Analysis method and apparatus for a parallel system

• US 6,738,756 B1
• Filed: 06/30/2000
• Issued: 05/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Teradata US, Inc. (Teradata Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation (NCR Voyix Corporation)
• Inventors: Brown, Douglas P., Sinclair, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, SHAHID AL
• Application Number:
  US09/608,977
• Time in Patent Office: 1,418 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/4, 707/10, 707/525, 707/2, 709/239, 709/202, 712/30, 712/43, 712/206, 712/215, 714/4, 358/360, 358/369, 703/20, 703/27
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24532 of parallel queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24542 Plan optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

A method and apparatus of analyzing a target system comprises receiving information relating to an environment of the target system and storing cost data based on the environment information. The plan and its estimated performance for a query may be determined based on the cost data. The environment information may pertain to the environment of a parallel system (e.g., a multi-node parallel system, a single-node parallel system having plural central processing units or a system running plural virtual processors) that is running a parallel database. The cost data may identify a number of nodes in the target system, a number of central processing units in each node of the target system, and other types of system information. The cost data may be stored in a relational table having a plurality of rows. Each row of the relational table may correspond to a different target system. The cost data is used to emulate the environment of the target system and is usable by an optimizer module to derive a query plan for an SQL (structured query language) query having the lowest (or lower) cost.

Claims

1. A method of testing a target system, comprising:

receiving information relating to an environment of the target system;

storing cost data based on the environment information;

determining a query plan based on the cost data; and

defining one or more diagnostic SQL statements to activate use of the cost data;

wherein defining the one or more diagnostic SQL statements comprises defining a diagnostic Dump Costs statement to dump cost data, based on environment information of the target system, into a test system.

2. A method of testing a target system, comprising:

receiving information relating to an environment of the target system;

storing cost data based on the environment information;

determining a query plan based on the cost data; and

defining one or more diagnostic SQL statements to activate use of the cost data;

wherein defining the one or more diagnostic SQL statements comprises defining a diagnostic Set Costs statement to direct a test system to use an identified portion of the cost data.

3. A system comprising:

an interface to receive environment information associated with a target system;

a storage device storing cost data based on the environment information of the target system;

an optimizer module executable to determine an access plan of a query based on the cost data; and

a controller to dump the cost data into a test system in response to a first diagnostic SQL statement.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a controller to identify a portion of the cost data to be used by the optimizer module in response to a second diagnostic statement.