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From: littauer@amdahl.amdahl.com (Tom Littauer)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Sort Co-Processors
Message-ID: <15890@amdahl.amdahl.com>
Date: Fri, 9-Oct-87 14:39:37 EDT
Article-I.D.: amdahl.15890
Posted: Fri Oct  9 14:39:37 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 11-Oct-87 14:38:14 EDT
References: <112@sdeggo.UUCP> <2967@husc6.UUCP>
Reply-To: littauer@amdahl.amdahl.com (Tom Littauer)
Organization: Amdahl Corp, Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 32
Summary: IBM Sort Assist Feature

In article <2967@husc6.UUCP> reiter@harvard.UUCP (Ehud Reiter) writes:
>In article <112@sdeggo.UUCP> dave@sdeggo.UUCP (David L. Smith) writes:
>>Has anyone out there ever run across a sorting co-processor?  ...
>However, the main problem with a sort co-processor is that sorting tends to
>be an I/O intensive task.   ...
>                                               In fact, I believe that
>traditionally, database people have completely ignored CPU time and looked only
>at I/O time when computing the expected times for sorts, joins, etc.
>So, sorting coprocessors are possible, but the problem goes far beyond
>designing clever VLSI comparison circuits, which is what most people seem
>to do.

*** Bias warning and disclaimer ***

I've been disliking IBM for 22 years now, and I work for a company that
competes with them (and nicely, too :-). The following opinions are mine,
not (necessarily) Amdahl's.

*** we now return to our program ***

This didn't prevent IBM from ballyhooing (that IS a proper word, isn't
it :-) the Sort Assist Feature on some of their CPUs. Net result: their
sort (assisted) still didn't beat SyncSort (unassisted). More smoke and
mirrors intended to confuse CPU buyers.
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