Playing The Data Reduction Lottery

Cluttered office desk with scattered papers, notebooks, stationery and a used coffee cup, centred around a brightly coloured lottery ticket reading “WIN MILLIONS” and “Jackpot Could Be Worth Millions,” sharply in focus under warm lighting

Flash vendors routinely quote “effective capacity” figures based on optimistic data reduction assumptions – understanding what those numbers really mean is essential before signing a purchase order.

Oracle Exadata X4 (Part 2): The All Flash Database Machine?

This article looks at the new Oracle Exadata X4-2 Database Machine from Big Red. In part one I looked at the changes made from the X3 model (more stuff) as well as the implications (more license bills). I also covered some of the confusing and bewildering descriptions Oracle has used to describe the flash capacity … Continue reading Oracle Exadata X4 (Part 2): The All Flash Database Machine? →

Predictions for 2014: DataBase-as-a-Service

It's that time of year again where lots of people write articles which begin with the words "It's that time of year again..." and make endless references to crystal balls, tea leaves and the benefits of hindsight. But not me, I'm not descending into cliché. Apart from that first sentence, which with the benefit of … Continue reading Predictions for 2014: DataBase-as-a-Service →

Oracle Exadata X4 (Part 1): Bigger Than It Looks?

One of the results of my employment history is that I tend to take particular interest in the goings on at a certain enterprise software (and hardware!) company based in Redwood Shores. I love watching Oracle's announcements, press releases, product releases and financial statements to see what they are up to - and I am … Continue reading Oracle Exadata X4 (Part 1): Bigger Than It Looks? →

Storage Myths: Storage Compression Has No Downside

Compacted red junk car crushed into a dense cuboid block on a wooden pallet inside an industrial warehouse, with twisted metal, exposed wheel sections, and visible headlight fragments

Storage-level compression trades capacity for CPU cycles and read latency – understanding that trade-off matters more than the headline reduction ratios vendors put in their datasheets.

Storage Myths: Dedupe for Databases

Row of identical yellow rubber ducks, illustrating the concept of data deduplication

Data deduplication promises capacity savings, but databases are one of the worst use cases for it – the technology’s assumptions break down against the entropy and I/O patterns of database workloads.

Understanding Disk: Over-Provisioning

Rows of servers inside a large enterprise data centre

When performance capacity drives storage decisions, waste is the inevitable result – stranded terabytes, short-stroking, and a growing gap between what disk holds and what it can actually deliver.

Understanding Disk: Mechanical Limitations

Table showing CPU performance growth versus disk drive performance growth from 1987 to 2004

Spinning disk hit its performance ceiling at 15k RPM over two decades ago – and physics, aerodynamics and economics mean it’s staying there. The consequences for latency are unavoidable.

Understanding Disk: Superpowers

Close-up of a hard disk drive platter showing the magnetic storage surface

Disk drives displaced tape by giving the read/write head the freedom to move – trading sequential dominance for random I/O capability. Understanding that physical design is where disk's performance story begins.

The Most Expensive CPUs You Own

Gold-coloured CPU processor chip representing the hidden cost of database software licensing per core

Storage for DBAs: Take a look in your data centre at all those humming boxes and flashing lights. Ignore the storage and networking gear for now and just concentrate on the servers. You probably have many different models, with different types and numbers of CPUs and DRAM inside. My question is, which CPUs are the most … Continue reading The Most Expensive CPUs You Own →