Posted by Erland Sommarskog on 08/07/06 11:02

DA Morgan (damorgan@psoug.org) writes:
> Erland Sommarskog wrote:
>> Correct. A binary collation comes with a price. So does raw partitions.
>
> Would you please explain what you intend with this comment about block
> devices. With any database, other apparently than Microsoft's, there is
> an advantage that accrues to those who forgo file systems. Why is SQL
> Server different?

It occurred to me that is another reason why SQL Server is different, which
is inherent in its architecture. Other engines have to support multiple
platforms and file systems, so they need to implement some abstract
interface to handle the file system. Using a raw device means that that
layer they can cirumventet.

Since SQL Server supports only Windows, it can be spared that layer of
abstraction, and thus the gain with raw devices is not equally compelling.

I like to stress that all this is pure speculation on my part.

--
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, esquel@sommarskog.se

Books Online for SQL Server 2005 at
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/2005/downloads/books.mspx
Books Online for SQL Server 2000 at
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinfo/previousversions/books.mspx

[Back to original message]