Sequent, Oracle Extend OLTP Performance Lead in TPC-C Benchmark for a Single System
ACTION ITEMS

Further increasing their lead in online transaction processing (OLTP) performance, Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. and Oracle Corp. have announced record-breaking TPC-C (Transaction Processing Performance Council Benchmark C) benchmark results for a single system. These latest results surpass Sequent and Oracle's own world record for performance and significantly improve price/performance.

Sequent's second-generation NUMACenter server achieved 93,900.85 transactions per minute (tpmC) running Oracle8, setting a new performance record for a single system. Additionally, Sequent and Oracle posted competitive price/performance with $131.67 $/tpmC. The benchmark was conducted in Sequent's mixed-mode NUMACenter environment with Windows NT Server on the application tier and UNIX database servers.

"Our latest TPC-C benchmark results yet again raise the bar for OLTP performance on a single system -- at a lower cost," said Jeff Pancottine, vice president of global marketing for Sequent. "We achieved these record results using two key new technologies that are instrumental in the evolution of the data center -- the Oracle database and Sequent's mixed UNIX and Windows NT NUMACenter platform."

"Sequent continues to prove its ability to deliver industry-leading performance and scalability in a single system with Oracle, outperforming its own high mark to widen the lead," said Ray Wong, vice president of platform technology at Oracle. "The Sequent and Oracle partnership consistently delivers leading solutions for the data center."

"Sequent continues to reach new heights in performance as it leverages the Intel Architecture up into the data center," said Scott Richardson, director of marketing, Enterprise Server Group, Intel Corporation. "This latest benchmark underscores the significant performance gains that the combination of Intel's Pentium II Xeon processor and Sequent's new NUMACenter platform can provide to the high-end, enterprise data center."

The Benchmark System

The benchmarks were run on Sequent's second-generation NUMA-Q 2000 server in a NUMACenter configuration, running a mix of UNIX and Windows NT. The system featured 64 Intel Pentium II Xeon processors, 64GB memory, 32 fibre channel host adapters, and eight Brocade fibre channel switches. The benchmark system ran Oracle8 database software and included 1,297 disks. The system tested will be available on June 15, 1999.

The TPC-C benchmark, which simulates a rigorous OLTP environment, measures transaction processing performance and price/performance for large commercial workloads. The benchmark tests all aspects of system, processor, memory, disk I/O and user input/output and is measured by two metrics -- transactions per minute (tpmC) and price/performance ($/tmpC).

  Competitive Performance Chart

  TPC-C for Single System    tpmC                  $/tpmC
  Sequent NUMA-Q 2000 (64    93,900.85             131.67
  proc)

  Sun Enterprise 6500        53,049.97              76.00

  HP 9000 V2250              52,117.80              81.17

  Sequent NUMA-Q 2000 (32    48,793.40             127.53
  proc)

  IBM AS/400e Server Model   43,169.85             128.91
  S40 2208

  TPC-C for Single System    Database              System
  Availability

  Sequent NUMA-Q 2000 (64    Oracle8 Enterprise    June 15, 1999
  proc)                      Edition 8.0.4

  Sun Enterprise 6500        Sybase ASE 11.9.3     January 31, 1999

  HP 9000 V2250              Sybase ASE 11.5       August 13, 1998

  Sequent NUMA-Q 2000 (32    Oracle8 Enterprise    March 15, 1999
  proc)                      Edition 8.0.4

  IBM AS/400e Server Model   DB2 for AS/400 V4R3   September 11, 1998
  S40 2208

Product Overview

Sequent's second-generation NUMA-Q 2000 servers are scaleable to 64 Pentium II Xeon processors and feature an industry leading fibre channel subsystem and dynamic partitioning capabilities. Sequent's NUMA-Q architecture offers customers unequaled flexibility in building infrastructure for large-scale e-commerce, customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and decision support applications. NUMA-Q provides massive scalability required to address growth in concurrent users and raw data.

Sequent is helping customers leverage this architectural flexibility to embrace new data center standards like Microsoft Windows NT and Intel's up-coming IA-64 architecture, while utilizing proven technologies where they are required to ensure service levels. NUMA-Q is the engine underlying Sequent's UNIX and Windows NT mixed-mode NUMACenter environment.

Oracle8 is a leading database for Internet computing. Oracle8 extends Oracle's proven technology leadership in the areas of transaction processing, data warehousing and high availability to handle all requirements of today's Internet users.

About Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.

Sequent Computer Systems , a leader in Intel-based solutions for the data center, is committed to the success of its end-user and system integrator customers. Sequent's platform architectures and services are optimized for the scalability, availability and manageability requirements of corporate and institutional data center environments leveraging industry-standard technologies and best-in-class partnerships. Sequent supports more than 10,000 installations worldwide, including many of the world's largest and most sophisticated OLTP, DSS and RDBMS applications. For further information, phone Sequent at 503/626-5700 or 800/257-9044, or visit our Web site at http://www.sequent.com.