Oracle Internals: An Introduction

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Oracle Internals: An Introduction

By Steve Adams
First Edition October 1999
Pages: 132
ISBN 10: 1-56592-598-X | ISBN 13: 9781565925984
(Average of 1 Customer Reviews)

Book description

Based on Oracle8i, release 8.1, this concise book contains detailed, hard-to-find information about Oracle internals (data structures, algorithms, hidden parameters, and undocumented system statistics), Main topics include waits, latches, locks (including instance locks used in parallel server environments), and memory use and management. Aimed especially at readers doing advanced performance tuning
Full Description

This concise book contains detailed information about Oracle internals -- information that's not readily available to Oracle customers. It lays a foundation for advanced performance tuning of the Oracle database. Based on Oracle8i release 8.1, the book describes many of the secrets of Oracle's internal services: data structures, algorithms, and undocumented Oracle system statistics. Main topics include:

Waits - how Oracle processes communicate via semaphores, and how to use the Oracle wait statistics to identify the source of performance problems.
Latches - how they keep multiple processes from inspecting protected data structures at the same time, and how to examine and control latch behavior and statistics.
Locks - how they work with latches to protect data structures (locks allow multiple sessions to share resources in some cases), and how locks affect performance. There is also a detailed discussion of instance locks, which are used in parallel server environments.
Memory - how Oracle uses memory (e.g., the various elements of the System Global Area), and how Oracle dynamically allocates and manages memory.

Oracle8i Internal Services is aimed especially at administrators and developers who need detailed internal information to do advanced performance tuning. The book will expand your repertoire of tuning solutions and troubleshooting techniques by explaining how you can use Oracle's hidden parameters and undocumented system statistics to best advantage. NOTE: The author has collected the scripts he has developed for tuning and analysis into a toolkit (known as APT, for Advanced Performance Tuning). These scripts access the Oracle X$ tables directly and provide information not otherwise available. The scripts are available to readers for free from the O'Reilly web site.

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Cover | Table of Contents | Colophon

Featured customer reviews

Oracle8i Internal Services for Waits, Latches, Locks and Memory Review, July 23 2000

Rating:

Submitted by Bob Stoneman   [Respond | View]

This is a book which I was craving information about. It has inspired me to take the Oracle8i Data Server internals class as an independent consultant. I can only aspire to be a true Oracle Guru like Steve Adams.

Oracle8i Internal Services for Waits, Latches, Locks and Memory Review, April 06 2000
Submitted by John K. Joachim   [Respond | View]

This small book, slightly larger than O'Reilly Press's "Pocket Reference" titles, packs in a lot of invaluable information, and for slightly over $20.00.

I'm somewhat new to Oracle tuning, but one thing I've learned: if you think you're spending too much time fine-tuning your Oracle DBMS, then you probably ARE - and the problem is probably somewhere else. other than on the server. This rule is true as long as you implement scripts to automate your tasks.

The 30+ scripts in and of themselves are worth twice the price of his book (which, heh-heh, I "previewed" before purchasing); but the text, concise as it is, explains some fundamental aspects of locks and latches that I've NEVER seen or read about anywhere else.

To quote the author from his own preface:"Oracle has chosen to leave these features undocumented. Please don't expect Oracle to assist you in [the use of these scripts]. Try them by all means, but if you have a problem, quit."

As far as I can see, the scripts I have tested (nearly 2/3 of them so far) all "work" fine.

John K. Joachim

Oracle8i Internal Services for Waits, Latches, Locks and Memory Review, February 14 2000
Submitted by Kehinde Thompson   [Respond | View]

I've always set SEMMNS without (truly) knowing why. Steve's analogy of a semaphore to a railway signal already made the book worth its' price.

HKT

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Oracle8i Internal Services for Waits, Latches, Locks and Memory Review, October 04 1999
Submitted by Gopalakrishnan K [Respond | View]

I am very sure that this book is going to be the BEST book in understanding about Oracle internals. I always enjoyed Steve's postings in Oracle Metalinks and various News groups. This Book is going to be the light house for people who are struggling in understanding about the Internals of Oracle. Eagarly awaiting for the Book. Gopalakrishnan K

Oracle8i Internal Services for Waits, Latches, Locks and Memory Review, September 21 1999
Submitted by Waleed Khedr [Respond | View]

I have always liked to read the posts of Steve Adams to the different Oracle discussion groups.
Whenever I have a question regarding the internal implementation for any of Oracle functionalities, I get a detailed answer from Steve that reflects his knowledge of Oracle internals.
I am waiting for this book and I am sure it will be great.

Media reviews "The Oracle wait events are probably the most important piece of tuning information for any Oracle DBA. In this book Steve Adams gives a good introduction to the most important wait events and also offers information on how to tune them." -- Anjo Kolk, Oracle Corporation

"Steve Adams knows more about Oracle internals than anyone I know. This book is a very significant contribution to the body of Oracle knowledge and an invaluable aid to advanced performance tuning and configuration. I highly recommend it." -- Guy Harrison, Project Manager, Database Monitoring Tools, Quest Software

"Steve has taken Oracle internals information to the next level. The book is a "must read" for every DBA and senior technical person in working on mission-critical Oracle databases. It is a welcome addition to my bookshelf." -- Mark Gurry, author of Oracle Performance Tuning

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