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How To Use Automatic Shared Memory Management (ASMM) In Oracle10g [ID 295626.1]

Applies to:

Oracle Server - Enterprise Edition - Version: 10.1.0.2 to 10.2.0.1

Information in this document applies to any platform.

Purpose

Checked for relevance on 3-4-2010.

The main goal of this document is to show you how to put in place the ASMM facility introduced
with Oracle10g, how to configure it, and also some examples on how to monitor its activity.

NOTE: ASMM can still be used on 11g instead of the new 11g Automatic Memory Management
(AMM) setting MEMORY_TARGET=0 and SGA_TARGET > 0

Scope and Application

All the DBAs and users concerned with Database Administration activities.

How To Use Automatic Shared Memory Management (ASMM) In Oracle10g

The ASMM Facility, How to Configure it and Review its Effect

1. Concept

Starting with Oracle version 9.0.1, some SGA parameters have been defined as 'Dynamic'
parameters. The "ALTER SYSTEM" command may be used to grow/shrink their current values.

The whole SGA size is limited by the SGA_MAX_SIZE parameter that is the defined upper
bound. Each SGA parameter is allocated in terms of Granules that is the Allocation Unit. The
Granule size will depend on the SGA_MAX_SIZE value and hardware platform.

Depending on the 9i version, the following parameters have been defined as dynamic
parameters:

• 9.0.1: Shared Pool and Default Buffer Cache

• 9.2.0: Shared Pool, Default Buffer Cache, Large Pool

When you grow/shrink the dynamic size of one of the above parameters, the freed memory won't
be reallocated to another dynamic component automatically. You must do it manually if needed.

In 10G version, the ASMM has been introduced to relieve DBAs from sizing some parts of the
SGA by themselves.

When enabled, it lets Oracle decide of the right size for some components of the SGA:

• SHARED POOL
• LARGE POOL
• JAVA POOL
 2

• DB CACHE (using the DB_BLOCK_SIZE value)

They are called auto-tuned parameters.

The main objectives to justify this new functionality are:

• Distribute the available memory depending of the current Workload. The MMAN process
will take some regular memory snapshots to evaluate the needs and thereby the
dispatching of the usable memory.
• Enhance the memory usage depending of the activity. Avoid the memory errors like
ORA-4031.

To get more details about the ASMM concepts, you can read the <note:257643.1 Oracle
Database 10g Automated SGA Memory Tuning .

2. Configuration

The ASMM is driven by one init parameter: SGA_TARGET.

When set to 0, the ASMM is disabled and you run with the old method, so you need to define the
above auto-tuned parameters by yourself.
The default value for SGA_TARGET is 0 so ASMM disabled.

The conditions to enable the ASMM mechanism are:

• STATISTICS_LEVEL=TYPICAL or ALL
• SGA_TARGET > 0

When you use a value greater than 0, the ASMM is enabled and the memory will be spread
between all components: auto-tuned and manual parameters.

The SGA_TARGET value will therefore define the memory size sharable between auto-tuned and
manual parameters.

The manual parameters are:

• DB__CACHE_SIZE
• DB_nK_CACHE_SIZE (non default block size)
• LOG_BUFFER
• FIXED SGA
• STREAMS_POOL_SIZE

Amonst these manual parameters, some of them are modifiable or fixed (defined at startup only):

• Modifiable: DB__CACHE_SIZE, STREAMS_POOL_SIZE

• Fixed: DB_nK_CACHE_SIZE, FIXED SGA, LOG_BUFFER

The SGA_TARGET will be limited by the SGA_MAX_SIZE value. The SGA_MAX_SIZE cannot
be modified dynamically.

SQL> show parameter sga_max

 3

NAME TYPE VALUE

------------------------------------ ----------- -----
sga_max_size big integer 300M

If you try to define a larger SGA_TARGET, you will get the following message:

SQL> alter system set sga_target=400M;

alter system set sga_target=400M
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-02097: parameter cannot be modified because specified value is
invalid
ORA-00823: Specified value of sga_target greater than sga_max_size

3. Some Examples

3.1 Manual to ASMM

This can be the case when you just upgraded your database from an older version.

The SGA_TARGET is non defined, so 0 by default.

SQL> show parameter sga

NAME TYPE VALUE

---------------- ----------- -------
lock_sga boolean FALSE
pre_page_sga boolean FALSE
sga_max_size big integer 164M <<<<<<<
sga_target big integer 0

All the SGA parameters have been set manually:

SQL> show parameter size

NAME TYPE VALUE

------------------------------------ ----------- -------------------
bitmap_merge_area_size integer 1048576
create_bitmap_area_size integer 8388608
db_block_size integer 8192
db_cache_size big integer 24M <<<<<<<<<<<
db_keep_cache_size big integer 0
db_recovery_file_dest_size big integer 2G
db_recycle_cache_size big integer 0
db_16k_cache_size big integer 0
db_2k_cache_size big integer 0
db_32k_cache_size big integer 0
db_4k_cache_size big integer 0
db_8k_cache_size big integer 0
global_context_pool_size string
hash_area_size integer 131072
java_max_sessionspace_size integer 0
java_pool_size big integer 48M <<<<<<<<
large_pool_size big integer 8M <<<<<<<<<
max_dump_file_size string UNLIMITED
object_cache_max_size_percent integer 10
 4

object_cache_optimal_size integer 102400

olap_page_pool_size big integer 0
parallel_execution_message_size integer 2148
sga_max_size big integer 164M
shared_pool_reserved_size big integer 4M
shared_pool_size big integer 80M <<<<<<<<<
sort_area_retained_size integer 0
sort_area_size integer 65536
streams_pool_size big integer 0
workarea_size_policy string AUTO

So the auto-tuned parameters are:

DB_CACHE_SIZE=24M
SHARED_POOL_SIZE=80M
LARGE_POOL_SIZE=8M
JAVA_POOL_SIZE=48M

4M are reserved for the other manual parameters.

SQL> show sga

Total System Global Area 171966464 bytes

Fixed Size 787988 bytes
Variable Size 145750508 bytes
Database Buffers 25165824 bytes
Redo Buffers 262144 bytes

You decide to switch in ASMM mode:

SQL> alter system set sga_target=100M;

System altered.

SQL> show parameter sga

NAME TYPE VALUE

----------------------------- ----------- -----
lock_sga boolean FALSE
pre_page_sga boolean FALSE
sga_max_size big integer 164M
sga_target big integer 164M

The SGA_TARGET has been adjusted silently to support the initial values for the auto-tuned
parameters as listed in the V$SGA_DYNAMIC_COMPONENTS view.

SQL> select component, current_size, min_size, user_specified_size from

v$sga_dynamic_components;

COMPONENT CURRENT_SIZE MIN_SIZE USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE

------------------------------ ------------ ---------- -------------------
shared pool 80 80 80
large pool 8 8 8
java pool 48 48 48
streams pool 0 0 0
DEFAULT buffer cache 24 24 24
KEEP buffer cache 0 0 0
RECYCLE buffer cache 0 0 0
 5

DEFAULT 2K buffer cache 0 0 0

DEFAULT 4K buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 8K buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 16K buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 32K buffer cache 0 0 0
OSM Buffer Cache 0 0 24

13 rows selected.

This is a particular case when the SGA_MAX_SIZE parameter has been initialized by Oracle from the
different init SGA parameters.

You don't have any free memory available to grow the dynamic sizes.

SQL> select * from v$sga_dynamic_free_memory;

CURRENT_SIZE
------------
0

If you have set the SGA_MAX_SIZE beyond the cumulative size of the different SGA parameters, let
say to 300M:

SQL> alter system set sga_target=164M;

System altered.

SQL> show parameter sga

NAME TYPE VALUE

------------------------------------ ----------- -----------
lock_sga boolean FALSE
pre_page_sga boolean FALSE
sga_max_size big integer 300M
sga_target big integer 164M

SQL> select current_size/1024/1024 "CURRENT_SIZE" from

v$sga_dynamic_free_memory;

CURRENT_SIZE
-------------------
136

So you dispose now of 136M free for SGA expansion.

3.2 Increase/Reduce the SGA_TARGET

You have the means to change dynamically the size of the sga_target.

SQL> alter system set sga_target=200M;

System altered.

SQL> show parameter sga

NAME TYPE VALUE

------------------------------------ ----------- -----
 6

lock_sga boolean FALSE

pre_page_sga boolean FALSE
sga_max_size big integer 300M
sga_target big integer 200M

SQL> select component, current_size/1024/1024 "CURRENT_SIZE",

min_size/1024/1024 "MIN_SIZE", user_specified_size/1024/1024
"USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE" from v$sga_dynamic_components;

COMPONENT CURRENT_SIZE MIN_SIZE USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE

------------------------------ ------------ ---------- -------------------
shared pool 80 80 80
large pool 8 8 8
java pool 48 48 48
streams pool 0 0 0
DEFAULT buffer cache 60 24 24
KEEP buffer cache 0 0 0
RECYCLE buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 2K buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 4K buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 8K buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 16K buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 32K buffer cache 0 0 0
OSM Buffer Cache 0 0 24

We can see that the additional space has been used automatically. The DB_CACHE_SIZE has
grown from 24M to 60M.

SGA SIZE = 80M+8M+48M+60M=196M so 4M are again reserved for the manual parameters.

We can also reduce the space reserved for auto-tuned parameters:

SQL> alter system set sga_target = 160M;

alter system set sga_target = 160M
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-02097: parameter cannot be modified because specified value is invalid
ORA-00827: could not shrink sga_target to specified value

The above example illustrates the fact that we cannot reduce the size below the sum of minimum
values (MIN_SIZE): 80M+8M+48M+24M+4M (manual parameters)=164M.

Oracle will decide where to allocate the added space depending on the needs for each auto-tuned
components based on the MMAN survey:

SQL> alter system set sga_target=300M;

System altered.

select component, current_size/1024/1024 "CURRENT_SIZE",

min_size/1024/1024 "MIN_SIZE", user_specified_size/1024/1024
"USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE" from v$sga_dynamic_components;

COMPONENT CURRENT_SIZE MIN_SIZE USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE

---------------------------------------------------------------- ------
shared pool 80 80 80
large pool 8 8 8
java pool 48 48 48
 7

streams pool 0 0 0
DEFAULT buffer cache 160 24 24 <<<<<<
KEEP buffer cache 0 0 0
RECYCLE buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 2K buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 4K buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 8K buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 16K buffer cache 0 0 0
DEFAULT 32K buffer cache 0 0 0
OSM Buffer Cache 0 0 24

The DB_CACHE_SIZE has been raised from 24M to 160M so all the added memory has been
allocated to the buffer cache. It won't be necessary the case at each time.

As we said above, the SGA_TARGET includes both the auto-tuned and the manual parameters.
When you decide to raise a manual value, it will influence the auto-tuned part:

SQL> show sga

Total System Global Area 314572800 bytes

Fixed Size 788692 bytes
Variable Size 145749804 bytes
Database Buffers 167772160 bytes
Redo Buffers 262144 bytes

SQL> alter system set streams_pool_size=10M;

System altered.

select component, current_size/1024/1024 "CURRENT_SIZE",

min_size/1024/1024 "MIN_SIZE",
user_specified_size/1024/1024 "USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE", last_oper_type "TYPE"
from v$sga_dynamic_components;

SQL> /

COMPONENT CURRENT_SIZE MIN_SIZE USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE TYPE

------------------------------ ------------ ---------- ----------------
shared pool 80 80 80 STATIC
large pool 8 8 8 STATIC
java pool 48 48 48 STATIC
streams pool 12 0 12 GROW
DEFAULT buffer cache 148 24 24 SHRINK
KEEP buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
RECYCLE buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 2K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 4K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 8K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 16K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 32K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
OSM Buffer Cache 0 0 24 STATIC

The GROW and SHRINK operation types appear for streams pool and default buffer cache.
The STREAMS_POOL_SIZE value has been rounded to 12M based on the GRANULE_SIZE of the
component:
 8

SQL> select component, granule_size/1024/1024 "GRANULE_SIZE(Mb)" from

v$sga_dynamic_components;

COMPONENT GRANULE_SIZE(Mb)
------------------------------ ----------------
shared pool 4
large pool 4
java pool 4
streams pool 4
DEFAULT buffer cache 4
KEEP buffer cache 4
RECYCLE buffer cache 4
DEFAULT 2K buffer cache 4
DEFAULT 4K buffer cache 4
DEFAULT 8K buffer cache 4
DEFAULT 16K buffer cache 4
DEFAULT 32K buffer cache 4
OSM Buffer Cache 4

You can find the history of the resize operations in the V$SGA_RESIZE_OPS view:

SQL> select component, oper_type, oper_mode, initial_size/1024/1024

"INITIAL", TARGET_SIZE/1024/1024
"TARGET", FINAL_SIZE/1024/1024 "FINAL", status from v$sga_resize_ops;

COMPONENT OPER_TYPE OPER_MODE INITIAL TARGET FINAL STATUS

------------------------------ ------------- --------- ----------
-----DEFAULT buffer cache SHRINK MANUAL 160 148 148
COMPLETE
streams pool GROW MANUAL 0 12 12 COMPLETE

If you decide to decrease the sga_target, you will influence only the auto-tuned sizes, the manual
parameters will stay untouched.

SQL> alter system set sga_target=200M;

SQL> select component, current_size/1024/1024 "CURRENT_SIZE",

min_size/1024/1024 "MIN_SIZE",
user_specified_size/1024/1024 "USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE", last_oper_type
"TYPE" from v$sga_dynamic_components;

COMPONENT URRENT_SIZE MIN_SIZE USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE TYPE

------------------------------ ------------ ---------- -------------------
shared pool 80 80 80 STATIC
large pool 8 8 8 STATIC
java pool 48 48 48 STATIC
streams pool 12 0 12 GROW
DEFAULT buffer cache 48 24 24 SHRINK
KEEP buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
RECYCLE buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 2K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 4K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 8K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 16K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 32K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
OSM Buffer Cache 0 0 24 STATIC
 9

The lowest limit for sga_target has become now: SUM(MIN_SIZE) for all auto-tuned parameters +
CURRENT_SIZE(streams_pool) + 4M = 176M
If you try to override this limit, you will get the ORA-00827 error code.

3.3 Increase/Reduce the auto-tuned parameters

You can also decide to change the default distribution chosen by the MMAN process.

SQL> alter system set shared_pool_size=100M;

System altered.

SQL>select component, current_size/1024/1024 "CURRENT_SIZE",

min_size/1024/1024 "
user_specified_size/1024/1024 "USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE", last_oper_type
"TYPE" from v$sga_dynamic_components;

COMPONENT CURRENT_SIZE MIN_SIZE USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE TYPE

------------------------------ ------------ ---------- -------------------
shared pool 100 80 100 GROW
large pool 8 8 8 STATIC
java pool 48 48 48 STATIC
streams pool 12 0 12 GROW
DEFAULT buffer cache 28 24 24 SHRINK
KEEP buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
RECYCLE buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 2K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 4K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 8K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 16K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 32K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
OSM Buffer Cache 0 0 24 STATIC

The query output above shows that the SHARED_POOL_SIZE has been well resized to 100M. Both
the CURRENT_SIZE and USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE columns have been reset.
The 20M have been taken from the default buffer cache which has dropped from 48M to 28M.

If you continue to do it:

SQL> alter system set shared_pool_size=180M;

alter system set shared_pool_size=180M
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-02097: parameter cannot be modified because specified value is invalid
ORA-04033: Insufficient memory to grow pool

The memory size increase for an auto-tuned parameter will be dependent on:

• SGA_TARGET (200M in this case).

• MIN_SIZE for the other auto-tuned parameters
• CURRENT_SIZE for the manual parameters resized manually
• SIZE already allocated for fixed parameters (4M)
 10

The formula will be: SGA_TARGET - ((SUM(MIN_SIZE for other auto-tuned parameters) +
(CURRENT_SIZE for manual parameters) + (size allocated for fixed parameters))

so Memory available for increase: 200M - ((8M + 48M + 24M)) + (12M) + (4M)) = 104M

SQL> alter system set shared_pool_size=104M

System altered.

SQL> select component, current_size/1024/1024 "CURRENT_SIZE",

min_size/1024/1024 "MIN_SIZE",
user_specified_size/1024/1024 "USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE", last_oper_type
"TYPE" from v$sga_dynamic_components;

COMPONENT CURRENT_SIZE MIN_SIZE USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE TYPE

------------------------------ ------------ ---------- ----------------
shared pool 104 80 104 GROW
large pool 8 8 8 STATIC
java pool 48 48 48 STATIC
streams pool 12 0 12 GROW
DEFAULT buffer cache 24 24 24 SHRINK
KEEP buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
RECYCLE buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 2K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 4K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 8K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 16K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 32K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
OSM Buffer Cache 0 0 24 STATIC

If you want continue to increase the shared pool, it will be necessary to raise now the
SGA_TARGET value.

When you raise the size of an auto-tuned parameter, the CURRENT_SIZE reflects synchronously
this action as shown above.

This isn't the case when you decrease one of the auto-tuned parameters:

SQL> alter system set shared_pool_size=80M;

System altered.

SQL> select component, current_size/1024/1024 "CURRENT_SIZE",

min_size/1024/1024 "MIN_SIZE",
user_specified_size/1024/1024 "USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE", last_oper_type
"TYPE" from v$sga_dynamic_components;

COMPONENT CURRENT_SIZE MIN_SIZE USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE TYPE

-------------- ------------- -------- ------------------ ------
shared pool 104 80 80 GROW
large pool 8 8 8 STATIC
java pool 48 48 48 STATIC
streams pool 12 0 12 GROW
DEFAULT buffer cache 24 24 24 SHRINK
KEEP buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
RECYCLE buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
 11

DEFAULT 2K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC

DEFAULT 4K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 8K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 16K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 32K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
OSM Buffer Cache 0 0 24 STATIC

Only the USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE shows the shrink operation. However the 20M will be
available by the ASMM process if needed to be redistributed..

Finally you can check the history of resize operations like below:

SQL> select component, oper_type, oper_mode, initial_size/1024/1024

"INITIAL", TARGET_SIZE/1024/1024
"TARGET", FINAL_SIZE/1024/1024 "FINAL", status, TO_CHAR(end_time,
'DD/MM/YYYY HH:MI:SS') "DATE" from V$SGA_RESIZE_OPS; order by end_time;

COMPONENT OPER_TYPE OPER_MODE INITIAL

TARGET FINAL STATUS DATE
------------------------- ------------- --------- ---------- ----------
---------- --------- -------
DEFAULT buffer cache SHRINK MANUAL 160
148 148 COMPLETE 18/01/2005 10:56:27
streams pool GROW MANUAL 0
12 12 COMPLETE 18/01/2005 10:56:27
DEFAULT buffer cache SHRINK DEFERRED 148
48 48 COMPLETE 18/01/2005 11:29:47
DEFAULT buffer cache SHRINK MANUAL 48
28 28 COMPLETE 18/01/2005 11:48:20
shared pool GROW MANUAL 80
100 100 COMPLETE 18/01/2005 11:48:20
DEFAULT buffer cache SHRINK MANUAL 28
24 24 COMPLETE 18/01/2005 12:17:34
shared pool GROW MANUAL 100
104 104 COMPLETE 18/01/2005 12:17:34

3.4 ASMM to Manual

You can disable the ASMM mechanism at any time by setting the SGA_TARGET value to 0.

In this case the current_size will be used by default as shown below:

SQL> alter system set sga_target=0;

System altered.

SQL> select component, current_size/1024/1024 "CURRENT_SIZE",

min_size/1024/1024 "MIN_SIZE",
user_specified_size/1024/1024 "USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE",
last_oper_type "TYPE" from v$sga_dynamic_components;
 12

COMPONENT CURRENT_SIZE MIN_SIZE USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE TYPE

----------- ------------ --------- ------------------- -----
shared pool 104 80 104 GROW
<<<<< 104 has become the current value
large pool 8 8 8 STATIC
java pool 48 48 48 STATIC
streams pool 12 0 12 GROW
DEFAULT buffer cache 24 24 24 SHRINK
KEEP buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
RECYCLE buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 2K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 4K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 8K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 16K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 32K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
OSM Buffer Cache 0 0 24 STATIC

If you shutdown the instance now, you will record the CURRENT_SIZE value for all the
parameters.

After the restart, the MIN_SIZE values are equal to CURRENT_SIZE.

SQL> select component, current_size/1024/1024 "CURRENT_SIZE",

min_size/1024/1024 "MIN_SIZE",
user_specified_size/1024/1024 "USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE",
last_oper_type "TYPE" from v$sga_dynamic_components;

COMPONENT CURRENT_SIZE MIN_SIZE USER_SPECIFIED_SIZE TYPE

---------- ------------- --------- -------------------- ----------
shared pool 104 104 104 STATIC
large pool 8 8 8 STATIC
java pool 48 48 48 STATIC
streams pool 12 12 12 STATIC
DEFAULT buffer cache 24 24 24 STATIC
KEEP buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
RECYCLE buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 2K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 4K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 8K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 16K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
DEFAULT 32K buffer cache 0 0 0 STATIC
OSM Buffer Cache 0 0 24 STATIC

It is strongly advised to use an spfile with your your instance as you will record any changes
applied.

4. Conclusion

In previous Oracle versions, finding the right values for SGA parameters was an important part of
Instance Tuning.

With ASMM, you do not have to size some of the most important SGA parameters. The right
values are automatically chosen based on the Instance profile. Providing minimum (explicit)
settings for those auto-tuned parameters is recommended to help the database make the "best
choices" with memory moves in the SGA.
 13

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Performance Tuning Guide 10G Release 1 Part No B10752-01

Administrator's Guide 10G Release 1 Part No B10739-01
note:257643.1Oracle Database 10g Automated SGA Memory Tuning
note:270065.1Use Automatic SGA Management
 14

Oracle Database 10g Automated SGA Memory Tuning [ID 257643.1]

PURPOSE

Checked for relevance 03-Feb-2010

This bulletin outlines Automatic Shared Memory Management feature introduced in
Oracle Database 10g.

SCOPE & APPLICATION

These include:

• Overview
• Benefits of Automatic Shared Memory Management
• Configuring Automatic Shared Memory Management
• Behavior of Auto-Tuned SGA Parameters
• Behavior of Manual SGA Parameters
• Resizing SGA_TARGET
• Disable Automatic Shared Memory Tuning
• Manually Resizing Auto-Tuned Parameters
• SGA Background Process
• Automatic Shared Memory Principles

Overview

In Oracle Database 10g, Automatic Shared Memory Management (ASMM) feature is

introduced to automatically determine the size of Database buffer cache (default
pool), Shared pool, Large pool and Java pool (starting with 10gR2, the streams pool
is included) by setting the parameter SGA_TARGET.

This feature reduces the tasks like dynamically analyzing the database workload and
redistribute memory across the SGA pools.

Benefits of Automatic Shared Memory Management

Automatic Shared Memory Management simplifies the configuration of the SGA.

Before Oracle Database 10G, buffer cache, shared pool, java pool, and large pool
need to be manually specified for the database. Under sizing can lead to poor
performance and out-of-memory errors (ORA-4031), while over sizing can waste
memory. This feature enables you to specify a total memory amount to be used for
all SGA Components (buffer cache, shared pool, java pool, and large pool). The
Oracle database periodically redistributes memory between these components
according to workload requirements. Before Oracle Database 10G, the user did not
have exact control over the total size of the SGA since memory was allocated by
Oracle for the fixed SGA, and for other internal metadata allocations over and above
the total size of the user specified SGA parameters. The new SGA size parameter
SGA_TARGET now includes all the memory in the SGA, including all the automatically
sized components, manually sized components, and any internal allocations during
startup.

Configuring Automatic Shared Memory Management

 15

Automatic Shared Memory Management can be configured by using the

SGA_TARGET initialization parameter. If you specify a non-zero value for
SGA_TARGET, the following four memory pools are automatically sized:
• Database buffer cache (Default pool)
• Shared pool
• Large pool
• Java pool
• 10gR2 the streams pool is included
If you set SGA_TARGET to 0, Automatic Shared Memory Management is disabled.
The default value of SGA_TARGET is 0.

The individual parameters used before Oracle 10G releases to specify the sizes of the
automatically sized components have not been made obsolete. The initialization
parameters that size these pools (DB_CACHE_SIZE, SHARED_POOL_SIZE,
LARGE_POOL_SIZE, and JAVA_POOL_SIZE) are now referred to as auto-tuned SGA
parameters.

The following buffers are now referred to as manually sized components:

• Log buffer
• Other buffer caches (KEEP/RECYCLE, other block sizes)
• Streams pool (new in Oracle Database 10g)
• Fixed SGA and other internal allocations
Note: STATISTICS_LEVEL must be set to TYPICAL (default) or ALL to use Automatic
Shared Memory Management.

Behavior of Auto-Tuned SGA Parameters

When SGA_TARGET is not set or set to zero, auto-tuned SGA components behave as
they did in previous releases. The only exception is the Shared Pool. As of 10g,
internal overhead allocations for metadata are now included in the value of the
SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter. See Note 270935.1 Shared pool sizing in 10g for
more on this change.

Behavior of Manual SGA Parameters

Below are the manual SGA size parameters :

• DB_KEEP_CACHE_SIZE
• DB_RECYCLE_CACHE_SIZE
• DB_nK_CACHE_SIZE (n = 2, 4, 8, 16, 32)
• LOG_BUFFER
• STREAMS_POOL_SIZE
Manual SGA parameters are specified by the user, and the given sizes precisely
control the sizes of their corresponding components.

When SGA_TARGET is set, the total size of manual SGA size parameters is
subtracted from the SGA_TARGET value, and balance is given to the auto-tuned SGA
components.

For example, if SGA_TARGET = 8G and DB_KEEP_CACHE_SIZE = 1G, this means

that the total size of the four auto-tuned components (shared pool, java pool, default
buffer cache, and large pool) is limited to 7GB. The 7GB includes the fixed SGA and
log buffer, and only after those have been allocated the rest of the memory is
 16

divided between the components. The size of the keep cache is 1GB, as specified by
the parameter.

Resizing SGA_TARGET

SGA_TARGET is a dynamic parameter and can be changed through Enterprise

Manager or with the ALTER SYSTEM command.
SGA_TARGET can be increased up to the value of SGA_MAX_SIZE. It can be reduced
until any one auto-tuned components reaches its minimum size (either a user-
specified minimum or an internally determined minimum). If you increase the value
of SGA_TARGET, the additional memory is distributed according to the auto-tuning
policy across the auto-tuned components. If you reduce the value of SGA_TARGET
the memory is taken away by the auto-tuning policy from one or more of the auto-
tuned components. Therefore any change in the value of SGA_TARGET affects only
the sizes of the auto-tuned components.
For example, if SGA_TARGET = 8G and DB_KEEP_CACHE_SIZE = 1G and you
increase SGA_TARGET to 9G, the additional 1GB is distributed only among the
components controlled by SGA_TARGET. The value of DB_KEEP_CACHE_SIZE is not
affected. Likewise, if SGA_TARGET is reduced to 7G, the 1GB is only taken from the
components controlled by SGA_TARGET. This decrease does not affect the settings of
the manually controlled parameters like DB_KEEP_CACHE_SIZE.

Disable Automatic Shared Memory Tuning

You can dynamically choose to disable automatic shared memory tuning by setting
SGA_TARGET to zero. In this case the values of all the auto-tuned parameters are
set to the current sizes of the components, even if the user had earlier specified a
different non-zero value for an auto-tuned parameter. In the above example, the
value of SGA_TARGET is 8GB, and the value of SHARED_POOL_SIZE is 1G.

If the system has internally adjusted the size of the shared pool component to 2G,
then setting SGA_TARGET to zero results in SHARED_POOL_SIZE being set to 2G,
overriding the original user-specified value.

Manually Resizing Auto-Tuned Parameters

As discussed above, when SGA_TARGET is set, the default value for the auto-tuned
parameters is zero, and a nonzero value serves as a lower bound for the size of the
corresponding component. Therefore, when an auto-tuned parameter is resized
automatically, the resize results in a change to the size of the component only if the
new value is larger than the present size of the SGA component.

For example, if you set SGA_TARGET to 8G and set SHARED_POOL_SIZE to 2G, you
ensure that the Shared Pool has at least 2G at all times to accommodate the
necessary memory allocations.
If you adjust the value of SHARED_POOL_SIZE to 1G, there is no immediate effect
on the size of the shared pool. It simply gives the automatic memory tuning
algorithm the freedom to later reduce the Shared Pool to 1G if required.

On the other hand, if the size of the Shared Pool is 1G to begin with, then adjusting
the value of SHARED_POOL_SIZE to 2G results in the Shared Pool component
growing to a size of 2G. The memory used in this grow operation is taken from one
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or more auto-tuned components, and the sizes of the manual components are not
affected.

SGA Background Process

The Automatic Shared Memory Management feature uses a new background process
named Memory Manager (MMAN). MMAN serves as the SGA Memory Broker and
coordinates the sizing of the memory components. The SGA Memory Broker keeps
track of the sizes of the components and pending resize operations.

Automatic Shared Memory Principles

The SGA Memory Broker observes the system and workload in order to determine
the ideal distribution of memory. It is never complacent and performs this check
every few minutes so that memory can always be present where needed. In the
absence of automatic shared memory tuning, components had to be sized to
anticipate their individual worst-case memory requirements.

For example, consider a system that runs large OLTP jobs during the day that
require large buffer caches, and runs parallel batch jobs at night that require large
values for the large pool. The DBA would have to simultaneously configure both the
buffer cache and the large pool to accommodate their peak requirements.

With SGA auto-tuning, when the OLTP job runs, the buffer cache has most of the
memory to allow for good I/O performance. When the DSS batch job starts later, the
memory automatically migrates to the large pool so that it can be used by Parallel
Query-operations.

Based on workload information, automatic shared memory tuning:

• Captures statistics periodically in the background
• Uses the different memory advisories
• Performs what-if analyses to determine best distribution of memory
• Moves memory to where it is most needed
• Has no need to configure parameters for the worst-case scenario
• Resurrects component sizes from last shutdown if SPFILE is used