Informix 7.2 vs. Oracle 7.3 on 64-bit Digital Alpha Server

INFORMIX ANNOUNCES RECORD TPC-C BENCHMARK ON DIGITAL ALPHASERVER 64-BIT SYSTEM Comparison on Digital Platform Proves Informix Faster, Better, Cheaper Than Oracle Performance of INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server on Digital AlphaServer Drives Joint Customer Implementations For OLTP And Data Warehousing MENLO PARK, Calif. (March 25, 1996) -- Informix Software Inc. (NASDAQ:IFMX), the leader in parallel processing database technology, today announced a record-breaking TPC-C benchmark result on Digital Equipment Corporation's 64-bit AlphaServer 8400 5/350 system, beating Oracle's existing performance record on the same platform. In a similarly configured system comparison against Oracle, Informix exceeded Oracle's version 7 transaction throughput by 19%. Informix also performed better than Sybase's System 11 benchmark on the AlphaServer 8400 5/300 by over 23%. INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server version 7.2, delivered 13,646 tpmC at an outstanding price/performance level of $277/tpmC, running the Digital AlphaServer Model 8400 5/350. By contrast, Oracle achieved only 11,456 tpmC, on a more expensive hardware configuration. This benchmark quantifies the combined power of Informix's parallel processing database architecture with the 64-bit large memory addressability in the Digital Alpha VLM64 architecture. Optimized together, both products deliver record performance capabilities for customers with requirements for business-critical applications such as OLTP and data warehousing. "Our early investment in core parallel processing proved to be an excellent decision," said Steve Sommer, vice president, marketing, Informix. "These audited benchmark results substantiate that Informix is the leader in performance. Informix, running on a single SMP system from Digital, has achieved the equivalent of 20 million transactions per day. With performance of this magnitude, we believe the market will now shift focus to extensibility and the ability to handle rich content and non-traditional datatypes. Thats why we recently acquired Illustra--the only company currently shipping a fully extensible relational database." "OnLine Dynamic Server delivered faster transaction throughput than our closest competitor, Oracle, on this platform," said David Watson, product marketing manager, Informix server and connectivity products. "We have out-performed the competition on a directly comparable benchmark because of DSAs multithreaded architecture and core internal parallelism. We have also seen major performance advantages over Oracle for complex query processing typical in a data warehouse environment. This is due to our parallel data query (PDQ) technology which has been optimized for very large memory (VLM) environments." The following comparison chart gives a closer look and explanation of database competitive TPC-C performance: TPC Performance Server Hardware tpmC $/tpmC # of Total CPUs Memory Informix-OnLine 13,646 $277 | 10 6GB Dynamic Server | (on Digital AlphaServer | 8400 5/350) | | Oracle 7 11,456 $286 | 8 8GB (on Digital AlphaServer | 8400 5/350) | | The Digital AlphaServer 8400 has a total slot capacity of 8 (each slot supports a board containing either 2 CPUs or 2 GB RAM). Memory is far more expensive than CPUs. Since Informix is much more efficient at memory utilization, customers can select less expensive systems (with more CPU boards and fewer memory boards), yet achieve superior performance with Informix. Digital and Informix: Strong Partnership, Technologies, Customer Base Informix has worked closely with Digital to optimize OnLine Dynamic Server to take full advantage of Digital's large memory address capability. OnLine Dynamic Server on Digital Alpha provides for I/O efficiency and query optimization techniques for both OLTP and data warehousing applications with key features such as multithreading, asynchronous read-ahead, row-level locking, database partitioning, hash joins, and parallel data query. "Informix's record-breaking benchmark results demonstrate once again the superior performance, scalability and affordability of Digital's 64-bit AlphaServer systems," said Pauline Nist, vice president of Digital's AlphaServer Business Segment. "It is demonstrations such as this that unleash for our customers the superpower embodied in the Alpha platform." "The combination of Informix's 64-bit version of OnLine Dynamic Server and the AlphaServer 8400 system offers performance levels unobtainable by 32-bit systems," said Jim O'Gara, Digital vice president of the Database Market Development Group. "We are delighted to see Informix demonstrate such strong results which highlight the strength of OnLine Dynamic Server and the AlphaServer platform." The performance of INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server on Digital has driven joint customer implementations of the technologies for OLTP and data warehousing applications. Some of these customers include: 3Com Corporation, a pioneer of data networking solutions; The Legislative Service Center for the State of Washington, which provides information technology services to the Legislature and other organizations requiring access to legislative information; Nash Finch, the third largest wholesaler in the U.S.; Sumitomo Bank, worlds fourth largest bank; Telecharge, the second largest provider of electronic ticketing services in the U.S., and the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. Informix and Digital have extended their partnership to include a joint data warehousing initiative with systems integrator KPMG. The initiative exploits the capabilities of the three companies' technologies and services for the data warehouse market. A competency center and lab where customers may test their applications, as well as cross-training for technical staff to increase their knowledge about each company's products, has been established at KPMGs Radnor, PA. Facility. About Informix Informix Software is the leading supplier of high performance, parallel processing database technology for open systems. Informix products also include application development tools for creating client/server production applications, decision support systems, and ad-hoc query interfaces, and connectivity software that allows information to be shared transparently from PCs to mainframes within the corporate computing environment. The company's corporate headquarters is in Menlo Park, California. More information about Informix is available via the World Wide Web: http://www.informix.com/. ### --