SQL Server Enters Race for Performance

SQL Server 2000 is the first version of Microsoft’s database software to challenge IBM DB2 and Oracle on transaction processing performance. The graph above summarizes two years’ worth of scores on Transaction Processing Council’s TPC-C order entry benchmark. The graph shows absolute performance in transactions per minute (horizontal axis) and performance per thousand dollars of total hardware/software cost (vertical axis). SQL Server 7.0 lags behind Oracle and DB2 on absolute performance but scores well on performance per dollar. SQL Server 2000, in contrast, is competitive on both metrics, placing second to IBM DB2 on its best performance result.

The main reason for improved performance: SQL Server 2000’s new Distributed Partitioned Views feature enabled Microsoft and Compaq to share benchmark load among 12 eight-processor server machines. However, exploiting the feature requires painstaking redesign of the database and rewrites of client applications, making the features impractical for many customers. Microsoft intends to provide more usable load balancing in SQL Server “Yukon,” the successor to SQL Server 2000.