Intel Shows Scalable, High-performance Intel®-based Enterprise Computing at Oracle Openworld '98

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 10, 1998 - Intel Corporation today demonstrated new levels of scalability and performance for Intel®-based servers that support the highest-end business computing solutions.

In the keynote presentation for "Intel Day" at Oracle Openworld '98, Paul S. Otellini, executive vice president and general manager, Intel Architecture Business Group, announced two record-setting performance benchmarks on Intel-based servers: a Transaction Processing Performance Council Benchmark C (TPC-C) and an On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP). The benchmarks helped demonstrate Intel's "intelligent enterprise" computing vision.

These bench marks exemplify the growing cooperation between Oracle and Intel with the launch of new efforts by both companies to bring the maximum Intel-based Standard High Volume (SHV) server performance to Oracle application users and developers.

"The levels of scalability and price/performance now available in Intel-based SHV servers are providing the backbone for innovative computing solutions that turn vast amounts of information generated by a large enterprises into intelligence and knowledge," Otellini said. "Change breeds opportunity, and Intel - with the support of a broad range of industry leaders - is working to help successful businesses to react with speed, boldness and intelligence."

Performance and Scalability Leap Forward
Today, Intel, Oracle and Dell showcased a record-breaking OLAP Analytical Processing Benchmark-1 (APB-1). This OLAP benchmark highlights the scalability and performance that servers powered by Intel's Pentium® II Xeon™ processor can provide to complex, data-intensive, analytical functions critical to business intelligence.

The OLAP APB-1 metric of 0.05168 seconds per analytical query was achieved by the Oracle Express Server* used a Dell PowerEdge 6300* server with four Pentium II Xeon processors and 2 GB of RAM running Windows* NT* Server 4.0, representing a 36 percent gain over the previous Oracle OLAP benchmark Also today, Sequent unveiled record-breaking performance results for their new Intel-based 64-way systems on industry standard TPC-C benchmarks. Sequent achieved 86,252.81 transactions per minute (tmpC), a gain of nearly 40 percent over the previous TPC-C leader on a single system. These first results showcase the scalability and headroom that systems based on Intel's Pentium II Xeon processor provide in a wide range of operating environments.

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, 64 GB memory and 64 fibre channel host adapters. The benchmark system ran Oracle8* database software. The system tested is expected to be available on March 15, 1999.

Intel and Oracle Cooperation
Oracle and Intel kicked off several new programs to further optimize the scalability, availability, reliability and performance of enterprise solutions on Intel-based systems. The new projects include the installation of the Intel Technologies Division at Oracle. The new division dedicates Oracle application development resources to optimization on Intel Architecture (IA). First steps included taking advantage of 36-bit support made available in the Pentium II Xeon processor for the new release of Oracle8i, which gained nearly 15 percent in OLTP performance. Oracle has also achieved performance increases with a variety of solutions, as evidenced by their recent publicly announced benchmarks on IA - such as HP 300 GB TPC-D in September.

In addition to the internal division, Oracle is opening two Oracle Application Solution Centers (ASC) for IA. The ASCs, originated by Intel, support alliance vendors in creating technical labs with the mission to help ensure optimal performance of third-party applications running on IA. ASCs have current and next-generation IA-based hardware and are staffed with highly trained technical engineers who have access to the tools and resources they need to tune for IA. While Intel and many OEMs have opened ASCs over the last year, Oracle is one of the first software vendors to open an ASC. The response to Oracle ASCs is extremely high, and ISVs such as Daleen Technologies, InfoCellular, (first parallel server) and Portal Software have already booked time to tune and optimize their applications when the doors open.

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