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Oracle Exadata Storage Server. No Magic in an Imperfect World. Excellent Tools and Really Fast I/O Though.

I’ve met people before who’d rather drink muriatic acid than admit a mistake. I don’t cotton to such folks none too purdy good. This is a post about perfection and imperfection.
Cost Based Optimizer
There is no such thing as a perfect cost-based optimizer (CBO) and the expectations placed on cost-based optimizers run rampant. If the [...]

Oracle Exadata Storage Server: A Black Box with No Statistics.

A question came in about whether it is possible to measure how much data is filtered out when running a query serviced by a Smart Scan in the Exadata Storage Server grid. The following is the long answer.
An Example of SQL Offload Processing Effectiveness Accounting
I’d like to answer this question by taking real information from [...]

I know Nothing About Data Warehouse Appliances and Now, So Won’t You - Part V. Why GreenPlum is Better Than Oracle Exadata Storage Server.

In my recent blog post Oracle Exadata Storage Server. Part I., a reader asked:
I wonder if there will be another Appliances with other hardware vendors such as Dell/EMC or SUN?
I’m fairly certain the reader wondered whether the Oracle Exadata Storage Server would be made available on platforms other than HP. However, another reader presumed the [...]

Podcast: Pythian Group Oracle Exadata Storage Server Q&A with Kevin Closson.

The Pythian Group recently conducted a short podcast interview with me to discuss a few topics related to Oracle Exadata Storage Server and the HP Oracle Database Machine. Sadly, the audio is troublesome in some segments, due to telephony issues, but in general I think you may find it informative. Here is the link:
The Pythian [...]

Oracle Exadata Storage Server FAQ - Part V. Sweet and Sour Disk.

This is installment number five in my series on Oracle Exadata Storage Server and HP Oracle Database Machine frequently asked questions. I recommend you also visit The Index of my other Exadata posts. I’m mostly cutting and pasting questions from the comment threads of my blog posts about Oracle Exadata Storage Server and the HP [...]

Oracle Exadata Storage Server FAQ - Part IV. A Closer Look at Storage Filtration and Column Projection.

This is installment number two in my series on Oracle Exadata Storage Server and HP Oracle Database Machine frequently asked questions. I recommend you also visit:
Oracle Exadata Storage Server Frequently Asked Questions Part I.
Oracle Exadata Storage Server Frequently Asked Questions Part II.
Oracle Exadata Storage Server. Frequently Asked Questions. Part III.
I’m mostly cutting and pasting questions from [...]

Oracle Exadata Storage Server. Frequently Asked Questions. Part III.

This is installment number three in my series on Oracle Exadata Storage Server and HP Oracle Database Machine frequently asked questions. I recommend you also visit:
Exadata Storage Server Frequently Asked Questions Part I.
Exadata Storage Server Frequently Asked Questions Part II.
I’m mostly cutting and pasting questions from the comment threads of my blog posts about Exadata [...]

Oracle Exadata Server Related Web News Media and Blog Errata. Part I.

This is just a quick blog entry to correct some minor (and some not-so-minor) errors I’ve stumbled upon in blog and Web news media.
Exadata Storage Server Gross Capacity
In his recent Computerworld article, Eric Lai was trying to put some flesh on the bones as it were. It is a good article, but a few bits [...]

HP Oracle Database Machine. A Thing of Beauty Capable of “Real Throughput!”

As they say, a blog without photographs is simply boring. Here is a picture of a single-rack HP Oracle Database Machine. It is stuffed with 8 nodes for Real Application Clusters and 14 Oracle Exadata Storage Servers with 168 3.5″ SAS hard drives. My lab work on a SAS-version of one just like this yields [...]

Oracle Exadata Storage Server. Frequently Asked Questions. Part II

This is installment number two in my series on Oracle Exadata Storage Server and HP Oracle Database Machine frequently asked questions. I recommend you also visit Exadata Storage Server frequently asked questions Part I.
Later today The Pythian Group will be conducting a podcast question and answer interview with me that will be available on their [...]