As a long time skeptic of the NoSQL craze that seems to have (happily!) peaked, I have to say that no, I'm not very surprised by this.
Databases (real databases) are using indexing technology that's been proven over not just years but decades of use and refinement. log2(500000000) is still only 28. Double that and it's only 29. And these databases' indexes are typically btrees with much higher branching factors than 2.
Databases (real databases) are using indexing technology that's been proven over not just years but decades of use and refinement. log2(500000000) is still only 28. Double that and it's only 29. And these databases' indexes are typically btrees with much higher branching factors than 2.
One of my favorite articles on this is Dennis Forbes' "The Impact of SSDs on Database Performance and the Performance Paradox of Data Explodification" (http://www.yafla.com/dforbes/The_Impact_of_SSDs_on_Database_...).