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CHAPTER DOWNLOADS Oracle disk I/O tuning: Optimizing ATA performance Mike Ault 07.30.2004 Rating: -4.00- (out of 5) Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us    The following is part of a series on the different aspects of disk I/O performance and optimization for Oracle databases. Each tip is excerpted from the not-yet-released Rampant TechPress book, "Oracle disk I/O tuning," by Mike Ault. Check back to the main series page for upcoming installments. [TABLE]

Optimizing ATA performance

Generally speaking, if you are dealing with ATA disks you will be using a Windows 2000 server or a Linux server. You will probably have a maximum of four internal IDE/ATA drives with the operating system and software occupying one of the drives. Hopefully, the swap area will be spread over several drives, as will the database (unless the ATA drives have been RAIDed).

In Windows 2000 and Linux, you should be sure the latest

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firmware for your controller has been downloaded and flashed onto your controller chips. If you have a drive card, make sure it is the latest technology.

ATA tuning in Windows

Other than getting the best drivers, the best interface cards and the fastest disks, there isn't much else in Windows to be done at the interface level. However, there are a few things to improve EIDE performance:

At the physical disk level in Windows, you should implement a defragmentation routine to make sure your drives are not fragmented. Fragmentation in Windows is endemic to the operating system and will occur, robbing you of up to 70% of your disk performance. In one test, boot time went from over 15 minutes to less than 5 when the server's disks were defragmented. Performance improvements of a similar nature can be expected from your Oracle system if it is located on ATA drives in Windows as well.

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