Re: The $1 Million Chanllenge

Well, it took a bit of looking, but I found the key to their solution:

Quote from http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/1999/03-16sql.htm

Rather than try to match a result in a benchmark test that was already in dispute, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard chose to craft a solution that would more closely match actual business conditions, including the need to get maximum value from any enterprise solution. They also wanted to develop a solution that met the original intention of TPC-D.

"There was no merit in responding to the aspect of the challenge that was nothing more than a marketing stunt," explains Microsoft's Douglas Leland. "Instead, what we found interesting was the opportunity that the challenge raised for us to use our technology in a way that focuses on what customers really need, which is affordable, scalable, and powerful solutions that are flexible enough to answer a wide range of business needs and issues."

End Quote

So they didn't really meet the conditions of the challenge at all, but created their own scenario which had a better response time than the Oracle/Sun solution. I also found it interesting that on the TPC site (http://www.tpc.org/), there is not one single published set of results using Microsoft SQL Server of any version for the TPC-D tests.

It is also worth noting that Oracle closed the competition on February 22, 1999 due to lack of any responses. This information can be found at http://www.oracle.com/cgi-bin/press/ in the 02/22/1999 releases.

Rose Noel Kamene wrote:

> Is true that MicroSucks and HP have won the $1 Million challenge posed by
> Larry Ellison ? I have been told that *****Sucks and HP worked together to
> achieve the result in the time requested by Oracle using *****Sucks SQL
> Server 7 and other hardware valued at approx.
> $600,000.
> Response somebody.
> RNK.
> London.

--
Ken Rachynski
Database Analyst
krachyn_at_cadvision.com
<http://www.cadvision.com/krachyn>
ICQ: 3113514 Received on Tue Mar 23 1999 - 14:49:06 CST