Alexander Chigrik compares Oracle 9i with DB2 Universal Database v.8.1 regarding price, platforms supported, features, and product limits.
Introduction
Often people in newsgroups ask for a 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 dialectsand products limits.
Platform comparison
Both Oracle 9i Database and DB2 Universal Database version 8.1 supportall 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 havethe 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-BasedSystems, Compaq Tru64 UNIX, HP 9000 Series HP-UX, Linux Intel, and SunSolaris, 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, suchas AIX-based systems, HP-UX systems, Linux and Sun Solaris, you shouldhave 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 Personaland 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:7 DB2 Enterprise Server Edition (ESE)7 DB2 Workgroup Server Edition (WSE)7 DB2 Workgroup Server Unlimited Edition (WSUE)7 DB2 Personal Edition (PE)7 DB2 Universal Developer's Edition (UDE)7 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:
7 kernel level 2.4.9 or later
7 glibc 2.2.4 or later
7 RPM 3 or later
For Intel 64-bit and z-Series:
7 Red Hat Linux 7.2
7 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 a performance comparison betweenOracle 9i Database and DB2 Universal Database v8.1. The performanceof your databases depend rather upon the experience of the databasedevelopers and database administrator than from the database'sprovider. You can use both of these RDBMS to build stable andefficient systems. It is also possible to define the typicaltransactions, which are used in inventory control systems, airlinereservation systems and banking systems. After defining thesetypical transactions, it is possible to run them under the differentdatabase management systems working on different hardware andsoftware platforms.
TPC tests
The Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC.Org) is an independentorganization that specifies the typical transactions (transactions usedin inventory control systems, airline reservation systems and bankingsystems) and some general rules these transactions should satisfy.The TPC produces benchmarks that measure transaction processing anddatabase performance in terms of how many transactions a given systemand database can perform per unit of time, e.g., transactions persecond or transactions per minute.The TPC organization made the specification for many tests. There areTPC-C, TPC-H, TPC-R, TPC-W and some old tests, such as TPC-A, TPC-Band 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 performanceresults. See Top Ten TPC-C by Performance Version 5 ResultsNote. Since most organizations really do not run very large databases, 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 Editionand 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 Editionand 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 may qualify for discounts and the prices may 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 theANSI SQL-92 entry level and do not support the ANSI SQL-92 intermediatelevel. In the Features comparison section of this article I want tomake a brief comparison of the PL/SQL with DB2 SQL dialect and showsome 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.A brief comparison of PL/SQL and DB2 SQL dialect follows:
|
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
Some of the limitations of Oracle 9i Database and DB2 version 8.1:
|
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 v8.1or vice versa. Both products can be used to build stable and efficient systemsand the stability and effectiveness of your applications and databases dependrather upon the experience of the database developers and database administratorthan 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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