2 Oracle Database Performance Method
Performance improvement is an iterative process. Removing the first bottleneck (a point where resource contention is highest) may not lead to performance improvement immediately because another bottleneck might be revealed that has an even greater performance impact on the system. Accurately diagnosing the performance problem is the first step toward ensuring that your changes improve performance.
Typically, performance problems result from a lack of throughput (the amount of work that can be completed in a specified time), unacceptable user or job response time (the time to complete a specified workload), or both. The problem might be localized to specific application modules or it might span the system.
Before looking at database or operating system statistics, it is crucial to get feedback from the system users and the people in charge of the application. This feedback makes it easier to set performance goals. Improved performance can be measured in terms of business goals rather than system statistics.
The Oracle performance method can be applied until performance goals are met or deemed impractical. Because this process is iterative, some investigations may have little impact on system performance. It takes time and experience to accurately pinpoint critical bottlenecks quickly. Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitor (ADDM) implements the Oracle performance method and analyzes statistics to provide automatic diagnosis of major performance problems. Because ADDM can significantly shorten the time required to improve the performance of a system, it is the method used in this guide.
This chapter discusses the Oracle Database performance method and contains the following sections: