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Oracle 9i Database vs DB2 v8.1

Alexander Chigrik
chigrik@mssqlcity.com

Introduction
Platform comparison
Hardware requirements
Software requirements
Performance comparison
TPC tests
Price comparison
Features comparison
PL/SQL vs DB2 SQL dialect
Oracle 9i and DB2 v8.1 limits
Conclusion
Literature

Introduction

Often people in newsgroups ask about some comparison of Oracle and DB2. In this article, I compare Oracle 9i Database with DB2 Universal Database version 8.1 regarding price, performance, platforms supported, SQL dialects and products limits..

Platform comparison

Both Oracle 9i Database and DB2 Universal Database version 8.1 support all known platforms, including Windows-based platforms, AIX-Based Systems, HP-UX systems, Linux Intel, Sun Solaris and so on..

Hardware requirements

To install Oracle 9i under the Windows-based platforms, you should have the following hardware::

Hardware	Requirements
Processor	Pentium 166 MHz or higher
Memory	RAM: 128 MB (256 MB recommended) Virtual Memory: Initial Size 200 MB, Maximum Size 400 MB
Hard disk space	140 MB on the System Drive plus 4.5 GB for the Oracle Home Drive (FAT) or 2.8 GB for the Oracle Home Drive (NTFS)

To install Oracle 9i Database under the UNIX Systems, such as AIX-Based Systems, Compaq Tru64 UNIX, HP 9000 Series HP-UX, Linux Intel, and Sun Solaris, you should have the following hardware:

Hardware	Requirements
Memory	A minimum of 512 MB RAM
Swap Space	A minimum of 2 x RAM or 400 MB, whichever is greater
Hard disk space	4.5 GB

To install DB2 Universal Database v8.1 under the Windows-based platforms, you should have the following hardware:

Hardware	Requirements
Processor	Pentium or Pentium compatible CPU
Memory	RAM: 256 MB minimum, additional memory may be required.
Hard disk space	Typical installation: 350 Mb minimum Compact installation: 100 Mb minimum Custom installation: 100 Mb minimum. Additional disk space may be required on FAT drives with large cluster size.

To install DB2 Universal Database v8.1 under the UNIX Systems, such as AIX-based systems, HP-UX systems, Linux and Sun Solaris, you should have the following hardware:

Hardware	Requirements
Processor	For AIX: IBM RISC/6000 or eServer pSeries. For HP-UX: HP 9000 series 700 or 800 system. For Linux: Intel 32-bit, Intel 64-bit, S/390 9672 generation or higher, Multiprise 3000, eServer z-Series. For Solaris: Solaris UltraSPARC-based computer.
Memory	RAM: 256 MB minimum, additional memory may be required.
Hard disk space	Typical installation: 450 to 550 Mb minimum Compact installation: 350 to 400 Mb minimum Custom installation: 350 to 700 Mb minimum.

Software requirements

Oracle 9i Database comes in three editions: Enterprise, Standard and Personal and requires the following software:

Platform	Operating System Version	Required Patches
Windows-based	Windows NT 4.0	Service Pack 5
Windows-based	Windows 2000	Service Pack 1
Windows-based	Windows XP	Not Necessary
AIX-Based	AIX 4.3.3	Maintenance Level 09 and IY24568, IY25282, IY27614, IY30151
AIX-Based	AIX 5.1	AIX 5L release 5.1 ML01+ (IY22854), IY26778, IY28766, IY28949, IY29965, IY30150
Compaq Tru64 UNIX	Tru64 5.1	5.1 patchkit 4
Compaq Tru64 UNIX	Tru64 5.1A	5.1A patchkit 1
HP-UX	HP-UX version 11.0 (64-bit)	Sept. 2001 Quality Pack, PHCO_23792, PHCO_24148, PHKL_24268, PHKL_24729, PHKL_ 25475, PHKL_25525, PHNE_24715, PHSS_23670, PHSS_24301, PHSS_24303, PHSS_24627, PHSS_22868
Linux	SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 7 (or SLES-7) with kernel 2.4.7, and glibc 2.2.2	Not Necessary
Sun Solaris	Solaris 32-Bit 2.6 (5.6), 7 (5.7) or 8 (5.8)	Not Necessary
Sun Solaris	Solaris 64-Bit 8 (5.8)	Update 5

DB2 Universal Database v8.1 comes in six editions:

DB2 Enterprise Server Edition (ESE)

DB2 Workgroup Server Edition (WSE)

DB2 Workgroup Server Unlimited Edition (WSUE)

DB2 Personal Edition (PE)

DB2 Universal Developer's Edition (UDE)

DB2 Personal Developer's Edition (PDE)

and requires the following software:

Platform	Operating System Version	Required Patches
Windows-based	Windows NT 4.0	Service Pack 6a or higher
Windows-based	Windows 2000	Service Pack 2 is required for Windows Terminal Server
Windows-based	Windows XP	Not Necessary
AIX-Based	AIX 4.3.3 (32-bit)	Maintenance Level 9 or later, and APARs IY22308, Y32690, and IY33024
AIX-Based	AIX 5L (32-bit)	Maintenance Level 2 or later
AIX-Based	AIX 5.1.0 (32-bit)	Maintenance Level 2 or later, and APARs IY31254, IY32217, IY32905, IY33023, and IY29345
AIX-Based	AIX 5.1.0 (64-bit)	Maintenance Level 2 or later, and APARs IY31254, IY32217, IY32905, Y33023, and IY32466
HP-UX	HP-UX 11i	December 2001 GOLDBASE11i, December 2001 GOLDAPPS11i bundles
Linux	For Intel 32-bit: kernel level 2.4.9 or later glibc 2.2.4 or later RPM 3 or later For Intel 64-bit and z-Series: Red Hat Linux 7.2 SuSE Linux SLES-7	Not Necessary
Sun Solaris	Solaris 7 (32-bit)	patch 106327-10
Sun Solaris	Solaris 7 (64-bit)	patch 106300-11
Sun Solaris	Solaris 8 (32-bit)	patch 108434-03 and 108528-12
Sun Solaris	Solaris 8 (64-bit)	patch 108435-03 and 108528-12
Sun Solaris	Solaris 9	Not Necessary

Performance comparison

It is very difficult to make the performance comparison between Oracle 9i Database and DB2 Universal Database v8.1. The performance of your databases depends rather from the experience of the database developers and database administrator than from the database's provider. You can use both of these RDBMS to build stable and efficient system. However, it is possible to define the typical transactions, which used in inventory control systems, airline reservation systems and banking systems. After defining these typical transactions, it is possible to run them under the different database management systems working on the different hardware and software platforms.

TPC tests

The Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC.Org) is independent organization that specifies the typical transactions (transactions used in inventory control systems, airline reservation systems and banking systems) and some general rules these transactions should satisfy.

The TPC produces benchmarks that measure transaction processing and database performance in terms of how many transactions a given system and database can perform per unit of time, e.g., transactions per second or transactions per minute.

The TPC organization made the specification for many tests. There are TPC-C, TPC-H, TPC-R, TPC-W and some old tests, such as TPC-A, TPC-B and TPC-D. The most popular test is the TPC-C test (OLTP test).

At the moment the article was wrote, Oracle held the top TPC-C by performance results. See Top Ten TPC-C by Performance Version 5 Results

Note. Because most organizations really do not run very large databases, so the key points on which Oracle 9i Database won the TPC-C benchmarks do not really matter to the vast majority of companies.

Price comparison

Compare pricing for Oracle9i Standard Edition and IBM DB2 v8.1 Workgroup Edition:

Number of CPUs	Oracle9i Standard Edition	IBM DB2 v8.1 Workgroup Edition
1	$15,000	$7,500
2	$30,000	$15,000
4	$60,000	$30,000
8	$120,000	$60,000
16	$240,000	$120,000
32	$480,000	$240,000

Compare pricing for Oracle9i Enterprise Edition and IBM DB2 v8.1 Enterprise Edition:

Number of CPUs	Oracle9i Enterprise Edition	IBM DB2 v8.1 Enterprise Edition
1	$40,000	$25,000
2	$80,000	$50,000
4	$160,000	$100,000
8	$320,000	$200,000
16	$640,000	$400,000
32	$1,280,000	$800,000

Note. This is not a full price comparison between Oracle 9i Database and DB2 Universal Database v8.1. It is only a brief comparison. You can have any discounts and the prices can be increased or decreased in the future. See Oracle and IBM to get more information about the price of their products.

Features comparison

Both Oracle 9i Database and IBM DB2 Universal Database v8.1 support the ANSI SQL-92 entry level and do not support the ANSI SQL-92 intermediate level. In the Features comparison section of this article I want to make the brief comparison of the PL/SQL with DB2 SQL dialect and show some Oracle 9i Database and DB2 Universal Database v8.1 limits.

PL/SQL vs DB2 SQL dialect

The dialect of SQL supported by Oracle 9i Database is called PL/SQL. The dialect of SQL supported by IBM DB2 v8.1 is called DB2 SQL dialect. This is the brief comparison of PL/SQL and DB2 SQL dialect:

Feature	PL/SQL	DB2 SQL dialect
Indexes	B-Tree indexes, Bitmap indexes, Partitioned indexes, Function-based indexes, Domain indexes	B-Tree indexes, Bitmap indexes, Partitioned indexes, block indexes, dimension block indexes
Tables	Relational tables, Object tables, Temporary tables	Relational tables, Object tables, Temporary tables
Triggers	BEFORE triggers, AFTER triggers, INSTEAD OF triggers	BEFORE triggers, AFTER triggers, INSTEAD OF triggers
Procedures	PL/SQL statements, Java methods, third-generation language (3GL) routines	DB2 SQL dialect statements, Java methods, third-generation language (3GL) routines
Multiple Triggers	Supported	Supported
Arrays	Supported	Supported

Oracle 9i and DB2 v8.1 limits

Here you can find some Oracle 9i Database and DB2 version 8.1 limits:

Feature	Oracle 9i Database	IBM DB2 v8.1
database name length	8	8
column name length	30	128
index name length	30	128
table name length	30	128
view name length	30	128
stored procedure name length	30	128
most columns per table	1000	1012
most columns in an index key	32	16
max number of columns in GROUP BY	255	1012
max number of columns in ORDER BY	255	1012
longest index key	3155	1024
max varchar() size	4000	32672
max char() size	2000	254
max table row length	255000	32677
longest SQL statement	16777216	65535
recursive subqueries	64	28
constant string size in SELECT	4000	32672

Conclusion

It is not true that Oracle 9i Database is better than DB2 Universal Database v8.1 or vice versa. Both products can be used to build stable and efficient system and the stability and effectiveness of your applications and databases depend rather from the experience of the database developers and database administrator than from the database's provider.

Literature

1. Oracle documentation

2. DB2 Technical Support

3. DB2 Universal Database v8.1 system requirements

4. Top Ten TPC-C by Performance Version 5 Results

5. SQL Server 2000 vs Oracle 9i

6. SQL Server 2000 vs DB2 v8.1

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