Per-second and per-transaction data

Weigh the importance of per second and per transaction data on the environment and the category you are measuring. The per transaction data is generally more meaningful in benchmarks or in test environments where the workload is well defined.

It is likely that you will find per transaction data more meaningful for comparing test data than per second data alone because, in a benchmark test environment, there is usually a well-defined number of transactions, making comparison straightforward. Per transaction data is also useful for determining the validity of percentage results.

You may find it more useful to look at the per-second averages when you analyze workloads involving a large number of queries not executed inside a transaction (for example, select statements). The per-second analysis allows you to compare the tuning that affects these queries.