Automated SQL tuning through trial and (sometimes) error

SQL tuning--the attempt to improve a poorly-performing execution plan produced by the database query optimizer-is a critical aspect of database performance tuning. Ironically, as commercial databases strive to improve on the manageability front, SQL tuning is becoming more of a black art. It requires a high level of expertise in areas like (i) query optimization, run-time execution of query plan operators, configuration parameter settings, and other database internals; (ii) identification of missing indexes and other access structures; (iii) statistics maintained about the data; and (iv) characteristics of the underlying storage system. Since database systems, their workloads, and the data that they manage are not getting any simpler, database users and administrators often rely on trial and error for SQL tuning. In this paper, we take the position that the trial-and-error (or, experiment-driven) process of SQL tuning can be automated by the database system in an efficient manner; fre...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: SIGMOD
• Authors: Herodotos Herodotou, Shivnath Babu
• Keywords: Database, Query Plan Operators, SIGMOD 2009, SQL Tuning, SQL Tuning--the Attempt