Re: Oracle Net remote buffer product?

Mike,

> I can't change any of the application because these are considered to
> be medical devices regulated by the FDA. I would love to be able to
> change the apps, but one mistake could mean that somebody in a
> hospital gets blood from an AIDS donor. Changes therefor are rare
> because of the extreme change control process and validation
> requirements.

But if you are having a performance problem, then some changes have to occur somewhere otherwise the performance problem will persist. Right? So if you can't change the application (where the change may need to take place) you may have to make changes in the database, like adding/removing an index, etc.  

> How can there be a shared buffer at the remote location? I was not
> aware that SQLNet did any buffering that could be shared across
> multiple sessions.

SQL*Net (or Net8) doesn't do the buffering. The central database does the buffering. Each and every database in the Oracle's Distributed environment has their own buffer cache. If multiple remote databases access the same disk blocks, then it is likely that those disk blocks will be found in the central database's buffer cache already. So the point I'm trying to make is that there is already a caching mechanism in place that you are already using. It is not in SQL*Net, but in the remote database.

In the end, you'll probably have to do some work to tune the distributed query. This should start on the application side of things. Are the queries you are sending from the local database to the remote database tuned for efficiency? Are you transmitting *only those blocks that you really need* across the network from the remote databaset to your local database? Many people bring tons of blocks across the network and then filter them out once they get to the local database. This can be very inefficient. After you've looked at the application end of things, then look at the database end of things. Are you making the most efficient use of your buffer cache in the remote database? What happens to the remote query when it hits the remote database? These are the types of questions I'd look to answer.

HTH,Brian

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Brian Peasland
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