Re: 450 reads/sec on Solaris (8i) - what is needed?

On Sat, 23 Sep 2000 13:17:46 -0400, Jared Hecker <jared_at_hwai.com> wrote:

>I am configuring a Sun for a 300GB database that will, at peak load,
>have to provide approximately 450 reads/second. The writes load will
>peak at 9/sec. Reads will be of records that will max at 1K, from one
>table of four fields, all strings.
>
>I have the option of separate servers (as well as instances) to do
>this with. But we must provide this level of performance.
>
>Disk storage will be an EMC Symmetrix. I can dictate the
>configuration (so you can bet there will be multiple controllers and
>they will all have 16GB of cache(.
>

Hi Jared.
I don't have experience in configuring the Sun boxes, but the 10K I'm working with now can do that, but not sustained 24X7. However, the EMC it's linked to is far from optimally used. I think you'll definitely need the fiber optic controllers instead of SCSI. And some good cache to go with the EMC. My experience with these boxes is that the EMC guys know how to squeeze performance out of them, but they don't exactly make it easy for the common mortal to do it. They like to sell their consultancy too...

450/sec X 1K is only 450K transfer rate and that's dirt easy to achieve in peak. It's the sustained bit that scares me. Particularly if the table is very large and exceeds the EMC cache. When things are out of cache, the EMC slows down significantly unless some care is taken internally with how all those disks are interconnected. You'd do well to ask upfront for some striped sets rather than the EMC raid stuff.

HTH Cheers
Nuno Souto
nsouto_at_nsw.bigpond.net.au.nospam
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/the_Den/index.html Received on Sun Sep 24 2000 - 06:09:22 CDT