Reexamining Operating System Support for Database Management

Abstract

In 1981, Michael Stonebraker [21] observed that database management systems written for commodity operating systems could not effectively take advantage of key operating system services, such as buffer pool management and process scheduling, due to expensive overhead and lack of customizability. The “not quite right” fit between these kernel services and the demands of database systems forced database designers to work around such limitations or re-implement some kernel functionality in user mode. We reconsider Stonebraker’s 21-year old observations in the context of a modern-day database system, Microsoft SQL Server 2000, and the commodity operating system for which it is explicitly designed, Microsoft Windows 2000. We show that operating system services have become more efficient and flexible so as to meet many of SQL Server’s needs directly. We also identify areas where operating system services continue fall short of meeting the needs of a DBMS, and propose several enhancements to rectify these shortcomings.