Every information system must know their limits.  As systems grow, resources are stressed and one of the major causes of unplanned database outages is a failure to anticipate the effects of growth. Benchmarking is a critical job function and every database professional must understand the principles of capacity planning and database bottleneck analysis.  By using a benchmark method you can spot areas of pending problems before they cripple your database. This landmark book explores all aspects of database benchmarking and shows you a real-world approach that ensures that you are prepared for whatever the future brings to your mission-critical database.

* Know the limits of your database before you hit them * Avoid unplanned outages with capacity planning * Learn the exact limits of your transaction rates * Predict when you will need new hardware

About the Authors:

 

Bert Scalzo

Bert Scalzo is a Database Expert for Quest Software and a member of the TOAD dev team. He has worked with Oracle databases for well over two decades. Mr. Scalzo’s work history includes time at both Oracle Education and Oracle Consulting. He holds several Oracle Masters certifications and an extensive academic background - including a BS and MS in Computer Science, an MBA, plus insurance industry designations. Mr. Scalzo is also an Oracle ACE. Mr. Scalzo is accomplished speaker and has presented at numerous Oracle conferences and user groups - including OOW, ODTUG, IOUG, OAUG, RMOUG and many others. His key areas of DBA interest are Data Modeling, Database Benchmarking, Database Tuning & Optimization, "Star Schema" Data Warehouses, Linux and VMware.  Mr. Scalzo has written numerous articles, papers and blogs - including for the Oracle Technology Network (OTN), Oracle Magazine, Oracle Informant, PC Week (eWeek), Dell Power Solutions Magazine, The LINUX Journal, LINUX.com, Oracle FAQ, Ask Toad and Toad World.  Mr. Scalzo has also written six books: Oracle DBA Guide to Data Warehousing and Star Schemas, TOAD Handbook, TOAD Pocket Reference (2nd Ed),Database Benchmarking: Practical Methods for Oracle & SQL Server, Advanced Oracle Utilities: The Definitive Reference and Oracle on VMware: Expert Tips for Database Virtualization.

Mike Ault

Mike Ault has five Oracle Masters Certificates.  Ault was the first popular Oracle author with his book "Oracle7 Administration and Management" and he also wrote several of the "Exam Cram" books.

 

Donald Burleson

Donald K. Burleson is one of the world’s top Oracle Database experts with more than 25 years of full-time DBA experience.  He specializes in creating database architectures for very large online databases and he has worked with some of the world’s most powerful and complex systems.   A former Adjunct Professor, Don Burleson has written more than 30 books, published more than 100 articles in National Magazines, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Rampant TechPress. Don is a popular lecturer and teacher and is a frequent speaker at Oracle OpenWorld and other international database conferences. Donald Burleson's books   Donald Burleson articles   Donald Burleson comments   Don Burleson blog   Free Oracle Tips HTML Text

Table of Contents:

Using the Online Code Depot Supplemental Materials Conventions Used in this Book Acknowledgements Preface Database Predictive Analysis Database Benchmark Validity The Problems of Adaptive Threshold Forecasting Predictive Modeling in the Real-world Databases that Benefit from Predictive Analysis The Transaction Processing Performance Council Benchmarking Bi-modal Databases Capacity Planning and Performance Testing Forecasting the Future Database Benchmarking Myths Learning from Database Benchmarks Conclusion Database Benchmarking Industry Standard Benchmarks Basic Benchmark Components Specifications Details Design Goals Data Points Test Plan Control Logic Repeatability Accurate Statistics Database Benchmarks with Benchmark Factory TPC-C TPC-H TPC-E ASAP and Scalable Hardware Benchmarking with a Custom Workload Conclusion Introduction Trend Identification with Benchmark Tools Testing a Suggested Architecture System Information Database Objects Details of Materialized View Transaction Details Insert Transaction Select Transaction Phase : Both Insert and Select Varying Phase : SELECT Transaction Level Constant Concurrent SELECTS Concurrent SELECTS Concurrent SELECTS Phase : Materialized View with No Partitions

Combined Results Combined Results Summary Recommendations Planning Future Hardware & Software Needs Architecture Executive Summary Limitations and Caveats Phase : Issues Query Testing Randomization of the Issues Queries Transaction Times for Issues Tests Average Transaction Times Database Activity Operating System Activity Phase Conclusion Maintaining Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) Determining SLA Test Queries Ok here is the SLA and Queries What Now? Issues with Generating Your Own Scripts The Easy Way Supporting Server & Storage Consolidations Database Implosion Therapy Hardware Issues in Stress Testing Configuring the Server Environment Stress Testing Specific Workloads Stressing Read-Only Databases (Read-only Implosion) Stressing OLTP Databases (DML Implosion) Stressing Mixed Databases (General Implosion) Stressing Specialized Environments Stressing Distributed Systems Stressing Consolidated Systems Stressing Virtualized Systems Stressing Specific Database Platforms Not all SQL Implementations up to Spec Not all Query Optimizers Created Equal Conclusion Isolate the Benchmark Environment Prepare the Server Operating System Windows Linux Prepare the Database Configuration SQL Server Oracle Concentrate on What and not How Installing Benchmark Factory Conclusion Selecting among Benchmarks Creating Benchmark Jobs Running Benchmark Jobs Monitoring Benchmark Runs Special Oracle RAC Considerations Conclusion Don’t Rush to Conclusions An Example on Oracle An Example on Microsoft SQL Server Finding the “Sweet Spot” When Conclusions are not Self-Evident Correlating Results Real-time versus “Run” Reports Extrapolation & Interpolation Documenting the Final Analysis

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