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Oracle Performance Tuning and Optimization
(Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing)
Author(s): Edward Whalen
ISBN: 067230886x
Publication Date: 04/01/96

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Analyze the Results

The final step is to analyze the results of any changes you have made. If the desired results have not been achieved, go back to the analysis stage to determine whether more tuning is necessary. You should always ask the question why? It is possible that the problem has been incorrectly identified or that you have not chosen the correct solution for that problem.

Here are some questions to ask yourself during the analysis phase:

  Did the change have the desired results?
  Did the overall system performance change?
  Do you now think that the problem is different from what you first thought?
  Do you think more changes are necessary?

These are some examples of the types of questions you should ask yourself to determine whether the problem has been solved—or even affected—by the changes. You may have to go back and reanalyze the problem and try different things. Maybe you did not understand the problem correctly and have to add some additional debug code to the application to track down the problem.

This five-step methodology leads to an analytical, logical way of viewing performance data. Using this—or any—methodology should lead you to the proper solution.

Summary

Develop a scientific approach to tuning and follow it. I prefer this five-step method:

1.  Analyze the problem. Determine whether something is broken, whether it is not tuned well, or whether you are at the limits of the system.
2.  Determine what, specifically, you think the problem is. Don’t look just at the superficial; try to determine the root of the problem or bottleneck.
3.  Develop a solution. Decide what you want to change and what you believe the result of these changes will be. Set realistic goals. Set achievable but aggressive goals. Don’t expect enormous results from fine tuning.
4.  Test the solution. You have to test the solution to determine whether or not the change is effective.
5.  Analyze the results. See whether you achieved the desired results. If not, what went wrong and why?

This methodology may or may not work for you. If you prefer a different system, by all means use what works best for you. But use some sort of system or methodology for tuning. When following a tuning methodology like this, it is important that you take careful notes. If several iterations are done without careful notes, you may not be able to reproduce the results.

I hope that this system works for you and helps you achieve great results. In any case, you now know the importance of having a systematic approach that includes good


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