Method for deallocating a log in database systems

• US 5,832,508 A
• Filed: 11/14/1996
• Issued: 11/03/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sybase Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Sybase Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Sherman, Andrew P., McCargar, Scott E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HO, RUAY L
• Application Number:
  US08/748,941
• Time in Patent Office: 719 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/7, 707/8, 707/9, 707/10, 707/100, 707/101, 707/102, 707/103, 707/104, 707/200, 707/201, 707/202, 707/203, 707/204, 707/205, 707/206, 1/1, 711/130, 711/141, 711/162, 711/209, 395/182.13
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1466 to make the backup process non-disruptive
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2358 Change logging, detection, and notification replication G06F16/27

Abstract

A SQL database server system having an enhanced logging system is described. The logging system implements a "private log cache" (PLC) for reducing the contention on the system'"'"'s "log" resource (which is protected by a log semaphore). An area of memory private to a user'"'"'s task is set aside as a PLC--a cache where log records are built and stored before being posted to the log. Each PLC may hold multiple log records for a single transaction before they are flushed to the log (page chain) through the log semaphore. When a transaction commits or the memory fills with log records, the PLC associated with the transaction is flushed to the log. Also described is improved log deallocation methodology provided by the system which alleviates the needs to read each of the log pages to be deallocated, as was conventionally required. The operation to do the deallocation occurs at the allocation page, not at the individual pages (which are to be deallocated). In accordance with this method, the system writes a log record which includes the first page and the last page of the run (i.e., the number of those pages). The system need not, however, read any of the pages of the run, other than the first page and the last page. In a common case of a completely filled allocation unit, the system reads two pages--the first page and the last page--and writes one log record. As a result, the system reads far fewer log pages and writes but a single log record.

Claims

1. In a database system, said database system maintaining a log for recording transactions which occur in said system, an improved method for deallocating log pages during archiving of the log, the method comprising:

storing information about the transactions which occur in the system as a plurality of log records, said log records being stored together on a plurality of log pages, a number of said log pages being stored together as an allocation unit;

receiving a request to dump certain ones of said log records to an archive device;

determining which allocation units stores said certain ones of said log records to archive;

for said determined allocation units, determining first and last log pages for said certain ones of said log records to be dumped to the archive device; and

for each allocation unit determine to store said certain ones of said log records, deallocating log pages by at least performing;

if an allocation unit is completely filled with log records to be deallocated, deallocating those log records by marking the allocation unit as having deallocated log pages, the step being performed without fetching any log pages for the allocation unit.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

before deallocating said certain ones of the log records, storing a new log record indicating said first and last log pages to be deallocated.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said log records are stored sequentially by the system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each allocation unit stores an allocation page together with a plurality of log pages.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein each allocation unit stores 255 log pages.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein each allocation page stores flags indicating which log pages of the corresponding allocation unit are deallocated.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of deallocating includes:

resetting the flag on an allocation page for indicating deallocation of corresponding log pages for a particular allocation unit.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said request to dump certain ones of said log records comprises an SQL "dump" command.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said certain ones of said log records comprise those log records storing information about transactions which are no longer active in the system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the log pages for each allocation unit are further grouped into extent groups, and wherein said deallocating step includes resetting a flag in a corresponding allocation page for indicating that a particular extent group is deallocated.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

placing a lock on an allocation page for performing said deallocating step while protecting said allocation page from change by another process.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

releasing said lock upon completing said deallocating step.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said information about transactions comprises information indicating modification of data stored by the database system.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

linking said allocation units together to form a chain of allocation units storing logging information for the system.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the system inserts a checkpoint record into the log for indicating an oldest active log record, and wherein said log is dumped to archive at a point before said oldest active log record.