JavaFan> Considering your title, I wonder, would you have 
JavaFan> asked different questions, or expect a different answer, 
JavaFan> if you were going to manage the database with Python? 
JavaFan> Or C? Or something else?

Don't know if would have asked a different question if managing the db with Python or C, because I would probably have had a different mindset.

JavaFan> I really think you'd get much better answers in a 
JavaFan> database forum than here.

You are possibly correct, but there are db wizards here on Perlmonks, and they are Perl-friendly and knowledgable, so I wouldn't be surprised if they came up with good suggestions. They already have. See BrowserUk's wonderfully whacked out suggestion: Re: Strategy for managing a very large database with Perl (Video). That is why I love Perlmonks.