PRESS: Sequent and Informix Post Record TPC-D Single System

Sequent and Informix Post Record TPC-D Single System Performance with NUMA 2000 and OnLine XPS Best Single System Performance with Half the Processors of Previous 300GB Record; First NUMA System and First Large Intel-based Single System to Weigh-In on Decision Support Benchmark BEAVERTON, Ore.July 7, 1997 Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. and Informix Software, Inc. today posted the world record performance result for the Transaction Processing Performance Council Benchmark D (TPC-D) at 300GB on a Sequent NUMA 2000 server running INFORMIX-OnLine Extended Parallel Server (XPS). The record mark of 2667.67 QppD@300GB, a measure of how fast database queries can be executed, was achieved by an 8-Quad (32 Intel Pentium Pro microprocessor) NUMA 2000 system. The previous single system record of 2009.5 QppD@300GB, performed on the Oracle7 RDBMS, required a 64-processor Sun UE 10000. According to Sequent and Informix, this high water mark is the first of what the companies expect to be a series of record breaking benchmarks as their combined system scalability is tested in the coming months. This is the first time a NUMA system or an Intel-based single system has posted a TPC-D result at the 300GB scaling factor. This result underscores the strength of NUMA 2000 as the platform for Sequent's Decision Advantage data warehousing and decision support offering. "Sequent is the driver behind many of the world's largest and most successful Decision Support Systems. This experience is reflected in two consecutive TDWI (The Data Warehouse Institute) Best Practices awards and our reputation for designing highly scalable, available and manageable systems," said John McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. "Sequent and our partners at Informix know firsthand that scalable performance is important in real-world DSS environments. Together we have only begun to push the NUMA architecture. Our performance today is the tip of the iceberg." "Our partnership with Sequent produced the industry=92s first ever TPC-D benchmark on an Intel-based NUMA system, setting the high water mark for single system scalability," said Phillip White, chairman and CEO of Informix. "We will continue to push the envelope, coupling the state-of-the-art NUMA 2000 with the unique parallel features of our Informix XPS database, and look forward to even stronger results yet to come." The results of the Sequent NUMA-Q 2000 Informix-OnLine XPS TPC-D benchmark results are summarized in the table below: QppD (Performance) 2667.67@300GB QthD (Throughput) 1028.14@300GB $/QphD (Price/Performance) 3464.33@300GB Availability December 1997 "Sequent's impressive TPC-D results with Informix XPS should definitely get the attention of high-end enterprise computing users with current generation systems that are running out of gas," Gary Smaby, CEO and principal analyst, Smaby Group. "In a market tier where benchmarks really mean something, this verifiable demonstration of scalable performance favorably positions Sequent to capitalize on market opportunity it created by being first-to-market with an Intel-based NUMA architecture. Smaby Group continues to rate NUMA as the odds-on-favorite to become the architectural choice at the peak of the scalable enterprise computing spectrum." Sequent and Informix have a track-record of providing enterprise solutions to Fortune 500 companies. Sequent and Informix consulting organizations work together to provide joint customers with shorter implementation times, quicker return on investment and highly available and manageable systems that can adapt to the requirements of their business. Sequent breaks through enterprise-level performance barriers by seamlessly connecting four-processor baseboards (quads)in systems of up to 252 processors via an innovative interconnect technology called IQ-Link. Sequent's IQ-Link moves data between boards so quickly (at a rate of 1GB/sec) that the operating system and application software continue to operate as one large shared symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) system. OnLine XPS, based on Informix's industry-leading Dynamic Scalable Architecture, extends DSA to loosely-coupled or shared-nothing computing architectures, including clusters of SMP systems, massively parallel (MPP) systems and will soon provide support for single node SMP systems. It provides customers with exceptional performance and scalability for large decision support applications such as multiterabyte data warehousing projects. OnLine XPS is the only portable, parallel database to deliver true "parallel everything" SQL functionality critical for effective database management in the multiterabyte range. About the Benchmark The Transaction Processing Performance Council is an independent organization formed by member companies across the computer industry. The TPC-D benchmark examines system performance in a decision support workload. It differs from OLTP benchmarks in testing system performance in workloads with few transactions involving a large amount of data and more complex query statements. The three primary metrics are: Query Processing Performance (QppD) which measures raw query execution when all available resources are concentrated on a single query; Query Throughput (QthD) meant to show the systems ability to process concurrent queries; and Queries Per Hour ($/QphD) a measure of price/performance calculated dividing five-year cost of ownership by the composite of the two performance metrics. About Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNT), Beaverton, Ore., is uniquely capable of delivering robust and scalable Data Center Ready open systems solutions that are guaranteed to perform. Sequent minimizes customers' risk, enabling implementation of complex business applications that support critical needs, based on the breakthrough Sequent NUMA-Q architecture, a comprehensive portfolio of proven migration services and offerings, and an established set of partnerships with the industry's best-in-class. For further information, phone Sequent at (503) 626-5700 or (800) 257-9044, or visit our World Wide Web site at http://www.sequent.com. About Informix Software, Inc. Informix Software, based in Menlo Park, California, provides innovative database technology that enables the world's leading corporations to manage and grow their businesses. Informix is widely recognized as the technology leader for corporate computing environments, ranging from workgroups to very large OLTP and data warehouse applications. Informix's database servers, applications development tools, superior customer service and strong partnerships enable the company to be at the forefront of many leading-edge information technology solution areas. More information about Informix is available via the World Wide Web at http://www.informix.com.