palat@motcid.UUCP (Mohan Palat) (05/31/90)
This is a request for information on database machines/hardware. 1. Are there any commercial database machines or database engines designed to handle very large databases in an oltp environment? 2. What are the typical characteristics of an operating system that runs on a database machine? 3. What hardware features should one expect in a machine designed exclusively for large, real-time database applications? Thanks in advance. Mohan Palat Motorola, Inc. e-mail: uunet!motcid!palat
bxw@ccadfa.adfa.oz.au (Brad Willcott) (05/31/90)
palat@motcid.UUCP (Mohan Palat) writes: > This is a request for information on database machines/hardware. > 1. Are there any commercial database machines or database engines > designed to handle very large databases in an oltp environment? Question : What sort of volume are you talking about? > 2. What are the typical characteristics of an operating system that > runs on a database machine? Multi-tasking, multi-user (or networking). Record locking, transaction commit/roll-back. > 3. What hardware features should one expect in a machine designed > exclusively for large, real-time database applications? Question : How many users will need to be accessing the system at any one time, and physically where will they be in relation to each other? The same room, building, city, country? What is the expected size of the ON-LINE database? Will all of the data be maintained (entered/updated) at the same location? How much money are you prepared to pay? What hardware/software do you currently have that would need to have access to this data? -- Brad Willcott, ACSnet: bxw@ccadfa.cc.adfa.oz Computing Services, Internet: bxw@ccadfa.cc.adfa.oz.au Australian Defence Force Academy, UUCP:!uunet!munnari.oz.au!ccadfa.oz!bxw Northcott Dr. Campbell ACT Australia 2600 +61 6 268 8584 +61 6 268 8150 (Fax)
davidm@uunet.UU.NET (David S. Masterson) (06/01/90)
In article <3298@avocado4.UUCP> palat@motcid.UUCP (Mohan Palat) writes:
This is a request for information on database machines/hardware.
Hmmm. Its been a while since I looked at the things to answer this question,
so this might be a bit dated and probably not complete.
1. Are there any commercial database machines or database engines
designed to handle very large databases in an oltp environment?
The database machine/engine concept has blurred over the past couple of years.
There are the systems by Teradata and Sharebase which are specialized
computers for handling large relational databases (Teradata will go into the
terabytes of information) with good performance in the OLTP environment (I
believe Teradata is involved with the banking industry - a high OLTP
environment). I believe Teradata recently acquired Sharebase, so there now
seems to be one major vendor of database machines.
Although Oracle hasn't done it themselves, a couple of VARs for Oracle have
built accelerator systems for Oracle (Charles River Data) or special
configurations for Oracle (Independence Technologies) for OLTP needs. I
believe there have been other specialized boards (typically for the VAX
computer) for improving the performance of software database systems.
The founders of Sybase were originally from Sharebase (Dr. Epstein goes back
to the Ingres project). As I understood it at the time, Sybase believed that
developing specialized hardware for database management was a losing
proposition for a small company. The small company would introduce its
specialized hardware representing lots of R&D and expect to make due with it
long enough to recoup its investment. However, typically a little after the
introduction the big general purpose hardware vendors would introduce a new
processor that allowed software relational systems to match the performance of
the hardware engine with little or no investment in hardware. Sybase's
approach, therefore, was to build a software database engine that could
then be easily moved to new platforms when they become available.
--
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David Masterson Consilium, Inc.
uunet!cimshop!davidm Mt. View, CA 94043
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"If someone thinks they know what I said, then I didn't say it!"tom@edsr.eds.com (Tom H. Meyer) (06/02/90)
Sequent Computers out of Beaverton, OR produces a parallel relational database engine, as well. If you're interesting in academic machines, there is the Gamma Project out of Wis. (De Witt) and, I believe M. Stonebraker has a machine in U.C. Berkley. tom meyer, EDS Research | If I don't see you in the future tom@edsr.eds.com or ...uunet!edsr!tom | I'll see you in the pasture 505.345.2563
barr@frog.UUCP (Chris Barr) (06/02/90)
In article <CIMSHOP!DAVIDM.90May31104310@uunet.UU.NET>, cimshop!davidm@uunet.UU.NET (David S. Masterson) writes: > In article <3298@avocado4.UUCP> palat@motcid.UUCP (Mohan Palat) writes: > > 1. Are there any commercial database machines or database engines > designed to handle very large databases in an oltp environment? > > Although Oracle hasn't done it themselves, a couple of VARs for Oracle have > built accelerator systems for Oracle (Charles River Data) or special > configurations for Oracle (Independence Technologies) for OLTP needs. I Our 'Relational Accelerators' currently offer 1-2 GB of storage and run Oracle backends, like a server, but achieve exceptionally high OLTP benchmarks with VAX/VMS frontends. Oracle Complex Systems Corp, a VAR arm of Oracle, resells our systems. A similar agreement, entailing more development, was announced some months ago between Charles River & Teradata. A more powerful class of systems is under development - stay tuned. Our system is called 'accelerator' as distinguished from 'server' because exceptional price/performance is its stock in trade. Also, current users are uniquely VAX/VMS Oracle users who needed better performance but preferred to add our box than get a larger VAX, ergo: 'accelerate' existing performance. Chris Barr !mit-eddie!frog!barr
peri@sfd.uit.no (Per-Ingar Auberg) (06/07/90)
I have been asked from a Carpart-dealer in Norway to help him out with a cheap stock control and invoices.He wants to use dbase III+ and PC-MOS for this application.The application needs to be in source code. By the way,I would really appreciate if someone gave me the hint of an application generator or forms designer written for dbase III+.