Comparison of DataNucleus with Derby server vs EclipseLink with HSQLDB server

Each of the following tables focuses on a specific database operation, where the last table presents average results comparison.

Speed comparison of JPA database persistence operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server
Basic Person Test	5.2	12.2	7.4	20.9	6.3	16.6
Element Collection Test	3.9	11.6	2.6	failed	3.2	11.6
Inheritance Test	4.0	failed	7.7	failed	5.9	failed
Indexing Test	7.2	failed	9.9	failed	8.5	failed
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	2.4	failed	2.0	failed	2.2	failed
Multithreading Test	6.0	failed	0.0000	failed	3.0	failed
All Tests	4.8	11.9	4.9	20.9	4.9	14.9

EclipseLink with HSQLDB server has failed in 9 tests (see exceptions).

Speed comparison of JPA database retrieval operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Retrieval Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server
Basic Person Test	0.29	2.6	3.8	14.6	2.0	8.6
Element Collection Test	0.31	1.4	2.1	failed	1.2	1.4
Inheritance Test	0.32	failed	3.0	failed	1.7	failed
Indexing Test	0.31	failed	3.2	failed	1.8	failed
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	1.2	failed	failed	failed	1.2	failed
Multithreading Test	0.48	failed	4.8	failed	2.6	failed
All Tests	0.49	2.0	3.4	14.6	1.8	6.2

DataNucleus with Derby server has failed in 1 tests (see exceptions). EclipseLink with HSQLDB server has failed in 9 tests (see exceptions).

Speed comparison of JPA database query operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Retrieval Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server
Basic Person Test	0.072	0.53	0.62	3.0	0.35	1.8
Element Collection Test	0.16	0.98	0.68	failed	0.42	0.98
Inheritance Test	0.063	failed	0.73	failed	0.40	failed
Indexing Test	0.066	failed	0.67	failed	0.37	failed
Multithreading Test	0.33	failed	failed	failed	0.33	failed
All Tests	0.14	0.75	0.68	3.0	0.38	1.5

DataNucleus with Derby server has failed in 1 tests (see exceptions). EclipseLink with HSQLDB server has failed in 7 tests (see exceptions).

Speed comparison of JPA database update operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server
Basic Person Test	0.51	1.9	0.56	7.5	0.54	4.7
Element Collection Test	1.1	3.1	0.90	failed	1.0	3.1
Inheritance Test	0.45	failed	0.82	failed	0.64	failed
Indexing Test	1.9	failed	0.81	failed	1.4	failed
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	0.41	failed	failed	failed	0.41	failed
Multithreading Test	failed	failed	failed	failed	failed	failed
All Tests	0.88	2.5	0.78	7.5	0.83	4.2

DataNucleus with Derby server has failed in 3 tests (see exceptions). EclipseLink with HSQLDB server has failed in 9 tests (see exceptions).

Speed comparison of JPA database removal operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server
Basic Person Test	1.8	9.5	0.81	33.1	1.3	21.3
Element Collection Test	2.5	6.7	0.25	failed	1.4	6.7
Inheritance Test	2.1	failed	0.59	failed	1.3	failed
Indexing Test	3.4	failed	0.57	failed	2.0	failed
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	3.2	failed	failed	failed	3.2	failed
Multithreading Test	failed	failed	26.7	failed	26.7	failed
All Tests	2.6	8.1	5.8	33.1	4.2	16.4

DataNucleus with Derby server has failed in 2 tests (see exceptions). EclipseLink with HSQLDB server has failed in 9 tests (see exceptions).

Comparison of JPA/Database speed - the averages (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction/Retrieval Size	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server	DataNucleus Derby server	EclipseLink HSQLDB server
Basic Person Test	1.6	5.4	2.6	15.8	2.1	10.6
Element Collection Test	1.6	4.8	1.3	failed	1.4	4.8
Inheritance Test	1.4	failed	2.6	failed	2.0	failed
Indexing Test	2.6	failed	3.0	failed	2.8	failed
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	1.8	failed	2.0	failed	1.9	failed
Multithreading Test	2.3	failed	10.5	failed	6.4	failed
All Tests	1.8	5.1	3.4	15.8	2.6	8.6

The results above show that in general EclipseLink with HSQLDB server is much more efficient than DataNucleus with Derby server in performing JPA database operations. Comparing the normalized speed of DataNucleus with Derby database server (2.6) to the normalized speed of EclipseLink with HSQLDB database server (8.6) reveals that in these tests, EclipseLink with HSQLDB server is 3.3 times faster than DataNucleus with Derby server.

A large performance gap has been detected when using simple basic entities with large transaction/retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of DataNucleus with Derby database server (2.6) to the normalized speed of EclipseLink with HSQLDB database server (15.8) reveals that in that case, EclipseLink with HSQLDB server is 6.1 times faster than DataNucleus with Derby server.

JPA Performance Benchmark (JPAB)