Regulating capacity and managing services of computing environments and systems that include a database

• US 10,042,674 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teradata Corporation
• Original Assignee: Teradata US, Inc. (Teradata Corporation)
• Inventors: Brown, Douglas P., Julien, Thomas, Richards, Anita, Burger, Louis
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Susan
• Application Number:
  US13/249,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20130086129A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,503 Days
• Field of Search: 709105, 709203, 709226, 718104, 718105
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24569 Query processing with adaptation to specific hardware, e.g. adapted for using GPUs or SSDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/504 Resource capping
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5011 the resources being hardware resources other than CPUs, Servers and Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5044 considering hardware capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/505 considering the load
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Capacity of a database system and/or a computing system that includes a database can be effectively changed from a current computing capacity to another computing capacity. This can be achieved by causing usage capacity of at least one of resource to be changed when the database is active. By way of example, capacity of a database system can be regulated by delaying the execution of the database work based on a target capacity. As a result, database work can take relatively longer to complete when the capacity of a database is effectively regulated to be below its full capacity. In effect, a portion of available capacity (excess capacity) can be made inaccessible to the database. However, excess capacity can be used to manage various services of the database in accordance with one or more service criteria (e.g., Service Level Goals or Agreements).

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of controlling capacity of a database system that includes one or more database nodes operable to process data stored in a database managed by the database system, wherein each one of the database nodes includes at least one physical processor and non-transitory computer readable storage medium configured to be accessed by the at least one processor, wherein the at least one physical processor is further configured to use one or more resources of the database system in connection with the processing of the data stored in the database, and wherein the computer-implemented method comprising:

obtaining, by at least one physical processor, a target capacity of the database system as a desired overall target capacity of the database determined at least partly based on a performance goal value of the database;

effectively changing, by the at least one physical processor, from a current computing capacity to another computing capacity that is different than the current capacity to achieve the overall target capacity of the database system, by at least causing usage capacity of at least one of the resources to be changed, at least partly based on the target capacity, from a current usage capacity to another usage capacity different than the current usage capacity when the database system is operational and processing the data in the database, and

wherein the causing of the usage capacity of the least one resource to be changed comprises;

changing the capacity of at least one of the database nodes of the database system from a current capacity to a different capacity, by at least performing the following;

changing the actual processing rate of one or more physical processors of the at least one of the database nodes of the database system from a current processing rate to a different processing rate to achieve the desired overall the target capacity of the database system, by at least skipping one or more clock cycles based on performance improvement recommendations monitored by a usage regulator; and

effectively changing access capacity of at least one of the computing resources of the at least one of the database nodes of the database system from a current access capacity to a different access capacity to achieve the desired overall the target capacity of the database system.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the causing of the usage capacity of the least one resource to be changed comprises:

causing the capacity of at least one resource to be changed dynamically at runtime.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,

wherein the database system includes multiple database nodes operable to process data stored in the database and access at least one of the resources in parallel, and wherein the causing of the usage capacity of the least one resource to be changed comprises:

causing capacity of first and second resources that can be accessed respectively by first and second nodes of the multiple nodes to be changed.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the causing of capacity of first and second resources to be changed is performed when the database is processing data, dynamically, at runtime.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:

obtaining a target computing capacity of the database system, wherein the target computing capacity is the less than the full computing capacity of the database system; and

wherein the causing of usage capacity of the least one resource to be changed cause the capacity of the at least one resource to be changed based on the target capacity.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the resources that can be accessed by one or more database nodes includes one or more of the following:

one or more processors, one or more other computing resources, access to Input/Output (I/O) associated with the database, access to one or more operations, access to one or more database operations.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the limiting of the usage of least one the database nodes of the database system comprises:

effectively delaying access to at least one of the computing resources, thereby delaying usage of the at least one computing resource.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the effectively delaying access to at least one of the computing resources comprises:

scheduling access to the at least one computing resource according to a determined delay period.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemmented method further comprises:

obtaining monitored computing usage data by monitoring computing usage of one or more database nodes of the database system; and

controlling the computing capacity of the database system based on the monitored computing usage data.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the limiting of the usage comprises:

monitoring computing usage of at least a first activity that is not regulated with respect to its usage of at least one of the resources;

determining, at least partially based on the monitored computing usage data, whether to regulate or change regulation of the computing usage of a second activity; and

initiating regulation or changing the regulation of the computing usage of the second activity with respect to one or more of the resources when the determining determines to limit the computing usage of the second activity.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, where the computer-implemented method further comprises:

obtaining a target computing capacity of the database system; and

regulating the computing usage of one or more database activities associated with the database system based on the target computing capacity.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:

monitoring the one or more database activities at least with respect to their usage of the one or more resources;

regulating the computing usage of one or more database activities based on the monitoring of the one or more database activities when the database is active.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:

determining, based on one or more criteria, whether to change capacity of the database system from the current computing capacity to the other computing capacity.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria comprises one or more of the following:

managing a service of the database;

managing a service level associated with a service of the database; and

meeting a service level goal and/or service level agreement.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:

determining that one or more service level goals and/or service level agreements would not be met at the current computing capacity;

determining a second capacity of the database system that would allow the one or more service level goals and/or service level agreement to be met; and

changing the computing capacity of the database system from the current computing capacity to a the second capacity.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15,

wherein the current computing capacity is a target and/or desired capacity of the database system, and

wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:

changing back the computing capacity of the database system to the current capacity when the one or more service level goals and/or service level agreements have been met.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:

allowing the excess capacity provided by changing to the second capacity to be used only of meeting the one or more service level goals and/or service level agreements.

18. A system that includes one or more physical processors operable to:

access one or more computing resources of a database system;

control capacity of the database system below a full capacity of the database system, wherein the database system includes one or more database nodes operable to process data stored in a database, wherein each one of the one or more database nodes can use the one or more resources in connection with the processing of the data stored in the database;

effectively changing capacity of the database system from a current computing capacity to another computing capacity of the database system that is different than the current capacity, by causing usage capacity of at least one of the resources to be changed from a current usage capacity to another usage capacity of the at least one resource, different than the current usage capacity; and

wherein effectively changing capacity of the database system comprises the following;

reducing the actual physical processing rate of the one more physical processors below their full processing rate at full computing capacity by at least skipping one or more clock cycles based on performance improvement recommendations monitored by a usage regulator; and

effectively limiting access of the database system to at least one of the computing resources below an access level that can be achieved at full computing capacity of the at least one computing resource.

19. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium that stores at least executable computer code that when executed controls capacity of a database system below its full capacity, wherein the database system includes one or more database nodes operable to process data stored in a database, wherein each one of the database nodes includes one or more physical processers, and wherein each one of the one or more database nodes can use one or more resources in connection with the processing of the data stored in the database, and wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium includes:

executable computer code operable to effectively change capacity of the database system from a current computing capacity to another computing capacity that is different than the current computing capacity, by causing usage capacity of at least one of the resources to be changed from a current usage capacity to another usage capacity different than the current usage capacity, wherein effectively changing capacity of the database system comprises the following;

reducing actual physical processing rate of one more physical processors below their full processing rate at full computing capacity by at least skipping one or more clock cycles based on performance improvement recommendations monitored by a usage regulator; and

ffectively limiting access of the database system to at least one of the computing resources below an access level that can be achieved at full computing capacity of the at least one computing resource.