IBM DB2 with BLU Acceleration onPower Systems: how it compares

In this paper we consider the relative merits of IBM DB2 with BLU Acceleration running on Power Systems as compared to SAP HANA, Oracle Exadata and Microsoft SQL Server running on x86-based platforms. This follows on from a previous paper (published in 2013) in which Bloor Research was asked by IBM to compare the performance capabilities of the leading business analytic platforms. In our earlier paper we found that DB2 with BLU Acceleration out-performed its competition. In this paper we find that Power Systems offer substantial benefits to DB2 with BLU Acceleration users over and above those provided generically. Of course, on the surface it may appear that Power Systems are more expensive than x86-based platforms but, as our research indicates, this can be misleading because you are going to need more x86-based hardware to get the same performance and functionality as you would with Power Systems. So it is important to actually look into the details of the hardware required to support any particular environment.

To simplify the discussion, we split this paper into two sections:

1. A discussion of the database technologies under consideration and specifically what DB2 with BLU Acceleration brings to the table as compared to the architectures of Oracle, SAP and Microsoft.
2. A discussion on Power Systems, as opposed to the x86 systems mandated by the likes of SAP and Oracle

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