SQL Server 2000 vs Sybase ASE 12.5

SQL Server 2000 vs Sybase ASE 12.5

Alexander Chigrik

 

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Introduction Platform comparison

• Hardware requirements

• Software requirements

Performance comparison

• TPC tests

Price comparison Features comparison

• Microsoft T-SQL vs Sybase T-SQL

• SQL Server 2000 and Sybase ASE 12.5 limits

Conclusion Literature

 

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Introduction

Often people in newsgroups ask about some comparison of Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase Adaptive Server. In this article, I compare SQL Server 2000 with Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise 12.5 (Sybase ASE 12.5) regarding price, performance, platforms supported, SQL dialects and products limits.

Platform comparison

SQL Server 2000 only works on Windows-based platforms, including Windows 9x, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows CE.
In comparison with SQL Server 2000, Sybase ASE 12.5 supports all known platforms, including Windows-based platforms, AIX-based systems, HP-UX systems, Linux Intel, Sun Solaris and so on.

Hardware requirements

To install SQL Server 2000, you should have the Intel or compatible platforms and the following hardware:

Hardware	Requirements
Processor	Pentium 166 MHz or higher
Memory	32 MB RAM (minimum for Desktop Engine), 64 MB RAM (minimum for all other editions), 128 MB RAM or more recommended
Hard disk space	270 MB (full installation), 250 MB (typical), 95 MB (minimum), Desktop Engine: 44 MB Analysis Services: 50 MB minimum and 130 MB typical English Query: 80 MB

Sybase ASE 12.5 supports Windows-based platforms, AIX-based systems, HP-UX systems, Linux Intel, Silicon Graphics, Sun Solaris and so on.
To install Sybase ASE 12.5 under the Windows-based platforms, you should have the following hardware:

Hardware	Requirements
Processor	Pentium or Pentium compatible CPU
Memory	48 MB minimum for the Sybase ASE 12.5, plus memory for the operation system and other programs.
Hard disk space	Adaptive Server 12.5 110MB jConnect 4.5 4.5MB jConnect 5.5 4.5MB jutilities (Cascade Gateway, jisql, Ribo) 6MB jConnect documentation 0.5MB Open Client/C 133MB Monitor Client Library 4MB Monitor Server 12.5 3.5MB Historical Server 6MB Adaptive Server plug-in for Sybase Central 13MB Enhanced Full-Text Search 70MB EJB Server 420MB

To install Sybase ASE 12.5 under the AIX-based systems, you should have the following hardware:

Hardware	Requirements
Processor	IBM RISC System 6000 32-bit, IBM RISC System 6000, Model S70, 64-bit
Memory	64 MB for the Sybase ASE 12.5 (for IBM RS/6000 32-bit), 92 MB for the Sybase ASE 12.5 (for IBM RS/6000 64-bit), plus memory for the operation system and other programs.
Hard disk space	Adaptive Server 12.5 235MB jConnect 4.5 5.5MB jConnect 5.5 5.5MB jutilities (Cascade Gateway, jisql, Ribo) 6MB jConnect documentation 8MB Open Client/C 12.5 115MB Language Modules (Server 12.5) 2-7MB per language Language Modules (Open Client 12.5) 3-6MB per language Monitor Client Library 12.5 7.9MB Monitor Server 12.5 4MB Monitor Historical Server 12.5 6MB Enhanced Full-Text Search 75MB

To install Sybase ASE 12.5 under the HP-UX systems, you should have the following hardware:

Hardware	Requirements
Processor	HP 9000/800 32-bit, HP 9000/800 64-bit
Memory	64 MB minimum for the Sybase ASE 12.5 (for HP 9000/800 32-bit), 90 MB minimum for the Sybase ASE 12.5 (for HP 9000/800 64-bit), plus memory for the operation system and other programs.
Hard disk space	Adaptive Server 12.5 191MB jConnect 4.5 4.5MB jConnect 5.5 4.5MB jutilities (Cascade Gateway, jisql, Ribo) 6MB jConnect documentation 6MB Open Client/C 12.5 244MB Language Modules (Server 12.5) 2-7MB per language Language Modules (Open Client 12.5) 3-6MB per language Monitor Client Library 12.5 4MB Monitor Server 12.5 3MB Monitor Historical Server 12.5 6MB Enhanced Full-Text Search 70MB EJB Server 32-bit platforms only 420MB

To install Sybase ASE 12.5 under the Linux Intel platform, you should have the following hardware:

Hardware	Requirements
Processor	Pentium II, 230 MHz or higher
Memory	50 MB minimum for the Sybase ASE 12.5, plus memory for the operation system and other programs.
Hard disk space	Adaptive Server 12.5 115MB Sybase Common package 100MB Open Client/C 12.5 120MB Language Modules (Server 12.5) 2-7MB per language Language Modules (Open Client 12.5) 3-6MB per language Enhanced Full-Text Search 65MB Sybase-esql 4MB Sybase Openserver 45MB

To install Sybase ASE 12.5 under the Silicon Graphics platform, you should have the following hardware:

Hardware	Requirements
Processor	MIPS IV or higher
Memory	32 MB minimum for the Sybase ASE 12.5 (for SGI IRIX 32-bit), 64 MB minimum for the Sybase ASE 12.5 (for SGI IRIX 64-bit), plus memory for the operation system and other programs.
Hard disk space	Adaptive Server 12.5 245-270MB jConnect 4.2 5MB jConnect 5.2 5MB jutilities (Cascade Gateway, jisql, Ribo) 6MB jConnect documentation 8MB Open Client/C 12.5 117-130MB Language Modules (Server 12.5) 2-7MB per language Language Modules (Open Client 12.5) 3-6MB per language Monitor Server 12.5 3.9MB Monitor Historical Server 12.5 6.8MB Sybase Central 13MB

To install Sybase ASE 12.5 under the Sun Solaris, you should have the following hardware:

Hardware	Requirements
Processor	Sun Solaris 32-bit, Sun Solaris 64-bit
Memory	66 MB minimum for the Sybase ASE 12.5 (for Sun Solaris 32-bit), 92 MB minimum for the Sybase ASE 12.5 (for Sun Solaris 64-bit), plus memory for the operation system and other programs.
Hard disk space	Adaptive Server 12.5 155MB jConnect 4.5 4.5MB jConnect 5.5 4.5MB jutilities (Cascade Gateway, jisql, Ribo) 6MB jConnect documentation 0.5MB Open Client/C 12.5 SDK 183MB Language Modules (Server 12.5) 2-7MB per language Language Modules (Open Client 12.5) 3-6MB per language Adaptive Server Monitor Server 12.5 3.5MB Monitor Historical Server 12.5 6MB Monitor Client Library 12.5 4MB Enhanced Full-Text Search 70MB EJB Server 32-bit platforms only 420MB

Software requirements

SQL Server 2000 comes in six editions: Enterprise, Standard, Personal, Developer, Desktop Engine, and SQL Server CE (a compatible version for Windows CE) and requires the following software:

Operating System	Enterprise Edition	Standard Edition	Personal Edition	Developer Edition	Desktop Engine	SQL Server CE
Windows CE	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Windows 9x	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation with Service Pack 5	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Windows NT 4.0 Server with Service Pack 5	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Windows NT 4.0 Server Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 5	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Windows 2000 Professional	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Windows 2000 Server	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Windows 2000 Advanced Server	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Windows 2000 DataCenter	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Windows XP Professional	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Sybase ASE 12.5 requires the following software:

Platform	Operating System Version	Required Patches
Windows-based	Windows NT 4.0	Service Pack 6 or higher
AIX-Based	AIX 4.3.3 (32-bit)	Maintenance Level 7 or later
AIX-Based	AIX 5.1	Not Necessary
HP-UX	HP-UX 11.0	64-bitDevLibs, HPUXEng64RT, Integ-Logon, KernDev, MiscDiag, OnlineDiag, UXCoreMedia, Y2K-1100, PHCO_13808, PHCO_13809, PHCO_14733, PHCO_14786, PHCO_14810, PHCO_15219, PHCO_15220, PHCO_15221, PHCO_15235, PHCO_16021, PHCO_16253, PHCO_16305, PHCO_16341, PHCO_19047, PHCO_19391, PHNE_14479, PHNE_16636, PHSS_18066, PHSS_18072, PHSS_21950, PHSS_22217, PHSS_22272
Linux	kernel-2.2.14-5.0	Not Necessary
Silicon Graphics	SGI IRIX 6.5 (32-bit and 64-bit)	Not Necessary
Sun Solaris	Solaris 8 (32-bit and 64-bit)	patches 108434-04, 108435-04, 108528-12, 108827-12, 108991-18, 109210-12, 109384-02, 111177-06, 110648-13, 112138-01

Performance comparison

It is very difficult to make the performance comparison between SQL Server 2000 and Sybase ASE 12.5. The performance of your databases depends rather from the experience of the database developers and database administrator than from the database's provider. You can use both of these RDBMS to build stable and efficient system. However, it is possible to define the typical transactions, which used in inventory control systems, airline reservation systems and banking systems. After defining these typical transactions, it is possible to run them under the different database management systems working on the different hardware and software platforms.

TPC tests

The Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC.Org) is independent organization that specifies the typical transactions (transactions used in inventory control systems, airline reservation systems and banking systems) and some general rules these transactions should satisfy.

The TPC produces benchmarks that measure transaction processing and database performance in terms of how many transactions a given system and database can perform per unit of time, e.g., transactions per second or transactions per minute.

The TPC organization made the specification for many tests. There are TPC-C, TPC-H, TPC-R, TPC-W and some old tests, such as TPC-A, TPC-B and TPC-D. The most popular test is the TPC-C test (OLTP test).

At the moment the article was wrote, SQL Server 2000 held the top TPC-C by performance results with Distributed Partitioned Views-based cluster systems.
See Top Ten TPC-C by Performance Version 5 Results

At the moment the article was wrote, SQL Server 2000 held the top TPC-C by price/performance results. See Top Ten TPC-C by Price/Performance Version 5 Results

Note. Because most organizations really do not run very large databases, so the key points on which SQL Server 2000 won the TPC-C benchmarks do not really matter to the vast majority of companies.

Price comparison

One of the main Microsoft SQL Server 2000 advantage in comparison with Sybase ASE 12.5 is that SQL Server is cheaper.
SQL Server 2000 is currently available under two licensing options:

• Processor license.
• Server/per-seat client access license (CAL).
  
  The processor license requires a single license for each CPU in the computer running SQL Server 2000 and includes unlimited client access. You can buy this license when you do not know the number of the clients (for example, if your users will connect to SQL Server 2000 through the internet). This license usually is cheaper than Server/Per-Seat CAL when there are many users connected to SQL Server databases.
  
  The Server/per-seat client access license (CAL) requires a license for the server and the licenses for each client device. You can use this licensing option when the customers do not need access beyond the firewall and the number of clients is low (for example, 10-20 users for SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition or 30-40 users for SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition).
  
  

  Licensing Options	SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition	SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition
  Processor	$4,999 per processor	$19,999 per processor
  Server/Per-Seat CAL	with 5 CALs - $1,489 with 10 CALs - $2,249	with 25 CALs - $11,099

  
  Sybase ASE 12.5 is currently available as two main products:
  
  
• ASE Workplace
• ASE Enterprise
  
  ASE Workplace includes machines running Windows NT, Netware, or SCO Unix with 4 or fewer CPUs. ASE Enterprise includes machines running Windows NT, Netware, or SCO Unix with more than 4 CPUs.
  For other platforms, the classification into ASE Workplace or ASE Enterprise is dependent on Total Processing Factor (TPF), which is based on the maximum number of CPUs that a box can support multiplied by the processing power (in megahertz) of each CPU. Machines that have a TPF of 2000 or less are considered ASE Workplace while those above 2000 are considered ASE Enterprise.
  
  Sybase ASE 12.5 is currently available under two main licensing options:
  
  
• Processor license.
• Server/Networked Seat.
  
  The processor license is available under the ASE Enterprise 12.5 for LINUX only. For other platforms, the Server/Networked Seat licenses are only available.
  
  

  Licensing Options	Sybase ASE Workplace 12.5	Sybase ASE Enterprise 12.5	Sybase ASE Enterprise 12.5 for LINUX
  Processor	Not available	Not available	$24,995 per processor
  Server	$995	$3,995	$2,995
  Networked Seat	$195	$795	$595

  
  Note. This is not a full price comparison between SQL Server 2000 and Sybase ASE 12.5. It is only a brief comparison. You can have any discounts and the prices can be increased or decreased in the future. See Microsoft and Sybase to get more information about the price of their products.
  
  

  Features comparison

  Both SQL Server 2000 and Sybase ASE 12.5 support the ANSI SQL-92 entry level and do not support the ANSI SQL-92 intermediate level. In the Features comparison section of this article I want to make the brief comparison of the SQL Server T-SQL with Sybase T-SQL dialect and show some SQL Server 2000 and Sybase ASE 12.5 limits.
  
  

  Microsoft T-SQL vs Sybase T-SQL

  Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase ASE have a common heritage because, until version 4.2, Microsoft simply licensed Sybase's database server software. So these products had one kernel. After version 4.2, these products have diverged. Microsoft has produced versions 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, and 2000 of Microsoft SQL Server, while Sybase has produced versions 4.8, 4.9, System 10 and System 11 of Sybase SQL Server and versions 11.5, 11.9, 12, and 12.5 of Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise.
  
  Because Microsoft SQL Server and Sybase ASE had one kernel, they have some similar features now. For example, the dialect of SQL supported by both Microsoft and Sybase is called Transact-SQL (T-SQL). To distinguish these dialect, we will call them Microsoft T-SQL and Sybase T-SQL accordingly. Both these dialect are very similar, so the migration to SQL Server 2000 from the Sybase ASE 12.5 (or vice versa) can be made much easier than the migration to SQL Server 2000 from Oracle 9i or IBM DB2 v8.1.
  
  This is the brief comparison of Microsoft T-SQL and Sybase T-SQL:
  
  

  Feature	Sybase T-SQL	Microsoft T-SQL
  Indexes	B-Tree indexes	B-Tree indexes
  Tables	Relational tables, Temporary tables	Relational tables, Temporary tables
  Triggers	login triggers, AFTER triggers	AFTER triggers, INSTEAD OF triggers
  Procedures	Sybase T-SQL statements, SQLJ stored procedure (SQL wrapper to a Java static method)	Microsoft T-SQL statements
  User-defined functions	SQLJ functions (SQL wrapper to a Java static method)	Scalar functions, Inline table-valued functions, Multistatement table-valued functions
  Indexed Views	Not Supported	Supported
  Multiple Triggers	Not Supported	Supported
  Arrays	Not Supported	Not Supported

  
  

  SQL Server 2000 and Sybase ASE 12.5 limits

  Here you can find some SQL Server 2000 and Sybase ASE 12.5 limits:
  
  

  Feature	SQL Server 2000	Sybase ASE 12.5
  database name length	128	30
  table name length	128	30
  view name length	128	30
  column name length	128	30
  index name length	128	30
  triggers name length	128	30
  procedures name length	128	30
  defaults name length	128	30
  rules name length	128	30
  cursor name length	128	30
  nested triggers levels	32	16
  columns referenced by a view	4096	1024
  columns per SELECT statement	4096	1024
  max indexes per table	250	250
  bytes per index	900	600 for 2K page, 1250 for 4K page, 2600 for 8K page, 5300 for 16K page
  columns per index	16	31
  parameters per stored procedure	1024	255
  text of a stored procedure	250MB	16MB
  nested stored procedure levels	32	16
  nested subqueries	32	16
  tables per SELECT statement	256	50
  columns in GROUP BY, ORDER BY	Limited only by number of bytes (8060)	31

  
  

  Conclusion

  It is not true that SQL Server 2000 is better than Sybase ASE 12.5 or vice versa. Both products can be used to build stable and efficient system and the stability and effectiveness of your applications and databases depend rather from the experience of the database developers and database administrator than from the database's provider. But SQL Server 2000 has some advantages in comparison with Sybase ASE 12.5 and vice versa.
  
  The SQL Server 2000 advantages:
  
  
  • SQL Server 2000 is cheaper to buy than Sybase ASE 12.5.
  • SQL Server 2000 holds the top TPC-C performance and price/performance results.
  • SQL Server 2000 is generally accepted as easier to install, use and manage.
  The Sybase ASE 12.5 advantages:
  
  
  • Sybase ASE 12.5 supports all known platforms, not only the Windows-based platforms.
  • More fine-tuning to the configuration can be done via start-up parameters.

  Literature

  1. SQL Server 2000 Books Online
  
  2. How to Buy
  
  3. Adaptive Server Enterprise
  
  4. Installation Guide Adaptive Server Enterprise for Windows NT
  
  5. Installation Guide Adaptive Server Enterprise for IBM RISC System/6000 AIX
  
  6. Installation Guide Adaptive Server Enterprise for HP-UX
  
  7. Installation Guide Adaptive Server Enterprise for Linux/Intel
  
  8. Installation Guide Adaptive Server Enterprise for Silicon Graphics IRIX
  
  9. Installation Guide Adaptive Server Enterprise for Sun Solaris

chigrik@mssqlcity.com