Performance Guide

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Performance Guide

V3.0

Copyright © 2008-2013 VoltDB, Inc.

This document and the software it describes is licensed under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License Version 3 as published by the Free Software Foundation.

VoltDB is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Affero General Public License (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/) for more details.

Abstract

This book explains how to optimize the performance of applications using VoltDB.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Organization of this Manual
2. Other Resources
1. Introduction
1.1. What Affects Performance?
1.2. How to Use This Book
2. Hello, World! Revisited
2.1. Optimizing your Application for VoltDB
2.2. Applying Hello World to a Practical Problem
2.3. Partitioned vs. Replicated Tables
2.3.1. Defining the Partitioning Column
2.3.2. Creating the Stored Procedures
2.4. Using Asynchronous Stored Procedure Calls
2.4.1. Understanding Asynchronous Programming
2.4.2. The Callback Procedure
2.4.3. Making an Asynchronous Procedure Call
2.5. Connecting to all Servers
2.6. Putting it All Together
2.7. Next Steps
3. Understanding VoltDB Execution Plans
3.1. How VoltDB Selects Execution Plans for Individual SQL Statements
3.2. Understanding VoltDB Execution Plans
3.3. Reading the Execution Plan and Optimizing Your SQL Statements
3.3.1. Evaluating the Use of Indexes
3.3.2. Evaluating the Table Order for Joins
4. Creating Flexible Schemas With JSON
4.1. Using JSON Data Structures as VoltDB Content
4.2. Querying JSON Data in VoltDB
4.3. Indexing JSON Fields
4.4. Summary: Considerations When Using JSON in VoltDB
5. Understanding VoltDB Memory Usage
5.1. How VoltDB Uses Memory
5.2. Actions that Impact Memory Usage
5.3. How VoltDB Manages Memory
5.4. How Memory is Allocated and Deallocated
5.5. Controlling How Memory is Allocated
5.6. Understanding Memory Usage for Specific Applications
6. Managing Time
6.1. The Importance of Time
6.2. Using NTP to Manage Time
6.2.1. Basic Configuration
6.2.2. Troubleshooting Issues with Time
6.2.3. Correcting Common Problems with Time
6.2.4. Example NTP Configuration
6.3. Configuring NTP in a Hosted, Virtual, or Cloud Environment
6.3.1. Considerations for Hosted Environments
6.3.2. Considerations for Virtual and Cloud Environments

List of Figures

2.1. Synchronous Procedure Calls
2.2. Asynchronous Procedure Calls
5.1. The Three Types of Memory in VoltDB
5.2. Details of Memory Usage During and After an SQL Statement
5.3. Controlling the Java Heap Size

List of Examples

6.1. Custom NTP Configuration File
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