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Author: flashdba

Oracle 12.1.0.2 ASM Filter Driver: First Impressions

Oracle's new ASM Filter Driver in 12.1.0.2 promises cleaner I/O filtering than ASMLib – here are the initial installation findings and what to watch out for with 4k devices.

flashdba Advanced Format, ASM, Blog, Databases, Linux, Storage 21 Comments July 25, 2014June 19, 2026 6 Minutes

New AWR Report Format: Oracle 11.2.0.4 and 12c

Oracle quietly changed the AWR report format in 11.2.0.4 and 12c – here's what moved, what's new and what DBAs relying on the old layout need to know.

flashdba AWR Reports, Blog, Databases 2 Comments July 23, 2014June 19, 2026 6 Minutes

Understanding Flash: SLC, MLC and TLC

Slot machine reels showing SLC, MLC and TLC symbols, illustrating the trade-off between bits per cell and flash reliability

SLC, MLC and TLC NAND flash differ in how many bits each cell stores. More bits per cell means lower cost and higher density – but slower performance and reduced endurance. This article explains the trade-offs for enterprise storage.

flashdba Blog, Storage, Storage for DBAs, Understanding Flash 16 Comments July 3, 2014June 3, 2026 5 Minutes

Understanding Flash: Blocks, Pages and Program / Erases

NAND flash memory chip on a circuit board – the consumer-driven technology at the heart of enterprise storage

NAND flash memory stores data in pages but erases in blocks – a fundamental asymmetry that shapes everything from SSD performance to all-flash array design. This article explains the program/erase cycle and why it matters for database storage.

flashdba Blog, Storage, Storage for DBAs, Understanding Flash 22 Comments June 20, 2014June 3, 2026 4 Minutes

New My Oracle Support note on Advanced Format (4k) storage

A new official Oracle support note on Advanced Format 4k storage – co-authored with Oracle ASM Development to replace the confusing and inconsistent guidance that existed before.

flashdba Advanced Format, ASM, Blog, Databases, Flash, Storage Leave a comment June 12, 2014June 19, 2026 1 Minute

Understanding Flash: What Is NAND Flash?

Close-up of a green circuit board representing the semiconductor technology behind NAND flash memory

NAND flash memory was invented in 1981 by Dr Fujio Masuoka at Toshiba. This article explains how flash works, why it differs from EPROM and EEPROM, and why program and erase operations behave differently.

flashdba Blog, Storage, Storage for DBAs, Understanding Flash 1 Comment June 6, 2014June 3, 2026 3 Minutes

Understanding Disk: Caching and Tiering

Roulette wheel and casino chips – illustrating the gamble of relying on caching and tiering for storage performance

Caching and tiering promise to hide the performance cost of spinning disk – but both rely on predicting the unpredictable, and the slowest tier always waits.

flashdba Blog, Storage, Storage for DBAs, Understanding Disk 4 Comments May 23, 2014May 25, 2026 5 Minutes

Oracle SLOB On Solaris

SLOB is primarily a Linux tool, but it runs on Solaris too – here's the configuration required and the key differences to watch out for when benchmarking Oracle I/O on Solaris.

flashdba Blog, Databases, SLOB 5 Comments April 26, 2014June 19, 2026 3 Minutes

How To Succeed In Presales?

This article is aimed at anyone considering making the move into technical presales who currently works in a professional services, consultancy or support role, or as customers and end-users. You will notice that the title of the article has a question mark at the end - that's because I don't have the answer - and I … Continue reading How To Succeed In Presales? →

flashdba Blog 3 Comments April 11, 2014September 14, 2015 4 Minutes

The Ultimate Guide To Oracle with Advanced Format 4k

Everything you need to know about running Oracle on Advanced Format 4k storage – a high-level overview and a full Oracle deep dive, in one place.

flashdba Advanced Format, ASM, Blog, Databases, Flash, Linux, Storage Leave a comment April 4, 2014June 19, 2026 1 Minute

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