Given that when Exadata came out this guy (and a few others) simply decided they would get an Exadata and take it apart, I would think they could write a good book. The book lives up to the authors reputation. A must have for anyone using an Exadata at any level.
This is one of the best technical books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The authors do a terrific job of giving a good overview of a very complex and broad subject while also performing a deep dive in some key areas of importance to Exadata practitioners. Even people who do not work with Exadata will find plenty of good Oracle information that can be used for regular Oracle databases. This is particularly true of the troubleshooting section which I think gives a very accurate and succinct explanation of the right way to troubleshoot performance. My only complaint about this book is the numerous typographical errors I found in the E-book edition (I didn't read the print version so I won't comment on that).
I had attended Kerry Osborne's presentations at Hotsos and had a few conversations with him about Exadata but I didn't realize he was writing a book with Tanel Poder and Randy Johnson. I am moving to a new assignment implementing ERP systems on Exadata and I am very appreciative that this book was available at the right time for me. It answered all my basic questions about the technology and it offers practical guidance on getting the best performance from this complex system.
The people who wrote this book really know what they are doing. They have used these products more extensively than most anyone, and it shows in the prose.
This allows them to not only explain the concepts and syntax of the products discussed, but why they work the way they do. The content editor is also an experienced Oracle developer who makes valuable interjections throughout the book, giving the history and background of the feature presented. This makes the document an essential reference for anyone interested in the product. In addition to being a valuable resource for end-users, anyone contemplating a major purchase of Exadata hardware and software would do well to make this an essential read.
This is THE book for Oracle Exadata. When the best and the brightest write a book it is time to take notice and read from their experience and knowledge. The guys from Enkitec have the most experience with over 100 deployments for customers. It is this experience combined with a well written book that will make this book the de facto standard. If you are working with Oracle Exadata buy this book . . . read it cover to cover then re-read it as you would the "Concepts Guide".
It has been a year now since I initially reviewed this book. As my company moves forward with EXADATA I see this book making its way around the buildings. DBAs in particular are heavy on it. I walk around and see the serious people with a copy of it. I am not a spokesman for this book but because I have used it to such good effect, I felt a need to comment further after seeing that it was making its way around the company. I hope Tanel Poder and the other authors do another one.
Hail Flavius!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE 29-NOV-2011
Here is an example of why this book works for people in the trenches. My boss recently asked me for proof that the EXADATA platform was benefiting the applications and database we were migrating to it. "Kevin, I need proof we are getting benefit from EXADATA before we continue to push systems to this platform.". Well... I knew exactly what to do. In demostrating EXADATA the book has pages that shows how to do this (for this question it was page 53 I think?). I went back to the chapter I remembered, read up to the page, and then ran the scripts and queries suggested. I then had the proof my boss needed. "See Boss, even on the poor side, our queries are getting a 5 to 1 lift in reduced I/O because of EXADATA. EXADATA is passing back only 1/5th the data it would have been required to move around on 9i.". He was surprised, and happy at the same time. So this is one example of what I mean when I say the book is for practitioners. The book gives you knowledge and then provides examples of typical ways you use that knowledge. It is the kind of book that changes the way you think and also gets you up and running.
Hail Flavius!
---------------------------------------------------
This book is completely different from the other book on EXADATA (the one by Oracle Press and the Oracle Product Managers). The other books is not bad, just for a different audience. Expert Oracle EXADATA is very practitioner oriented.
The first six chapters are to some extent introductory. Still, these may be the most important chapters in the book. These six chapters will change how you view application development for relational databases. In particular it will make you start looking at SQL a different way. You will look at a SQL statement, and start evaluating it almost immediately for its fitness to the EXADATA paradigm. Things like:
1) does the query contain constant tests that will allow EXADATA to use storage indexes to eliminate I/O?
2) will the joins in the query support pre-join bloom filter early elimination?
3) is the table partitioned (maybe by date) and if so are some partitions static such that EHCC (column compression) can be exploited?
4) does the query fetch data which when stored in a non-EXADATA environment, contains the inefficiencies that EXADATA SMARTSCAN can remove?
5) would the query benefit from less indexes (yep, you sill need indexes in EXADATA, particularly UNIQUE ones, but you need less of the others, maybe lots less)?
The first six chapters will introduce you to all the above and more.
The second best thing you get from the book is access to lots of new scripts for 11gR2 and for EXADATA. They give you a website you can visit. Cool Stuff and real timesavers. SNAPPER.SQL of course is the best. But my favorite is Name: ESFC_HIT_RATIO.SQL Description: Useless script for calculating an incorrect EXADATA Smart Flash Cache hit ratio (hehe), it seems they even include the junk for completeness.
No book is everything to everyone of course. One thing you won't find in this book is direct help on migration issues you will have with your applications and third party tools. Certainly the book gives information that can be used to work on problems you encounter. But this book is not a book of case studies. Chasing down answers to questions like why do my Informatica loads not all run faster? Why are many of my Business Objects reports which were timing out before, still timing out on EXADATA? There simply would not be enough room in one book to cover EXADATA directly, and these logical followon topics as well.
All in all, this is an excellent choice for an EXADATA practitioner. EXADATA is so new that there are so far only two books anyway. If you are going to be migrating, designing, or developing on EXADATA, you should get this book and if nothing else read and understand the first six chapters. Let it change the way you look at your SQL and your applications.
As an indication of the practical value of the book, consider this: I am currently lucky enough to be working intermitently with Tanel Poder, one of the books authors. This guy may very well be one of the Top-10 EXADATA practitioners on the planet. Every day we meet, he goes over various items, and much of what he talks about is the same material contained in this book. Other stuff can be derived from what is in the book. So this book is about real information and techniques, not just a recapitulation of the manuals. For example, Tanel uses daily, various scripts you will see in the book. SNAPPER.SQL is really good. He shows us how these scripts help us to understand what EXADATA is doing for us and possibly more importantly, what it is not.
Hail Flavius!
Written in a surprisingly readable style, this one took me off the fence regarding Exadata. Here you will find thorough research well-presented. If you are at all interested in this technology and would like to know more, and get it in a non-whitepaper, non-hyped way, this book won't disappoint. My congrats to the author on a great job.
This is an outstanding technical reference on a very important new Oracle technology. I'm very impressed by every aspect of this book. It's incredibly easy to read given the complex nature of the topic and balances technical depth and breadth extremely well.
If you are using Exadata then buying this book is a no brainer. However, even if you are just interested in database technology and want to get a handle on the latest in Oracle database architecture then this book is still a recommended purchase.
The book contains excellent introductions to unique Exadata technologies such as smart scans, columnar compression , flash cache, and storage indexes. It also covers migration, configuration and monitoring. The chapters fit together very nicely to create a complete and practical overview of Exadata architecture, and they can be read individually if you want to quickly get familiar with a particular aspect.
Buying this book is the best and fastest way to get up to speed with Exadata
This is a fantastic technical tome on all things Exadata. Outstanding coverage includes intro of the technology, hardware configurations, administration tasks, performance monitoring and diagnostics, wait events, backup & recovery, and application SQL tuning. Quite easily one of the two best books I've ever read regarding any Oracle technology (The other being Guy Harrison's Oracle Performance Survival Guide). I've met some of the book's authors over the years at various Oracle events (e.g. Hotsos) and thus knew these guys were top notch. But this book still totally blew me away even expecting it to be great knowing who it was coming from. I've been doing Oracle databases for over 20 years, written nine book myself, taught for Oracle Education, and worked extensively with all things Oracle. In fact I'm an Oracle ACE. So I know a good book when I see one - and this book is tops. You will not be disappointed - worth every penny.
Product Details :
Paperback: 588 pages
Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (August 9, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1430233923
ISBN-13: 978-1430233923
Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
More Details about Expert Oracle Exadata 1st edition
or
Download Expert Oracle Exadata 1st edition PDF Ebook
No comments:
Post a Comment