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Re: Beginner help needed in database design

From: DA Morgan <damorgan_at_x.washington.edu>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 15:22:09 -0800
Message-ID: <1107127169.855069@yasure>


Mark A wrote:

> The TPC benchmarks do not address all of your issues. It is not meant to be
> the sole factor in a purchasing decision. It primarily concerns performance
> (TPC is the Transaction Processing Performance Council). However it does
> specify standards in the TPC benchmark specifications for some of issues you
> mentioned such as recovery, since if one eliminated transaction logging the
> benchmark scores would be better.

In other words one can get very good numbers at the risk of of meltdown. Well that ought to impress just about everyone that buys expensive hardware, layers it with expensive applications, puts in all of their business transactions, and files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Look at us mom. We went out of business at a blazingly fast speed.

> See specifically section "3.5 Durability Requirements" of the document above
> for information on recovery requirements from various failures.

Look at the advertisements posted by the vendors. Do you see mention of this? They must be very very proud.

> Oracle is a long time member of the TPC (from the very beginning if I am not
> mistaken) and Oracle provides financial and personnel support to the TPC.

When I was in Nigeria I was a proud sponsor of the people working customs. Kept leaving $100 bills and copies of Playboy magazine in my suitcase where they could be easily confiscated.

> There is a person who heads up one of the TPC technical groups who is
> "Principal Software Developer, Oracle Corp." (this is a cut and paste from
> an email he sent to me).
>
> So maybe Daniel Morgan doesn't believe that TPC benchmarks are of any use
> (he obviously hasn't even read the specifications of the test). But Oracle
> Corporation apparently does believe it is important to participate in the
> TPC. The TPC does not "extract" money from Oracle or the other vendors since
> the TPC is a non-profit organization that is controlled by the vendors
> themselves, not the least of which is Oracle.
>
> No benchmark is perfect, but they are better than pure unsubstantiated
> marketing claims about performance.

I don't care if Larry Ellison comes over to my house, takes me out to dinner, and buys me a new boat. I think the benchmarks are worthless to customers. That software companies participate is as much in their best interest as a construction company in New York City paying the local mob boss. And no doubt praising him publicly for his contributions to the neighborhood the entire time.

In short your anonymous letter writer from Oracle and TCP has an opinion ... it is his ... it is not mine. He is welcome to his and I am welcome to mine. But what is critical is that not once at Boeing, not once at Bank of America, not once at AT&T Wiress (now Cingular), not once at numerous other companies did TCP influence a decision of which I am aware. Getting good support and finding good employees with the requisite skill set were critical.

-- 
Daniel A. Morgan
University of Washington
damorgan_at_x.washington.edu
(replace 'x' with 'u' to respond)
Received on Sun Jan 30 2005 - 17:22:09 CST

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