Re: Theory question on collecting stats

Sean,

> Scenario : Need to collect "statistics" for a complex web-based product.
> For example, upon login, an entry gets put into a "STAT_USR_VST" table.

For this example, you can use an AFTER LOGON trigger to populate your table.  

> Over time, this table will fill up tremendously. Now I know you have to ask
> yourself thw question - "Well, what data do you want to REPORT on? Is it
> for one day, two weeks, or an entire year?" I realize that and that the
> answer pretty much dictates the table structure and the data in it. But how
> have other people collected their "statistical" data over time? Do you dump
> it to an outside "stats database" for archiving? Do you output it to log
> files and store those?

Most people who collect this type of data archive it to another table on a periodic basis. This other table (or tables) can be partitioned on a specific range of values to aid in searching. Sometimes, but not always, the archive tables are on a different server.

HTH,
Brian

-- 
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Brian Peasland
Raytheons Systems at
  USGS EROS Data Center
These opinions are my own and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of my 
company!
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