The question, "Why isn’t Oracle using my index?" must be one of the most popular (or perhaps unpopular) questions ever asked on the Oracle help forums. You’ve picked exactly the right columns, you’ve got them in the ideal order, you’ve computed statistics, you’ve checked for null columns—and the optimizer flatly refuses to use your index unless you hint it. What could possibly be going wrong? If you’ve suffered the frustration of watching the optimizer do something completely bizarre when the best execution plan is totally obvious, or spent hours or days trying to make the optimizer do what you want it to do, then this is the book you need. You’ll come to know how the optimizer thinks, understand why it makes mistakes, and recognize the data patterns that make it go awry. With this information at your fingertips, you will save an enormous amount of time on designing and trouble-shooting your SQL. The cost-based optimizer is simply a piece of code that contains a model of how Oracle databases work. By applying this model to the statistics about your data, the optimizer tries to efficiently convert your query into an executable plan. Unfortunately, the model can't be perfect, your statistics can't be perfect, and the resulting execution plan may be far from perfect. In Cost-Based Oracle Fundamentals, the first book in a series of three, Jonathan Lewis—one of the foremost authorities in this field—describes the most commonly used parts of the model, what the optimizer does with your statistics, and why things go wrong. With this information, you’ll be in a position to fix entire problem areas, not just single SQL statements, by adjusting the model or creating more truthful statistics.

Jonathan Lewis is one of the world's foremost authorities in this field (he is frequently quoted and reference by other leading experts, such as Tom Kyte – see for example http://asktom.oracle.com/pls/ask/download_file?p_file=3067171813508366601 Book will be strongly co-promoted with Tom Kyte's Expert Oracle Database Architecture (1-59059-530-0) Highlights traps for those migrating from Oracle 8i to 9i to 10g, potentially averting often disastrous performance issues and downtime (=lost revenue) The first comprehensive book written to investigate, describe, and demonstrate the methods used by the Cost Based Optimizer Jonathan is one of very few Oracle authors to maintain online enhancements, errata and addenda pages, so the reader will be supported long after the book is published

Oracle Core: Essential Internals for DBAs and Developers by Jonathan Lewis provides just the essential information about Oracle Database internals that every database administrator needs for troubleshooting—no more, no less. Oracle Database seems complex on the surface. However, its extensive feature set is really built upon upon a core infrastructure resulting from sound architectural decisions made very early on that have stood the test of time. This core infrastructure manages transactions and the ability to commit and roll back changes, protects the integrity of the database, enables backup and recovery, and allows for scalability to thousands of users all accessing the same data. Most performance, backup, and recovery problems that database administrators face on a daily basis can easily be identified through understanding the essential core of Oracle Database architecture that Lewis describes in this book. Provides proven content from a world-renowned performance and troubleshooting expert Emphasizes the significance of internals knowledge to rapid identification of database performance problems Covers the core essentials and does not waste your time with esoterica

When your database application isn’t running fast enough, troubleshooting is usually your first move. Finding the slow part of an application is often easy, but discovering a solution can prove much more difficult. Troubleshooting Oracle Performance helps by providing a systematic approach to addressing the underlying causes of poor database application performance. Written for developers by an application developer who has learned by doing, this book shows you how to plan for performance as you would for any other application requirement.

Oracle® Solaris 11 System Administration covers every skill required to effectively install and administer the Oracle®Solaris 11.1 operating system in production environments. It features dozens of step-bystep "learn by example" procedures, demonstrating how to apply complex solutions in real-world data center environments. Author Bill Calkins has administered and taught Oracle Solaris and its predecessors for more than twenty years. He also helped develop the newest Oracle Certified Associate (OCA) and Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) exams, which raise the bar for Solaris certification. This guide covers every new 1Z0-821 exam topic in detail and also covers many 1Z0-822 exam topics. Calkins also reviews the changes that system administrators will face when upgrading to Solaris 11.1 and presents new ways to perform familiar tasks on both SPARC and x86 hardware. You'll learn how to Install the Solaris 11 Operating Environment with Live Media or Text Interactive installers Install, manage, and update software with the Image Packaging System and IPS repositories Understand, customize, and troubleshoot SPARC and x86 boot processes from system power-up to loading the OS (including coverage of ILOM, OpenBoot, and GRUB 2) Administer and create services through the service management facility (SMF) Configure system messaging using SMF notifications, syslog and rsyslog Configure and administer ZFS storage pools, including ZFS on the boot drive, local disks, LUNs, and a SAN Configure and manage ZFS file systems: encryption, redundancy, snapshots, clones, network sharing, monitoring, device replacement, and legacy UFS migration Create, migrate, contain, and administer zones, including solaris10 branded and immutable zones Use RBAC to create custom rights profiles and grant special privileges Manage and monitor system process scheduler (including FSS process schedulers and proc tools) Configure Solaris networking and network services, including Reactive and Fixed Network Configurations, VNICs, and Virtual Networking A companion website (unixed.com/solaris11book.html) includes new 1Z0-821 and 1Z0-822 study strategies and self-assessment exams.

This guide to using the Oracle database shows readers which features work well, which features work well together, and which features have a serious impact on each other. It should allow the reader to build a better database that runs on a less expensive computer.

CD-ROM contains: "a complete set of the book's code samples, scripts and examples."