Donald K. Burleson Oracle Tips

Resource and Capacity Planning

Oracle is a resource intensive database system. The more memory, CPU and disk resources you can provide Oracle, the better it performs. Resource planning with Oracle becomes more a game of "how much can we afford to buy" instead of "what is the minimum configuration". A minimally configured Oracle server will not function in an efficient manner.

Resource Specification for Oracle

In resource specification there are several questions which must be answered.

1.     How many users will be using the system both now and in the future?

2.     How much data will the system contain both now and in the future, do we know growth rates?

3.     What response times are expected?

4.     What system availability is expected?

To properly perform capacity planning a cooperative effort must be undertaken between the system administrators, database administrators and network administrators.

Step 1: Size the Oracle database

Step 2: Determine Number and Type of Users:

Step 3: Determine Hardware Requirements to Meet Required Response Times and Support User Load:

Step 4: Determine Backup Hardware to Support Required Uptime Requirements:

Hardware:  2 - 4 CPU (at highest speed CPU we can afford) with at least 1 gigabyte (preferably 2) of shared RAM, at least 2 disk controllers each with multiple channels, 90 gigabytes of disk resource using a three way mirror to give us one 30 gig triple mirrored array. The systems themselves should have an internal disk subsystem sufficient to support the operating system and any swap and paging requirements. Systems must be able to share disk resources so must support clustering. High-speed tape backup to minimize mirror-split times.

Software: Oracle Parallel Server, Cluster management software, Networking software, Backup software to support backup hardware.

Capacity and resource planning is not an exact science. Essentially we are shooting for a moving target. The dual Pentium II 200 NT server with 10 gig of 2-gigabyte SCSI disks I bought 2 years ago for $5k has a modern equivalent in the Pentium III 400 with internal 14 gig drive my father-in-law just purchased for $1k. By the time we specify and purchase a system it is already superceded. You should insist on being allowed to substitute more efficient, lower cost options as they come available during the specification and procurement phases.

The above text is an excerpt from Mike Ault’s Oracle DBA Made Simple by Rampant TechPress.

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