Moore's
Law tells us that CPU's get a LOT faster over time. Unfortunately
for the database professional, all of the secondary elements of our
databases DO NOT get a lot faster over time. Overall, the main methods
of storing data since the 1960's, magnetic tape and hard disks, have
improved only in the single percentiles year over year. Even those of
us who were never good at math can tell that the CPU is outpacing the
other system components.
An Osborne Executive
portable computer, from 1982, and an iPhone, released 2007. The
Executive weighs 100 times as much, has nearly 500 times the volume,
cost 10 times as much, and has a 100th the processing power of the
iPhone.
Two recent developments are helping to change
that equation. First, solid state drives (SSDs) are having a dramatic
impact many IT scenarios. My friends, Brent Ozar and Paul Randall, have
each written about SSDs here and here, respectively.
Second, database vendors are supporting relational database systems
that run entirely in system RAM. If you'd like to learn more
about in-memory databases (IMDB), read more in my new article in Data Management Magazine. As we
look to the future, I expect to see a lot more of both technologies in
the data center.
And give me your feedback here! Thanks,
-Kev