Oracle Performance Tuning and Optimization

Book Description

Examples abound in database applications of well-formulated queries running slowly, even if all levels of the database are properly tuned. It is essential to address each level separately by focusing first on underlying principles and root causes, and only then proposing both theoretical and practical solutions. "Database Performance Tuning and Optimization" comprehensively addresses each level separately by focusing first on underlying principles and root causes, and then proposes both theoretical and practical solutions using Oracle 8i examples as the RDBMS. The book combines theory with practical tools (in the form of Oracle and UNIX shell scripts) to address the tuning and optimization issues of DBAs and developers, irrespective of whether they use Oracle. Topics and features: * An integrated approach to tuning by improving all three levels of a database (conceptual, internal, and external) for optimal performance * Balances theory with practice, developing underlying principles and then applying them to other RDBMSs, not just Oracle * Includes CD-ROM containing all scripts and methods utilized in the book * Coverage of data warehouses provides readers much needed principles and tools for tuning large reporting databases * Coverage of web-based databases * Appendix B shows how to create an instance and its associated database and all its objects * Provides useful exercises, references, and Oracle 8i and select 9i examples Based on nearly two decades of experience as an Oracle developer and DBA, the author delivers comprehensive coverage of the fundamental principles and methodologies of tuning and optimizing database performance. Database professionals and practitioners with some experience developing, implementing, and maintaining relational databases will find the work an essential resource. It is also suitable for professional short courses and self-study purposes./p>

Reviews From AMAZON.COM

Disappointing and out of date

I didn't really order this book expecting a practitioner's guide to Oracle. It's written by a respected and widely published academician and I was looking forward to a melding of theory and practise. All I found was a book full of filler (lots of queries and printouts when summaries would have done) that is way out of date. For a performance book published in 2003 to not even mention Statspack (while devoting a chapter to bstat/estat) tells me that the author stopped working on Oracle at 8.0 and has not caught up. I have to admit that I cannot write a thorough, page by page review of this book because it is packed up for return to Amazon (a first for me). But to give you a couple of examples of the shallow treatment of the subject in this book: the index does not list the term histogram (poor editing) and the section devoted to it does not even mention that there are problems getting the optimizer to make full use of histograms when bind variables are used (though researchers have shown that histograms are not fully ignored when using binds as has been published many times). The section on partitioning doesn't go into the advantages and drawbacks of global vs. local indexes on partitions and doesn't in fact go into any substantive treatment of partitioning options at all. This book is over-priced and under-powered. I gave it two stars instead of one simply because someone who is a student trying to transition from pure theory into practise may find the reasurring presences of familiar terminology and formatting helpful. There is some material on the mathematical foundation of the relational model that could also be helpful to the student and practitioner in the field. But if you are looking for real performance books you would be far better off looking at those from authors of the Oak Table (search for Oak Table on Google to find this), such as Tom Kyte and Jonathan Lewis.

Examples abound in database applications of well-formulated queries running slowly, even if all levels of the database are properly tuned. It is essential to address each level separately by focusing first on underlying principles and root causes, and only then proposing both theoretical and practical solutions. "Database Performance Tuning and Optimization" comprehensively addresses each level separately by focusing first on underlying principles and root causes, and then proposes both theoretical and practical solutions using Oracle 8i examples as the RDBMS. The book combines theory with practical tools (in the form of Oracle and UNIX shell scripts) to address the tuning and optimization issues of DBAs and developers, irrespective of whether they use Oracle. Topics and features: * An integrated approach to tuning by improving all three levels of a database (conceptual, internal, and external) for optimal performance * Balances theory with practice, developing underlying principles and then applying them to other RDBMSs, not just Oracle * Includes CD-ROM containing all scripts and methods utilized in the book * Coverage of data warehouses provides readers much needed principles and tools for tuning large reporting databases * Coverage of web-based databases * Appendix B shows how to create an instance and its associated database and all its objects * Provides useful exercises, references, and Oracle 8i and select 9i examples Based on nearly two decades of experience as an Oracle developer and DBA, the author delivers comprehensive coverage of the fundamental principles and methodologies of tuning and optimizing database performance. Database professionals and practitioners with some experience developing, implementing, and maintaining relational databases will find the work an essential resource. It is also suitable for professional short courses and self-study purposes.