Dump Load Performance

TuckWai

New Member
Hi All,

I am quite new to Progress and Administration work. I wish to perform Dump Load on my Database, how do i estimate how much time is needed for the process and what are the options available for doing Dump Load.

Based on similar topics posted here, i found there are several ways of doing it :-
1. Dictionary Dump Load
2. Binary Dump Load
3. Bulk Load

Which one should i use as i have limited down time for doing Dump Load on the Database.

Please Advice.
Thanks
 
The best way to estimate the time needed is by testing. Every system is different and the time required can vary substantially.

When time is a consideration you generally need to take maximum advantage of your hardware resources by parallelizing the process. You might want to take a look at Highly Parallel Dump & Load for some ideas on the topic.

<shameless_plug>
You could, of course, also hire a consultant to help you out :cool:
</shameless_plug>
 
I forgot to mention :-
The OS platform : Sun Solaris 9
Progress Ver : Progress 9.1e
Hardware : Sun Fire V880
Application : QAD MFG/Pro

Can Highly Parallel Dump Load be used on my version of progress ?

I have tried getting consultant to help but he quoted 3.5 days which i am having difficulty arrangging for it due to my 24x7 environment.
I understand that my database is quite large so the amount of time quoted is understand able. But it will be great if i at least could shortend the time by 1 or 0.5days.
So i am hoping to understand all my options and choose the best one to minimize the down time.
 
I forgot to mention :-
The OS platform : Sun Solaris 9
Progress Ver : Progress 9.1e
Hardware : Sun Fire V880
Application : QAD MFG/Pro

Can Highly Parallel Dump Load be used on my version of progress ?

Yes. Significantly.

I have tried getting consultant to help but he quoted 3.5 days which i am having difficulty arrangging for it due to my 24x7 environment.
I understand that my database is quite large so the amount of time quoted is understand able. But it will be great if i at least could shortend the time by 1 or 0.5days.
So i am hoping to understand all my options and choose the best one to minimize the down time.

How big is your database?

For my Exchange presentation I dumped and loaded 4GB in approx 30 minutes using an old clunky Linux box.

You haven't described your disk subsystem so it is even more difficult to predict the eventual time but I would be very surprised if you need more than 12 hours of downtime for any but the very largest databases.

Consulting time to do a dump & load isn't just the d&l itself -- you should also put some serious time and thought into the target database design. If you're going to dump and load you should load into a database design that brings you some advantages:

Some Surprising Advantages of Storage Areas

Especially if a tight window has to be met you need to do a lot of testing. I have, for instance, had customers who did (literally) dozens of dry runs in order to shave the time down to the bare minimum. In one case we took a process that was initially estimated to be 3+ weeks down to 6 hours. The consulting time to do that was substantial (500+ hours) and spread over 6 months. But is was well worth it to the customer.

Other times the customer is able to play faster and looser with the testing and it may just be a long weekend sort of engagement. (Or a couple of days to test and then a weekend to do it for real...)
 
My Current database is at 32GB.

My database is currently residing on 146GB Disk Drives with AI & BI on separate h/disk
 
The db is on just one 146GB drive? That's not very ideal. But even so you can probably get it done in 8 to 12 hours.
 
Hello, mate.

I agree with Tom's view. 32GB is not especially large. His figure of 8 to 12 hours sounds right. If anything, maybe conservative. Perhaps the consultant's quote of 3.5 days was for all his time -- including planning and testing.

I also agree with Tom that your configuration sounds a bit funny. A V880 is a rather powerful box. Maybe you have a disc problem. Exactly what discs do you have (internal and external) -- what specs -- what RAID. Also, how many processors and how much RAM do you have?

Ron.

(Tom: Shame on you! :lol: )
 
Hello, mate.

I agree with Tom's view. 32GB is not especially large. His figure of 8 to 12 hours sounds right. If anything, maybe conservative. Perhaps the consultant's quote of 3.5 days was for all his time -- including planning and testing.

I also agree with Tom that your configuration sounds a bit funny. A V880 is a rather powerful box. Maybe you have a disc problem. Exactly what discs do you have (internal and external) -- what specs -- what RAID. Also, how many processors and how much RAM do you have?

Ron.

The current server is running on 8 disk drives
4 disk - on board controller
4 disk - additional card controller
We only perform mirroring on the disk.
For the processsor and RAM how do i check them?

I also feels that the server has much potential but i am rather new into administration work as i am more towards development but due to our previous admnistrator resign i am passed on the responsibility.

I feels that a lot of resources of the server are left un used. I think this is due to previously the server is upgraded from Sun Ultra 450 and the v880 is set up excatly like the old server.

i really wish to change this can give some guidance on what i should look into first to maximize the perfomance

p/s : the server is used solely for QAD Mfg/pro only
 
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