Many enterprises, such as companies, corporations, and organizations, are creating and deploying “enterprise data warehouses” to serve as the single source of corporate data for business intelligence. As referred herein, a data warehouse is a data storage or repository that includes one or more electrical or electronic data storage devices such as computers, servers, computer databases, and the like. Also, as referred herein and understood in the art, business intelligence (BI) includes applications and technologies that work together to collect, provide access to, and analyze data and information about operations of a business or a desired entity. Enterprise data warehouses are expected to both scale to enormous data volumes (hundreds of terabytes) and perform well under increasingly complex workloads, which typically include batch and incremental data loads, batch reports, and/or complex ad hoc queries. A key challenge is to manage each complex workload in order to meet stringent performance objectives. For example, batch load tasks may be required to finish within a specified time window before reports or queries can be serviced, batch reports may issue thousands of “roll-up” (aggregation) queries that are required to complete within a specified time window, and ad hoc queries may have user-specified deadlines and priorities.
Accordingly, there is a desire to have effective workload management of an enterprise data warehouse (EDW) in order to allocate resources therein and execute workloads assigned thereto so as to meet desired performance objectives.
Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limited in the following figure(s), in which like numerals indicate like elements, in which:
For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of the embodiments are described by referring mainly to examples thereof. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent however, to one of ordinary skill in the art, that the embodiments may be practiced without limitation to these specific details. In other instances, well known methods and structures have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the embodiments.
A common workload that is handled by an enterprise data warehouse (EDW) system is a batch of queries. The workload-management objective for such a workload is to minimize the response time of the workload. This is important because an EDW system often spends a considerable amount of its operational time running batch workloads such as roll-up queries and reports. The current trend is towards even larger queries and batches as data mining and analytics are increasingly becoming central activities for a large data warehouse. The response time of a batch workload running on an EDW system depends on many factors, such as the number and type of queries, system configuration, number of concurrent streams of queries running on the system, etc. One metric of measuring the response time of a workload is throughput. The throughput is measured in queries completed in a unit time. That is, in the context of a batch of queries, throughput is more concerned with the overall response time for a batch of queries rather than the individual response time of each query in the batch.
One way of looking at throughput is with a throughput curve, wherein throughput is plotted against the “load” on an EDW system. Traditionally, multiprogramming level (MPL) has been used to measure a “load” and as the manipulated variable of choice for workload management. As referred herein and understood in the art, MPL is the number of processes or jobs that may be active (that is, executed) at a time in a data processing system such as the EDW system.
An issue with MPL is that as the workload changes, the MPL also needs to be changed. That is, when a system operator or user first confronts a new workload, the precise shape of the throughput curve is unknown to the user, who then has to determine the MPL at which to execute the workload. Typically, the user does not want to be on the left part of the curve, that is, in the underload region 142, because it remains possible to increase the throughput by increasing the MPL. However, as the MPL is increased, there is a danger of entering the overload or thrashing region 146, wherein higher MPLs mean a lower throughput. Very often, increasing the MPL by even one from an MPL on the boundary of the optimal region 144 may cause an immediate severe performance deterioration rather than a gradual decline in performance. This issue is further exacerbated in the EDW space by the fact that a typical BI workload may fluctuate rapidly between long, resource intensive queries, and short, less intensive queries. Thus, at each instant of time, the EDW system may experience a different mix of queries that requires a different optimal setting of MPL.
As described in various embodiments herein, the goal of workload management is to operate the EDW system in the optimal load region 144 in accordance with performance objectives by properly admitting, scheduling, and executing queries and allocating resources for such queries. Accordingly, described herein are systems and methods for a BI workload manager that may be employed in an EDW system for running batches of queries or other types of memory-accessing workloads while protecting against both underload and overload. Thus, the BI workload manager aims to maximize the throughput of BI batch workloads while protecting against underload and overload. The BI workload manager may be employed by operators or users of the EDW system that are interested in enhancing or improving the performance of the EDW system. For example, the system operators or users potentially includes in-house personnel of a company that maintains the EDW system, outside consultants setting up a new EDW system or optimizing an existing EDW system in a company. Although various embodiments as described herein refer to an EDW system, it should be understood that such embodiments are also applicable for any electrical, electronic, or other types of data storage device or system without deviating from the scope of the embodiments.
A manipulated variable may be any system resource that causes a bottleneck when processing queries on the EDW system, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a disk drive, and memory and message buffers. While saturation of CPU, disc, or message buffers may be limiting factors, once they are saturated, the throughput cannot be improved or degraded. However, over subscription of memory may lead to serious degradation in throughput performance because of thrashing. Thus, in one embodiment, memory is used as the manipulated variable. Accordingly, the admission controller 210 uses memory as a basis for admitting queries, wherein each batch is divided into sub-batches such that the memory requirement of queries in each sub-batch adds up to the available memory on the system. In execution control, the execution manager 230 executes each of these sub-batches of queries on a priority gradient called priority gradient multiprogramming (PGM) process. That is, each query in a sub-batch is executed with a unique priority, that stabilizes the EDW system over a wide range of memory prediction errors. The scheduler 220 is employed to provide assignment of priorities to the queries. The components 210, 220, and 230 are further described below.
With memory being used as the manipulated variable of choice in the BI workload manager 200, for a query Qi, with execution time Ei, its memory requirement mi is given as:
m
i=max {avg(mict)|0<t·Ei},
where mict is the memory required by query Qi at time t at CPU c and the average is taken over all the CPUs at time t. For a batch of queries Q1, Q2, . . . , Qn·W (where a query Qi belongs to a workload W), and the average available memory across all CPUs is M, the size of the workload is given as xF where:
x=·m
i
/M.
That is, the workload is a factor x times the size of the average available memory, F=M, across all CPUs. For example, if the memory requirement of queries in a workload adds up to 12 GB and the average available memory across all CPUs in the EDW system is 4 GB, then the workload is of size 3 F.
The aim of execution control by the execution manager 230 is to stabilize for memory prediction errors. As shown from the above equations, when queries in a workload are executed at the same priority, hereinafter called equal priority multiprogramming or EPM, and the size of the workload is greater than the amount of memory available on an EDW system, system thrashing may occur and in turn produces severe performance deterioration. That is, in an EDW system that employs EPM, all processes, such as queries, are running with the same priority. When a process p page faults, it goes to the wait queue. When its page arrives, it goes to the end of the ready queue. All other processes prior to p in the ready queue are either finished or page fault before the CPU get to p. Thus, all the processes in the EDW system get a “fair” share of the system resources. EPM is robust for a reasonable range of overestimates. That is, if the size for a workload is overestimated such that actual memory required is less then expected, the throughput will remain in the optimal region. For example, it is found that EPM is stable for workloads between the sizes of ⅓ F and 1 F. However, EPM is very unstable for underestimates, wherein there is a sudden drop in throughput as the size of the workload increases beyond the available memory.
To overcome the aforementioned issue with EPM, a priority gradient multiprogramming (PGM) process is employed by the execution manager 230, wherein queries are executed at different priorities such that a gradient of priorities is created. That is, in an EDW system that employs a PGM process, if a highest priority process q page faults, once its required page arrives in memory, the process q will preempt the currently running process in the CPU instead of going to the back of the ready queue. The remaining memory resources are automatically allocated to the query running at the second highest priority level. This continues down the priority gradient, which results in processes such as queries asking for and releasing memory at different rates. The releasing of memory by prioritized processes or jobs in a workload alleviates memory contention, which is a primary cause of thrashing as further discussed later.
Accordingly, in one embodiment, the PGM process is a mechanism for executing a batch of queries Q1, Q2, . . . , Qn·W (where a query Qi belongs to a workload or batch W) in a database on the following conditions provided by the scheduler 220:
The difference between any two successive priorities, Pi+1 and Pi is a step-size constant k. Because most operating systems have a fixed number of allowable priorities, setting k=1 permits for the largest possible number of queries being assigned a valid priority. For example, there are ten queries Q1, . . . , Q10 in a workload, and the highest permissible priority for a query is 200. If the order function is chosen as Ford(Qi)=i and the step-size constant is chosen as k=1. then the priority of Q1 is 200, Q2 is 199 and so on to Q10 having a priority of 191. Thus, the workload with these priorities is admitted into the execution manager 230. For some database systems where different operations of a query are assigned different priorities by the execution manager 230, k may be larger. The ordering function Ford may be a function that assigns order based on a system characteristic, such as expected time taken, expected memory usage, or some other system resource characteristics. Alternatively, Ford may be a function that assigns a random order, which does not require computation of the aforementioned characteristics.
The aforementioned PGM process is operable in an EDW system that employs an operating system with a preemptive priority scheduler. As known in the art, a preemptive priority scheduler is available in a number of existing operating systems to receive a process that arrives at the ready queue, compare the priority of the newly-arrived process with a currently running process, and preempt the CPU for the newly-arrived process if its priority is higher than the priority of the currently running process. The PGM process provides an effective mechanism for stabilizing the right side (overload region 146) of the throughput curve as illustrated in
A main cause of thrashing is severe memory contention, which may be explained in the context of a global page replacement policy that replaces virtual memory pages (or memory frames in the case of physical memory) regardless of the process to which such pages belong. For example, when a process (such as a query) p input to the EDW system requires more memory pages, it starts faulting and taking away pages from other processes. Because these other processes also need those pages, they also fault and take pages from other processes. These faulting processes must use a paging device to swap pages in and out. As they queue up for the paging device, the ready queue empties. As processes wait for the paging device, the CPU utilization drops. The CPU scheduler sees the decreasing CPU utilization and increases the number of processes. The new processes start by taking pages from the existing running processes, which further exacerbates memory contention, and CPU utilization drops further. As a result, the CPU executes more processes, and thrashing occurs with the throughput plunging significantly because the processes are spending all their time in page faulting.
As illustrated in
The execution control by the execution manager 230 relies on unique priority given to queries or that such queries be arranged in some order Ford. In one embodiment, as noted earlier, the order of priorities is provided by the scheduler 220 so as to implement the PGM profile, and such an order may be randomly chosen. In another embodiment, if a workload is in the optimal region 144, the order of priorities provided by the scheduler 220 may be randomly chosen. However, it is noted that the throughput penalty for being in the overload region 146 is much higher than being in the underload region 142. Hence, the scheduler 220 may provide a scheduling order that stabilizes the EDW system for memory underestimation errors. In one embodiment, the scheduling order provided is the Largest Memory Priority (LMP) order as described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 200704105) as noted above.
Under the LMP order, the queries are assigned priority in the order of their memory requirement. As the name implies, the query with the largest memory requirement is given the highest priority. That is, as illustrated in
With LMP ordering, the query with the largest memory requirement gets the highest priority and is amongst the earliest to be done and releases its memory. Typically, queries in a workload start building up their memories, and the memory requirement continues to rise unless some memory is released. In EPM, this causes thrashing because all queries have the same priority. In a PGM process, the optimal region 144 is extended as queries finish up and release their memories. LMP ordering further extenuates the PGM process by giving the highest priority to the query that would release the largest amount of memory.
With memory as the manipulated variable of choice and the aforementioned scheduler 220 and execution manager 230, the admission controller 210 employs an admission policy in accordance with a process as illustrated in
At 610, a workload such as a batch of queries are divided into sub-batches such that each sub-batch is of a size 1 F, that is, utilizing substantially the size of the average available memory across all CPUs in the EDW system. Known methods may be used for dividing a batch into sub-batches. For example, the division of a batch of queries into sub batches may be reduced to a 1-dimensional bin packing issue that includes packing irregular 1-dimensional object into bins of fixed size such that the number of bins is a minimum, with 1 F being the size of the bin and the queries as the packages that need to be packed in the bins. This issue is a nondeterministic polynomial-time hard (NP-Hard) issue. Any known approximate algorithm, such as the First Fit Decreasing (FFD) algorithm, may be used to solve such an issue. FFD has known bounds of the number of bins being at most (11/9)+1 times the optimal number of bins. Accordingly, applying to the BI workload manager 200, FFD may be rewritten as: a) arranging queries of the batch in descending order of memory requirement mi; b) for every query Qi in this order, insert or assign Qi in the first sub batch that can accommodate the query (without the size of the sub batch exceeding 1 F); and c) repeating step b until all the queries have been assigned to a sub-batch.
At 620, each sub-batch has its queries therein assigned with unique priorities based on the LMP ordering by the scheduler 220.
At 630, each sub-batch of queries is executed by the execution manager 230 in accordance with assigned priorities of the queries in the PGM process.
At 640, once execution of a sub-batch is completed or done, a new sub-batch is introduced for execution by the BI workload manager 200 until all sub-batches of the workload are executed. In one embodiment, a batch (or sub-batch) of queries is done when all three of the following conditions are satisfied: a) When a predetermined threshold Tfinish number of queries are done; b) the memory pressure falls below a predetermined threshold Tmem; and c) the average CPU utilization falls below a predetermined threshold TCPU.
The computer system 700 includes one or more processors, such as processor 702, providing an execution platform for executing software. Thus, the computerized system 700 includes one or more single-core or multi-core processors of any of a number of computer processors, such as processors from Intel, AMD, and Cyrix. As referred herein, a computer processor may be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or any other multi-purpose processor or microprocessor. A computer processor also may be a special-purpose processor, such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), an audio processor, a digital signal processor, or another processor dedicated for one or more processing purposes. Commands and data from the processor 702 are communicated over a communication bus 704 or through point-to-point links with other components in the computer system 700.
The computer system 700 also includes a main memory 706 where software is resident during runtime, and a secondary memory 708. The secondary memory 708 may also be a computer-readable medium (CRM) that may be used to store software programs, applications, or modules that implement components in the BI workflow manager 200. Thus, the CRM is operable to store software programs, applications, or modules that implement the components 210, 220, and 230 in the BI workload manager 200. The main memory 706 and secondary memory 708 (and an optional removable storage unit 714) each includes, for example, a hard disk drive 710 and/or a removable storage drive 712 representing a floppy diskette drive, a magnetic tape drive, a compact disk drive, etc., or a nonvolatile memory where a copy of the software is stored. In one example, the secondary memory 708 also includes ROM (read only memory), EPROM (erasable, programmable ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasable, programmable ROM), or any other electronic, optical, magnetic, or other storage or transmission device capable of providing a processor or processing unit with computer-readable instructions. The computer system 700 includes a display 720 connected via a display adapter 722, user interfaces comprising one or more input devices 718, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a stylus, and the like. However, the input devices 718 and the display 720 are optional. A network interface 730 is provided for communicating with other computer systems via, for example, a network.
What has been described and illustrated herein is an embodiment along with some of its variations. The terms, descriptions and figures used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the subject matter, which is intended to be defined by the following claims—and their equivalents—in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated.
This application is related to the following applications: U.S. Patent Application No. 61/042954 (Attorney Docket No. 200704105-1), entitled, “SCHEDULING MEMORY USAGE OF A WORKLOAD,” as filed on Apr. 7, 2008; U.S. Patent Application No. 61/010132 (Attorney Docket No. 200702905-1), entitled, “PROCESSING BATCH DATABASE WORKLOAD WHILE AVOIDING OVERLOAD”, as filed on Jan. 3, 2008. These applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61042954 | Apr 2008 | US | |
61010132 | Jan 2008 | US |