/dev/poll
(Alternative to poll() Interface)
Description
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To solve scalability problems for large database and dataset applications, a new interface, /dev/poll, provides an alternative to poll(). The /dev/poll interface removes bottlenecks that reduce scalability. Converting poll() calls to this new interface can help database companies gain a significant performance advantage.
Requirements
- Supports all platforms
- No special hardware requirements, however, the full effect can only be realized on a large server configuration
Benefits
- Improves performance. Instead of scaling in linear/super-linear performance as file descriptors are added, near-constant performance is achieved. Code path remains constant for 50 file descriptors in a Sybase table scan environment. Code path for 750 file descriptors should be nine percent of current code path (11x reduction in code path) in same Sybase table scan environment. TPC/C performance is unaffected by this change.
- Removes bottlenecks that reduce scalability. Database companies that convert poll() calls to this new interface will see a significant performance advantage on SunTM servers over competitors' implementations on Sun and other UNIX® platforms.