Re: Choosing a database for a DSS system (40-100G range)

Michael wrote in message ...

>I hate to tell you this,

Then why open your mouth? :-)

> but I have spent the last 4 years delivering large
>systems to companies, using SQL Server.
>All have had a minimum of a 1000 users and most have tables with million
 and
>millions of rows.

Which is NOT the issue. The issue is can SQL7 handle a real terradatabase? According to Microsoft it can as they're desperately trying to proof with the terraserver on the web. A real life terraserver runs close to or exceed one billion rows. Microsoft's "terraserver" has just over 100 million rows. As I said in my posting - a 100 million rows is NOTHING when it comes VLDBs (Very Large Data Bases).

I'm not arguing that SQL Server can not handle millions and millions of rows. So can Oracle, Sybase, Informix, Ingress, Adabas, DB2 etc. etc. What I'm arguing is that Microsoft SQL7 can not handle a real terradatabase because it has never proved it can - and that this demonstration terraserver is nothing but blowing smoke up the arses of the Microsoft groupies in a desperate attempt to try and position SQL7 next to the big boys (Oracle, DB2 and Informix) in the high-end database market.

>There are also lots of others with similar experiences.

Millions and millions of rows... How many 5 million? 10 million? Maybe it sounds B I G (written in nice large and easy to read letters) when you're used to working with MS-Access and dBASE. Try running a real large database on a 82 node massive parallel processing cluster - the British Telecom data warehouse Oracle 8 on a Pyramid/Siemens Nixdorf MPP.

The fact is that other database systems have been delivering for many many years now. SQL-Server is the new brat on the block, but you and the rest of the Microsoft groupie market would like us to believe that SQL-Server is this mature and robust platform that can outperform and outdo DB2, Oracle and Informix. Maybe that sounds logical if you're upgrading from MS-Access...

>Good design, integrated tools and good programming are what make successful
>projects.

The best design will still fail if the underlaying platform can not do the job. You want to tell me that with a good design you'll be able to run a fair sized data warehouse on SQL-Server? Yeah right.

>The best tool in the world, poor design and bad programming still gives a
>piece of crap.

The biggest piece of crap is around the lips of the people swallows the stuff from Microsoft Marketing without looking at it first... ;-)

Seriously, you're right. Good design and skills are critical in a project. But having the right platform is just as important. Does not matter how good you can drive, you will not be able to win a Grand Prix race in a VW Beetle.

regards,
Billy

--
Standard Disclaimers Apply