By setting this parameter to TRUE, you restrict the scope of the parallel server processed to the single Oracle RAC instance where the query coordinator is running.

The recommended value for the PARALLEL_FORCE_LOCAL parameter is FALSE.

As demand increases, Oracle Database increases the number of processes from the number created at instance startup up to this value.

For example, setting the value to 64 enables you to run four parallel queries simultaneously, if each query is using two slave sets with a DOP of 8 for each set.

When Users Have Too Many Processes

When concurrent users have too many query server processes, memory contention (paging), I/O contention, or excessive context switching can occur.

This contention can reduce system throughput to a level lower than if parallel execution were not used. Increase the PARALLEL_MAX_SERVERS value only if the system has sufficient memory and I/O bandwidth for the resulting load.

You can use performance monitoring tools of the operating system to determine how much memory, swap space and I/O bandwidth are free. Look at the run queue lengths for both your CPUs and disks, and the service time for I/O operations on the system. Verify that the system has sufficient swap space to add more processes. Limiting the total number of query server processes might restrict the number of concurrent users who can execute parallel operations, but system throughput tends to remain stable.

When to Limit the Number of Resources for a User using a Consumer Group

When necessary, you can limit the amount of parallelism available to a given user by establishing a resource consumer group for the user.

Do this to limit the number of sessions, concurrent logons, and the number of parallel processes that any one user or group of users can have.

Each query server process working on a parallel execution statement is logged on with a session ID. Each process counts against the user's limit of concurrent sessions. For example, to limit a user to 10 parallel execution processes, set the user's limit to 11. One process is for the parallel execution coordinator and the other 10 consist of two sets of query servers. This would allow one session for the parallel execution coordinator and 10 sessions for the parallel execution processes.

The recommended value for the PARALLEL_MIN_PERCENT parameter is 0 (zero). Setting this parameter to values other than 0 (zero) causes Oracle Database to return an error when the requested DOP cannot be satisfied by the system at a given time. For example, if you set PARALLEL_MIN_PERCENT to 50, which translates to 50 percent, and the DOP is reduced by 50 percent or greater because of the adaptive algorithm or because of a resource limitation, then Oracle Database returns ORA-12827. For example:

SELECT /*+ FULL(e) PARALLEL(e, 8) */ d.department_id, SUM(SALARY)
  FROM employees e, departments d WHERE e.department_id = d.department_id
  GROUP BY d.department_id ORDER BY d.department_id; 

Oracle Database responds with this message:

ORA-12827: insufficient parallel query slaves available

Setting PARALLEL_MIN_SERVERS balances the startup cost against memory usage. Processes started using PARALLEL_MIN_SERVERS do not exit until the database is shut down. This way, when a query is issued, the processes are likely to be available.

When PARALLEL_DEGREE_POLICY is set to AUTO, statements that require parallel execution are queued if the number of parallel processes currently in use on the system equals or is greater than PARALLEL_SERVERS_TARGET. This is not the maximum number of parallel server processes allowed on a system (that is controlled by PARALLEL_MAX_SERVERS). However, PARALLEL_SERVERS_TARGET and parallel statement queuing is used to ensure that each statement that requires parallel execution is allocated the necessary parallel server resources and the system is not flooded with too many parallel server processes.

Parallel execution requires memory resources in addition to those required by serial SQL execution. Additional memory is used for communication and passing data between query server processes and the query coordinator.

Oracle Database allocates memory for query server processes from the shared pool. Tune the shared pool as follows:

• Allow for other clients of the shared pool, such as shared cursors and stored procedures.

• Remember that larger values improve performance in multiuser systems, but smaller values use less memory.

• You can then monitor the number of buffers used by parallel execution and compare the shared pool PX msg pool to the current high water mark reported in output from the view V$PX_PROCESS_SYSSTAT.

  Note:

  If you do not have enough memory available, error message 12853 occurs (insufficient memory for PX buffers: current stringK, max needed stringK). This is caused by having insufficient SGA memory available for PX buffers. You must reconfigure the SGA to have at least (MAX - CURRENT) bytes of additional memory.

By default, Oracle Database allocates parallel execution buffers from the shared pool.

If Oracle Database displays the following error on startup, you should reduce the value for SHARED_POOL_SIZE low enough so your database starts:

ORA-27102: out of memory 
SVR4 Error: 12: Not enough space 

After reducing the value of SHARED_POOL_SIZE, you might see the error:

ORA-04031: unable to allocate 16084 bytes of shared memory 
   ("SHARED pool","unknown object","SHARED pool heap","PX msg pool") 

If so, execute the following query to determine why Oracle Database could not allocate the 16,084 bytes:

SELECT NAME, SUM(BYTES) FROM V$SGASTAT WHERE UPPER(POOL)='SHARED POOL' 
  GROUP BY ROLLUP (NAME); 

Your output should resemble the following:

NAME                       SUM(BYTES) 
-------------------------- ---------- 
PX msg pool                   1474572 
free memory                    562132
                              2036704 

If you specify SHARED_POOL_SIZE and the amount of memory you specify to reserve is bigger than the pool, Oracle Database does not allocate all the memory it can get. Instead, it leaves some space. When the query runs, Oracle Database tries to get what it needs. Oracle Database uses the 560 KB and needs another 16 KB when it fails. The error does not report the cumulative amount that is needed. The best way of determining how much more memory is needed is to use the formulas in Additional Memory Requirements for Message Buffers.

To resolve the problem in the current example, increase the value for SHARED_POOL_SIZE. As shown in the sample output, the SHARED_POOL_SIZE is about 2 MB. Depending on the amount of memory available, you could increase the value of SHARED_POOL_SIZE to 4 MB and attempt to start your database. If Oracle Database continues to display an ORA-4031 message, gradually increase the value for SHARED_POOL_SIZE until startup is successful.

Required Memory for Message Buffers

You must increase the value for the SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter to accommodate message buffers. The message buffers allow query server processes to communicate with each other.

Oracle Database uses a fixed number of buffers for each virtual connection between producer query servers and consumer query servers. Connections increase as the square of the DOP increases. For this reason, the maximum amount of memory used by parallel execution is bound by the highest DOP allowed on your system. You can control this value by using either the PARALLEL_MAX_SERVERS parameter or by using policies and profiles.

To calculate the amount of memory required, use one of the following formulas:

• For SMP systems:

  mem in bytes = (3 x size x users x groups x connections)
  

• For Oracle Real Application Clusters and MPP systems:

  mem in bytes = ((3 x local) + (2 x remote)) x (size x users x groups) 
    / instances
  

Each instance uses the memory computed by the formula.

The terms are:

• SIZE = PARALLEL_EXECUTION_MESSAGE_SIZE

• USERS = the number of concurrent parallel execution users that you expect to have running with the optimal DOP

• GROUPS = the number of query server process groups used for each query

  A simple SQL statement requires only one group. However, if your queries involve subqueries which are processed in parallel, then Oracle Database uses an additional group of query server processes.

• CONNECTIONS = (DOP² + 2 x DOP)

  If your system is a cluster or MPP, then you should account for the number of instances because this increases the DOP. In other words, using a DOP of 4 on a two-instance cluster results in a DOP of 8. A value of PARALLEL_MAX_SERVERS times the number of instances divided by four is a conservative estimate to use as a starting point.

• LOCAL = CONNECTIONS/INSTANCES

• REMOTE = CONNECTIONS - LOCAL

Add this amount to your original setting for the shared pool. However, before setting a value for either of these memory structures, you must also consider additional memory for cursors, as explained in the following section.

Additional Memory for Cursors

Parallel execution plans consume more space in the SQL area than serial execution plans. You should regularly monitor shared pool resource use to ensure that the memory used by both messages and cursors can accommodate your system's processing requirements.

You can simplify and improve the way PGA memory is allocated by enabling automatic PGA memory management. In this mode, Oracle Database dynamically adjusts the size of the portion of the PGA memory dedicated to work areas, based on an overall PGA memory target explicitly set by the DBA. To enable automatic PGA memory management, you must set the initialization parameter PGA_AGGREGATE_TARGET. For new installations, PGA_AGGREGATE_TARGET and SGA_TARGET are set automatically by the database configuration assistant (DBCA), and MEMORY_TARGET is zero. That is, automatic memory management is disabled. Therefore, automatic tuning of the aggregate PGA is enabled by default. However, the aggregate PGA does not grow unless you enable automatic memory management by setting MEMORY_TARGET to a nonzero value.

The default value of PARALLEL_EXECUTION_MESSAGE_SIZE is operating system-specific, but is typically 16 K. This value should be adequate for most applications.

When you perform parallel update, merge, and delete operations, the buffer cache behavior is very similar to any OLTP system running a high volume of updates.

The recommended value for this parameter is 8 KB or 16 KB.

Set the database block size when you create the database. If you are creating a new database, use a large block size such as 8 KB or 16 KB.

The default value of this parameter is a value that corresponds to the maximum I/O size that can be performed efficiently. The maximum I/O size value is platform-dependent and is 1 MB for most platforms. If you set DB_FILE_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT to an excessively high value, your operating system lowers the value to the highest allowable level when you start your database.

The recommended value for the both DISK_ASYNCH_IO and TAPE_ASYNCH_IOparameters is TRUE. These parameters enable query server processes to overlap I/O requests with processing when performing table scans. If the operating system supports asynchronous I/O, leave these parameters at the default value of TRUE. Figure 8-6 illustrates how asynchronous read works.

Asynchronous operations are currently supported for parallel table scans, hash joins, sorts, and serial table scans. However, this feature can require operating system-specific configuration and may not be supported on all platforms.