Once you've decided to consolidate, the next question is where shared infrastructure should diverge. This post examines the key architectural design choices and their trade-offs.
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Database Consolidation Part 1 – Business Drivers and Technical Challenges
Database consolidation means more than moving databases onto bigger iron – it means turning them into managed services. Here are the business drivers and technical obstacles that define the journey.
The Strategic Platform for ALL Database Workloads
Oracle's "strategic platform for all workloads" claim deserves scrutiny. Here's an independent assessment of what that really means – and where the gaps are.
SLOB on Violin 3000 Series with PCIe Direct Attach
A reader Alex asked if I could post a comparative set of tests from my previous 3000 series Infiniband testing but using the PCIe direct-attached method. I was actually very keen to test this myself as I wanted to see how close the Infiniband connectivity method could get to the PCIe latencies. Why? Well, PCIe … Continue reading SLOB on Violin 3000 Series with PCIe Direct Attach
SLOB on Violin 3000 Series with Infiniband
SLOB benchmark results from Martin Bach's hands-on testing of a Violin 3000 series flash array connected via Infiniband – comparing latency and throughput against PCIe-based flash.
Exadata Re-Racking Service
I've heard from a few sources now that Oracle is offering a new Exadata Re-racking service for quarter and half racks. The idea, as I understand it, is that if you have your own rack equipment in your data centre and don't want to use the rack that Exadata comes preinstalled in, you can pay … Continue reading Exadata Re-Racking Service
SLOB testing on Violin and Exadata
A head-to-head SLOB benchmark comparing Violin flash memory arrays against Oracle Exadata – testing raw Oracle physical I/O throughput on two very different architectures.
The History of Exadata
A detailed timeline of Oracle Exadata from the original HP Oracle Database Machine through to the X2 series – tracking how the product and its marketing have evolved.
Oracle minimises the Exadata minimal pack
As of Exadata Storage Software version 11.2.3.1 released in March 2012 the "minimal pack" has now been deprecated. This is a component of the storage server software patch which is actually applied to the database servers in order to bring them up to the same image version. Those who have been patching Exadata for a … Continue reading Oracle minimises the Exadata minimal pack
ASM Metadata Utilities
An introduction to Oracle's undocumented ASM metadata utilities – including kfed, the kernel file editor – and how to use them to inspect and understand ASM disk group internals.
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