BCS is fast or Custom List is fast?

Question

Hi All,

I am going to start working on new project on SharePoint 2010 which is currently running in my orginazation.

Here i have two option.

1. Use the existing relational database using BCS.

2. Import tables from relational database to custom list.

Please suggest, by performace point of view, which one is fast?

-Arvind

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Arvind Gehlot

Answer 1

The answer is -- it depends.   What are you trying to do?   We have worked with custom lists and BCS list hitting a relational database.  It all comes down to what you are trying to do with it.  

Alan

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My Ramblings @ http://alanwhitehouse.wordpress.com and My Tweets @ http://www.twitter.com/alanwhitehouse

Answer 2

I believe it's the wrong question, it depends on what you want to do with it as both can be fast and slow. I guess I'd do the following:

- If I needed relational database capabilities (transactionality, triggers, real constraints (not the approximation of that in SharePoint)) I'd use the existing database (and create a BCS external list to access the data).

- Are there existing apps using the current relational database? If yes, I'd create a BCS external list to access the data.

- If no reasons prevent it, I'd migrate the data into a custom list as this makes the solution less complex.

You need to make sure you play nicely and keep the data within the limits of capacity planning ( http://sharepointdragons.com/2011/12/05/sharepoint-capacity-planning/ ). If there is absolutely no way that you can't, keep the data where it is.

It's an interesting discussion topic, I'd sure like people to add their thoughts to the following TechNet Wiki page about this topic: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/9638.sharepoint-2010-best-practice-keep-relational-data-in-a-database-or-migrate-it-into-a-custom-list.aspx

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Kind regards,
Margriet Bruggeman

Lois & Clark IT Services
web site: http://www.loisandclark.eu
blog: http://www.sharepointdragons.com

Answer 3

I guess this is one of the questions often put forth to consultants and I particularly liked this list which will help you in deciding. This is extracted from http://tihomirignatov.blogspot.in/2009/09/sharepoint-lists-vs-database-tables.html.

You can also further read on this MSDN article as well - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff798319.aspx

Let me know if you have any specific queries.

Benefit	Database	Sharepoint List / Library
Handles complex data relationships	Yes	No
Handles large numbers of items	Yes	No
Handles transactions	Yes	No
Is easy to use	No	Yes
Accommodates workflows	No	Yes
Includes a standard interface	No	Yes
Can easily add binary data	No	Yes
Handle versions and show/extract history	No	Yes
Modify/customize UI with standard tools (SPD 2007)	Yes	Yes
Easier playing with files	No	Yes
Can easy reuse columns definitions (incl. inheritance) – Content Types	No	Yes
Easy integration with Office client applications – Excel export and Document information panel, using standard UI	No	Yes
Web Services access	No	Yes

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-Sangeetha

Answer 4

I like the link. The only problem is that the info is outdated and for one, doesn't take external lists into consideration. It couldn't, because they didn't exist back then. It def. improved the wiki page though: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/9638.sharepoint-2010-best-practice-keep-relational-data-in-a-database-or-migrate-it-into-a-custom-list.aspx

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Kind regards,
Margriet Bruggeman

Lois & Clark IT Services
web site: http://www.loisandclark.eu
blog: http://www.sharepointdragons.com