title: Are these tables too big for SQL Server or Oracle
body: <p>I'm not much of a database guru so I would like some advice.  </p>
  
  <p><strong>Background</strong></p>
  
  <p>We have 4 tables that are currently stored in Sybase IQ.  We don't currently have any choice over this, we're basically stuck with what someone else decided for us.  Sybase IQ is a column-oriented database that is perfect for a data warehouse. Unfortunately, my project needs to do a lot of transactional updating (we're more of an operational database) so I'm looking for more mainstream alternatives.</p>
  
  <p><strong>Question</strong></p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p>Given these tables' dimensions, would anyone consider SQL Server or Oracle to be a viable alternative?</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Table 1 : 172 columns * 32 million rows</li>
  <li>Table 2 : 453 columns * 7 million rows</li>
  <li>Table 3 : 112 columns * 13 million rows</li>
  <li>Table 4 : 147 columns * 2.5 million rows</li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><p>Given the size of data what are the things I should be concerned about in terms of database choice, server configuration, memory, platform, etc.?</p></li>
  </ol>