Expert Oracle Exadata

Expert Oracle Exadata

by Kerry Osborne, Randy Johnson, Tanel Pöder
Released August 2011
Publisher(s): Apress
ISBN: 9781430233923

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Book description

Throughout history, advances in technology have come in spurts. A single great idea can often spur rapid change as the idea takes hold and is propagated, often in totally unexpected directions. Exadata embodies such a change in how we think about and manage relational databases. The key change lies in the concept of offloading SQL processing to the storage layer. That concept is a huge win, and its implementation in the form of Exadata is truly a game changer.

Expert Oracle Exadata will give you a look under the covers at how the combination of hardware and software that comprise Exadata actually work. Authors Kerry Osborne, Randy Johnson, and Tanel Pöder share their real-world experience, gained through multiple Exadata implementations with the goal of opening up the internals of the Exadata platform. This book is intended for readers who want to understand what makes the platform tick and for whom—"how" it does what it is does is as important as what it does. By being exposed to the features that are unique to Exadata, you will gain an understanding of the mechanics that will allow you to fully benefit from the advantages that the platform provides.

  • Will changes the way you think about managing SQL performance and processing

  • Provides a roadmap to laying out the Exadata platform to best support your existing systems

  • Dives deeply into the internals, removing the "black box" mystique and showing how Exadata actually works

What you'll learn

  • Configure Exadata from the ground up

  • Optimize for mixed OLTP/DW workloads

  • Migrate large data sets from existing systems

  • Connect Exadata to external systems

  • Support consolidation stratigies using the Resource Manager

  • Configure high-availability features of Exadata, including real application clusters (RAC) and automatic storage management (ASM)

  • Apply tuning strategies utilizing the unique features of Exadata

Who this book is for

Expert Oracle Exadata is for database administrators and developers who want to understand what makes Exadata unique so that they can take advantage of all the platform has to offer. It is also for anyone who needs to plan and execute migrations of systems to the Exadata platform. Finally, the book will be invaluable to those who support and maintain such systems.

Table of contents

  1. Title
  2. Contents at a Glance
  3. Contents
  4. About the Author
  5. About the Technical Reviewer
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Introduction
    1. The Intended Audience
    2. How We Came to Write This Book
    3. A Moving Target
    4. Thanks to the Unofficial Editors
    5. Who Wrote That?
    6. Online Resources
    7. A Note on "Kevin Says"
    8. How We Tested
    9. Schemas and Tables
    10. Good Luck
  8. Chapter 1: What Is Exadata?
    1. An Overview of Exadata
    2. History of Exadata
    3. Alternative Views of What Exadata Is
    4. Configuration Options
    5. Hardware Components
    6. Software Components
    7. Software Architecture
    8. Summary
  9. Chapter 2: Offloading / Smart Scan
    1. Why Offloading Is Important
    2. What Offloading Includes
    3. Smart Scan Prerequisites
    4. Smart Scan Disablers
    5. How to Verify That Smart Scan is Happening
    6. Parameters
    7. Summary
  10. Chapter 3: Hybrid Columnar Compression
    1. Oracle Storage Review
    2. Oracle Compression Mechanisms
    3. HCC Mechanics
    4. HCC Performance
    5. Expected Compression Ratios
    6. Restrictions/Challenges
    7. Common Usage Scenarios
    8. Summary
  11. Chapter 4: Storage Indexes
    1. Structure
    2. Monitoring Storage Indexes
    3. Controlling Storage Indexes
    4. Behavior
    5. Performance
    6. Potential Issues
    7. Summary
  12. Chapter 5: Exadata Smart Flash Cache
    1. Hardware
    2. Cache vs. Flash Disk
    3. Monitoring
    4. Performance
    5. Summary
  13. Chapter 6: Exadata Parallel Operations
    1. Parameters
    2. Parallelization at the Storage Tier
    3. Auto DOP
    4. Parallel Statement Queuing
    5. In-Memory Parallel Execution
    6. Summary
  14. Chapter 7: Resource Management
    1. Database Resource Manager
    2. Instance Caging
    3. I/O Resource Manager
    4. Summary
  15. Chapter 8: Configuring Exadata
    1. Exadata Network Components
    2. About the Configuration Process
    3. Configuring Exadata
    4. Upgrading Exadata
    5. Summary
  16. Chapter 9: Recovering Exadata
    1. Exadata Diagnostic Tools
    2. Backing Up Exadata
    3. Backing Up the Database
    4. Recovering Exadata
    5. Summary
  17. Chapter 10: Exadata Wait Events
    1. Events Specific to Exadata
    2. Exadata Wait Events in the User I/O Class
    3. Exadata Wait Events in the System I/O Class
    4. Exadata Wait Events in the Other and Idle Classes
    5. Old Events
    6. Resource Manager Events
    7. Summary
  18. Chapter 11: Understanding Exadata Performance Metrics
    1. Measuring Exadata's Performance Metrics
    2. Revisiting the Prerequisites for Exadata Smart Scans
    3. Exadata Dynamic Performance Counters
    4. Understanding SQL Statement Performance
    5. Summary
  19. Chapter 12: Monitoring Exadata Performance
    1. A Systematic Approach
    2. Monitoring SQL Statement Response Time
    3. Monitoring the Storage Cell Layer
    4. Summary
  20. Chapter 13: Migrating to Exadata
    1. Migration Strategies
    2. Logical Migration
    3. Physical Migration
    4. Backup and Restore
    5. Summary
  21. Chapter 14: Storage Layout
    1. Exadata Disk Architecture
    2. Creating Grid Disks
    3. Storage Strategies
    4. Cell Security
    5. Summary
  22. Chapter 15: Compute Node Layout
    1. Provisioning Considerations
    2. Non-RAC Configuration
    3. RAC Clusters
    4. Typical Exadata Configuration
    5. Exadata Clusters
    6. Summary
  23. Chapter 16: Unlearning Some Things We Thought We Knew
    1. A Tale of Two Systems
    2. OLTP-Oriented Workloads
    3. DW-Oriented Workloads
    4. Mixed Workloads
    5. Summary
  24. Appendix A: CellCLI and dcli
    1. CellCLI Command Syntax
    2. dcli Command Syntax
    3. Summary
  25. Appendix B: Online Exadata Resources
    1. Exadata MOS Support Notes
    2. Helpful Exadata MOS Support Notes
    3. Exadata Bulletins and Blogs
  26. Appendix C: Diagnostic Scripts
  27. Index

Product information

  • Title: Expert Oracle Exadata
  • Author(s): Kerry Osborne, Randy Johnson, Tanel Pöder
  • Release date: August 2011
  • Publisher(s): Apress
  • ISBN: 9781430233923