of Oracle, SQL Server and DB2
on the IBM® System x® platforms, were analyzed and compared. This
release is a scheduled part of the continuing Operational
Characterization Master Study (OPMS) that has been conducted over
the last 19 years by the SIL research team. OPMS is used in support
of industry standards and performance certification worldwide.
The characteristics of the different DBMS products have been
distilled by a review of more than 2,354,000 data points covering
over 4,100 closely watched production comparisons, with more being
collected each day. The relative advantages translate into hard
cost savings for each customer than can substantially affect the
bottom line cost of ownership. The real world affect on business is
considerable.
This is most achievable when a good fit between the DBMS and
hardware platform is employed. Allowing the strengths of the
components to mingle is one of the best ways to support the
customer in their continuing quest for lower costs and improved
user satisfaction.
During this study, the main behavioral characteristics of both
hardware and DBMS were examined closely. These traits affect the
overt capacity and reliability of the combined architecture. The
resultant behavior has to be examined within this conceptual
framework to be clearly understood and to prepare that
understanding for projection to other situations.
Although the raw performance of a subject system is an important
metric, the translation of that performance into business terms is
more germane to today’s market. In this venue, the issue of
relative costs can be a more significant metric than base
performance. This measure encompasses a myriad of other factors,
including reliability, staffing levels, vendor service
responsiveness and time-to-market effects.