Database Comparisons

If you are researching relational database management systems, you may want to complete a
database comparisonlooking at the features and capabilities of different systems. The following
resources will help you complete a database comparison of SQL Server database against other
database systems. This database comparison activity will help you see how the SQL Server
database performs and delivers flexible and reliable functionality in comparison with other database
offerings, and how the SQL Server database will meet your business intelligence (BI), availability,
productivity, and security needs.
Database Comparison: SQL Server 2005 and Oracle
SQL Server 2005 can help your company lower information technology infrastructure and
management costs while continuing to enhance functionality. Organizations that rely on
Oracle for critical functions can evaluate both the functional and financial benefits of
moving to SQL Server 2005.
Database Comparison: SQL Server 2005 to IBM
SQL Server 2005 continues to surpass IBM DB2 in features, functionality, and innovation
at a much lower cost. Organizations that relay on the DB2 system will find that, feature to
feature, SQL Server 2005 outperforms DB2, making SQL Server 2005 the right choice for
your organization.

Comparing SQL Server 2005 and Oracle

SQL Server 2005 on Microsoft Windows Server provides a platform for enterprise-class relational
database and analysis solutions that outstrip Oracle 10g in security, availability, integration with
Microsoft Visual Studio, and scalability from small businesses to the largest, and at lower costs.

Highlights
Migrate to SQL Server
Ease your migration from Oracle to SQL
Server with the new SQL Server
Migration Assistant, which can help
organizations of any size address
complex data challenges at a lower total
cost of ownership.
SQL Server/Oracle TrainingOnline
Learn how to deploy SQL Server's
business intelligence (BI) capabilities on
Oracle, how to successfully deploy
Oracle on the Windows platform, and
more using free online training.

On This Page
Highlights
Security
High Availability
Performance and Scalability
Developer Productivity
Total Cost of Ownership
Business Intelligence

Review the SQL Server 2005 Quick

Guide for the Oracle Database

Case Studies

Professional
SQL Server 2005 for Oracle
Professionals
Read this white paper which explains
the key differences between Microsoft
SQL Server 2005 databases and Oracle
databases, comparing SQL Server and
Oracle database architecture and
providing information on the newest
features in SQL Server 2005.

SQL Server vs. Oracle RAC a holistic

comparison
This paper compares the architectures and

Real-world RAC administration

complexities
This report by Linxcel describes the complexity

technologies offered by Microsoft SQL Server

of administering RAC. It describes why Oracle

and Oracle for scaling large database

RAC is extremely complex to install, tune,

applications. The paper takes a holistic

debug, and administer. The report is based on

approach to comparing the offerings from the

the authors real-world experience in deploying

two companies, taking technology, cost, and

RAC for several companies.

emerging trends into account. Specifically, the

paper evaluates Oracle's Real Application

Cluster (RAC) technology in detail and
contrasts it with alternate approaches by SQL
Server. The paper also includes a discussion of
the various scale-out technologies available
with SQL Server 2005.
Issues with RAC Architecture
This paper examines the architecture of Oracle
RAC in-depth and uncovers some of its
fundamental weaknesses. The paper is a
thorough analysis of the technical
underpinnings of Oracle RAC, its strengths, and
its drawbacks. The paper also suggests
alternative architectures, based on emerging
industry trends, for building highly scalable and
reliable database applications.

You probably don't need RAC

This paper by Mogens Norgaard cuts through
all the marketing hype surrounding RAC to
explain why there are better alternatives to
RAC. Mogens is a well-known RAC expert and
the originator of the Oak Table Network, an
invitation only group of 40 highly respected
Oracle practitioners.
SQL Server scale-out technology
No one scale-out technology can address all
your requirements. SQL Server 2005 offers
you a choice of scale-out technologies,
enabling you to pick one that best addresses
your requirements. This paper enumerates all
the scale-out technologies available in SQL
Server 2005, discusses their relative merits,
and provides guidance on when to use each
one.

Security
Computerworld: So far in 2006, Oracle Database has 30x more entries for Common Vulnerabilities
and Exposures (CVE) than Microsoft SQL Server.
"Oracle is years behind Microsoft and other companies on security," said Cesar Cerrudo, CEO at
information security services company Argeniss in Argentina. "I think Oracle is an amateur when it
comes to security right now."
Microsoft believes that advanced security is functionality that should be standard in your database
infrastructure. Oracle seems to think advanced security is an option available for only select
customers. SQL Server provides all security features in all SQL Server editions, out of the box.
Oracle provides only basic security in its all its edition. More advanced, but essential, security
features are available only as extra cost options. Further, these options are available only with the
Enterprise Edition of the database, leaving small- and medium-sized businesses potentially
vulnerable.
For equivalent security functionality, SQL Server costs less than Oracle and is easier to manage. See
the following paper for a detailed comparison of the security features of SQL Server 2005 and
Oracle 10g R2.
Compare the security features available in SQL Server 2005 and Oracle 10g R2 by reviewing the
SQL Server 2005 and Oracle 10g Security Comparison.
Security features and functionality by themselves do not tell the complete security story. Security
features are of no use if a product is not well designed and engineered. Security features must be
built on a solid foundation of a well-engineered, high-quality product. SQL Server is built on such a
foundation.
Fewer security vulnerabilities have been detected in SQL Server than in Oracle over the same period
and Microsoft addresses vulnerabilities more quickly than Oracle. This implies that days-ofexposure-to-risk are substantially lower with SQL Server than with Oracle. Read comments from
knowledgeable industry insiders about Oracle security and then learn more about the comparisons
in the reports that follow.
Flaw Hunters Pick Holes in Oracle Patches
"It seems that Microsoft has learned this lesson. Oracle has not. Oracle has talked the talk
without walking the walk, while Microsoft has spent a fortune in time and money to improve the
security of its software and has made incredible headway." Michael Gavin, Senior Analyst,
Forrester
Microsoft's Blue Hat Shows It's Serious About Security
"Microsoft's development process and procedures are unique, and uniquely suited to a mammoth
software development shop. However, companies that want to make their software more secure

will have to take many of the same steps as Microsoft to turn their ship around." Gary McGraw,
CTO, Cigital Inc.
Role Comparison Security Report: Database Server Role
Commissioned in this one-year study, Security Innovation reports SQL Server 2000 had zero
vulnerabilities compared to MySQL with 7 vulnerabilities and Oracle 10g with 30 vulnerabilities.
The Importance of Vendor Openness on Security
Recent research conducted by a respected analyst firm on Oracle's security patches warns that
Oracle's secrecy around some "Severity 1" security vulnerabilities leaves customers open to
increased risks. The analyst firm also notes that users of older Oracle versions should consider
upgrading immediately or switching to an alternative product.
Get the Facts on Database Security
Find out more about key resources for securing your database and best practices from security
specialists, and learn from the insights of various industry experts about database vendor
security claims.

High Availability
High availability does not have to mean high cost. Both SQL Server 2005 and Oracle 10g can help
provide very high levels of availability. However, SQL Server 2005 delivers enterprise-level highavailability features to your organization at a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and with greater
flexibility and less complexity than does Oracle 10g.
The following white paper analyzes the high-availability features of SQL Server 2005 and compares
them with Oracle 10g:
White Paper Shows SQL Server Provides Enterprise-Class High-Availability at a Lower
Cost than Oracle 10g
Comparing the high-availability features of SQL Server 2005 and Oracle 10g, this paper shows
that SQL Server high-availability features outperform and are available in more versions, with a
lower TCO, than Oracle.

Performance and Scalability

SQL Server comes in several editions to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, from small- and
medium-sized companies to the largest enterprises. The following page compares the performance
of SQL Server 2005 and Oracle using standard benchmarks.
SQL Server Benchmarks
SQL Server 2005 is designed to scale reliably to meet the needs of even the largest enterprise in
the most demanding environments.

Developer Productivity
SQL Server 2005 means more developer tools and fewer barriers. Integration of SQL Server 2005
with Microsoft Visual Studio, the Microsoft .NET technologies, and the common language runtime is
more comprehensive, more seamless, more functional, and better-performing than that of Oracle
10g. SQL Server 2005 has superior ease of use and seamlessness in developing service-oriented
architecture (SOA) applications. Additionally, SQL Server business intelligence (BI) features are
integrated with Visual Studio, unlike Oracle BI features.
The first of the following two documents examines the tools and relative levels of integration for
SQL Server 2005 and Oracle 10g; the second compares developer productivity between these two
products:
White Paper Compares SQL Server 2005 and Oracle as Development Platform for .NET
Applications
This paper, intended for technology decision makers, examines whether SQL Server 2005 or
Oracle 10g provides a more productive application development platform for the .NET platform
developer. The paper includes a comparative discussion of TCO.

 Comparing Enterprise Development Productivity: SQL Server 2005 versus Oracle

Database 10g
This independent productivity study, prepared by 3 Leaf, quantifies how SQL Server 2005
improves development efficiency over Oracle Database 10g.

Total Cost of Ownership

Save with SQL Server. Because you do not have to purchase expensive add-ins to obtain benefits
such as security features, management tools, and reporting and analysis services, the initial cost
advantages of SQL Server 2005 over Oracle 10g carry through the entire life of the deployment.
Multicore pricing from Microsoft further increases the cost advantage of choosing SQL Server. Unlike
Microsoft, Oracle has a policy of charging per core, which can make Oracle database licenses more
than four times as expensive as SQL Server licenses.
Oracle's maintenance and support programs are also more expensive. Customers must purchase
maintenance and support annually (at 22 percent of list license price) to receive bug fixes and
critical security patches. SQL Server provides all fixes free and has flexible customer support
programs.
Understanding Database Pricing
You can make a more informed decision when considering which database is best for your
organization by understanding the direct and indirect costs of deploying and managing an
enterprise database solution. It is a crucial step in understanding database pricing to know all the
components of the licensing models and the new multicore technology, and to know how these
influence the overall cost.
CIOview White Paper: Should You Migrate from Oracle to Microsoft SQL Server?
Compare the costs of running SQL Server 2005 on Windows Server 2003 to running Oracle on
Unix, including costs of migration and ongoing maintenance. Or perform your own TCO analysis
online.
White Paper Shows that SQL Server Provides Enterprise-Class High-Availability at a
Lower Cost than Oracle 10g
Comparing the high-availability features of SQL Server 2005 and Oracle 10g, this paper shows
that SQL Server high-availability features outperform Oracle, with a lower TCO than Oracle's.
White Paper Compares SQL Server 2005 and Oracle for Total Cost of Administration
This paper discusses the findings of a recent study Alinean conducted by researching the actual
costs and efforts required for 100 organizations to manage SQL Server 2005 versus managing
Oracle Database.
Comparing Enterprise Development Productivity: SQL Server 2005 versus Oracle
Database 10g
This independent productivity study, prepared by 3 Leaf, compares two developers working
independently to provide the same added features and functionality to a baseline application. One
developer worked with SQL Server 2005, and the other used Oracle Database 10g. By comparing
the time required by each developer to perform equivalent development tasks, this study
quantifies one instance of improved development efficiency in SQL Server 2005, relative to Oracle
Database 10g.

Business Intelligence

Get a competitive edge with better business intelligence (BI). SQL Server 2005 includes Analysis
Services for online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining, Reporting Services, and other
features for the equivalent of which Oracle requires the purchase of expensive add-ins. These
powerful capabilities are included in the basic license and price with SQL Server 2005. This lets
organizations deploy BI solutions widely without significantly affecting their budgets.
Look more deeply into how SQL Server 2005 stacks up against Oracle functionally in the following
document:
Evaluating Business Intelligence Offerings: Oracle and Microsoft
This report from Symmetry Corporation analyzes the key considerations for deciding on a BI
offering and examines the strategy of Microsoft and Oracle.
For more information:

Visit our SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence web pages for detailed information on BI and
features like Reporting Services and Analysis Services.

Visit the Microsoft Business Intelligenceportal for information across a breadth of products.

Case Studies
Barnes & Noble
Using a set of typical company data s the test basis, Barnes and Noble compared the results
of the SQL Server solution to those of an Oracle Solution running Real Application Clustering
on the Linux operating system. On the basis of that comparison, the company realized that
the SQL Server solution would be less expensive to develop and implement than the Oracle
Solution. The company also estimated that the SQL Server solution would perform up to 200
percent better than the Oracle solution in the ETL process, which would be critical in accessing
business information faster for more effective business decisions.
Alaska Department of Revenue, Permanent Fund Dividend (PDF) Division
Oracle is too proprietary in their tools, didnt offer greater performance or reliability than SQL
Server 2005, and is very, very expensive. ... SQL Server 2005 seemed the obvious solution,
and weve been thrilled with the results.
Annette G.E. Smith, Data Processing Mgr., Alaska Dept. of Revenue, PFD Division

Comparing SQL Server 2005 to IBM

SQL Server 2005 continues to surpass DB2 in features, functionality, and innovation at a much
lower cost. Ease of use and management tools help organizations save on database administration
costs, while close integration with Visual Studio and the Microsoft .NET common language runtime
(CLR) make SQL Server 2005 the ideal platform for building powerful database applications.
SQL Server 2005 on Microsoft Windows Server provides more security and availability, integration
with Visual Studio, and scalability from small businesses to the largest, all at dramatically lower
costs.

On This Page
Highlights
High Availability
Performance and Scalability
Security
Developer Productivity
Total Cost of Ownership
Business Intelligence

Highlights
Manageability Comparison of IBM UDB DB2 8.2 and SQL Server 2005
How does the manageability and productivity of SQL Server 2005 measure up against IBM
UDB DB2 8.2? Read this white paper to see how the two products compare using a suite of
administrative tasks, including efficiency, complexity, and the number of steps needed to
accomplish the task.

High Availability
SQL Server 2005 has more high-availability options than DB2 UDB 8.2, including data mirroring with
automatic failover, fast recovery, and page-level restore. SQL Server 2005 also includes tools that
facilitate backup and restore, making SQL Server 2005 a better choice for high-availability
applications than IBM UDB 8.2.
Read about a head-to-head comparison of high-availability features between SQL Server 2005 and
DB2 UDB 8.2:
Comparing the High-Availability Features of SQL Server 2005 and DB2 UDB 8.2
This white paper finds that SQL Server 2005 provides more high-availability options, that they
are easier to use than the high-availability features in DB2 UDB 8.2, and that SQL Server 2005 is
easier to manage while providing high availability.

Performance and Scalability

No matter how much data your organization relies on and supports, SQL Server 2005 has an edition
designed to handle it, from the small business to the largest of enterprises. Read about how SQL
Server 2005 outperforms IBM DB2 UDB 8.2 and consider the tremendous impact of 64-bit
computing on SQL Server 2005.
Comparing SQL Server 2005 and IBM DB2 UDB v8.2 as a Database Platform
This white paper includes a discussion of design features through which SQL Server 2005
achieves faster performance than DB2 UDB 8.2.
Performance and Scalability: SQL Server Benchmarks
Review benchmark results for SQL Server.

Security
SQL Server 2005 provides security features out of the box that represent a higher standard of
security than what IBM DB2 v8.2 provides, and it delivers this higher standard to all users, from
developers to customers, with greater ease of management and programmability.
Only SQL Server 2000 has the C2 security rating from the U.S. governments National Security

Agency, and SQL Server 2005 is being evaluated for the Common Criteria certification. For more
information about the C2 security rating, see the C2 Evaluation site on TechNet. For more
information about the Common Criteria, see the Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme
site.
Find out more about the features that only SQL Server 2005 offers developers for improving data
security and about the higher level of integration of SQL Server 2005 with Microsoft .NET logic
compared to IBM DB2 UDB 8.2:
Get the Facts on Database Security
Find out more about key resources for securing your database and best practices from security
specialists, and learn from the insights of various industry experts about database vendor
security claims.

Developer Productivity
SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio .NET 2005 clear the way for developers. SQL Server 2005
provides a better platform for .NET developers building database-driven applications. While both
SQL Server 2005 and DB2 provide the capability to embed .NET logic in the database, SQL Server
2005 has several significant advantages over DB2 UDB 8.2. The deeper support of SQL Server 2005
for the common language runtime (CLR) provides a more effective total solution, improving memory
use, threading, and garbage collection capabilities of the CLR in ways that DB2 implementation does
not allow. Further, SQL Server 2005 supports more .NET database objects than does DB2.
The following documents examine the tools and relative levels of integration for SQL Server 2005
and DB2:
Comparing SQL Server 2005 and IBM DB2 v8.2 as a Database Platform
See the difference in how SQL Server 2005 and DB2 support the .NET framework and how SQL
Server 2005 provides a better platform for .NET developers.
Comparing SQL Server 2005 and IBM UDB DB2 8.2: Focus on Developer Productivity
How do SQL Server 2005 and IBM UDB DB2 8.2 compare when focusing on features of interest to
developers using Microsoft .NET and Visual Studio? Architects, database application developers,
technology decision makers, and information technology managers should read this white paper
to find out.

Total Cost of Ownership

SQL Server 2005 offers lower cost than DB2 in each of the major areas that contribute to total cost
of ownership (TCO). Initial acquisition costs and license fees are lower than for DB2. SQL Servers
superior price-to-performance ratio lowers hardware costs. SQL Server 2005 automates,
streamlines, or eliminates many routine database management tasks, reducing database
administration costs.
In addition, SQL Server 2005 provides features, particularly business intelligence (BI) features, in all
its editions that customers of IBM DB2 UDB 8.2 must buy as expensive add-ins. As a result, SQL
Server 2005 has not only a lower purchase price but also to a lower ongoing TCO and higher return
on investment.
Total Cost of Ownership
Review TCO studies to learn how you can save with SQL Server.
Comparing SQL Server 2005 and IBM DB2 UDB v8.2 as a Database Platform
In addition to comparative evaluations of SQL Server 2005 and IBM DB2 UDB 8.2 as database
platforms, this paper describes the features that come with SQL Server 2005 but that DB2 UDB
8.2 customers must purchase separately.