Attribute Clustering

In Part I we looked at a scenario where an index was deemed to be too inefficient for Automatic Indexing to create a VALID index, because of the poor clustering of data within the table. In Part II we improved the data clustering but the previous SQLs could still not generate a new Automatic Index […]

  In my previous post, I discussed a scenario in which Oracle Automatic Indexing refused to create a VALID index, because the resultant index was too inefficient to access the necessary rows due to the poor clustering of data within the table. If the performance of such an SQL were critical for business requirements, there […]

I’ve discussed many times the importance of data clustering in relation to the efficiency of indexes. With respect to the efficiency of Automatic Indexes including their usage within Oracle’s Autonomous Database environments, data clustering is just as important. The following demo was run on an Oracle 19c database within the Oracle Autonomous Database Transaction Processing […]

I of course attract a highly clever readership :). As some have commented, for a single table to require 1000+ consistent gets to retrieve 1000 rows implies that each row needs to be accessed from a different block. This in turn implies the Clustering Factor for this index to be relatively bad and the associated […]

I’ve had a couple of recent discussions around clustering and how if you attempt to improve the clustering of a table based on a column, you thereby ruin the current clustering that might exist for a different column. The common wisdom being you can only order the data one way and if you change the […]

In my previous post, I discussed how you can now move heap tables online with Oracle Database 12.2 and how this can be very beneficial in helping to address issues with the Clustering Factor of key indexes. A problem with this technique is that is requires the entire table to be effectively reorganised when most of […]

I’ve previously discussed the new Zone Map database feature and how they work in a similar manner to Exadata Storage indexes. Just like Storage Indexes (and conventional indexes for that manner), they work best when the data is well clustered in relation to the Zone Map or index. By having the data in the table […]

One of the really cool new features introduced in 12.1.0.2 is Attribute Clustering. This new table based attribute allows you to very easily cluster data in close physical proximity based on the content of specific columns. As I’ve discussed many times, indexes love table data that is physically clustered in a similar manner to the index … … Continue reading →

Oracle Database 12.1.0.2 has finally been released and it has a number of really exciting goodies from an indexing perspective which include: Database In-Memory Option, which enables specific portions of the database to be in dual format, in both the existing row based format and additionally into an efficient memory only columnar based format. This in […]