devine@shodha.dec.com (Bob Devine) (03/06/90)
Databases present some problems that are not typically talked about in comp.arch. In contrast to many of the engineering programs that use mainly CPU cycles and memory/bus bandwidth, databases tend to beat on the entire system: cpu, memory, device drivers, device interconnects, and of course, disks. In the cases where the database is huge, even a simple relational select operation can flood all of memory. In fact, memory at times becomes more a cache for disk reads/writes than it is a workspace. Database comparisons currently suffer because of benchmarks that outright lie or at least confuse the customer. There is no SPEC-like set of benchmarks to prevent "benchmarketing" sleeze. A follow-on to the Debit-Credit is in the works. The tricks that can be done to TP-1 make the string inlining of dhrystone look almost legal. Bob Devine Database Engineering Colorado Springs, CO