Re: Suitability for real-time data processing?

I think either Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server should do the job in a reasonably designed system with adequate hardware.

If you are looking for clustering to help you with spreading workload across servers, I think you are looking at Oracle. Microsoft's clustering for SQL Server 6.5 is of the failover variety.

I am not sure what you mean by "relatively poor locking functionality" for SQL Server. SQL Server 6.5 supports page level locking, and row level locking on inserts if you follow all the rules. Oracle supports row level locking. Without starting the row v. page level locking debate all over, either approach works if you design for it. Poorly designed systems will probably perform better with row level locking.

Considering the foregoing, unless Oracle offers you a significant advantage, I would think that you would go with Microsoft SQL Server. SQL Server will probably be cheaper. Your company apparently has experience with SQL Server. There is a corporate policy to use SQL Server. Received on Wed Dec 09 1998 - 00:00:00 CST