April, 2009:
Several Web Queries Running on New Hardware
As part of the WRDS capacity expansion project, nearly 70% of WRDS' web queries are now running on new, more robust hardware. This hardware significantly enhances the speed in which web queries running on it are processed. Queries that will see this improvement are:
CRSP - CRSP Stocks, CRSP Treasuries, CRSP/Ziman Reit Real Estate
Compustat - all web queries
OptionMetrics - all web queries
BVD - all web queries
I/B/E/S - all web queries can be accessed and run on the new beta website at: http://wrds-web.wharton.upenn.edu. Please see the I/B/E/S news announcement below for additional details.
Please note: If you are working on a web browser that has been logged into WRDS for a long period of time (for example, in a library), please refresh the browser before you run one of the above queries. This will ensure that your browser has the most up to date information.
For more information about the WRDS capacity expansion project, please see the news postings below.
If you have any questions about this announcement, please contact WRDS support at: wrds-support@wharton.upenn.edu.
April, 2009:
New IBES Data
Starting from April 2009, WRDS will feature a new time stamped version of IBES database, which can be accessed via link http://wrds-web.wharton.upenn.edu/. The previous version of IBES will no longer be updated. However, you can still access it through this page. For WRDS UNIX users, you can access the previous version (old) IBES data sets in the following directory /wrds/ibes/sasdata/old or with the predefined SAS library name 'ibesold'. The new version of IBES will be located in the directory /wrds/ibes/sasdata/ with the predefined SAS library name 'ibes'.
March 10, 2009:
WRDS Capacity Expansion Update
This is a follow-up to the message below about WRDS' expansion. New hardware (both servers and disk structures) was deployed into the WRDS infrastructure mix over this past weekend to specifically handle web traffic load. We have been migrating CRSP-based web queries to utilize the new hardware; as of tonight, most CRSP queries are now using the new hardware. This accounts for about a quarter of the total number of web queries run on WRDS.
By the end of this week, most Compustat web queries will also be running on the new hardware. Together, we expect this to add up to well over half of our web queries running on the new servers. Next week, we will focus on migrating the web queries that create the largest load on the main WRDS server. This approach's primarily goal is to increase performance in the WRDS web environment, and we've seen just that with some CRSP queries running in nearly half the time.
Our second, and equally important, goal is to increase performance for interactive users of WRDS. The process of migrating web queries to the new hardware is the first step. Web queries usually account for 15-25% of system load during peak times -- these resources will soon be available for your interactive jobs. While a 15-25% expansion of resources will definitely help in the short term, we know that we must do better to meet the growing demand for economic data.
We are also in the process of migrating NYSE's TAQ database from the main WRDS server. We have had preliminary discussions with Dell and Microsoft engineers on how to best create an infrastructure that can handle both the vast growth in microstructure data and the demand for that data. Their engineers will be on site in the near future guiding us in the architecture and deployment of a scalable solution. More information will follow when we have a better defined solution and project plan.
If you have questions or experience a problem, please contact WRDS Support at wrds-support@wharton.upenn.edu.
March, 2009:
WRDS Capacity Expansion Plans
As you may be aware, WRDS' performance has recently been uncharacteristically slow during certain peak hours. We have determined that the performance issues are mainly due to a spike in demand for very large databases, such as the NYSE's TAQ database, in conjunction with research examining the current economic crisis.
WRDS is committed to expanding the capacity of the service to meet your research computing needs, and we are taking several steps to address these issues.
Additional servers will be added to the WRDS infrastructure by the end of this week (3/7/09), initially allocated to CRSP and Compustat web queries, which are the most frequently used database products.
We are also re-engineering the infrastructure of the TAQ database. We have contacted the largest TAQ users to notify them of the situation and to assist with their analysis. We are accelerating the planned migration of TAQ to a new environment that can be scaled to meet the increased demand for these data.
Additional servers will be allocated to other databases on an ongoing basis as demand requires.
If you have questions or experience a problem, please contact WRDS Support at wrds-support@wharton.upenn.edu.
We realize that easy, rapid access to WRDS data is critical to your research. We are committed to providing the performance and level of service you expect from the WRDS platform.
February, 2009:
CRSP Update
The annual CRSP data is available on WRDS as of February 16.
