Overview of Database Architectures

team bbl


There are several approaches to database architecture, but all of them have at least some of the following characteristics:

  • Organized tables/views, recorded, and contained typically on raw character devices or file systems

  • Global memory area

  • Transaction logging mechanism

These characteristics are the crux of database performance. Simple tuning of small databases can be as simple as the following:

  • Load-balancing the disk I/O

  • Ensuring that the device chosen for logging is not interfered with by average user processes

  • Ensuring that adequate memory is available so that the transactions are cached rather than all disk-based.

(Note: Database clustering interconnect technology is a recent innovation; however, this chapter is concerned with less exotic and more conventional database implementations.)

Modern commercial databases are either shared storage or shared nothing. Depending on the primary applications to be run, one type might perform better than the other. In particular, shared-storage database types tend to perform online transaction processing (OLTP) workloads better, whereas shared-nothing databases are better for decision support query workloads, because they can be configured in advance. Also, process- and thread-based implementations are a consideration, particularly for decision support system (DSS) workloads, where maximizing memory is critical. Modern leading commercial databases implement either processes, fat threads, or thread hybrids.

    team bbl



    Performance Tuning for Linux Servers
    Performance Tuning for Linux Servers
    ISBN: 0137136285
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2006
    Pages: 254

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