A Comparison of Memory Usage and CPU Utilization in Column-Based Database Architecture vs. Row-Based Database Architecture

Abstract – Most of the current enterprise data-warehouses are implemented using traditional relational databases. In a typical data-warehouse, batch processes are run at pre-defined schedules to write data but data is read more often and at random intervals. These relational databases are write-optimized and do not perform optimally in analytical and decision making processes where data is read more often than it is written. New database architecture addresses these requirements of read-oriented applications. In this paper we compare memory and CPU usage of typical ad-hoc queries run in a data-warehouse. We will gauge the performance difference of the two radically different database architectures and find if new architecture provides a promising solution to read-oriented processes. I