On November 9, 1993, Silicon Graphics, Inc. announced that it has broken industry records for database performance with its first TPC number. The company achieved 1,786 transactions per second (TPS) on the Transaction Processing Council TPC-B benchmark by running the Oracle7(tm) database software on a 28 processor CHALLENGE(tm) symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) server.
This TPC-B number is the highest achieved to date on any massively parallel system, mainframe, large clustered configuration, SMP or uniprocessor system. The resulting TPC-B performance number achieved a cost of $1,605 per transaction, the best price/performance among high-end TPC-B results.
"This incredible TPC performance number -- the first we have ever released -- is indicative of the flexibility and power of Silicon Graphics' CHALLENGE servers," said Thomas Jermoluk, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Silicon Graphics. "The CHALLENGE architecture can not only handle the fast transaction processing requirements of traditional databases, but also the increased demands of the more complex databases of the 1990s that manage multimedia or visual data."
The CHALLENGE SMP architecture is a breakthrough in database server technology. The CHALLENGE server product line is optimized for database performance, providing the industry's fastest system bus of 1.2 GB per second, an industry leading I/O capacity of 320 MB per controller and up to eight-way interleaving of its expandable 2 GB of system memory.
The CHALLENGE line is the only binary-compatible network resource server line that spans from entry-level uniprocessor systems to 36-processor enterprise-wide SMP systems. The highly scalable CHALLENGE product family includes the CHALLENGE XL enterprise system with up to 36 R4400(tm) MIPS(r) RISC processors for the highest levels of performance and expandability; the CHALLENGE L departmental system with up to 12 R4400 processors, offering price/performance leadership; and the CHALLENGE M single-processor workgroup server.
Database engines can exploit many of the proven SMP performance and scalability capabilities available in Silicon Graphics' operating system, IRIX(tm), which is in its third generation as an SMP operating system.
"This outstanding TPC-B result on Silicon Graphics' CHALLENGE servers once again demonstrates Oracle7's leadership in database performance," said Jerry Baker, senior vice president of Oracle's Product Line Division. "We are very excited about this excellent performance result and will continue to work with Silicon Graphics to optimize and enhance our respective products to provide the best price/performance solutions for our customers.""The scalable database performance and commercial features of the CHALLENGE product line make it a formidable entry into the database market," said Ross Bott, general manager of Silicon Graphics' Information Products Division. "Our strategy is to use indirect partners -- OEMs, systems integrators and value-added resellers -- to take the CHALLENGE servers into the commercial marketplace."
CHALLENGE servers for the database market will be available through Silicon Graphics' OEMs, systems integrators and value-added resellers. These partners will provide turnkey solutions and integrated capabilities to meet the needs of the commercial marketplace. Tandem Computers Incorporated recently announced that it is expanding its binary compatible Integrity(r) product family which includes reselling CHALLENGE servers.
