[Search for users] [Overall Top Noters] [List of all Conferences] [Download this site]

Conference ulysse::rdb_vms_competition

Title:DEC Rdb against the World
Moderator:HERON::GODFRIND
Created:Fri Jun 12 1987
Last Modified:Thu Feb 23 1995
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1348
Total number of notes:5438

1125.0. "Oracle - CPU Usage ?" by MSAM00::ZAHIRYUSOF () Mon Mar 30 1992 17:30

Hi,

How can we obtain an indication of ORACLE performance 
response times ?  A customer wants to determine roughly how much of 
their CPU performance, ORACLE is using.  I know there are some ORACLE 
server processes, etc., but don't know how much of the performance is 
attributed to server usage, and how much to client process usage.

Thanks for any help,

Zahir.
    P.S. Also cross-posted in ORACLE_ON_UNIX conference.
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
1125.1Supervisor Mode ?LARVAE::JONES_SDeclining fdl - ifdl,ufdl...Tue Mar 31 1992 10:296
    If it's on VMS for a rough 'feel' look at the amount of supervisor mode
    processing from MON MODES (Oracle runs in supervisor mode...)
    
    DCL etc. also contribute to this figure...
    
    Steve J
1125.2Use VPA or Image ACCOUNTing MJBOOT::WEINBROMTyrannosaurus DECsWed Apr 01 1992 18:4220
If you would like a more detailed number, I suggest that you use VPA (or
even VMS ACCOUNTING).  

With VPA (now called DECps) you identify all of the Oracle images.  (Obviously,
you need some one with Oracle knowledge to help identify them or you can guess
at the names via the directory locations.)

You then create a VPA workload family that contains these images.  Call it
ORACLE or whatever.  From the workload, you can now generate all sorts of VPA 
graphs and reports, including your CPU graph.

It worked for me.  If you don't have VPA, you can basically do the same
with VMS ACCOUNTING (with image accounting turned on), but you'll have to do
all of the work putting the graphs together by yourself.

All of this helps you get CPU usage, not response time.  

See next reply for response time.

Steve
1125.3Response time/service timeMJBOOT::WEINBROMTyrannosaurus DECsWed Apr 01 1992 18:5630
In a traditional mainframe environment (ex: IBM MVS/ESA or Burroughs MCP/AS),
response time/service time is often defined as the elapsed time from when the 
Enter or transmit key was pressed until the screen is resdisplayed.  Usually, 
the response time can be measured by the teleprocessing monitor (CICS or GEMCOS)
or by an external entity such as the communications system (ex: VTAM or the NSP)
which can record the time that the input data was received and the time that the 
output screen was sent.

Digital's communications subsystem is not block mode and has no knowledge of 
when a screen has been "transmitted to the host".  (Actually, we don't even
transmit the screen to the host, it's already there.)  Because of this, response
time can only be measured by/within the application or the application system.

i.e. If Oracle's SQL*FORMS or the ORACLE database doesn't track the response 
time with some built in functions, and the customer's didn't put it in the 
application, you probably won't be able to get a meaningful number.  VPA does 
have a reponse time facility, but it still won't really provide the kind of
information that your customer PROBABLY expects.

IMHO, the concept of response time for a screen breaks down with the current 
trend to interactive computing.  How meaningful is that number when the
program/DECFORM/4GL/etc... immediately validates the contents of a field as
soon as I finish the field (not the form)?  In a block mode environment, you only 
do this once when the form is received.  In an interactive environment, you may
validate fields/pop up a list of values/go to the database several times during
the course of filling out a form!  This really trashes the tradtional concept
and measurement of response time.  Nonetheless, customers continue to ask for
it...

Steve