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How Hadooped is SQL Server PDW with Polybase? Part 8

Before we start I will suggest a fourth criteria that will be more fully explored later when we consider networks and pipes… that is: how is data sharded/hashed/distributed as it moves from the distribution scheme in HDFS to an optimal, usually hashed, scheme in the target RDBMS. Consider Greenplum as an example… they move data in parallel as quickly as possible to the GPDB and then redistribute the data across GPDB segment nodes using scatter-gather, a very efficient distribution mechanism. We will consider how PDW Poybase manages this as part of our first criteria.
Also note… since I started this series Teradata has come out with a new capability: the QueryGrid. I will add a post to consider this separately… and in this note I will assume the older Teradata capability. This is a little unfair to Teradata and I apologize for that… but otherwise this post becomes too complex. I’ll make things right for Teradata ASAP.

Now on to Microsoft…
First, Polybase has effective parallel pipes to move data from HDFS to the parallel SQL Server instances in PDW. This matches the best capability of other products like Teradata and Greenplum in this category. But where Teradata and Greenplum move data and then redistribute it, pushing the data over a network twice, Poybase has pushed the PDW hash function down to the HDFS node so that data is distributed as it is sent. This very nice feature skips one full move of the data.
Our second criteria considers how smart the connector is in pushing down filters/predicates. Polybase uses a cost-based approach to determine whether is is less expensive to push predicates down or to move all of the data up to the PDW layer. This is a best-in-class capability.
For the 3rd criteria we ask does the architecture push down advanced functions like joins and aggregates… and does the architecture minimize data pulled up to join with semi-joins? Polybase again provides strong capabilities here pushing down joins and aggregates. Polybase does not use semi-joins, so there is room to improve here… but Microsoft clearly has this capability in their roadmap.

One final note… Polybase works with PDW but not with other SQL Server products. This limitation may be relevant in many cases.
PDW + Polybase is a strong offering… matching HANA in most aspects with HANA having a slight edge in push-down with semi-joins but with SQL Server matching this with the most sophisticated parallel data distribution capability.

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