Novell and IBM Deliver Outstanding Performance on Critical Business Intelligence Test

Novell today announced outstanding performance results on a benchmark using Novell SUSE® LINUX Enterprise Server 9 and IBM POWER5

16 December 2004

  • IBM OpenPower Systems Combine with Novell's SUSE(R) LINUX Enterprise Server and DB2 Universal Database to Set World Records on TPC-H Performance Benchmark
  • First TPC benchmark with IBM Linux on POWER5 processors proves industry-strength and performance of SUSE(R) LINUX Enterprise Server's 2.6 Linux kernel

Novell today announced outstanding performance results on a benchmark using Novell SUSE® LINUX Enterprise Server 9 and IBM POWER5 processor-based hardware. The industry standard TPC-H benchmark tests were designed to test a system's ability to handle complex business intelligence processing for clients. One IBM/Novell configuration achieved the world record for the best non-clustered result in the TPC-H 100GB benchmark test.1 Another IBM/Novell configuration in the TPC-H 300GB benchmark test demonstrated the ability to handle larger databases with clustering the same basic building blocks.

The world record was achieved with a Linux® based system configuration comparable to real-world client installations. One test included SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 and IBM DB2® Universal Database v8.2 on the IBM eServer OpenPower 720, which performs at $42.00 per QphH@100GB and is now the highest performing system in the non-clustered 100GB database group with a Composite Query-per-Hour metric of 6,357 QphH@100GB.

The test on a clustered configuration of two OpenPower720 systems SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 and IBM DB2 Universal Database v8.2 performs at $40.00 per QphH@300GB and is now the highest performing 8-processor cluster 300GB database group with a Composite Query-per-Hour metric of 12,006 QphH@300GB2. This result is 3.88 times the QphH performance of the leading 300GB Sun UltraSPARC result at the same price/performance. 3

The TPC-H benchmark is one of the industry's most respected measures of business intelligence performance. This benchmark ranks systems that examine large volumes of data, execute queries with a high degree of complexity, and give answers to critical business questions.

"With this benchmark result we once again see that Linux has matured into a world-class enterprise operating system, delivering faster performance compared to other operating systems - particularly for business intelligence capabilities measured by TPC-H benchmark," said Markus Rex, Vice President, SUSE Linux at Novell. "The IBM eServer OpenPower system and SUSE® LINUX Enterprise Server 9, together with IBM DB2 Universal Database, deliver a compelling value to businesses who want to reduce their IT complexity, lower their total cost of ownership and benefit from the exceptional stability, performance and security of Linux."

These benchmark results demonstrate the ability of OpenPower systems and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to handle the ad-hoc query processing so important to on-demand businesses that rely on data-intensive transactions for applications such as e-commerce, banking and securities trading. This level of performance also proves the industry-leading performance of SUSE® LINUX Enterprise Server's 2.6 Linux kernel.

OpenPower 720 is a POWER5 microprocessor-based system tuned for Linux which offers clients enterprise-class reliability, availability and serviceability features which were previously found only in higher-end systems. Starting at only $5,000, the OpenPower 720 is available with either 1.5 GHz or 1.65 GHz POWER5 microprocessors with a maximum memory of 64GB. The Advance OpenPower Virtualization option, a component of the IBM Virtualization Engine, is designed to allow clients to use fewer systems and lower deployment costs.

"OpenPower systems continue to show true client benefit and performance advantages through the 64-bit POWER5 processor platform," said Brian Connors, vice president, Linux on POWER, IBM. "IBM eServer OpenPower systems, combined with SUSE® LINUX Enterprise Server and IBM DB2 Universal Database, help meet the requirements of datacenter clients today by delivering the performance, reliability features, high availability and computing power that businesses expect from higher-end systems at very attractive price points."

Results:

Current as of December 16, 2004. Source: http://www.tpc.org/tpch/results/tpch_perf_results.asp?resulttype=noncluster

  1. 100GB result: A 4-way 1.65 GHz POWER5 IBM eServer OpenPower 720 running DB2 Universal Database v8.2 on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 TPC-H 100GB result of 6,357 QphH@100GB with a price/performance of $42 per QphH@100GB, configuration available on December 15, 2004.
  2. 300GB result: Running on a cluster of two 4-way 1.65 GHz POWER5 IBM eServer OpenPower 720 running DB2 Universal Database v8.2 on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, delivered QphH of 12,006 QphH@300GB with a price/performance of $40 per QphH@300GB, configuration available on January 14, 2005.
  3. 300GB result: Running on a cluster of two 4-way 1.28 GHz UltraSPARC IIIi Sun Fire V440 system running Sybase IQ 12.5 on Solaris 9 TPC-H 300GB result of 3,091 QphH@300GB with a price/performance of $40 per QphH@300GB, configuration available on April 5, 2004.

For more information about the power of SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server 9, please visit http://www.novell.com/products/linuxenterpriseserver/

 
About TPC-H

The TPC Benchmark(TM) H (TPC-H) is a decision support benchmark. It consists of a suite of business oriented ad-hoc queries and concurrent data modifications. The queries and the data populating the database have been chosen to have broad industry-wide relevance. This benchmark illustrates decision support systems that examine large volumes of data, execute queries with a high degree of complexity, and give answers to critical business questions.

The performance metric reported by TPC-H is called the TPC-H Composite Query-per-Hour Performance Metric (QphH@Size), and reflects multiple aspects of the capability of the system to process queries. These aspects include the selected database size against which the queries are executed, the query processing power when queries are submitted by a single stream, and the query throughput when queries are submitted by multiple concurrent users. The TPC-H Price/Performance metric is expressed as $/QphH@Size.

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) is a leading provider of information solutions that deliver secure identity management (Novell Nsure), Web application development (Novell exteNd) and cross-platform networking services (Novell Nterprise), all supported by strategic consulting and professional services (Novell NgageSM). Active in the open source community with its Ximian® and SUSE Linux brands, Novell provides a full range of Linux products and services for the enterprise, from the desktop to the server. Novell’s vision of one Net – a world without information boundaries – helps customers realize the value of their information securely and economically. For more information, call Novell’s Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272) or visit http://www.novell.com. Press should visit http://www.novell.com/pressroom.

About IBM

IBM offers a full line of servers that embrace industry standards. Powered by breakthroughs such as microprocessors with copper wiring and Silicon-on-Insulator technology, IBM servers have captured industry-leading benchmarks that measure transactions, Web serving capabilities and performance in software applications. The IBM eServer line is an integral part of customized, flexible and scalable Internet solutions for companies of all sizes. Linux (R) is capable of running on the entire IBM eServer line.

IBM DB2 Universal Database v8.2, which began shipping in September, delivers breakthrough autonomic computing features including the capability that allows the database to automatically manage, optimize and even "learn" from itself by finding the fastest path to critical business data in a fraction of the time -- without human intervention. As a result, companies can now reduce time spent on administrative tasks.

IBM, AIX 5L, DB2, DB2 Universal Database, eServer, IBM Virtualization Engine, POWER, POWER5, Power Architecture, pSeries and TotalStorage are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. 

Novell, Ximian and Nsure are registered trademarks; exteNd and Nterprise are trademarks; and Ngage is a service mark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. SUSE is a registered trademark of SUSE Linux GmbH, a Novell business.

IBM, eServer, pSeries, p5, Linux on POWER, POWER, POWER4, POWER5, PowerPC, DB2, pSeries and the IBM e-business logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. TPC Benchmark, TPC-H and QphH are trademarks of the Transaction Processing Performance Council. *All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Certain versions of content ("Material") accessible here may contain branding from Hewlett-Packard Company (now HP Inc.) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company. As of September 1, 2017, the Material is now offered by Micro Focus, a separately owned and operated company. Any reference to the HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise/HPE marks is historical in nature, and the HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise/HPE marks are the property of their respective owners.