IBM's Regatta Still Lags NCR Teradata in Data Warehousing

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Tyrone Wells
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1 Decision Framework, A. Butler, K. Strange Research Note 17 September 2002 's Regatta Still Lags NCR Teradata in Data Warehousing 's new Regatta server is maturing fast in the online transaction processing version of our evaluation model, but it fails to make a dent in NCR Teradata's data warehousing lead. Core Topics Hardware and Systems: Computing Platforms Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing: Data Warehousing and Data Movement Markets, Technologies and Techniques Key Issues Who are the key players in each computing hardware platform market, and what are their rankings? Which RDBMS products will scale to handle the largest and most complex data warehouse workloads? Recognizing the growing acceptance of "best of breed" technologies, Gartner's server evaluation model helps enterprises to deploy servers in specific application-dependent situations for example, online transaction processing (OLTP) and enterprise resource planning (ERP), or data warehousing. A server may be well-qualified for one kind of deployment, but not for others. Here, we examine the latest version of the data warehousing model (see "A Guide to the Data Warehouse Server Evaluation Model," DF ). Future research will cover the updated OLTP/ERP model. Sun Microsystems We do not expect many enterprises to have installed Solaris 9 yet, and the software portfolio for Solaris 9 is still immature. However, Solaris 9 does introduce many technology improvements over the previous version (for example, greatly improved workload management and a new virtual partitioning feature called "Containers"). Enterprises should choose the most-appropriate Solaris version. Merger Between Hewlett-Packard () and Compaq Computer 's merger with Compaq closed in May, so we have revised the branding of the affected platforms. The Proliant becomes the Proliant, and the Superdome rating continues as before. Although Tru64 Unix is still available, and is technically an excellent choice for running applications like SAP R/3, we do not expect that will promote Tru64 Unix in new business situations. For that reason, we have excluded Tru64 Unix from the server evaluation model. We continue to recommend that users limit Tru64 investments to tactical short-term deployments typically installed-base upgrades or replacements. Those Gartner Entire contents 2002 Gartner, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.

2 planning long-term investment decisions (beyond three years) around Tru64 should defer those decisions unless the application relies on use of Tru64. NCR WorldMark Servers NCR WorldMark servers have been assessed while running the Teradata database management system (DBMS). Support for Teradata is currently limited to NCR's own-branded massively parallel processing (MPP) platforms, running Unix or, or -symmetric multiprocessing platforms from vendors such as, Dell Computer and. Server Naming Convention Since the Gartner server evaluation model was first released in late 1999, has embarked on a complete rebranding of its disparate server lines, under the common umbrella naming of eservers. In the interests of accuracy, we use only the new definitions, but Table 1 maps the new naming onto the older and better-known brands that are still more familiar to many users: Table 1 Server Names Old Name New Name System/390 zseries /400 iseries Netfinity xseries RS/6000 pseries The previous server evaluation model update was published within two months of the first shipments for 's new pseries 690 server (code-named Regatta) and the corresponding Sun Fire 15K (see " and Sun Platforms Added to the Data Warehouse EM," DF ) The lack of a track record hampered the rating of both servers. Although has greatly improved the OLTP scores for the Regatta, it has so far failed to improve the Regatta's ratings in the data warehouse market. Common naming for 's DB2 versions can also cause confusion because different code bases are used. DB2 Universal Database (UDB) comes in Enterprise Edition (EE) and Extended Enterprise Editions (EEE). offers the DB2 UDB EEE for most Unix bids (pseries and RS/6000 SP). This version supports distributed MPP architectures, which has deployed in its RS/6000 SP to compete against Oracle and NCR's Teradata division for complex business intelligence. DB2 is a competent, though still maturing, high-end data warehouse platform, with benchmarks and user tests revealing continued superiority over Oracle and Microsoft's SQL Server. However, still lacks the 17 September

3 credentials that enable DB2 to compete with Teradata at the high end. The server evaluation model compares -branded platforms (including the pseries Unix servers) running 's DB2 UDB DBMS. Previous updates have used the RS/6000 SP, which is a well-known and proven data warehouse solution. However, in late 2001, launched its Regatta server and created increasing doubt regarding the future of the RS/6000 SP. As with other servers running the AIX operating system, pseries 690 servers can be managed within an RS/6000 SP management framework. has now abstracted this framework from the physical SP platform and offers the ability to couple multiple AIX servers (such as the pseries 690 or recently announced pseries 670) to create a virtual parallel server. has no immediate plans to discontinue supporting RS/6000 SP users, but pseries- 690-class machines will now be 's Unix platform of choice for all new projects, including markets such as technical computing and data warehousing, where previously sold the RS/6000 SP. Therefore, we do not recommend that new users deploy RS/6000 SP technology. Servers Running Previous versions of the server evaluation model have made two assessments one for a generic Intel eight-way standard high-volume (SHV) comparison (running Advanced Server). The other platform was the Unisys ES7000, running Datacenter. Because we have now integrated the Intel server evaluation model, the new version features all three main SHV server offerings, from Dell, and, plus the Unisys ES7000. We have not yet added a Linux platform choice because application server demand for Linux is still quite immature. We continue to recognize the natural scaling and manageability benefits of the Unisys ES7000, compared with SHV Intel servers. Even though lack of proven references remains a barrier for those considering deploying Datacenter for a high-end data warehouse, users should consider the combination of the ES7000 and Oracle where SQLServer's weak concurrent query management is perceived as an inhibitor. Other Reduced Instruction Set Computer () Unix Servers We have used Oracle as the DBMS choice for the Sun and server platforms, because the other DBMS products associated with these platforms have an extremely limited market share. 17 September

4 The New Scores Tables 2 to 4 show the summary for raw data and weighted data for the August 2002 revision. All scoring changes made since the last server evaluation model update in February 2002 are shown in bold in Table 3 and Table 4. Table 2 Data Warehouse Serving Summary Weighted Data Sun Sun NCR World- Fujitsu- xseries Proliant Dell Power- Unisys zseries Fire 15K Super- pseries Mark Siemens 8-8- edge 8- ES dome p690 Prime- Power Operating zos Solaris 8 -UX AIX5L MP/R Solaris 8 system 11i DC Processor CMOS Ultra- PA- Power 4 Pentium4 SPARC64 Pentium4 Pentium4 Pentium4 Pentium4 G7 SPARC-III MPP 8700 Technology Market Momentum Business Practice Database Categories Total September

5 Table 3 Data Warehouse Serving Comparisons Raw Data (Part 1) Sun Sun NCR Fujitsu- Dell Power- Unisys Weighting zseries Fire 15K Super- pseries World- Siemens xseries 8- Proliant 8- edge 8- ES7000 dome p690 Mark Prime- 32- Power Operating system zos Solaris 8 -UX AIX5L MP/RA Solaris 8 11i S DC Processor CMOS Ultra- PA- Power 4 Pentium SPARC64 Pentium4 Pentium4 Pentium4 Pentium4 G7 SPARC- 4 MPP III 8700 Technology Processor Technology System Performance Clustering (for Performance) Planned Downtime Unplanned Downtime (Single) Unplanned Downtime (Clustered) Disaster Tolerance/ Recovery Workload Management OS Partitioning Manageability Market Momentum Proven DW Track Record Architectural Viability ISV Enthusiasm Application Portfolio Demand Creation and Fulfillment Gartner Client "Radar" Delivers On Promises September

6 Sun Sun zseries Fire 15K Table 4 Data Warehouse Serving Comparisons Raw Data (Part 2) pseries p690 Superdome NCR World- Mark Fujitsu- Siemens Prime- Power xseries 8- Dell Poweredge Proliant 8-8- Unisys Weighting ES Operating system zos Solaris 8 -UX 11i AIX5L MP/RA S Solaris 8 DC Processor CMOS G7 Ultra- SPARC- III PA Power 4 Pentium 4 MPP SPARC64 Pentium4 Pentium4 Pentium4 Pentium4 Business Practice Ease of Doing Business Support Capacity on Demand Bus. Model/Fin Strength Negotiation Opportunity Professional Services Availability of Skills Sub-Total Rank DB2 Oracle Oracle DB2 Teradata Oracle SQLSvr SQLSvr SQLSvr SQLSvr UDB EEE Database Categories Data Management Data Administration Scalability and Suitability Concurrent Query Mgmt Query Performance Total Rank Acronym Key DBMS Database management EE EEE ERP MPP OLTP SHV UDB system Enterprise Edition Extended Enterprise Editions Enterprise resource planning Massively parallel processing Online transaction processing Reduced instruction set computer Standard high-volume Universal Database Bottom Line: Our initial belief that 's pseries 690 might have overtaken the NCR WorldMark servers and Teradata have proven unfounded so far. has now captured the No.1 place among Unix platforms, although 's DB2 superiority eventually prevails over the Oracle-based scores. In the latest August 2002 server evaluation model, NCR has almost doubled its lead over the pseries 690, even before the effect of its Teradata DBMS is considered., Sun and the zseries made a strong showing, reinforcing the need for enterprises to consider general-purpose Unix/Oracle solutions (or the zseries) when loyalty to either a hardware or DBMS vendor outweighs the desire for optimum data warehousing results. 17 September

OLTP Server Evaluation 3Q02: Expanded Comparisons

Decision Framework, A. Butler, G. Weiss Research Note 17 October 2002 OLTP Server Evaluation 3Q02: Expanded Comparisons The August 2002 online transaction processing server evaluation model features a