Exadata

[Former Member]

Exadata is not listed as certified for the PowerDesigner Repository.  Has anyone tried it successfully or unsuccessfully?  Is exadata a platform that might be considered for certification in the future?

Thank you

[c_baker · Accepted solution]

Oracle 10g, 11g and 12c are certified for the repository. Isn't Exadata one of these at its heart?

Remember, the repository needs to be configured as a high performance transactional engine, not a DW.  PD checks in models as 2-3 SQL insert statements per metadata object, in only a few, large transactions.

There are other posts and replies on repository performance that apply here still.

Model check-in and update speeds are critical to repository performance.

Chris

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thank you, Chris.  You are absolutely right, it is standard Oracle DBMS under the covers.  I continued to read after posting, and the documentation says it is a multi-purpose platform, able to handle OLTP and DW; a claim I'll need to check with our DBAs to validate our experience. 

It says it pushes some of the sql processing to the storage server.  So in PowerDesigner processing specifcally, if we are using the proxy to assist the processing from client to DBMS, and the DBMS pushes processing to the storage server, this "seems like" the data is strung pretty thin between parts of the repository landscape.  Has anyone had any real experience with a repository installed on Exadata? 

Thanks,

Jane

[c_baker · Accepted solution]

I would suggest keeping all repository tables in whatever side of Exadata is the OLTP side, not DSS/DW.  i.e. do not assign any PD tables to the underlying storage server if the option exists.

When creating the database/schema that will be used for the PD repository, set any default to keep it out of the storage server - keep it on the OLTP side.  When the PD admin connects and creates the table, they will then default to the correct storage.

All the PD proxy does is issue SQL to the underlying data server and helps avoid the need to define both PD repository login and DBMS connection (with the necessary drivers) in the client side.  Only the repository login is needed by the client while the ODBC login is unly needed at the proxy server.  The data only resides in the DBMS.  Keeping the proxy 'near' the DBMS helps improve PD client performance over a WAN as only the proxy needs to issue SQL commands.  How the data itself is managed/stored by the DBMS is still a DBA tuning issue.
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Chris

[Former Member]

Hi Jane,

It looks like they rebranded their product name, although might be still vague.

What's New in Oracle Exadata Database Machine

Although the word exadata seems to make the environment mixed for OLTP and DWH. Which means that it relies on the configuration and tuning of the environment. And how much resources the OLTP PD repository gets.

Also be sure to let maintain the database: update stats, reorgs, reindex etc. by a DBA team. Not through PD. Especially when tables get big, DBA's might have their tricks to do it better using database own utilities and commands.

As well as what Chris says keep the PD proxy close to the database. And have a local cache as well.

Tools->General Options->Repository . On the bottom you see the possibility to configure the local cache.

Hans