Matt Sergeant wrote:
>
> On Tue, 05 Oct 1999, Frank Livaudais wrote:
> > > Check out slashdot: <URL: http://slashdot.org> which serves up about half a
> > > million hits a day (all dynamic) from a single dual xeon box running
> > > mod_perl.
> >
> > What database is this running? Does anyone know? We are looking to run Oracle 8i
> > on a Sun box with Solaris. Our biggest hit has been on the database side. I
> > think our mod perl side can take it, but are there special ways we could configure
> > it to interact better with a database server, etc?
>
> It's running MySQL, and Oracle is your problem. The trouble is it's just
> too damn slow (no flame wars please, unless you've run side by side
> comparisons to prove me wrong with 8i - my tests were on Oracle 7). Either
> switch to Sybase (significantly faster while still offering all the
> features of Oracle) or realise that you don't need all those features and
> switch to MySQL. (MySQL doesn't have views, triggers, transactions and a
> bunch of other important features that Oracle provides).
Oracle could never be as fast as MySQL at returning a bunch of data from
a simple query. The additional features will slow it down. However,
I've seen it come close with good DBAs and good hardware, and even pass
MySQL on more complex queries where its strengths come into play. It
should be able to compete favorably with Sybase in this department, if
properly tuned and cared for, but I've never used Sybase so I can't
speak from experience. The main thing it has over MySQL is better
concurrency support. MySQL will start to give you locking problems if
you get a bunch of users doing queries that don't finish immediately and
then need to update data. Oracle handles this very well with row-level
locking and a multi-versioning feature that no other commercial database
currently has.
For a description of some of the things that make Oracle different from
MySQL, read Phillip Greenspun's latest on the subject at
http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1999-09/lw-09-aolserver_3.html.
He's kind of harsh on MySQL, but he does point out the choices you're
making by going with one or the other. Personally, I think both have
their place and your application needs and environment (as well as how
many millions you have to give to Oracle) will determine which one you
should use.
- Perrin
