Informix and Hewlett-Packard benchmark 1,110 SAP R/3 SD users at under 1.6 second response time

Business Wire, Sept 18, 1995

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 1995--Informix Software, Inc., (NASDAQ:IFMX) the leading provider of parallel processing database technology, and Hewlett-Packard Company today announced a 1,110 SD user benchmark at under 1.6 second response time for SAP's leading R/3 Sales & Distribution (SD) benchmark.

These benchmark results were obtained using the INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server database, running on HP9000 servers.

The SD benchmark, which ran on a UNIX system-based 12-way HP9000 Model T500 Corporate Business Server, and 15 HP9000 4-way symmetrical multiprocessing Model K400 application servers, demonstrates the high-end scalability of OnLine Dynamic Server, a system configuration that large SAP customers are demanding. This performance positions Informix as the database of choice for large customers seeking high performance and scalability for their R/3 implementations.

These benchmark results give customers an important planning point of reference for proving the ability of SAP, Informix, and HP to run a customer's entire enterprise. The benchmark, which was run at HP's Cupertino performance lab, underscored Informix and Hewlett-Packard's commitment to make the combination of R/3 on Informix and Hewlett-Packard an excellent solution for large enterprises.

"When we established the Advanced Development Lab with Informix, our primary goal was to deliver optimum solutions to the marketplace with unmatched real-world performance," said Carol G. Mills, general manager of HP's General Systems division. "These exceptional benchmark results further demonstrate the quality and value of the partnership between HP, Informix, and SAP to our customers."

"Informix has invested in optimizing the OnLine Dynamic Server for SAP customers and has proven the importance of the architecture to meet the most demanding SAP needs today and well into the future," said Phil White, chairman and CEO of Informix. "We are excited about the benchmark results, since they further substantiate our ability to surpass the performance and scalability demands of our most demanding enterprise customers."

Benchmark Configuration

The benchmark environment was set up at Hewlett-Packard's performance lab in Cupertino, California, by Hewlett-Packard, Informix and SAP engineers. SAP measures the performance of different hardware platforms and database architectures with its own application benchmark which runs on the Sales & Distribution module of SAP R/3. SAP personnel were on-site for the benchmark in order to observe the SAP standard benchmark scripts that vendors must complete for SAP certification.

The hardware configuration consisted of a 12-way HP9000 Model T500 with 2GB of main memory, 15 HP9000 4-way Model K400 (10 with 1GB of main memory and 5 with 2GB of main memory), 1 HP9000 4-way Model K400 with 1GB of main memory acting as a driver system, and 1 HP9000 2-way Model J200 with 512MB of main memory acting as a message and enqueue system. The 12-way HP9000 Corporate Business Server and K400 application servers, set up in a client/server configuration ran HP-UX 10.01, SAP R/3 2.2D, and INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server 7.1. A response time of below 1.6 seconds was recorded with 1110 SD benchmark users. (The SD benchmark requires a response time of under 2.0 seconds.) In throughput terms, this represents more than 139,128 transactions per hour.

Technical details regarding this benchmark are available upon request.

About HP

HP is the second-largest computer supplier in the United States, with computer revenues of $19.6 billion in its 1994 fiscal year. HP has been delivering PA-RISC-based business computers since 1986 with high reliability, data integrity, data availability and systems availability.

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global manufacturer of computing, communications and measurement products and services recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 99,900 employees and had revenue of $25 billion in its 1994 fiscal year.

About Informix

Informix Software is the leading supplier of high performance, parallel processing database technology for open systems. The company's database servers are the number one choice of computer hardware manufacturers for publishing Transaction Processing Council (TPC) benchmarks for UNIX-based systems. Informix products also include application development tools for creating client/server production applications, decision support systems, and ad-hoc query interfaces, and connectivity software that allows information to be shared transparently from PCs to mainframes within the corporate computing environment. Informix's corporate headquarters is based in Menlo Park, California. -0-

Note to Editors: Informix is a registered trademark, and Dynamic Server is a trademark of Informix Software, Inc. HP-UX 9.X and 10.0 for HP 9000 Series 700 and 800 computers are X/Open(TM) Company UNIX 93 branded products.

UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open(TM) Company Limited. X/Open is a trademark of X/Open(TM) Company Limited in the UK and other countries. All other companies mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners.