Re: OT Discussion- Priority of Performance Tuning...

  • From: Kellyn Pot'vin <kellyn.potvin@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: Herring Dave - dherri <Dave.Herring@xxxxxxxxxx>, "oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:18:24 -0700 (PDT)

My turn to quote Cary Millsap:  "You can't hardware yourself out of a software 
problem..." :)  
Hardware is seen as the quick fix, but we all know it only lets the problem 
grow for it to rear its head another day.  I now see many view Exadata, not 
just SSD as the new fix all, not realizing that it takes preparation and 
tuning, just like anything else to get long term performance gain from the new 
environment.  It is frustrating and makes you want to say, "I told you so..." 
when the same code that was the bottleneck the year before becomes the 
bottleneck once again, after SSD or even an Exadata is introduced.  

URL is at the bottom of my signature, BTW... :)
 
Kellyn Pot'Vin
Sr. Database Administrator and Developer
DBAKevlar.com


________________________________
From: Herring Dave - dherri <Dave.Herring@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "kellyn.potvin@xxxxxxxxx" <kellyn.potvin@xxxxxxxxx>; 
"oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 3:09 PM
Subject: RE: OT Discussion- Priority of Performance Tuning...

What I'm finding is what has been talked about again and again - nearly all 
performance problems are with the code and the app team doesn't have the 
time/resources to make any changes, so they throw more hardware at it or just 
ignore it.  Regularly they ask what's going on, I pinpoint the problem and 
then nothing (or hear crickets).  It's hard to let go as I prefer progress and 
improvement, but maybe more powerful hardware is only to make up for poor code.

To me it's like having oil pipes from well with a number of leaks at major 
junctions, causing lower flow rates.  Instead of fixing the leaks, they 
install bigger pipes to increase flow rates, making up for lost oil due to 
leaks.

BTW Kellyn, what's your blog URL?

DAVID HERRING
DBA
Acxiom Corporation
EML   dave.herring@xxxxxxxxxx
TEL    630.944.4762
MBL   630.430.5988 
1501 Opus Pl, Downers Grove, IL 60515, USA
WWW.ACXIOM.COM  

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-----Original Message-----
From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of Kellyn Pot'vin
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 12:17 PM
To: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: OT Discussion- Priority of Performance Tuning...

I am about to approve this comment out on my blog from one of my favorite DBA 
God's:
"Yep, like Cary is saying " 90% of performance tuning is politics". I am 
paraphrasing. Don't hold me to the exact quote or percentage.I don't understand 
"priorities for the business may not be the same as a priority for the 
DBAâ??s". If it is not a priority for the business why should it be a priority 
for the DBA? Politics work both ways. You are skating close to CTD. If nobody 
else cares about performance why should you?"
I respect his opinion and it did get me thinking about where performance tuning 
falls in the priority of tasks for most database environments.  I commonly am 
brought into places that have a history of bringing code/designs to production 
in a short time-span, business requirements and/or revenue demanding that 
everything works being more important than it working efficiently or performing 
well, then my job is to go in and correct this "little oversight".  

I honestly don't think it's intentional by the business to move poor performing 
or code that will only be able to sustain the business for a short period of 
time into production, it's just due to the demands of the business for many 
companies.  This does, however, make performance tuning a lesser priority in 
many environments, (and keeps me in demand and well employed... :))

As I specialize in this area, I now question the kind DBA's on the list to see 
if you also find performance tuning a lesser priority in the environments 
you've worked in.  I'm also curious what kind of environment it is, (private 
sector, retail, banking, government, etc..)  Just like disaster recovery and 
other tasks that DBA's may put a higher priority on, the business, as it does 
not always directly correspond to revenue, does not view as part of the goal...

Please feel free to email me directly if you wish to remain anonymous..
 

Kellyn Pot'Vin
Sr. Database Administrator and Developer
DBAKevlar.com
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