Skip Headers
Oracle® Database 2 Day + Performance Tuning Guide
10g Release 2 (10.2)

Part Number B28051-01
Go to Documentation Home
Home
Go to Book List
Book List
Go to Table of Contents
Contents
Go to Index
Index
Go to Master Index
Master Index
Go to Feedback page
Contact Us

Go to previous page
Previous
Go to next page
Next
View PDF

4 Monitoring Real-Time Database Performance

This chapter describes how to identify and respond to real-time performance problems using the Database Performance page in Enterprise Manager. The Database Performance page in Oracle Enterprise Manager, shown in Figure 4-1, displays information in four sections that can be used to assess the overall performance of the database in real time.

Figure 4-1 Database Performance Page

Description of Figure 4-1 follows
Description of "Figure 4-1 Database Performance Page"

Typically, you should use the automatic diagnostic feature of ADDM to identify performance problems with the database, as described in Chapter 3, "Automatic Database Performance Monitoring". In some cases, however, you may want to monitor the database performance in real time to identify performance problems as they happen. For example, ADDM performs its analysis after each AWR snapshot, which by default is once every hour. However, if you notice a sudden spike in database activity on the Database Performance page, you may want to investigate the incident before the next ADDM analysis. By drilling down to appropriate pages from the Database Performance page, you can identify performance problems with the database in real time. If a performance problem is identified, you can choose to run ADDM manually to analyze it immediately, without having to wait until the next ADDM analysis. For more information about running ADDM manually to analyze performance in real time, see "Manually Running ADDM to Analyze Current Database Performance".

This chapter contains the following sections:

Monitoring User Activity

The Average Active Sessions section on the Database Performance page, shown in Figure 4-2, shows how much CPU time each user is using, and whether or not there are users waiting for resources.

Figure 4-2 Monitoring User Activity

Description of Figure 4-2 follows
Description of "Figure 4-2 Monitoring User Activity"

You can monitor database health and user activity using the Average Active Sessions graph. When the CPU Used value (shown in green) reaches the Maximum CPU line (shown as a dotted red line), the database instance is running at 100 percent of CPU time on the host system. All other values in the graph represent users waiting and contention for resources, which are categorized by wait classes in the legend. Values that use a larger block of active sessions represent bottlenecks caused a particular wait class, as indicated by the corresponding color in the legend. In the graph shown in Figure 4-2, the largest block of activity appears in green and corresponds to the CPU Used wait class as described in the legend. To identify each wait class, mouse over the block in the graph, and its corresponding wait class will be highlighted in the legend.

After a performance problem is discovered, it can be resolved in real time, directly from the Average Active Sessions section by:

In some cases, you may want to investigate the wait class that is using the greatest amount of wait time. To do so, identify and drill down to the wait class with the most active sessions by clicking the largest block of color on the graph or its corresponding wait class in the legend. This displays the Active Sessions Working page for that wait class, as shown in Figure 4-3.

Figure 4-3 Active Sessions Working page

Description of Figure 4-3 follows
Description of "Figure 4-3 Active Sessions Working page"

The Active Sessions Working page shows a 1-hour time line. Details for each wait class are displayed in 5-minute intervals under Detail for Selected 5 Minute Interval. To move the 5-minute interval, drag and drop the shaded box to the time of interest. The information contained in the Detail for Selected 5 Minute Interval section is automatically updated to display the selected time period. Use this page to dynamically identify SQL statements or sessions that may be causing performance problems by analyzing the details of a wait class during the time period when the wait event occurred.

You can view the details of a wait class in different dimensions by:

Monitoring Top SQL

The Top Working SQL section appears on the left side of the Active Sessions Working page under Detail for Selected 5 Minute Interval, as shown in Figure 4-4.

Figure 4-4 Monitoring Top SQL

Description of Figure 4-4 follows
Description of "Figure 4-4 Monitoring Top SQL"

The Top Working SQL section displays the top SQL statements waiting for the corresponding wait class during the selected time period. If one or several SQL statements are using the majority of the wait time, as is the case shown in Figure 4-3, then they should be investigated.

To view details about a SQL statement, click the SQL ID link of the SQL statement. This displays the SQL Details page for the selected SQL statement. For information about viewing details on a SQL statement, see "Viewing Details of SQL Statements".

For SQL statements that are using the majority of the wait time, as is the case shown in Figure 4-3, use the SQL Tuning Advisor or create a SQL tuning set to tune the problematic SQL statements. For information about tuning SQL statements, see "Tuning SQL Statements Using the SQL Tuning Advisor".

Monitoring Top Sessions

By default, the Top Working Sessions section appears on the right side of the Active Sessions Working page under Detail for Selected 5 Minute Interval, as shown in Figure 4-5.

Figure 4-5 Monitoring Top Sessions

Description of Figure 4-5 follows
Description of "Figure 4-5 Monitoring Top Sessions"

The Top Working Sessions section displays the top sessions waiting for the corresponding wait class during the selected time period. Sessions represent specific user connections to the database through a user process. A session lasts from the time the user connects until the time the user disconnects or exits the database application. For example, when a user starts SQL*Plus, the user must provide a valid user name and password, and then a session is established for that user. If a single session is using the majority of the wait time, as is the case shown in Figure 4-5, then it should be investigated.

To view details about a session, click the Session ID link of the session. This displays the Session Details page, as shown in Figure 4-6, which contains information such as session activity, session statistics, open cursors, blocking sessions, and wait events for the selected session.

Figure 4-6 Viewing Session Details

Description of Figure 4-6 follows
Description of "Figure 4-6 Viewing Session Details"

After the information is analyzed, you can choose to end the session by clicking Kill Session. In this example, because the session is consuming 100 percent of database activity, you should consider ending the session and proceeding to tune the SQL statement that this session is running.

See Also:

Monitoring Top Services

The Top Services section can be accessed by selecting Top Services from the View list on the right side of the Active Sessions Working page under Detail for Selected 5 Minute Interval. The Top Services section displays the top services waiting for the corresponding wait event during the selected time period, as shown in Figure 4-7.

Figure 4-7 Monitoring Top Services

Description of Figure 4-7 follows
Description of "Figure 4-7 Monitoring Top Services"

Services represent groups of applications with common attributes, service-level thresholds, and priorities. For example, the SYS$USERS service is the default service name used when a user session is established without explicitly identifying its service name, and the SYS$BACKGROUND service consists of all Oracle Database background processes. If a single service is using the majority of the wait time, as is the case shown in Figure 4-7, then it should be investigated. To view details about a service, click the Service link of the service. This displays the Service page, as shown in Figure 4-8, which lists the top modules and statistics for the selected service.

Figure 4-8 Viewing Service Details

Description of Figure 4-8 follows
Description of "Figure 4-8 Viewing Service Details"

In this example, the SQL*Plus module is consuming 98 percent of the database activity for this service. The SQL statements that this service is running should be investigated.

Monitoring Top Modules

The Top Modules section can be accessed by selecting Top Modules from the View list on the right side of the Active Sessions Working page under Detail for Selected 5 Minute Interval. The Top Modules section displays the top modules waiting for the corresponding wait event during the selected time period, as shown in Figure 4-9.

Figure 4-9 Monitoring Top Modules

Description of Figure 4-9 follows
Description of "Figure 4-9 Monitoring Top Modules"

Modules represent the applications that set the service name as part of the workload definition. For example, the DBMS_SCHEDULER module may assigns jobs that run within the SYS$BACKGROUND service. If a single module is using the majority of the wait time, as is the case shown in Figure 4-9, then it should be investigated. To view details about a module, click the Module link of the module. This displays the Module page, which lists the top actions and contains statistics for the selected module.

Monitoring Top Actions

The Top Actions section can be accessed by selecting Top Actions from the View list on the right side of the Active Sessions Working page under Detail for Selected 5 Minute Interval. The Top Actions section displays the top actions waiting for the corresponding wait event during the selected time period, as shown in Figure 4-10.

Figure 4-10 Monitoring Top Actions

Description of Figure 4-10 follows
Description of "Figure 4-10 Monitoring Top Actions"

Actions represent the jobs that are performed by a module. For example, the DBMS_SCHEDULER module can run the GATHER_STATS_JOB action to gather statistics on all database objects. If a single action is using the majority of the wait time, then it should be investigated. To view details about an action, click the Action link of the action. This displays the Action page, which contains statistics for the selected action.

Monitoring Instance Activity

The Instance Disk I/O and Instance Throughput sections on the Database Performance page shown in Figure 4-11 displays:

Figure 4-11 Monitoring Instance Activity

Description of Figure 4-11 follows
Description of "Figure 4-11 Monitoring Instance Activity"

To view the top sessions for each type of activity, click the corresponding link in the legend. This displays the Top Sessions page for that activity. On the Top Sessions page, you can view information about each session by selecting a session and clicking View. After the information is analyzed, you can choose to end the session by clicking Kill Session.

Monitoring Host Activity

The Host section on the Database Performance page, shown in Figure 4-12, displays utilization information about the system hosting the database.

Figure 4-12 Monitoring Host Activity

Description of Figure 4-12 follows
Description of "Figure 4-12 Monitoring Host Activity"

Before analyzing the database, you should first verify if the host system has enough CPU, memory, and disk resources available to run the database. To view details about CPU, memory, and disk utilization, click the CPU Utilization % link in the legend. The Performance Summary page appears, as shown in Figure 4-13.

Figure 4-13 Performance Summary

Description of Figure 4-13 follows
Description of "Figure 4-13 Performance Summary"

The Performance Summary page displays metric values for CPU utilization, memory utilization, disk I/O utilization, and the top 10 processes ordered by both CPU and memory utilization.

To determine if the host system has enough resources available to run the database, first establish appropriate expectations for the amount of resources your system should be using. Then, determine whether sufficient resources are available and recognize when your system is using too many resources. Begin by determining the amount of CPU, memory, and disk resources the database uses in the following scenarios:

Workload is an important factor when evaluating the level of resource utilization for your system. During peak workload hours, 90 percent utilization of a resource, such as a CPU with 10 percent idle and waiting time, can be acceptable. However, if your system shows high utilization at normal workload, then there is no room for additional workload. After these values are determined, you can set the appropriate threshold values for the related metrics so the system can automatically generate alerts when these thresholds are exceeded. For information about setting metric thresholds, see "Setting Metric Thresholds for Performance Alerts".

This section contains the following topics:

Monitoring CPU Utilization

This section describes how to monitor CPU utilization.

To monitor CPU utilization:

  1. On the Performance Summary page, from the View list, select CPU Details.

    The CPU Details view appears. This view contains CPU utilization statistics gathered over the last hour, the CPU load, and the top 10 processes ordered by CPU utilization.

    Description of cpu_details.gif follows
    Description of the illustration cpu_details.gif

  2. Verify the current CPU utilization using the CPU Utilization graph.

    The CPU Utilization graph shows how much CPU is currently used. During normal workload hours, the value should not exceed the critical threshold (shown in red).

  3. Verify the CPU statistics over the last 24 hours.

    Click CPU Utilization.

    The CPU Utilization page appears. This page contains CPU utilization statistics and related alerts generated over the last 24 hours.

    Description of cpu_utilization.gif follows
    Description of the illustration cpu_utilization.gif

    In this example, the CPU utilization crossed the critical threshold value at 11:31 p.m., so an alert for CPU utilization is generated to indicate that a CPU performance problem may exist. If you notice an unexpected spike in this value that is sustained through normal workload hours, then the CPU performance problem should be investigated.

  4. Verify the current CPU load using the CPU Load graph.

    The CPU Load graph shows the current CPU load. During normal workload hours, the value should not exceed the warning threshold (shown in yellow).

    CPU load represents the average number of processes waiting to be scheduled for CPU resources in the previous minute, or the level of CPU contention time over time.

  5. Verify the CPU load over the last 24 hours.

    Click CPU Load.

    The CPU Queue Length page appears. This page contains CPU load statistics and related alerts generated over the last 24 hours.

    Description of cpu_queue_length.gif follows
    Description of the illustration cpu_queue_length.gif

    In this example, the CPU load crossed the warning threshold after 10:00 p.m., but it is still below the critical threshold, so an alert was not generated. If you notice an unexpected spike in this value that is sustained through normal workload hours, then a CPU performance problem might exist.

  6. On the Performance Summary page, verify the top processes in the Top 10 Processes section.

    If a process is taking up too much of the CPU utilization percentage, then this process should be investigated.

    Description of top10processes_cpu.gif follows
    Description of the illustration top10processes_cpu.gif

    In this example, the database is consuming 92 percent of CPU utilization. Therefore, the database is the likely source of the CPU performance problem and should be investigated.

  7. If a CPU performance problem is identified, you can try to resolve the issue by:

    • Using Oracle Database Resource Manager to reduce the impact of peak-load-use patterns by prioritizing CPU resource allocation

    • Avoiding running too many processes that use a lot of CPU

    • Increasing hardware capacity, including changing the system architecture

      See Also:

Monitoring Memory Utilization

This section describes how to monitor memory utilization.

To monitor memory utilization:

  1. On the Performance Summary page, from the View list, select Memory Details.

    The Memory Details view appears. This view contains memory and swap utilization statistics gathered over the last hour, and the top 10 processes ordered by memory utilization.

    Description of memory_details.gif follows
    Description of the illustration memory_details.gif

  2. Verify the current memory utilization using the Memory Utilization graph.

    The Memory Utilization graph shows how much memory is currently being used. During normal workload hours, the value should not exceed the warning threshold (shown in yellow).

  3. Verify the memory statistics over the last 24 hours.

    Click Memory Utilization.

    The Memory Utilization page appears. This page contains memory utilization statistics and related alerts generated over the last 24 hours.

    Description of memory_utilization.gif follows
    Description of the illustration memory_utilization.gif

    In this example, memory utilization is near, but does not exceed, the warning threshold value (99 percent) from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., so an alert is not generated. If you notice an unexpected spike in this value that is sustained through normal workload hours, then a memory performance problem might exist.

  4. Verify current swap utilization using the Swap Utilization graph.

    The Swap Utilization graph shows how much swapping space is currently being used. During normal workload hours, the value should not exceed the warning threshold (shown in yellow).

  5. Verify swap utilization over the last 24 hours.

    Click Swap Utilization.

    The Swap Utilization page appears. This page contains swap utilization statistics and related alerts generated over the last 24 hours.

    Description of swap_utilization.gif follows
    Description of the illustration swap_utilization.gif

    In this example, swap utilization is below the warning threshold, so an alert is not generated. If you notice an unexpected spike in this value that is sustained through normal workload hours, then a memory performance problem might exist.

  6. On the Performance Summary page, verify the top processes in the Top 10 Processes section.

    If a process is taking up too much memory, then this process should be investigated.

    Description of top10processes_memory.gif follows
    Description of the illustration top10processes_memory.gif

    In this example, the database is consuming 25 percent of memory utilization, and there does not appear to be a memory performance problem.

  7. If a memory performance problem is identified, you can attempt to resolve the issue by:

    • Using Automatic Shared Memory Management to manage the SGA memory

    • Using Automatic PGA Management to manage SQL memory execution

    • Avoiding running too many processes that use a lot of memory

    • Reducing paging or swapping

    • Reducing the number of open cursors and hard parsing with cursor sharing

    See Also:

Monitoring Disk I/O Utilization

This section describes how to monitor disk I/O utilization.

To monitor disk I/O utilization:

  1. On the Performance Summary page, from the View list, select Disk Details.

    The Disk Details view appears. This view contains disk I/O utilization and service time statistics gathered over the last hour, and the top disk devices ordered by busy percentage.

    Description of disk_details.gif follows
    Description of the illustration disk_details.gif

  2. Verify the current disk I/O utilization using the Disk I/O Utilization graph.

    The Disk I/O Utilization graph shows how many disk I/Os are being performed per second.

  3. Verify the disk I/O statistics over the last 24 hours.

    Click Total I/Os per Second.

    The Total I/O page appears. This page contains disk utilization statistics and related alerts generated over the last 24 hours.

    Description of total_io.gif follows
    Description of the illustration total_io.gif

    In this example, an alert is not generated because a threshold is not defined. If you notice an unexpected spike in this value that is sustained through normal workload hours, as is the case in this example from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., then a disk I/O performance problem might exist and should be investigated.

  4. Verify the current I/O service time using the Longest I/O Service Time graph.

    The Longest I/O Service Time graph shows the longest service time for disk I/Os.

  5. Verify I/O service time over the last 24 hours.

    Click Longest I/O Service Time.

    The Longest Service Time page appears. This page contains I/O service time statistics and related alerts generated over the last 24 hours.

    Description of longest_io.gif follows
    Description of the illustration longest_io.gif

    In this example, an alert is not generated because a threshold is not defined. If you notice an unexpected spike in this value that is sustained through normal workload hours, as is the case in this example from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., then a disk I/O performance problem might exist and should be investigated.

  6. On the Disk Details page, verify the disk devices in the Top Disk Devices section.

    If a particular disk is busy a high percentage of the time, then this disk should be investigated.

    Description of top_disk_devices.gif follows
    Description of the illustration top_disk_devices.gif

    In this example, the drive that hosts Oracle Database (drive C) is only busy about 1.3 percent of the time, and there does not appear to be a disk performance problem.

  7. If a disk I/O performance problem is identified, you can attempt to resolve the problem by:

    • Using Automatic Storage Management (ASM) to manage database storage

    • Striping everything across every disk to distribute I/O

    • Moving files, such as archive logs and redo logs, to separate disks

    • Storing required data in memory to reduce the number of physical I/Os

    See Also: