Oracle, Cisco crow new database flash dash record

Best 2-CPU server result ever - with Violin's chips. Oracle claims a world-record TPC-C result with its database running on a Cisco server and not an Exadata system, although doesn't mention that two Violin memory flash arrays were needed.

A Cisco UCS C250 extended memory server with two six-core Xeon X5690 processors, 384GB of DRAM, and two Violin Memory flash arrays (5.3TB V-3205 and 16.3TB V-6000) ran Oracle's 11g database on Oracle Linux, and scored 1,053,100 transactions per minute (tpmC), with a cost per transaction of $0.58.

This was the third lowest cost-per-tpmC ever, only being beaten by the $0.49/tpmC and $0.51/tpmC of two four-processor HP Proliant systems running SQL Server. The $0.51/tpmC result used six Violin Memory V3200 flash arrays, each with with 2.6TB of flash. The $0.49 HP result used flash as well; HP P2000 array with 128 300GB SAS disk drives and D2700 enclosure with 256 120GB SSDs.

Oracle says its tech "delivered more performance, and cost nearly 11 per cent less per tpmC than the nearest competition on a configuration using identical Intel processors and memory capacity", referring to an HP result of 1,024,380 tpmC and $0.65/tpmC with a ProLiant DL380. This server featured 81 400GB SSDs plus 104 disk drives.

Both Cisco's and Oracle's canned quotes somehow forgot to mention the Violin arrays, which was somewhat surprising as the Violin storage represented the vast majority of the $602,316 bill for the tested configuration.

Kevin Closson, a technology director and performance architect in the Data Computing Division of EMC, tweeted about the result, saying: "Style: Get world record result and don't mention key storage technology that made it possible. See the word Violin?"

He also said that Violin doesn't mention Oracle on its benchmark result page, which is not quite true; the Violin page has a hot-link to the Cisco UCS tpmC result which does mention Oracle.

Source: Chris Mellor @ http://www.theregister.co.uk