Using Oracle In-Memory Database Cache to Accelerate the Oracle Database

An Oracle Technical White PaperJuly 2009
Using Oracle In-Memory Database Cache to
Accelerate the Oracle DatabaseUsing Oracle In-Memory Database Cache to Accelerate the Oracle Database
1. Introduction.................................................................................... 2
2. Application-Tier Caching................................................................ 4
3. The Oracle TimesTen In-Memory Database.................................. 5
3.1 Oracle TimesTen Performance................................................ 8
4. Data Caching Using Oracle In-Memory Database Cache .............. 8
4.1 Defining the Content of a Cache............................................ 10
4.2 Loading Data and Managing the Cache................................. 11
4.3 Sharing Data Across a Cache Grid ........................................ 12
4.4 Maintaining Data Consistency ............................................... 13
4.5 High Availability ..................................................................... 18
5. Performance................................................................................ 21
6. Examples..................................................................................... 23
6.1 Read-Only Cache .................................................................. 23
6.2 Read-Only Sliding Window Cache ......................................... 24
6.3 Updatable Cache................................................................... 24
6.4 Updatable Dynamic Cache .................................................... 25
6.5 Data Capture Cache with Uneven Arrival Rate ...................... 25
6.6 Data Capture Cache with Constant High Arrival Rate ............ 26
6.7 Updatable User-Managed Cache........................................... 27
6.8 Read-Only Dynamic Distributed Cache.................................. 27
7. Conclusion................................................................................... 27
8. References.................................................................................. 28Using Oracle In-Memory Database Cache to Accelerate the Oracle Database
1. IntroductionThe Oracle In-Memory Database Cache accelerates business processes, enables real-time business intelligence, andfacilitates the personalization of customer-facing applications.
The Oracle In-Memory Database Cache (IMDB Cache) is an Oracle Database productoption ideal for caching performance-critical subsets of an Oracle database in theapplication tier. Using the IMDB Cache improves an application's response time andthroughput. The IMDB Cache consists of three key technology components - the OracleTimesTen In-Memory Database (TimesTen) for application-tier real-time datamanagement; caching technology to cache frequently-accessed tables from an OracleDatabase server to the application tier and maintain consistency of cached data; and atransactional data replication component to ensure cross-tier high availability.
TimesTen is a memory-optimized relational database that delivers very low responsetime and very high throughput to performance-critical systems. It is targeted to run in theapplication tier, close to applications, and optionally in process with applications. ATimesTen database may be used as the database of record, and/or as a cache to anOracle database.
Applications may create and manage database tables in TimesTen or cache frequently-accessed subsets of an Oracle Database in the IMDB Cache. Cached tables and non-cached tables may coexist in the same in-memory database, and are all persistent andrecoverable. Queries and updates to cached and non-cached data are performed byapplications through SQL92 or PL/SQL using ODBC, JDBC, the Oracle Call Interface(OCI), or TTClasses, as well as Pro*C.
Cache Grids are available for horizontal scalability in performance and capacity where aCache Grid consists of a collection of IMDB Caches that collectively manage anapplication's cached data. Cached data is distributed between grid members, and theCache Grid provides applications with location transparency, effectively making theaggregate of data cached in all grid members available to the application. Cache Gridsenable incremental scalability through the online addition (and removal) of grid members.
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