itic comparison of oracle database appliance to microsoft sql server apr2012

7/28/2019 ITIC Comparison of Oracle Database Appliance to Microsoft SQL Server Apr2012

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Copyright 2012, Information Technology Intelligence Consulting (ITIC) All rights reserved.Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINTELLIGENCE CONSULTING

A Comparison of the Oracle DatabaseAppliance to Microsoft SQL Server

March 2012


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Copyright 2012 Information Technology Intelligence Consulting (ITIC). All rights reserved.Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.

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Contents

Executive Summary .................................................................................................... 3

Methodology ...................................................................................................................................4

Data and Analysis........................................................................................................ 4

Overview of SQL Server and SQL Server-Based Appliances ................................................................4

Overview of the Oracle Database Appliance ......................................................................................5

Analyzing Oracles Claims ................................................................................................................ 6

The Claim: Reliability through Full Redundancy .............................................................................6

The Reality: Full Redundancy Requires Oracle RAC with a Hefty Option Cost ............................................ 6

High Availability Capabilities are Included with SQL Server Enterprise Edition ............................................ 6

The Claim: Reliability through Patch Management .........................................................................7

The Reality: Patch Management Requires Servers to go Offline ............................................................... 7

SQL Server Fully Supports Rolling Patches for Maximum Availability ......................................................... 8

The Claim: Reliability through a Fully Integrated Solution ..............................................................9

The Reality: No Out-of-the-Box DR Solution ........................................................................................... 9SQL Server Offering: DR Solutions without the Extra License Costs ........................................................ 10

The Claim: Simple to Install ....................................................................................................... 10

The Reality: Software Installation Time is a Fraction of Database Deployment ........................................ 10

SQL Server Offering: Deploy Databases Faster and Easier with SQL Server ............................................. 11

The Claim: Simple to Implement ................................................................................................ 11

The Reality: Locked into the Declining Oracle Sun Hardware Solution ..................................................... 11

SQL Server is Compatible with Numerous Appliances, Reference Architectures and Vendors ..................... 12

The Claim: Simple to Maintain ................................................................................................... 13

The Reality: One-Button Diagnostics is a Small Convenience ................................................................. 13

SQL Server Offering: Manageability Tools Included at No Extra Cost ...................................................... 13

The Claim: Pay-as-You-Grow Licensing Model Minimizes Costs ..................................................... 14

The Reality: Overpaying for Full Hardware (24 Cores) Even if Unused .................................................... 14

SQL Server Offering: Pay only for the Hardware that is used ................................................................. 15

The Claim: Capital and Operational Savings ................................................................................ 15

The Reality: Large Incremental Costs May Offset Advantage to Buying the Engineered System ................ 15

SQL Server Offering: Better Value with SQL Server 2012 ....................................................................... 15

Additional Consideration: Database Security ................................................................................... 17

Conclusions ...............................................................................................................18

Links ............................................................................................................................................ 20

Microsoft SQL Server Sites ............................................................................................................. 20

Third-Party SQL Server Sites .......................................................................................................... 21

Government Sites with SQL Server-Related Content ........................................................................ 21


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Executive SummaryThe choice of database or database appliance is among the most crucial decisions an organizationwill make. Microsoft offers a full suite of database offerings from the traditional SQL Server tothe newest SQL Server-based appliances. It is the only vendor that enables customers to use thesame database and development tools for on-premise traditional DBs, high-performance

appliances, virtualized private clouds and public cloud environments. Microsofts overarchingstrategy of delivering a cost-efficient flexible solution based on the individual organizationsworkload sharply contrasts with Oracles implacable one-size-fits-all approach.

As we can see from Table 1below, SQL Server and SQL Server-based appliance-embeddedfunctionalities far outpace the corresponding inherent features and functions in the Oracledatabase and database appliances. In addition, SQL Server offers greater reliability, ease of useand a much more flexible and cost-efficient pricing and licensing model than Oracle databaseand database appliance offerings.

Table 1. SQL Server Offers Inherent, Embedded Functionality vs. Oracle A-la-Carte Extras

Oracles Claim Reality SQL Server (Better Choice)

Reliability

Full redundancy Requires costly Oracle RAC HA included with SQL Server EE

Patch management Still requires servers to go offline Fully supports rolling patches

Fully integratedsolution

No out-of-box DR solution DR included with no extra license cost

Simplicity

Installation Database deployment takes muchlonger than software installation

SQL Server deploys databases much faster

Implementation Locked into Oracle, declining inrevenue and market share

Compatible with wide range of appliances,reference architectures, and vendors

Maintenance One-button diagnostics is a smallconvenience compared to cost ofmanagement for DBA activities

Manageability tools included with SQLServer

Affordability

Pay-as-you-growlicensing

Must pay for full hardware (24cores) even if unused

Pay only for hardware being used

Capital andoperational savings

Large incremental costs fordatabase options

Better value with SQL Server 2012

Oracle positions the Oracle Database Appliance as a platform for online transaction processing

(OLTP) and data warehousing applications to businesses. In addition, Oracle views the applianceas a way to consolidate smaller Oracle databases or migrate from Microsoft Access and SQLServer databases. While the offer may look advantageous superficially, a more in-depth analysisreveals Oracles claims do not align with the reality of the offering. Customers must understandwhat they can expect realistically, and how SQL Server compares very favorably.


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Methodology

Microsoft commissioned ITIC to research and write a detailed white paper to examine thereliability, security and licensing benefits of SQL Server and SQL Server-based appliances, andhow they compare to the Oracle Database and Oracle Database Appliance solutions. This whitepaper uses secondary research of independent data from publicly available sources to illustrate

the viability of SQL Server and SQL Server Appliances.

This white paper also leverages primary research, including the ITIC 2011-2012 DatabaseReliability and Deployment Trends Survey which polled more than 400 users on experienceswith reliability and performance of the major database platforms including IBM DB2, MicrosoftSQL Server, Oracle Database and Oracle MySQL. None of ITICs surveys were commissionedor sponsored by Microsoft or any vendor. None of the participants received any remuneration. Inaddition, ITIC conducted interviews with C-level executives, database administrators (DBAs)and consultants at over two dozen corporate customers to obtain first-person anecdotal data.

Data and Analysis

Overview of SQL Server and SQL Server-Based Appliances

The emerging class of database appliances aims to ease the burden of DBAs and IT managers.Microsofts SQL Server-based appliances provide corporations with a fully integrated all-in-onesolution that simplifies deployment, ongoing maintenance and manageability. The SQL Serverplatform also delivers rock-solid, best-in-class security, which is de rigueur for technologies suchas virtualization and cloud deployments.

Microsofts SQL Server-based appliances such as HP Business Data Warehouse or the recent

Dell Quickstart Data Warehouse appliance competes with Oracles Database Appliance. At thehigh end, Microsofts SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse appliance competes with OraclesExadata. Microsoft also actively targets the consolidation/private cloud arena with SQL Serverfor Private Cloud and HP Database Consolidation Appliance. This combined hardware-softwarepackage accelerates and simplifies deployment and simplifies management of hundreds or eventhousands of database instances in a virtualized private cloud environment.

The HP Enterprise Database Consolidation Appliance is optimized for SQL Server. It is acomplete solution designed to speed deployment and simplify management of thousands ofdatabases with a private cloud. This appliance allows businesses to deploy databases in minutesinstead of weeks because it does not touch applications. Organizations can reduce ongoingoperational expenditures by as much as 75 percent by consolidating physical plant facility space,

lowering energy consumption, utility bills and infrastructure costs. The HP Enterprise DatabaseConsolidation Appliance for SQL Server is also easy to install: it requires no application ordatabase changes when consolidating databases. The appliance in a full rack configurationdelivers 58TB of storage, 400 hard drives, 192 logical processors, and 2TB of RAM. Alsoincluded in the package is the high-end Windows Server Datacenter Edition for operating systemand hypervisor, System Center to monitor and manage the appliance and SQL Server Enterprise


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Edition for unlimited virtualization of SQL Server virtual machines. It comes with the latestappliance tools for configuration, testing, and day-to-day management. It also incorporatesvirtualization templates for rapid deployment of small, medium and large database instances. TheMicrosoft/HP appliance also features backward and forward-compatibility with any version ofSQL supported by Hyper-V, including the newest SQL Server 2012 release.

Overview of the Oracle Database Appliance

The Oracle Database Appliance1 hardware is a single 4U rack-mountable chassis containing twoOracle Linux server nodes, each with two six-core Intel Xeon processors X5675 and 96GB ofmemory. There are four 73GB solid-state disks for database redo logs. The appliance contains12TB of raw storage that is triple-mirrored, resulting in only 4TB of usable database storage. Thetwo server nodes are connected gigabit Ethernet (GbE) with 1GbE and 10GbE externalnetworking connectivity. Base price for the server hardware is $50,0002. Depending on highavailability (HA) needs, customers must choose Oracle Database 11g Release 2 EnterpriseEdition (11.2.0.2) for a single-instance DB, add Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) for anactive-active database, or add the RAC One Node option for an active-passive database.

Software Components

The Oracle Database Appliance consists of a required set of components regardless ofdeployment options:

Oracle Linux 5.5 and Oracle Grid Infrastructure

Oracle Application Manager Command Line diagnostic, verification software and storageutilities

Patching to the most recent Oracle Database Appliance package

The appliance is limited to Oracle Database software, but there are additional software options:

Enterprise Edition Options (Advanced Security, Partitioning, Advanced Compression)

Oracle Enterprise Manager (Diagnostic and Tuning Pack)

Note: Each of the above options has additional per-processor licensing fees

1 Oracle Database Appliance Overview -http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/database-appliance/overview/index.html2 Oracle Database Appliance Configuration Pricing -https://shop.oracle.com/pls/ostore/f?p=dstore:product:1021750848625585::NO:RP,6:P6_LPI,P6_PROD_HIER_ID:114335455266911897019396,114335613163761896416740&tz=5:30
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/database-appliance/overview/index.htmlhttp://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/database-appliance/overview/index.htmlhttp://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/database-appliance/overview/index.htmlhttp://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/database-appliance/overview/index.htmlhttps://shop.oracle.com/pls/ostore/f?p=dstore:product:1021750848625585::NO:RP,6:P6_LPI,P6_PROD_HIER_ID:114335455266911897019396,114335613163761896416740&tz=5:30https://shop.oracle.com/pls/ostore/f?p=dstore:product:1021750848625585::NO:RP,6:P6_LPI,P6_PROD_HIER_ID:114335455266911897019396,114335613163761896416740&tz=5:30https://shop.oracle.com/pls/ostore/f?p=dstore:product:1021750848625585::NO:RP,6:P6_LPI,P6_PROD_HIER_ID:114335455266911897019396,114335613163761896416740&tz=5:30https://shop.oracle.com/pls/ostore/f?p=dstore:product:1021750848625585::NO:RP,6:P6_LPI,P6_PROD_HIER_ID:114335455266911897019396,114335613163761896416740&tz=5:30https://shop.oracle.com/pls/ostore/f?p=dstore:product:1021750848625585::NO:RP,6:P6_LPI,P6_PROD_HIER_ID:114335455266911897019396,114335613163761896416740&tz=5:30http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/database-appliance/overview/index.htmlhttp://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/database-appliance/overview/index.html


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Analyzing Oracles Claims

Oracle positions Oracle Database Appliance as an engineered solution that is reliable, simple andaffordable. This section examines each of these claims and how they compare to SQL Server.

The Claim: Reliability through Full Redundancy

The Claim Oracle: The Reality SQL Server: The Reality

Reliability

Full redundancy Requires costly Oracle RAC HA included with SQL Server EnterpriseEdition.

The Oracle Database Appliance claims to be reliable by offering full hardware redundancy, thelatest patches, and mirrored hard drives.

The Oracle Database Appliance is a fully redundant integrated system that includes engineeringfeatures like dual server nodes with redundant Ethernet interconnections for the cluster. Disk

drives are triple-mirrored using Oracle Automated Storage Management. Customers have achoice of running RAC or RAC One Node for active-active or active-passive support in theevent of a server failure.

The Reality: Full Redundancy Requires Oracle RAC with a Hefty Option Cost

To take full advantage of automatic failover using both servers, customers must pay for anadditional license for either RAC or RAC One Node; RAC for all 24 cores adds $276,000 USDto the system price, and RAC One Node costs an additional $60,000 for all 24 cores.

Another caveat is that customers using a single database instance license do not have automatic

failover capability. There is no ability to configure RAC to use another server as the failoverdevice. This limits HA in the case of a complete server failure.

High Availability Capabilities are Included with SQL Server Enterprise Edition

By contrast, SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition provides full failover cluster instances anddatabase mirroring at no extra cost. SQL Server 2012 expands HA with AlwaysOn technology,which allows customers to build a HA system not subject to a single appliance failure.

SQL Server AlwaysOn3 is the new comprehensive HA and disaster recovery (DR) solution inSQL Server 2012. AlwaysOn uses Windows Server Failover Clustering technology for both

Availability Groups (database HA) and failover cluster instances (instance HA). AvailabilityGroups simplify the cluster environment by not using shared storage, eliminating a single pointof failure. Microsoft Windows Server simplifies configuration and validation of the clusteredenvironment. Likewise, the SQL Server 2012 Availability Group configuration wizard makes it

3 MSDN section on AlwaysOn -http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff877884(v=sql.110).aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff877884(v=sql.110).aspxhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff877884(v=sql.110).aspxhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff877884(v=sql.110).aspxhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff877884(v=sql.110).aspx


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easy to set up a variety of configurations for local and remote synchronized databases. To obtainthe same server redundancy as Oracle, users must purchase two SQL Server Appliances.

Customers agree: ITICs data shows customers rate SQL Server better in terms of uptime andreliability (see Exhibit 1).

Exhibit 1: SQL Server Users Rate Uptime/Reliability as Better than Oracle DBs

Source: ITIC 2011-2012 Database Reliability and Deployment Trends Survey

The Claim: Reliability through Patch Management


Reliability

Patch management Still requires servers to go offline Fully supports rolling patches

Oracle claims its Oracle Appliance Manager Patch process provides one-button simplicity tomake sure the Oracle Database Appliance has current patches.

The Reality: Patch Management Requires Servers to go Offline

The reality does not match the hype. According to the Oracle Database Appliance Installation,Configuration and Users Guide

4, the Oracle Appliance Manager Patch process takes down the

4Oracle Database Appliance Installation, Configuration and Users Guidehttp://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e22692.pdf
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e22692.pdfhttp://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e22692.pdfhttp://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e22692.pdf


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entire server for maintenance to patch both servers and brings the entire system back onlinewhen complete. This is more work for DBAs and disrupts end-user productivity. Furthermore,the patch package does not support rolling patching for the appliance. This means the OracleDatabase Appliance needs downtime for patching, causing disruption and lowering availability.

Oracle releases many patches to its database software every quarter, which can be extremely

tedious and confusing. This shows no signs of improving. In fact, InfoWorld

5

discovered Oraclehas a serious fundamental flaw in the database software that requires DBAs to carefully patch allof their servers. Fixing this flaw will require significant time and resources.

SQL Server Fully Supports Rolling Patches for Maximum Availability

Its important to emphasize that SQL Server appliances are based on SQL Server; therefore theinherent security, reliability and performance of SQL Server Database are embedded in theappliances delivery. Once again, these facts are apparent in industry analyst surveys.

According to the Alinean Total Cost of Administration (TCA) study, SQL Server DBAs spend

less time patching their systems than Oracle DBAs.

6

With SQL Server failover cluster instances,database mirroring, or AlwaysOn Availability Groups, DBAs can perform a rolling patch processwith little or no downtime for applications. Rolling patch support is critical for providingmaximum availability for customers application databases. Microsoft provides the resources aWindows administrator or DBA needs to successfully apply patches, critical updates, servicereleases, and service packs to avoid downtime using a rolling update process on passive clusternodes, mirrored databases, and AlwaysOn Availability Group secondary replicas. The WindowsServer 2008 R2 white paper, Maximizing Availability When Performing Updates to MissionCritical Solutions,7 provides a comprehensive overview of the steps needed to minimize outagesfor mission-critical systems. For SQL Server 2012 Availability Groups, DBAs can apply thesame concepts for installing a service pack or patch for mirrored databases.

With January 2012s tenth anniversary of Microsofts Trustworthy Computing initiatives, SQLServer continues to lead in fewest security patches across major DBMS vendors according toNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Less vulnerability translates to less timespent patching servers and inherently more secure databases.

The latest ITIC 2011-2012 Database Reliability and Deployment Trends survey shows customersrate SQL Server better in terms of serviceability (e.g., patching, planned maintenance) (seeExhibit 2). Seventy-four percent rated SQL Server Serviceability as excellent or very good.

5 Fundamental Oracle flaw revealed -http://www.infoworld.com/print/1841636 Alinean study -http://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdf7 Maximizing Availability When Performing Updates to Mission Critical Solutions -http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/1/1/511B3FB2-5D7D-48CB-857D-CDE942A4B0A3/Maximizing_Availability_When_Performing_Updates_to_Mission_Critical_Solutions_Final.pdf
http://www.infoworld.com/print/184163http://www.infoworld.com/print/184163http://www.infoworld.com/print/184163http://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdfhttp://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdfhttp://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/5/1/1/511B3FB2-5D7D-48CB-857D-CDE942A4B0A3/Maximizing_Availability_When_Performing_Updates_to_Mission_Critical_Solutions_Final.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/5/1/1/511B3FB2-5D7D-48CB-857D-CDE942A4B0A3/Maximizing_Availability_When_Performing_Updates_to_Mission_Critical_Solutions_Final.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/5/1/1/511B3FB2-5D7D-48CB-857D-CDE942A4B0A3/Maximizing_Availability_When_Performing_Updates_to_Mission_Critical_Solutions_Final.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/5/1/1/511B3FB2-5D7D-48CB-857D-CDE942A4B0A3/Maximizing_Availability_When_Performing_Updates_to_Mission_Critical_Solutions_Final.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/5/1/1/511B3FB2-5D7D-48CB-857D-CDE942A4B0A3/Maximizing_Availability_When_Performing_Updates_to_Mission_Critical_Solutions_Final.pdfhttp://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdfhttp://www.infoworld.com/print/184163


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Exhibit 2 SQL Server Has Better, More Efficient Serviceability than Oracle DBs


The Claim: Reliability through a Fully Integrated Solution


Reliability

Fully integrated

solution

No out-of-box DR solution DR included with extra license cost

Oracle claims its Oracle Database Appliance gives firms a fully integrated system of software,servers, storage and networking in a single box, delivering high-availability DB services.

The Reality: No Out-of-the-Box DR Solution

One major, glaring shortcoming of Oracle Database Appliance is the lack of an out-of-the-boxsolution to support off-site DR. Companies can opt for Oracle Active Data Guard8; however, thatadds $120,000 USD for all 24 cores to mirror the application storage to another server.

Other backup solutions require network-attached storage (NAS) or tape backup, as documentedin Oracles white paper.

9 To take advantage of compressed backups, you need to license OracleAdvanced Compression; which adds $138,000 USD for all 24 cores.

8 Oracle Active Data Guard -http://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/options/active-data-guard/index.html
http://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/options/active-data-guard/index.htmlhttp://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/options/active-data-guard/index.htmlhttp://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/options/active-data-guard/index.htmlhttp://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/options/active-data-guard/index.html


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SQL Server Offering: DR Solutions without the Extra License Costs

SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn offers a feature similar to Active Data Guard called AvailabilityGroups, which provides up to four synchronized replica databases. Like Active Data Guard, thereplica databases can be configured for read-only access10 and can be used for backing up thedatabase without impacting the production database.11

SQL Server Availability Groups offers affordable capabilities similar to Oracles Active DataGuard. Availability Groups is an improvement over Database Mirroring, in that multipledatabases associated with an Availability Group failover as a unit. Since backup operations canput significant strain on I/O and CPU (with backup compression), SQL Server 2012 allowscustomers to offload backups using a secondary replica without impacting the primary replica formission-critical workloads. SQL Server 2012 provides hooks to automate backups across any ofthe four replicas based on a priority setting in the event of backup failure to maximize reliability.

The Claim: Simple to Install


Simplicity

Installation Database deployment takes muchlonger than software installation

SQL Server deploys databases much faster

The Oracle Database Appliance claims to deliver end-to-end simplicity from implementation, tomanagement and technical support.

The Reality: Software Installation Time is a Fraction of Database Deployment

Software installation takes a fraction of the time it takes for actual database deployment. But

when customers first install the Oracle Database Appliance, they must choose whether to use asingle instance install or one of the two RAC configurations. If they do not start with a RACconfiguration and decide later to upgrade to RAC, customers must manually convert using therconfig command-line utility.12

Oracle does not offer specifics about upgrade and migration costs associated with movingapplication databases to the Oracle Database Appliance. If customer databases are runningversions of the Oracle Database prior to 11.2.0.2, they need to consider the upgrade and testingcosts of moving their databases to the appliance. To help automate testing costs, Oracle providesthe Oracle Real Application Testing option that lists for $138,000 USD for all 24 cores.

9 Backup and Recovery Strategies for the Oracle Database Appliance -http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/servers-storage-admin/dbappliancebackupstrategies-519664.pdf10 Readable Secondary Replicas (AlwaysOn Availability Groups) -http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878253(SQL.110).aspx11 Backup on Secondary Replicas (AlwaysOn Availability Groups) -http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh245119(SQL.110).aspx12 Oracle Database Appliance Installation, Configuration and User's Guide -http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e22692.pdf
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/servers-storage-admin/dbappliancebackupstrategies-519664.pdfhttp://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/servers-storage-admin/dbappliancebackupstrategies-519664.pdfhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878253(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878253(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878253(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878253(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh245119(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh245119(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh245119(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh245119(SQL.110).aspxhttp://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e22692.pdfhttp://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e22692.pdfhttp://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e22692.pdfhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh245119(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh245119(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878253(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878253(SQL.110).aspxhttp://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/servers-storage-admin/dbappliancebackupstrategies-519664.pdf


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SQL Server Offering: Deploy Databases Faster and Easier with SQL Server

Microsoft provides both ease of deployment and allows businesses to accelerate SQL Server andSQL Server Appliance deployments because it is the only vendor that lets customers use thesame database and development tools for on-premise traditional DBs, high-performanceappliances, virtualized private clouds and public cloud environments. This means fewerdevelopment tools and packages to master and configure.

According to the Alinean (TCA) study, On average SQL Server DBAs were able to install andconfigure new database servers in 1.5 hours, while Oracle DBAs took 6 hours on average.

13SQL Server DBAs took less time configuring the database schema and settings, defining securitysettings, and integration of the database with infrastructure including backup processes.

SQL Servers Distributed Replay feature helps customers assess the impact of future SQL Serverupgrades, the impact of hardware and operating system upgrades, and SQL Server tuning. It isoffered at no extra charge compared to the Oracle Real Application Testing option14.

The Claim: Simple to Implement


Simplicity

Implementation Locked into Oracle, declining inrevenue and market share

Compatible with wide range of appliances,architectures, and vendors

The Oracle Database Appliance is simple to implement, with a single box housing all servers,storage, and networking, engineered together with no assembly or wiring required.15

The Reality: Locked into the Declining Oracle Sun Hardware Solution

Oracle customers are locked into the declining Oracle Sun hardware solution. This ignores thefact companies may have already made huge investments in servers, storage, and networkingfrom other hardware vendors. These may not be directly compatible with this single piece ofhardware. In addition, Oracle continues to lose market share in the server business based on Sunhardware. ITICs survey shows customers rate the former Sun hardware lower in terms ofperformance, reliability, pricing, and support since Oracles purchase (see Exhibit 3).

13 Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Database: A Comparative Study on Total Cost of Administration -http://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdf14http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878183(SQL.110).aspx15 Oracle Database Appliance -http://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/oracle-db-appliance-whitepaper-495291.pdf
http://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdfhttp://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdfhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878183(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878183(SQL.110).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878183(SQL.110).aspxhttp://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/oracle-db-appliance-whitepaper-495291.pdfhttp://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/oracle-db-appliance-whitepaper-495291.pdfhttp://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/oracle-db-appliance-whitepaper-495291.pdfhttp://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/oracle-db-appliance-whitepaper-495291.pdfhttp://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/oracle-db-appliance-whitepaper-495291.pdfhttp://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/oracle-db-appliance-whitepaper-495291.pdfhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff878183(SQL.110).aspxhttp://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdf


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Exhibit 3. ITIC Survey: Sun Hardware Performance, Reliability, Pricing, andSupport Worse Since Oracles Purchase


SQL Server is Compatible with Numerous Appliances, Reference Architecturesand Vendors

Microsoft has teamed with HP and Dell to create a set of appliances that are easy to implementand cover a variety of database solutions. Each appliance, optimized for SQL Server, ispreconfigured and pretuned by experts at Microsoft, Dell and HP. The appliances offer completesolutions that are simple to acquire and deploy.16

With SQL Server Fast Track data warehouse reference solutions, customers can choose from avariety of hardware vendors like IBM, Dell, HP, Cisco, IBM, and EMC17 with preconfiguredsystems organizations may have already invested in. Microsoft SQL Server appliances include:

HP Database Consolidation appliance for OLTP workloads, which starts with a half rackthat can support up to 100 virtualized server instances

HP Business Data Warehouse appliance for DW workloads up to 5TB

HP Business Decision Appliance for managed self-service BI with SharePoint andPowerPivot

HP Enterprise Data Warehouse and Dell Parallel Data Warehouse appliances for DW

workloads ranging from 50TB to 600TB using massively parallel processing Newly announced Dell Quickstart DW appliance optimized for SQL Server 2012

16 Microsoft SQL Server Appliance Overview -http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/appliances.aspx17 Microsoft SQL Server Fast Track Data Warehouse -http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/data-warehousing/fast-track.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/appliances.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/appliances.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/appliances.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/appliances.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/data-warehousing/fast-track.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/data-warehousing/fast-track.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/data-warehousing/fast-track.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/data-warehousing/fast-track.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/data-warehousing/fast-track.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/data-warehousing/fast-track.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/appliances.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/appliances.aspx


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Page 13

The Claim: Simple to Maintain


Simplicity

Maintenance One-button diagnostics is a smallconvenience compared to cost of

management for DBA activities

Manageability tools included with SQLServer

Oracle says Oracle Database Appliance provides a built-in, one-button diagnostic mechanism toperform diagnostics and detect failures.

The Reality: One-Button Diagnostics is a Small Convenience

The reality is, one-button diagnostics is a small convenience compared to the cost ofmanagement options for normal DBA activities. DM management includes identification ofpotential issues, documentation and fine tuning. These capabilities are not included in theappliance package. RAC management is complex and challenging. Customers also must use

Oracle Enterprise Manager with the Diagnostic and Tuning pack options to troubleshoot andrecommend solutions for queries. Both packs cost $120,000 USD for 24 cores, which representsanother incremental cost.

SQL Server Offering: Manageability Tools Included at No Extra Cost

SQL Server Policy Based Management (PBM)18 allows DBAs to define common polices acrossmultiple servers. DBAs can configure PBM to automate enforcement and reporting of exceptionsthat could impact servers and databases. The Alinean TCA study notes PBM users reportproductivity gains from 25 percent to 60 percent for deploying new servers and ensuringcorporate governance. 19

SQL Server also includes troubleshooting tools like the Management Data Warehouse20 (MDW)within SQL Server Management Studio are available at no charge. MDW is a set of components(Data Collector, MDW database, and MDW reports) that enable a database developer oradministrator to quickly track down problems that could cause performance degradation.

Utility Control Point enables a centralized view of SQL Server instances and databaseapplications and their utilization across the designated managed server group. Centralized SQLServer management also provides incremental values for DBAs and developers by having asingle unit of deployment for database applications to accelerate changes, upgrades, anddeployments called the data-tier application (DAC). A DAC is a container that defines and

packages database schema and deployment requirements of an application into a single file.

18 Administering Servers by Using Policy-Based Management - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb510667.aspx19 Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Database: A Comparative Study on Total Cost of Administration -http://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdf20 SQL Server Management Data Warehouse -http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd939169.aspx
http://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdfhttp://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdfhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd939169.aspxhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd939169.aspxhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd939169.aspxhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd939169.aspxhttp://www.alinean.com/PDFs/Microsoft_SQL_Server_and_Oracle-Alinean_TCA_Study_2010.pdf


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Page 14

The Claim: Pay-as-You-Grow Licensing Model Minimizes Costs


Affordability

Pay-as-you-growlicensing

Must pay for full hardware (24 cores)even if unused

Pay only for hardware being used

One of the key claims of the Oracle Database Appliance is affordability. Oracle offers a pay-as-you-grow solution to help minimize licensing cost for deploying databases given the per-corelicensing structure for Oracle database software and options.

The Reality: Overpaying for Full Hardware (24 Cores) Even if Unused

Customers can configure the appliance with two CPU cores (with 22 CPU cores paid for, butunused) and Oracle Enterprise 11g without RAC or other options for $97,500 USD. If all youneed is two CPU cores, you would overpay for the server hardware. It may be more economicalfor customers to buy a pair of smaller commodity servers to support lower-end DB needs. Also,

CPU count can only be increased in multiples of two per serverno reducing cores21

.

ITIC survey data indicates corporations have a much higher rate of dissatisfaction with Oraclepricing with respect to licensing and maintenance contracts (see Exhibit 4) than with Microsoft.

Exhibit 4. Five out of 10 Companies Dissatisfied with Oracle DB Pricing WithRespect To Licensing and Maintenance Contracts


21 Oracle Database Appliance Licensing Information -http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e25375.pdf
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e25375.pdfhttp://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e25375.pdfhttp://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e25375.pdfhttp://docs.oracle.com/cd/E22693_01/doc.21/e25375.pdf


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Page 15

SQL Server Offering: Pay only for the Hardware that is used

Microsoft and its hardware partners offer a SQL Server configuration that meets customer needswith a flexible growth path.

For roughly the same price as the minimum Oracle Database Appliance, businesses can buy the

HP Business Data Warehouse Appliance (optimized for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 EE),which uses one server with the same 2 CPU Intel Xeon X5675 processor (12 cores) and 96GB ofRDIMM. It supports a DW workload for a database of around 5TB (based on 3.5 compression),with 12 cores, and a list price of $103,349 USD, notincluding SQL Server software.

The Claim: Capital and Operational Savings


Affordability

Capital andoperational savings

Large incremental costs for databaseoptions

Better value with SQL Server 2012

The Oracle Database Appliance does provide cost savings compared to a custom-designedsystem. This is evident in the industry trend of creating database appliances and fast-tracksolutions that reduce the time required for designing, acquiring, deploying and testing.

The Reality: Large Incremental Costs May Offset Advantage to Buying theEngineered System

Besides the Oracle 11g Enterprise Edition license, customers need several other essentialfeatures to gain the benefits promised by the Oracle Database Appliance. For each of thesefeatures, like Oracle Real Application Clusters, Diagnostic Pack, Advanced Security, Advanced

Compression, and Partitioning, customers must pay an additional per-core license cost.

SQL Server Offering: Better Value with SQL Server 2012

With SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition, customers get several crucial features like failovercluster instances and AlwaysOn Availability Groups, transparent data encryption, built-inmanageability tools, partitioned tables and indexes, row, page, and Unicode compression alongwith the new Columnstore Index featureat no extra cost. The SQL Server license costdifference easily offsets the cost of proper analysis and design of an on-site or off-site HA andDR solution. Exhibit 5, below, provides a comparison of database license prices for OLTP anddata warehouse workloads between Oracle and SQL Server 2012.


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Page 16

Exhibit 5. Database License Prices Comparison for OLTP and Data WarehouseWorkloads Between Oracle and SQL Server 2012

Source: Microsoft and Oracle

Microsoft introduced per-core licensing with the SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition. It startsout with four cores with a per-core price of $6,874 USD22 that does not require Client AccessLicenses (CALs).

The Oracle 11g OLTP Workload example (Table 2) includes the following options.

Table 2

Option Price/Core Comparable SQL Server 2012 FeaturesOracle RACs $11,500 Failover cluster instance and Availability Groups

Advanced Security $5,750 Transparent data encryption

Diagnostic Pack $2,500 MDW and other diagnostic features

The Oracle DW workload example (Table 3) includes the following options.

Table 3

Option Price/Core Comparable SQL Server 2012 FeaturesPartitioning $5,750 Partitioned tables and indexes

Advanced Compression $5,750 Row, page, and Unicode compression along with thenew Columnstore Index feature

22 SQL Server 2012 Licensing Datasheet -http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdf

$0

$200,000

$400,000

$600,000

$800,000

$1,000,000

$1,200,000

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

ListPriceUSD

Number of Cores

Core License Cost Comparison(Oracle 11g Enterprise Edition and SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition)

Oracle 11g OLTP

Oracle 11g DW

SQL Server 2012
http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdf


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Page 17

Additional Consideration: Database Security

Since 2002, the NIST Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) recorded over 350 securityvulnerabilities associated with the Oracle database platform, the highest total of any majorvendor. Oracle had almost eight times as many reported security flaws as SQL Server during thesame time span. And not only has Oracle had many more reported vulnerabilities than SQL

Server, the patching processes for Oracle databases are quite complicatedso much so thatanecdotal data obtained from a large number of Oracle DBAs indicates they do not patch theirOracle databases (see Exhibit 6).

Exhibit 6. NIST Statistics Show SQL Server Records the Fewest Number ofReported Security Vulnerabilities

24

31 0 0

2

118

02

21

7

20

25

69

53 53 55

34

19

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

SQL Server

Oracle

Oracle 11g has recorded nearly 8x as

many vulnerabilities as SQL Server

2008 since January 2008 to present

Source: NIST 2012

SQL Servers top ranked security records/ratings are no fluke. They are the direct result of

significant Microsoft investment in its Trustworthy Computing Initiative whose fundamentaltenets are: Secure by default, Secure by design, and Secure in deployment.

Security is an ongoing process and Microsoft continues to improve the inherent security of all ofits products. It is also committed to respond rapidly to any issues that may arise via patches and

documentation. The results of the ITIC survey support the NIST CVE findings (see Exhibit 7).An overwhelming 93% of survey participants indicated that SQL Server security tangiblyimproved over the last several years. Furthermore, noneof the respondents said it had declined.


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Page 18

Exhibit 7. Majority of Users Rate SQL Server Security Improvements


Conclusions

Microsofts SQL Server and SQL Server-based appliances provide customers with provenreliability, manageability and value. The Microsoft SQL Server and SQL Server-basedappliances also deliver the aforementioned features and functions embedded in the core offeringsfor an all-inclusive price. This is in stark contrast to the competing Oracle DB 11g and Oracle

Database Appliance pricing, which is akin to an a-la-carte dinner: many crucial value-addedfeatures are sold separately for an incremental price. This a-la-carte method of packaging theOracle Database Appliance also results in additional management and more licenses to track.

For businesses that do not already own excess Oracle Database 11g licenses, SQL Server is abetter value. The new per-core licensing of SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition is more than sixtimes less expensive for OLTP workloads and five times less expensive for data warehouseworkloads than Oracle in a head-to-head price comparison that considers allthe options neededto be comparable to SQL Servers lower total cost of administration.

Microsoft offers its own set of SQL Server-based appliances and reference architectures withdifferent hardware vendors that provide businesses simplicity in procurement, ease of installationand setup, and are engineered for the best performance from software and hardware. SQL Serveroffers a greater value and flexibility over the Oracle Database Appliance.23

23 SQL Server 2012 Licensing Datasheet -http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdf
http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdfhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdf


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Page 19

Additionally, according to the NIST CVE database, Microsoft SQL Server and SQL ServerAppliance are the most secure DB platforms. The NIST CVE shows that Oracle DB recordedeight times as many security vulnerabilities since 2003 compared to Microsoft SQL Server.

ITIC surveys and anecdotal data from first-person customer interviews indicate Microsoftresponds to security issues and issues patches and fixes much more quickly than Oracle.

From a business standpoint, the stability of Microsofts relationships with its server hardware

partners like Dell, HP and Stratus are solid and long standing. This bodes well for customers;they are assured of getting the products, updates and patches they need, when they need it fromMicrosoft and its hardware partners.

This is in stark contrast to Oracle, whose ongoing well-documented and highly publicizedlitigation with HP caused consternation among its customers, who are caught in the crossfire.The result is a decline in technical service and support and confusion. Both these factors haveeroded customer confidence.

In the two years since it acquired Sun Microsystems, Oracle has been unable to articulate orprovide a clear product roadmap and long-term server hardware strategy. During this time,Oracle has changed the terms and conditions of its server hardware licensing and maintenancecontracts by instituting price hikes and imposing stiff penalties for any firm that lets its supportcontracts lapse. Many customers reacted by defecting from Oracle servers, which is reflected inOracles shrinking share of server markets, according to IDC survey data.

In summary, Microsofts SQL Server and SQL Server-based appliance represent a better valuethan Oracle DB 11g and Oracle Database Appliance from a reliability, manageability, value, andsecurity standpoint.


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Page 20

Links

This list contains several of the best online sites devoted to SQL Server including the NIST. Italso contains links to more general information SQL Server sites. They are organized accordingto affiliation (for example, government sites, Microsoft sites and third-party sites).

Microsoft SQL Server Sites

SQL Server Appliance Engineering Team Website:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/sqlaeteam/

SQL Server 2008 R2 and PDW Website:

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/editions/data-warehouse.aspx

SQL Server for Private Cloud Website:http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/cloud-computing/private-cloud.aspx

Microsoft Oracle comparison Website:http://www.riseabovetoday.com/

HP White Paper on HP Enterprise Data WarehouseAppliance architecture overview and performance guide:

http://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA3-5625ENW.pdf

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 PDW on Dell:http://www.microsoft.com/pdw

ITIC Website and links to survey data and blog posts

http://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/04/itic-2011-reliability-survey-users-give-ibm-aix-v7-windows-server-2008-r2-highest-security-marks/

http://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/02/itic-reliabiity-survey-oracle-users-anxiousangry-over-service-support-slippage/

Microsoft Security Website:http://www.microsoft.com/security

Microsoft TechNet Security Bulletin Search:www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.asp

MSDN SQL Server Forum:http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/sqlserver
http://blogs.technet.com/b/sqlaeteam/http://blogs.technet.com/b/sqlaeteam/http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/editions/data-warehouse.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/editions/data-warehouse.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/cloud-computing/private-cloud.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/cloud-computing/private-cloud.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/cloud-computing/private-cloud.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/cloud-computing/private-cloud.aspxhttp://www.riseabovetoday.com/http://www.riseabovetoday.com/http://www.riseabovetoday.com/http://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA3-5625ENW.pdfhttp://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA3-5625ENW.pdfhttp://www.microsoft.com/pdwhttp://www.microsoft.com/pdwhttp://www.microsoft.com/pdwhttp://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/04/itic-2011-reliability-survey-users-give-ibm-aix-v7-windows-server-2008-r2-highest-security-marks/http://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/04/itic-2011-reliability-survey-users-give-ibm-aix-v7-windows-server-2008-r2-highest-security-marks/http://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/04/itic-2011-reliability-survey-users-give-ibm-aix-v7-windows-server-2008-r2-highest-security-marks/http://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/02/itic-reliabiity-survey-oracle-users-anxiousangry-over-service-support-slippage/http://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/02/itic-reliabiity-survey-oracle-users-anxiousangry-over-service-support-slippage/http://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/02/itic-reliabiity-survey-oracle-users-anxiousangry-over-service-support-slippage/http://www.microsoft.com/securityhttp://www.microsoft.com/securityhttp://www.microsoft.com/securityhttp://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.asphttp://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.asphttp://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.asphttp://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/sqlserverhttp://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/sqlserverhttp://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/sqlserverhttp://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/sqlserverhttp://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/sqlserverhttp://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/sqlserverhttp://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.asphttp://www.microsoft.com/securityhttp://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/02/itic-reliabiity-survey-oracle-users-anxiousangry-over-service-support-slippage/http://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/02/itic-reliabiity-survey-oracle-users-anxiousangry-over-service-support-slippage/http://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/04/itic-2011-reliability-survey-users-give-ibm-aix-v7-windows-server-2008-r2-highest-security-marks/http://itic-corp.com/blog/2011/04/itic-2011-reliability-survey-users-give-ibm-aix-v7-windows-server-2008-r2-highest-security-marks/http://www.microsoft.com/pdwhttp://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA3-5625ENW.pdfhttp://www.riseabovetoday.com/http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/cloud-computing/private-cloud.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/cloud-computing/private-cloud.aspxhttp://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/editions/data-warehouse.aspxhttp://blogs.technet.com/b/sqlaeteam/


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Third-Party SQL Server Sites

Below is a list of popular third-party SQL Server sites. These sites are not sanctioned by noraffiliated with Microsoft and therefore, Microsoft does not vouch for or validate the accuracy ofthe information found on these sites. ITIC lists them here for informational purposes.

SQLServerPediahttp://www.sqlserverpedia.com

An aggregate SQL Server supersite, this contains a plethora of technical information and blogs bynearly 60 SQL Server experts. This question-and-answer system is hosted by SQL Server Central.

SQL-Server-Performance.com

http://www.sql-server-performance.com SQL-Server-Performance.com is a community site that aims to assist users in achieving optimalSQL Server performance. It includes a wide variety of technical articles, blogs and forums.

Government Sites with SQL Server-Related ContentNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

http://www.nist.gov/Part of the U.S. Commerce Department, NIST is the government agency responsible for settingstandards and measurements on a wide variety of biological, scientific and high-technologytopics. It also provides access to NISTs Computer Security Divisions National VulnerabilityDatabase (NVD).

NIST NVD

http://nvd.nist.gov/This provides the public with one of the most comprehensive lists of known computer and

software vulnerabilities, arranged by date, year and type. It currently contains information onmore than 42,000 known security vulnerabilities.

The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT)

http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/ US-CERT is the operational arm of the National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) at theDepartment of Homeland Security (DHS) in Washington, D.C. This site is an invaluable resourcefor anyone searching for detailed information on current security issues, vulnerabilities andexploits involving high-technology vendors and products.

Common Vulnerabilities and Exposure (CVE)

http://cve.mitre.org/about/

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposure (CVE) site provides a listing of common names forall known security vulnerabilities. CVE is a global community effort and receives input from amultiplicity of computer security organizations worldwide. NISTs NVD site is synchronizedwith, and based on, the CVE list.
http://www.sqlserverpedia.com/http://www.sqlserverpedia.com/http://www.sql-server-performance.com/http://www.sql-server-performance.com/http://www.facebook.com/http://www.facebook.com/http://nvd.nist.gov/http://nvd.nist.gov/http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/http://cve.mitre.org/about/http://cve.mitre.org/about/http://cve.mitre.org/about/http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/http://nvd.nist.gov/http://www.facebook.com/http://www.sql-server-performance.com/http://www.sqlserverpedia.com/

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