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Informix IDS vs Oracle: A Competitive Comparison

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Presentation on theme: "Informix IDS vs Oracle: A Competitive Comparison"— Presentation transcript:

1 Informix IDS vs Oracle: A Competitive Comparison

2 Goal of the Presentation
Present Architectural Differences between Informix and Oracle Show Informix’s superiority in: OLTP Data Warehousing / Decision Support Content Management and Web Applications Show clear business benefits of technology differences Performance & scalability Extensibility Lower cost of ownership

3 Topics Architecture OLTP Data Warehousing
Complex Data / Content Management Summary

4 At the Core: Informix Dynamic Scalable Architecture
Consistent code line across OWS, ODS, XPS, and IUS Advanced functionality integrated at the core Connectivity across the enterprise Integrated Sytems Management and Replication MPP Cluster SMP Workgroups/ Massively Parallel Desktops Cluster Extended Parallel Server Dynamic Server SMP Universal Server Workgroup Server/ Workstation Workgroups

5 Informix Server Architecture
Full parallel processing Efficient internal multithreading Open API for user defined functions and datatypes Configurable pool of virtual processors No context switching overhead Dynamic system administration Dynamic load balancing DB level prioritization, scheduling & locking Database migration ... Virtual Processors ... CPU CPU CPU CPU ... DB Buffer Cache Shared Data Shared Memory

6 Industry View of Informix Architecture
“ The general industry consensus among users and developers is that Informix has the best architecture.” Patricia Seybold Group, 12/96 Informix RDBMS was completely rearchitected in 1991 for parallel processing and extensibility Informix DSA sets the industry standard for simplicity, elegance and flexibility

7 Advantages of DSA’s Parallelism
Oracle DBMS Informix OnLine DSA Application Query Application Query SQL SQL Database Server Task Database Server Task Subtask Subtask Subtask IDLE IDLE CPU CPU CPU CPU CPU CPU 30% CPU usage Near 100% CPU usage!

8 Industry View of Oracle Architecture
“Oracle has never really provided the most elegant database technology …” Hambrecht & Quist 2/97 “Oracle will need to perform a significant redesign of its DBMS engine...” Gartner Group, 3/96 Oracle’s database architecture was designed and written in the early 1980s It is widely believed that Oracle needs to rewrite its DBMS engine

9 Oracle’s Architectural Approach
Video Server Network Computing Architecture Oracle Personal Lite Oracle 8 Oracle Paralle Server Oracle 6 Oracle 7 Rdb IRI Replication Engine Informix has one architecture: DSA In constrast, Oracle has: Multiple incompatible servers User written integration code Incomplete parallel processing High OS overhead No API for Database Exensibility Unclear object strategy and distributed computing vision

10 Architectural Comparison: Performance/Scalability
Informix Consistent high performance across all platforms and applications Best return on hardware and application investment Oracle Performance dependent on servers and configuration ROI dependent on OS, platform and application

11 Architectural Comparison: Extensibility
Informix Adaptable API for business specific data and processing Multiple integrated datatypes from leading vendors Easily adjusts to new business requirements Oracle No user-defined datatypes or functions Only useful for Numeric, Alpha, Date Order New business requirements may require extensive coding or rewrite

12 Architectural Comparison: Cost of Ownership
Informix Single, integrated server from desktop to data warehouse Lower cost of maintenance and training Architectural simplicity means faster deployment; better ROI Oracle Multiple non-integrated servers Personal Oracle, Oracle 7.x/8.x, Oracle Express, etc... Requires more maintenance; higher level of training Complexity slows deployment, lessens ROI

13 Customer Testimonials: Cost of Ownership
Wells Fargo converted from Oracle databases to Informix. Working with both vendors showed “…it takes about 60% longer to deploy a project on Oracle than on Informix.” Total Cost of Ownership wins over Oracle Bank of America GTE

14 Topics Architecture OLTP Data Warehousing
The Dynamic Scalable Architecture provides better performance and lower cost of ownership than Oracle’s many faceted solution. OLTP Data Warehousing Complex Data / Content Management

15 OLTP Success Factors Performance
Transaction rates, scalability, multi-user access to data Administration and Maintenance Low labor costs, compatibility with enterprise Replication Availability of data, ease of recovery Extensibility Planning for the future of OLTP Cost of Ownership How all factors impact the bottom line

16 OLTP Application Comparison
Informix is significantly faster than Oracle in real-world OLTP applications. BAAN Triton 3.1 Client/Server Benchmark Informix 1,510 users: ~2X better than Oracle on identical hardware Informix developers and support engineers on-site at BAAN SAP R/3 Benchmark New world record on Windows NT: 1,116 users Only Informix has joint development lab at SAP headquarters in Germany.

17 Industry View of Oracle OLTP Support
“[Oracle] consumes more OS resources, has a relatively weak query optimizer and was later to the game than Informix in parallelization.” Hambrecht & Quist, 2/97 Oracle has ‘bolted on’ features rather than rewriting and integrating Many of Oracle’s ‘benchmark special’ OLTP features are largely unusable

18 Components of OLTP Performance
Cost-based optimizer efficient queries, best utilization of hardware Parallel Insert, Update, Delete (DML) high transaction rates, good multi-user access Integrated log-based replication reliability, recovery, ease of administration

19 Informix vs. Oracle: Optimizer
Cost based, automatically chooses optimum query strategy Oracle inferior in these areas: Limited support for parallel processing Incompatible with standard SQL Requires user to define non-standard ‘hints’ based on table characteristics Inefficient Optimizer can not be used by standard tools and applications due to need for ‘hints’ Most users turn it off

20 Informix vs. Oracle: Parallel DML
Informix -- best in industry Optimal use of hardware for scalability and performance Oracle inferior in these areas: Data Integrity No serializability => no recoverability No multi-statement transactions No referential integrity Advanced Database functionality No support for triggers, replication, variable arrays, nested tables, large objects Multi-user concurrency Row level locking must be turned off Parallel insert locks entire table

21 Informix vs. Oracle: Replication
Log based. Fast and reliable Open. Replicates to other vendors’ databases Simple to implement and maintain Oracle Trigger based. Management nightmare. Closed. Can only replicate Oracle data. High Maintenance overhead. requires a separate server incompatible with objects, partitions, parallel DML triggers

22 Replication in Practice
Five steps involved in Informix log-based replication: Step 1: Transaction updates tables Step 2: DSA will log these updates using regular (parallel) logging mechanism Step 3: Replication threads read from in-memory log buffers Step 4: Apply threads will fan-out the messages to remote servers in parallel using optimized protocol Step 5: Remote servers (targets) will apply transactions in parallel Ten steps involved in Oracle trigger-based replication: Step 1: Transaction updates tables Step 2: Oracle will log these updates using regular logging mechanism Step 3: Replication triggers are fired (one per table involved) = additional CPU processing Step 4: Replication triggers call procedures to update change queue (additional inserts occur to change queue tables) = additional I/O processing Step 5: Oracle will log these inserts using regular logging mechanism = additional I/O processing Step 6: Changes get sent via SQL*Net protocol to target DBMS = significant overhead Step 7: Target DBMS updates tables Step 8: Oracle will log these changes using regular logging mechanism = additional I/O processing Step 9: Deletes from change queue tables additional I/I Step 10: Oracle will log these deletes using regular logging mechanism = additional I/O processing Informix Advantages: 3x the I/O, half the # of steps, 5-10x faster! This means: Higher Availability of Data Less chance for data loss Easier recovery

23 Informix vs. Oracle: Administration
Informix -- complete and flexible Informix Enterprise Command Center Automated, Scalable, Open (Java, IIOP, SNMP) Enterprise Framework Integration HP OpenView, CA UniCenter, DEC PolyCenter, IBM NetView/6000, Sun Solstice Integration with Tools Partners BMC, Platinum, Tivoli, Compuware Oracle -- provides an “Oracle only” solution Enterpise Manager Closed, Proprietary Architecture

24 The Next OLTP Advantage: Extensibility
Infrastructure Integration Move complex business from applications to central control of the database server Add management of today’s “unmanaged data” documents, , images Meet highly specialized needs user defined functions on server pre-witten data types (DataBlades) on server time series, text management, spatial queries high performance indexes for complex relationships, hiearchies, business rules

25 Informix vs. Oracle: Extensibility
A single, Universal Server -- available today. Full database support for user defined datatypes, abstract datatypes, user defined functions Faster response to changing business requirements; re-usable code; flexible systems Oracle Not currently available in server Conflicting extensibility messages Promised in Oracle8 since 1993 Now promised in Oracle middleware (NCA) in 1998

26 Cost of Ownership: Informix Advantages

27 Topics Architecture OLTP Data Warehousing
Informix has decisive advantages for OLTP in the critical areas of Performance, Administration, Replication, and Extensibility. Data Warehousing Complex Data / Content Management

28 Data Warehousing Success Factors
Hardware Investment Hardware cost for 500 GB Data Warehouse: $3.5 million on SMP systems $7 million on MPP systems Performance / Processing Time Judged in hours and days, not seconds Ease of Use and Total Cost of Ownership Obtain the right answer, easily customize Avoid specialized training and tasks Minimize hardware investment

29 Industry View of Oracle DW Performance
“[Oracle] is notoriously poor at scaling above 2 to 4 nodes.....” Meta Group Oracle parallel processing was introduced as a late response to Informix Its capabilities are limited and incompatible with other performance oriented features

30 Result: Informix Wins in Head-to-Head Contests
“Informix has beaten both Oracle and IBM for some very high visibility terabyte accounts - namely MCI, Visa International, Sears, and Fidelity Investments” Patricia Seybold Group 2/97

31 Informix vs. Oracle TPC-D: 70% faster on 25% less hardware
Informix: 48 CPU’s, Oracle: 64 CPU’s Informix means lowest overall hardware investment Best price / performance Less HW = lower admin overhead , lower labor costs

32 Data Warehousing encompasses all functions, not just queries
Informix completed entire benchmark before Oracle completed loading Informix has complete parallel architecture: load, index, query, backup/restore, management, etc.

33 Performance: Informix Extended Parallel Server (XPS)
Node N Node 1 Node 2 High Speed Interconnect 1 Informix most efficient! Update requires : 1 message; no I/O Highly efficient shared nothing architecture Each node controls its own log and data Flexible data partitioning Function shipping eliminates need for distributed lock manager

34 Performance: Oracle Parallel Server (OPS)
Node 1 Node 2 Node N 1 DLM 2 7 6 12 11 3 8 5 9 10 same task, Oracle requires: 12 Messages 2 I/Os 4 Oracle Virtual Shared Disk Oracle simulates shared disk inflexible partitioning scheme Requires huge overhead: distributed lock manager, many extra messages and I/Os

35 Performance: Review of Key Informix Features
Shared nothing architecture Easily locates all data; avoids locking conflicts Data partitioning Spreads data across multiple disks and nodes for highest performance Six different table/index partitioning options Advanced parallel processing Best use of hardware Application transparent parallel everything: query, sort, scan, join, aggregates, update, delete, insert, ... Pipelined parallelism; superior hash-based join

36 Ease of use: Informix Metacube vs. Oracle Express
Informix MetaCube: ROLAP Decision Support Integrated tool for browsing and query of the database Analyzes standard Informix RDBMS data no separate server to administer no translation code, no extra overhead Oracle’s DW Solution requires Oracle Express Oracle Express is a separate database server does not use RDMBS, but a multi-dimensional DB Must load data into Express from main Oracle DB user must write “pass through” code updating of data requires a re-load

37 Performance: Oracle Data Partitioning
Incomplete Supports only simple range partitioning No round-robin, hashing, random, direct, expression, schema , ... No migration tools from Oracle 7.3 Incompatible Partitioned tables may not contain objects, triggers, constraints, data clustering, index clustering Inefficient Range partitioning data skew causes poor performance Performance degraded due to inability to use existing features

38 Informix Customer Story: MCI
MCI Data Warehouse facts at a glance: 6 TB of Data Friends and Family lead generation program 3500 data points on each of 190 million people Oracle beaten in head to head competition Oracle could not successfully complete the benchmark Informix demonstrated DW expertise Awarded 1996 Best Practices award by the Data Warehousing Institute. Project established industry’s TPC-D benchmark.

39 MCI Data Warehouse Benefits
Informix DW enables better use of essential business data. Long Distance Providers face 50% annual customer turnover Better analysis of leads is a strategic advantage Reduction in lead generation cost: 1994: $0.90 / lead 1996: $0.07 / lead Informix outperformed next competitor by 2X initial hardware savings of $2-3 million more savings over time: HW will = 4X software cost

40 The Next Data Warehousing Advantage: Extensibility
New types of queries add spatial analysis add unique business rules, unique data types Better information Compute the lowest fare route between New York and Baton Rouge and plot alternative route on a map Faster response for complex queries Find all high tech stocks that have a risk/reward ratio lower than current portfolio

41 Informix vs. Oracle: DW Extensibility
Numerous complex and new media datatypes Database integration => better performance, easier administration and lower maintenance Data Warehouse becomes central information repository Oracle Partial database integration of text, image and spatial data Others promised as separate servers or middleware in Oracle 8 Much higher overhead, harder to manage

42 Data Warehouse Cost of Ownership:
Informix Advantage Result

43 Topics Architecture OLTP Data Warehouse
Informix has consistently demonstrated superiority to Oracle in Data Warehousing by delivering on customers’ systems and drastically cutting their costs. Complex Data / Content Management

44 Content Management Critical Success Factors
Integration Connectivity to: web servers, browsers, java applets, legacy data Management, Performance, Cost of Ownership single server for all data unified and industry endorsed architecture scalable architecture Advanced data types audio, video, text, spatial, java, VRML, etc… user written and pre-defined (DataBlades)

45 Informix: Integrated, Simple, Complete.
Simple interface means fast development Optimized access means fast applications Single data source means easy administration No need for file, scripts, or programs outside the DB. Integrated Data Types (DataBlades): Documents HTML Images Video Time Series Corporate Data . . . Single Interface Optimized Access Single Universal Server

46 INFORMIX-Universal Server
Informix Connects the Entire Enterprise to the Web Java/IIOP INFORMIX-Universal Server INFORMIX- Universal Web Connect™ Legacy Data Browser Java C/C++ New Era 4GL IIOP/CORBA DCOM Publish and Subscribe Web Site Content Application Logic Web Server Java Gateways ActiveX Development Tools Jworks, Web DataBlade, NewEra, Data Director, Partners... Management Tools Informix Enterprise Command Center, Tools Partners...

47 Industry View of Informix Content Management
“For serious new media projects, Informix offers the most content-inclusive strategy.” Forrester Research, 9/97 Analysts agree that Informix’s server integration is the most efficient architecture Informix has numerous off-the-shelf DataBlade modules currently available

48 Oracle’s NCA -- Not a Unified Architecture
Non-integrated servers No extensibility No new indexing No cartridges Third Party ORB CORBA Objects 3rd party ORB Standard Relational OLAP Engine Video Server Communications Overhead Massive Data Movement Application Server Client CORBA Client User code No standard DML Not parallel No optimizer No data integration 13

49 Performance Problems of Oracle’s NCA
Call Overhead Local Lightweight Thread Informix Oracle CORBA Object 1x 10x 100x 1,000x 10,000x relative time Oracle’s NCA is 1000X slower than Informix’s Universal Server in performing a function on an advanced data type.

50 Performance Problems of Oracle’s NCA
Data Movement Overhead Local Lightweight Thread Informix Oracle local object CORBA Object Oracle remote object 1x 10x 100x 1,000x 10,000x relative time Oracle’s NCA is 100 to1000X slower than Informix’s Universal Server at transferring complex data types (objects) from the server.

51 Cost of Ownership: Oracle ‘Do-it-Yourself’ Approach
‘Do-it-Yourself’ Custom Code Oracle Code Relational Data Object Simulator Complex Geometry Engine Optimizer Data Integrator BLOBs Text Without a true Universal Server, vendors are forced to resort to a clumsy multi-layered architecture that leaves much complex code to be written by the customer. Oracle has a standard relational DBMS which also stores BLOBs, It also has a text engine that is somewhat integrated with some versions of the relational engine. It has a Spatial Data Option that manages points in 2-D space. Realistically, to use this to build applications, a customer has to write a lot of difficult and slow code. An object simulator has to create objects from the undifferentiated BLOB storage. This is analogous to parking your car in a garage in the form of components that have to be reconstructed into a car each time you need to use it: slow and tedious. A complex geometry engine adds clumsiness and complexity onto an already slow and primitive points engine. Something has to integrate the data from all of these layers, and finally, each developer is responsible for writing an optimizer that understands the best sequence in which to answer unknown customer queries. This is not an architecture: it is a mess. It is hard to build, hard to administer and slow to run. One day when and if Oracle finally delivers the object relational server they have been promising since 1993, customers can throw away all this complex custom code, and rewrite their applications to the new interface. Spatial Points 14

52 Cost of Ownership: Oracle NCA Integrity Issues
Transaction Boundary Data Catridges Separate Oracle Database Servers Oracle Application Server Cartridges outside transaction boundary No integrity constraints No standard data manipulation language No certification program 20

53 Oracle’s Competing Architectures
Oracle 7.3 with hard-wired support for 4 data types spatial, time series, text media separate servers employed for each Oracle 8.0 mainly provides patches to scalability and performance issues extremely limited object support Network Computing Architecture (NCA) “data catridges” as middle-ware, CORBA interface advanced data outside the control and optimization of server Data Cartridges as part of the server perhaps in Oracle 8.1 or 8.2

54 Performance Appraisal: Industry View of Oracle’s NCA
“Oracle faces a significant challenge in achieving adequate performance when interfacing Data Cartridge functions with core database services.” Patricia Seybold Group, 2/97 “Oracle 8 will (at least initially) suffer performance shortcomings compared with the IUS single database engine..” Meta Group, 2/97

55 Informix vs. Oracle: Predefined Data Types
Oracle: Few if any Data Catridges are shipping. Informix: A sample of available Data Blades... Data Warehousing/Financial DataCleanser DataBlade (EDD) OptiLink DataBlade (CPT) Fuzzy Search DataBlade (Expector) TimeSeries DataBlade (Fame) Reporting DataBlade (SLP-Statistiques) Decision Series DataBlade (NeoVista) Text Text DataBlade (Verity) Text Search/Management DataBlade (Excalibur) NameTag DataBlade (IsoQuest) PLS Text DataBlade (PLS) Document Objects DataBlade (ArborText) LiveLink DataBlade (Open Text) Web/Electronic Commerce Video DataBlade (VXtreme) DesCrypt DataBlade (Prime Factors) Internet Commerce DataBlade (Open Market) Real-time Profiling DataBlade (Excalibur) Content Management DataBlade (MKS) Digital Media PixFactory DataBlade (Kodak) Image Search DataBlade (Excalibur) Face Recognition DataBlade (Excalibur) Scene Detection DataBlade (Excalibur) Visual Info Retrieval DataBlade (Virage) Audio Information Retrieval DataBlade (Muscle Fish) TigerMark DataBlade (NEC) Geospatial GeoCoding DataBlade (MapInfo) Global/Interval DataBlade (Telcontar) Visualization DataBlade (ECOlogic)

56 Oracle’s Negative Campaigning Against Informix
“In one of the most vicious smear campaigns in recent software history, Oracle has been attacking the integrity of [Informix’s] database” PC Week 2/17/97 “We believe the actual exposures with Informix’s DataBlades have been miniscule.” Gartner Group, 12/96

57 Web / Conent Wins Over Oracle
SouthWestern Bell Nike Fidelity IVillage

58 Topics Architecture OLTP Data Warehouse Content Management Summary
Informix’s Universal Server was designed from the start for advanced content management. Oracle 8 and the NCA are cobbled together components which will not fare well in real world applications. Summary

59 Summary: Informix Informix
Mission: Deliver absolute best database technology Single and extensible server arhitecture Tight integration with best-of-breed application partners Results for the Customer: lower cost-to-serve flexibility and simplicity extended lifespan of applications clear support for the future enterprise with Universal Server

60 Summary: Oracle Oracle
Mission: Cover as many bases as possible in the market with combinations of existing products. Lock customers into Oracle products; partner only when necessary Results for the Customer higher overall costs due to non-integration performance limitations expensive services questionable path to future with Oracle 8 and NCA


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