SQL Server's scalability run stalls
ENT News | at | by Mike
SQL Server 2000 64-bit and Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition 64-bit had a great run, but it looks like Microsoft's challenge to Unix and Oracle on scalability is over for now. Ever since the April launch of Windows Server 2003, every major benchmark run by Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition and SQL Server 2000 64-bit set a new record for raw performance.
Microsoft's basic problem moving forward on the benchmark is that it has run out of hardware headroom. First off, it has nowhere else to go. HP's big Integrity Superdome box represents the top of the line for the current generation of Microsoft software. Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition, 64-bit edition, is rated for 64 processors and 512 GB of RAM, exactly what the HP Integrity Superdome carries. At the moment, no other hardware vendor offers more than 32-processor scalability on an Itanium-based system.