Multiprocessor Main Memory Transaction Processing

In this paper we describe an experiment designed to evaluate the potential transaction processing system performance achievable through the combination of multiple processors and massive memories. The experiment consisted of the design and implementation of a transaction processing kernel on stock multiprocessors. We found that with sufficient memory, multiple processors can greatly improve performance. A prototype implementation of the kernel on a pair of Firefly multiprocessors (each with five 1-MIP processors) runs the standard debit-credit benchmark at over 1000 transactions per second.