Parallel Querying of Large Databases: A Case Study
Stone · Computer · 1987
Parallelism by itself does not necessarily lead to higher speed. In the case study presented here, the parallel algorithm was far less efficient than a good serial algorithm. The study does, however, reveal how to best use parallelism to best use-run the more efficient serial algorithm in a parallel manner. The case study extends the work of others who presented an algorithm for high-speed querying of a large database. The results show that the throughput for parallel query analysis is high in an absolute sense. But a performance analysis of speedup or other aspects of algorithmic behavior that would reveal what factors of machine and algorithm design contribute most strongly to the performance were not provided. This article provides that analysis.