Re: Sql Server 7 vs Oracle 8

The Challenge

     Oracle Corporation will pay $1,000,000 to the first person
     who can demonstrate that SQL Server 7.0, with a 1-terabyte
     TPC-D database, can come within 100 times of Oracle's best
     published performance for query number 5 of the current
     TPC-D specification (Version 1.3.1). To comply, the
     challenger would have to run a complete 1-terabyte TPC-D
     benchmark, including all requirements for loading, updating
     and querying data and publishing a full disclosure report of all
     performance metrics. The challenger may use any available
     hardware platform supported by SQL Server 7.0. The
     benchmark must be audited by a TPC-certified auditor to
     ensure compliance with TPC benchmark rules.

     Note that Oracle published a new record 1-terabyte TPC-D
     benchmark November 3, 1998 for fast data warehouse query
     response, running Oracle8i on Sun's EnterpriseTM 10000 server
     and the SolarisTM operating environment. Oracle performance
     rated 27,024 QppD (query processing power metric). The full
     disclosure report detailed these other benchmark results: 5,740
     QthD (query throughput) and $776/QphD (query price
     performance), configuration available January 15, 1999. As
     part of the benchmark, Oracle8i completed Query 5 in 71.5
     seconds.

     The Business Query
     The English business query is "How much of last year's
     revenue was shipped nationally vs. internationally?" This
     query is intended to determine whether the distributor modeled
     by the TPC-D benchmark scenario should create local
     distribution centers in a region. More precisely, the query
lists,
     for the previous year, for each nation in a region, the revenue
     from sales where the customer and the supplier are in the same
     nation.

     The SQL Query
     The SQL query joins six tables and includes simple WHERE
     clause predicates and GROUP BY and ORDER BY clauses.
     The exact SQL query is:

     SELECT N_NAME,
        SUM(L_EXTENDEDPRICE*(1-L_DISCOUNT)) AS REVENUE
     FROM CUSTOMER, ORDER, LINEITEM,
                SUPPLIER, NATION, REGION
     WHERE C_CUSTKEY = O_CUSTKEY
        AND O_ORDERKEY = L_ORDERKEY
        AND L_SUPPKEY = S_SUPPKEY
        AND C_NATIONKEY = S_NATIONKEY
        AND S_NATIONKEY = N_NATIONKEY
        AND N_REGIONKEY = R_REGIONKEY
        AND R_NAME = '[region]'
        AND O_ORDERDATE >= DATE '[date]'
        AND O_ORDERDATE < DATE '[date]'
              + INTERVAL '1' YEAR
     GROUP BY N_NAME
     ORDER BY REVENUE DESC;



     TPC benchmark is a trademark of the Transaction Processing
Performance
     Council.