Data, as we all know is expanding exponentially by the second. Managing the data is more important than ever. Management includes setting up an efficient process to work with the data while assuring security.

Relational databases are the modern-day answer to all your data management queries. But, database management systems sometimes need to undergo the optimization process in order to perform efficiently. Today we look at some best practices that help in the Database performance tuning.

1.  Optimization of Indexes

Indexing is the backbone of any relational database system. But, too less and too much of an index is wrong. Hence, one needs to attain a balance. For any database, no index will directly affect the functions of a SELECT statement, while an excess of indexes will cause the queries to slow down.

When it comes to indexing, the fields used along with their order plays a key role during the database performance tuning. The key information to be considered while indexing is the number of unique values in a column of the table. For example, a column containing a thousand first names might speed up the SELECT process but it will definitely delay the output. Thus, the indexing should be optimized to decrease this difference between the two processes.

2.  Estimate the growth

During the process of indexing, the database stores the data for the indexed columns. But in case of any changes or addition of rows, the value of the data stored in the index is affected. Due to this, the database will accommodate the new rows by reorganizing the data. The newly reorganized data affects the indexing thus causing a negative impact on the DML queries.

The most effective solution to this problem is an estimated growth rate for the database. Once you the intervals at which there will be additions, the same can be specified for the index. The common term used to mention estimated growth for an Oracle database is PCTFREE (percentage Free).

3.  Division of storage

Traditional computers are long gone and technology has shaped up the computers for optimal performance. But, even today physical hard drives face several challenges in performance. They fail to keep up with the exorbitant processing speeds. As the database expands, a single storage device starts to slow down.

This affects the database performance tuning process. Thus, to reduce stress on a single storage device, the database management system allows the user to divide the data into multiple drives. The split depends on the amount of data and can be even performed on a single table. This division of storage devices leads to better performing databases and optimum output.

4.   Foreign Key constraints

The term is commonly used to maintain data integrity. But it also affects the performance of your database. So when the focus is on performance, the database performance tuning process needs to be modified.
Avoiding foreign key constraints and shifting focus from data integrity can cause a substantial improvement in the performance of the database. While most users are concerned about integrity, it should be noted that the data integrity process can be performed in the application layer. This improves performance without causing stress on the database. The best example is the presence of system tables that hold metadata information about the user databases.

5.  No Index before data:

While this might sound a little tricky, dropping indexes before the actual data can improve the database performance. The main reason behind this is the fact that it causes the INSERT statement to run faster. After the loading process is finished, one can recreate the indexes.
The solution works on the principle of moving data between two tables. Once you have finished loading data to a temporary table without indexes, it can further be transferred to the primary table. The movement between these two is comparatively faster than an external source being used to load data. Once finished, recreate the indexes to finish the process.

Database performance tuning is an ever-evolving process and small tweaks around the process can help create a faster performing database management system.

OptimizDBA is a leader in non-intrusive database performance tuning service. We can help you unlock the true potential of your database that will help in improving application performance and even reduction in costs. get in touch with us and we can discuss more on how we can help you.