Performance Tuning Guide

Informatica® PowerCenter®
(Version 8.6.1)
Informatica PowerCenter Performance Tuning Guide

Version 8.6.1
December 2008

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Table of Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Informatica Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Informatica Customer Portal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Informatica Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Informatica Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Informatica How-To Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Informatica Knowledge Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Informatica Global Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Chapter 1: Performance Tuning Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 2: Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Using Thread Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Eliminating Bottlenecks Based on Thread Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Target Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Identifying Target Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Eliminating Target Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Source Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Identifying Source Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Eliminating Source Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Mapping Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Identifying Mapping Bottlenecks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Eliminating Mapping Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Session Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Identifying Session Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Eliminating Session Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
System Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Identifying System Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Eliminating System Bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Chapter 3: Optimizing the Target. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Optimizing Flat File Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Dropping Indexes and Key Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Increasing Database Checkpoint Intervals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Using Bulk Loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Using External Loaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Minimizing Deadlocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Increasing Database Network Packet Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Optimizing Oracle Target Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

iii
 Chapter 4: Optimizing the Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Optimizing the Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Using Conditional Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Increasing Database Network Packet Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Connecting to Oracle Database Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Using Teradata FastExport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Using tempdb to Join Sybase or Microsoft SQL Server Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter 5: Optimizing Mappings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Optimizing Flat File Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Optimizing the Line Sequential Buffer Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Optimizing Delimited Flat File Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Optimizing XML and Flat File Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Configuring Single-Pass Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Optimizing Pass-Through Mappings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Optimizing Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Optimizing Datatype Conversions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Optimizing Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Factoring Out Common Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Minimizing Aggregate Function Calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Replacing Common Expressions with Local Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Choosing Numeric Versus String Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Optimizing Char-Char and Char-Varchar Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Choosing DECODE Versus LOOKUP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Using Operators Instead of Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Optimizing IIF Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Evaluating Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Optimizing External Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Chapter 6: Optimizing Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Optimizing Aggregator Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Grouping By Simple Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Using Sorted Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Using Incremental Aggregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Filtering Data Before You Aggregate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Limiting Port Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Optimizing Custom Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Optimizing Joiner Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Optimizing Lookup Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Using Optimal Database Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Caching Lookup Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Optimizing the Lookup Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Filtering Lookup Rows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Indexing the Lookup Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

iv Table of Contents
 Optimizing Multiple Lookups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Creating a Pipeline Lookup Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Optimizing Sequence Generator Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Optimizing Sorter Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Allocating Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Work Directories for Partitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Optimizing Source Qualifier Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Optimizing SQL Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Eliminating Transformation Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Chapter 7: Optimizing Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Pushdown Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Concurrent Sessions and Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Buffer Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Increasing DTM Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Optimizing the Buffer Block Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Caches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Limiting the Number of Connected Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Cache Directory Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Increasing the Cache Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Using the 64-bit Version of PowerCenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Target-Based Commit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Real-time Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Flush Latency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Source-Based Commit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Staging Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Log Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Error Tracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Post-Session Emails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter 8: Optimizing Grid Deployments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Storing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
High Bandwidth Shared File System Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Low Bandwidth Shared File System Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Local Storage Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Using a Shared File System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Configuring a Shared File System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Balancing CPU and Memory Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Configuring PowerCenter Mappings and Sessions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Distributing Files Across File Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Configuring Sessions to Distribute Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Optimizing Sequence Generator Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

v
 Chapter 9: Optimizing the PowerCenter Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Optimizing PowerCenter Repository Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Location of the Repository Service Process and Repository . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Ordering Conditions in Object Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Using a Single-Node DB2 Database Tablespace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Optimizing the Database Schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Optimizing Integration Service Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Using Native and ODBC Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Running the Integration Service in ASCII Data Movement Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Caching PowerCenter Metadata for the Repository Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Chapter 10: Optimizing the System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Improving Network Speed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Using Multiple CPUs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Reducing Paging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Using Processor Binding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Chapter 11: Using Pipeline Partitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Increasing the Number of Partitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Selecting the Best Performing Partition Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Using Multiple CPUs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Optimizing the Source Database for Partitioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Tuning the Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Grouping Sorted Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Optimizing Single-Sorted Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Optimizing the Target Database for Partitioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Appendix A: Performance Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Errorrows Counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Readfromcache and Writetocache Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Readfromdisk and Writetodisk Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Rowsinlookupcache Counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

vi Table of Contents
Preface
The PowerCenter Performance Tuning Guide is written for PowerCenter administrators and developers, network
administrators, and database administrators who are interested in improving PowerCenter performance. This
guide assumes you have knowledge of your operating systems, networks, PowerCenter, relational database
concepts, and flat files in your environment. For more information about database performance tuning not
covered in this guide, see the documentation accompanying your database products.

Informatica Resources
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and behaviors, and guide you through performing specific real-world tasks.

vii
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viii Preface
CHAPTER 1

Performance Tuning Overview

This chapter includes the following topic:
♦ Overview, 1

Overview
The goal of performance tuning is to optimize session performance by eliminating performance bottlenecks. To
tune session performance, first identify a performance bottleneck, eliminate it, and then identify the next
performance bottleneck until you are satisfied with the session performance. You can use the test load option to
run sessions when you tune session performance.
If you tune all the bottlenecks, you can further optimize session performance by increasing the number of
pipeline partitions in the session. Adding partitions can improve performance by utilizing more of the system
hardware while processing the session.
Because determining the best way to improve performance can be complex, change one variable at a time, and
time the session both before and after the change. If session performance does not improve, you might want to
return to the original configuration.
Complete the following tasks to improve session performance:
1. Optimize the target. Enables the Integration Service to write to the targets efficiently. For more
information, see “Optimizing the Target” on page 11.
2. Optimize the source. Enables the Integration Service to read source data efficiently. For more information,
see “Optimizing the Source” on page 15.
3. Optimize the mapping. Enables the Integration Service to transform and move data efficiently. For more
information, see “Optimizing Mappings” on page 19.
4. Optimize the transformation. Enables the Integration Service to process transformations in a mapping
efficiently. For more information, see “Optimizing Transformations” on page 25.
5. Optimize the session. Enables the Integration Service to run the session more quickly. For more
information, see “Optimizing Sessions” on page 33.
6. Optimize the grid deployments. Enables the Integration Service to run on a grid with optimal
performance. For more information, see “Optimizing Grid Deployments” on page 41.
7. Optimize the PowerCenter components. Enables the Integration Service and Repository Service to
function optimally. For more information, see “Optimizing the PowerCenter Components” on page 47.
8. Optimize the system. Enables PowerCenter service processes to run more quickly. For more information,
see “Optimizing the System” on page 51.

1
2 Chapter 1: Performance Tuning Overview
CHAPTER 2

Bottlenecks
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Overview, 3
♦ Using Thread Statistics, 4
♦ Target Bottlenecks, 5
♦ Source Bottlenecks, 5
♦ Mapping Bottlenecks, 6
♦ Session Bottlenecks, 7
♦ System Bottlenecks, 7

Overview
The first step in performance tuning is to identify performance bottlenecks. Performance bottlenecks can occur
in the source and target databases, the mapping, the session, and the system. The strategy is to identify a
performance bottleneck, eliminate it, and then identify the next performance bottleneck until you are satisfied
with the performance.
Look for performance bottlenecks in the following order:
1. Target
2. Source
3. Mapping
4. Session
5. System
Use the following methods to identify performance bottlenecks:
♦ Run test sessions. You can configure a test session to read from a flat file source or to write to a flat file target
to identify source and target bottlenecks.
♦ Analyze performance details. Analyze performance details, such as performance counters, to determine
where session performance decreases.
♦ Analyze thread statistics. Analyze thread statistics to determine the optimal number of partition points.
♦ Monitor system performance. You can use system monitoring tools to view the percentage of CPU use, I/O
waits, and paging to identify system bottlenecks. You can also use the Workflow Monitor to view system
resource usage.

3
Using Thread Statistics
You can use thread statistics in the session log to identify source, target, or transformation bottlenecks. By
default, the Integration Service uses one reader thread, one transformation thread, and one writer thread to
process a session. The thread with the highest busy percentage identifies the bottleneck in the session.
The session log provides the following thread statistics:
♦ Run time. Amount of time the thread runs.
♦ Idle time. Amount of time the thread is idle. It includes the time the thread waits for other thread processing
within the application. Idle time includes the time the thread is blocked by the Integration Service, but it
not the time the thread is blocked by the operating system.
♦ Busy time. Percentage of the run time the thread is by according to the following formula:
(run time - idle time) / run time X 100

You can ignore high busy percentages when the total run time is short, such as under 60 seconds. This does
not necessarily indicate a bottleneck.
♦ Thread work time. The percentage of time the Integration Service takes to process each transformation in a
thread. The session log shows the following information for the transformation thread work time:
Thread work time breakdown:
<transformation name>: <number> percent
<transformation name>: <number> percent
<transformation name>: <number> percent

If a transformation takes a small amount of time, the session log does not include it. If a thread does not
have accurate statistics, because the session ran for a short period of time, the session log reports that the
statistics are not accurate.

Eliminating Bottlenecks Based on Thread Statistics

Complete the following tasks to eliminate bottlenecks based on thread statistics:
♦ If the reader or writer thread is 100% busy, consider using string datatypes in the source or target ports.
Non-string ports require more processing.
♦ If a transformation thread is 100% busy, consider adding a partition point in the segment. When you add
partition points to the mapping, the Integration Service increases the number of transformation threads it
uses for the session. However, if the machine is already running at or near full capacity, do not add more
threads.
♦ If one transformation requires more processing time than the others, consider adding a pass-through
partition point to the transformation.

Example
When you run a session, the session log lists run information and thread statistics similar to the following text:
***** RUN INFO FOR TGT LOAD ORDER GROUP [1], CONCURRENT SET [1] *****
Thread [READER_1_1_1] created for [the read stage] of partition point [SQ_two_gig_file_32B_rows] has
completed.
Total Run Time = [505.871140] secs
Total Idle Time = [457.038313] secs
Busy Percentage = [9.653215]
Thread [TRANSF_1_1_1] created for [the transformation stage] of partition point [SQ_two_gig_file_32B_rows]
has completed.
Total Run Time = [506.230461] secs
Total Idle Time = [1.390318] secs
Busy Percentage = [99.725359]
Thread work time breakdown:
LKP_ADDRESS: 25.000000 percent
SRT_ADDRESS: 21.551724 percent
RTR_ZIP_CODE: 53.448276 percent
Thread [WRITER_1_*_1] created for [the write stage] of partition point [scratch_out_32B] has completed.
Total Run Time = [507.027212] secs
Total Idle Time = [384.632435] secs
Busy Percentage = [24.139686]

4 Chapter 2: Bottlenecks
 In this session log, the total run time for the transformation thread is 506 seconds and the busy percentage is
99.7%. This means the transformation thread was never idle for the 506 seconds. The reader and writer busy
percentages were significantly smaller, about 9.6% and 24%. In this session, the transformation thread is the
bottleneck in the mapping.
To determine which transformation in the transformation thread is the bottleneck, view the busy percentage of
each transformation in the thread work time breakdown. In this session log, the transformation
RTR_ZIP_CODE had a busy percentage of 53%.

Target Bottlenecks
The most common performance bottleneck occurs when the Integration Service writes to a target database.
Small checkpoint intervals, small database network packet sizes, or problems during heavy loading operations
can cause target bottlenecks.

Identifying Target Bottlenecks

To identify a target bottleneck, complete the following tasks:
♦ Configure a copy of the session to write to a flat file target. If the session performance increases significantly,
you have a target bottleneck. If a session already writes to a flat file target, you probably do not have a target
bottleneck.
♦ Read the thread statistics in the session log. When the Integration Service spends more time on the writer
thread than the transformation or reader threads, you have a target bottleneck.

Eliminating Target Bottlenecks

Complete the following tasks to eliminate target bottlenecks:
♦ Have the database administrator optimize database performance by optimizing the query.
♦ Increase the database network packet size.
♦ Configure index and key constraints.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Optimizing the Target” on page 11

Source Bottlenecks
Performance bottlenecks can occur when the Integration Service reads from a source database. Inefficient query
or small database network packet sizes can cause source bottlenecks.

Identifying Source Bottlenecks

You can read the thread statistics in the session log to determine if the source is the bottleneck. When the
Integration Service spends more time on the reader thread than the transformation or writer threads, you have a
source bottleneck.
If the session reads from a relational source, use the following methods to identify source bottlenecks:
♦ Filter transformation
♦ Read test mapping

Target Bottlenecks 5
 ♦ Database query
If the session reads from a flat file source, you probably do not have a source bottleneck.

Using a Filter Transformation

You can use a Filter transformation in the mapping to measure the time it takes to read source data.
Add a Filter transformation after each source qualifier. Set the filter condition to false so that no data is
processed passed the Filter transformation. If the time it takes to run the new session remains about the same,
you have a source bottleneck.

Using a Read Test Mapping

You can create a read test mapping to identify source bottlenecks. A read test mapping isolates the read query by
removing the transformation in the mapping.
To create a read test mapping, complete the following steps:
1. Make a copy of the original mapping.
2. In the copied mapping, keep only the sources, source qualifiers, and any custom joins or queries.
3. Remove all transformations.
4. Connect the source qualifiers to a file target.
Run a session against the read test mapping. If the session performance is similar to the original session, you
have a source bottleneck.

Using a Database Query

To identify source bottlenecks, execute the read query directly against the source database.
Copy the read query directly from the session log. Execute the query against the source database with a query
tool such as isql. On Windows, you can load the result of the query in a file. On UNIX, you can load the result
of the query in /dev/null.
Measure the query execution time and the time it takes for the query to return the first row.

Eliminating Source Bottlenecks

Complete the following tasks to eliminate source bottlenecks:
♦ Set the number of bytes the Integration Service reads per line if the Integration Service reads from a flat file
source.
♦ Have the database administrator optimize database performance by optimizing the query.
♦ Increase the database network packet size.
♦ Configure index and key constraints.
♦ If there is a long delay between the two time measurements in a database query, you can use an optimizer
hint.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Optimizing the Source” on page 15

Mapping Bottlenecks
If you determine that you do not have a source or target bottleneck, you may have a mapping bottleneck.

6 Chapter 2: Bottlenecks
 Identifying Mapping Bottlenecks
To identify mapping bottlenecks, complete the following tasks:
♦ Read the thread statistics and work time statistics in the session log. When the Integration Service spends
more time on the transformation thread than the writer or reader threads, you have a transformation
bottleneck. When the Integration Service spends more time on one transformation, it is the bottleneck in
the transformation thread.
♦ Analyze performance counters. High errorrows and rowsinlookupcache counters indicate a mapping
bottleneck.
♦ Add a Filter transformation before each target definition. Set the filter condition to false so that no data is
loaded into the target tables. If the time it takes to run the new session is the same as the original session,
you have a mapping bottleneck.

Eliminating Mapping Bottlenecks

To eliminate mapping bottlenecks, optimize transformation settings in mappings.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Optimizing Mappings” on page 19

Session Bottlenecks
If you do not have a source, target, or mapping bottleneck, you may have a session bottleneck. Small cache size,
low buffer memory, and small commit intervals can cause session bottlenecks.

Identifying Session Bottlenecks

To identify a session bottleneck, analyze the performance details. Performance details display information about
each transformation, such as the number of input rows, output rows, and error rows.

Eliminating Session Bottlenecks

To eliminate session bottlenecks, optimize the session.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Optimizing Sessions” on page 33

System Bottlenecks
After you tune the source, target, mapping, and session, consider tuning the system to prevent system
bottlenecks. The Integration Service uses system resources to process transformations, run sessions, and read
and write data. The Integration Service also uses system memory to create cache files for transformations, such
as Aggregator, Joiner, Lookup, Sorter, XML, and Rank.

Identifying System Bottlenecks

You can view system resource usage in the Workflow Monitor. You can use system tools to monitor Windows
and UNIX systems.

Session Bottlenecks 7
 Using the Workflow Monitor to Identify System Bottlenecks
You can view the Integration Service properties in the Workflow Monitor to see CPU, memory, and swap usage
of the system when you are running task processes on the Integration Service. Use the following Integration
Service properties to identify performance issues:
♦ CPU%. The percentage of CPU usage includes other external tasks running on the system.
♦ Memory usage. The percentage of memory usage includes other external tasks running on the system. If the
memory usage is close to 95%, check if the tasks running on the system are using the amount indicated in
the Workflow Monitor or if there is a memory leak. To troubleshoot, use system tools to check the memory
usage before and after running the session and then compare the results to the memory usage while running
the session.
♦ Swap usage. Swap usage is a result of paging due to possible memory leaks or a high number of concurrent
tasks.

Identifying System Bottlenecks on Windows

You can view the Performance and Processes tab in the Task Manager for system information. The Performance
tab in the Task Manager provides an overview of CPU usage and total memory used. Use the Performance
Monitor to view more detailed information.
Use the Windows Performance Monitor to create a chart that provides the following information:
♦ Percent processor time. If you have more than one CPU, monitor each CPU for percent processor time.
♦ Pages/second. If pages/second is greater than five, you may have excessive memory pressure (thrashing).
♦ Physical disks percent time. The percent of time that the physical disk is busy performing read or write
requests.
♦ Physical disks queue length. The number of users waiting for access to the same disk device.
♦ Server total bytes per second. The server has sent to and received from the network.

Identifying System Bottlenecks on UNIX

Use the following tools to identify system bottlenecks on UNIX:
♦ top. View overall system performance. This tool displays CPU usage, memory usage, and swap usage for the
system and for individual processes running on the system.
♦ iostat. Monitor the loading operation for every disk attached to the database server. Iostat displays the
percentage of time that the disk is physically active. If you use disk arrays, use utilities provided with the disk
arrays instead of iostat.
♦ vmstat. Monitor disk swapping actions. Swapping should not occur during the session.
♦ sar. View detailed system activity reports of CPU, memory, and disk usage. You can use this tool to monitor
CPU loading. It provides percent usage on user, system, idle time, and waiting time. You can also use this
tool to monitor disk swapping actions.

Eliminating System Bottlenecks

Complete the following tasks to eliminate system bottlenecks:
♦ If the CPU usage is more than 80%, check the number of concurrent running tasks. Consider changing the
load or using a grid to distribute tasks to different nodes. If you cannot reduce the load, consider adding
more processors.
♦ If swapping occurs, increase the physical memory or reduce the number of memory-intensive applications
on the disk.
♦ If you have excessive memory pressure (thrashing), consider adding more physical memory.
♦ If the percent of time is high, tune the cache for PowerCenter to use in-memory cache instead of writing to
disk. If you tune the cache, requests are still in queue, and the disk busy percentage is at least 50%, add

8 Chapter 2: Bottlenecks
 another disk device or upgrade to a faster disk device. You can also use a separate disk for each partition in
the session.
♦ If physical disk queue length is greater than two, consider adding another disk device or upgrading the disk
device. You also can use separate disks for the reader, writer, and transformation threads.
♦ Consider improving network bandwidth.
♦ When you tune UNIX systems, tune the server for a major database system.
♦ If the percent time spent waiting on I/O (%wio) is high, consider using other under-utilized disks. For
example, if the source data, target data, lookup, rank, and aggregate cache files are all on the same disk,
consider putting them on different disks.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Reducing Paging” on page 52
“Optimizing the System” on page 51

System Bottlenecks 9
10 Chapter 2: Bottlenecks
CHAPTER 3

Optimizing the Target

This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Optimizing Flat File Targets, 11
♦ Dropping Indexes and Key Constraints, 11
♦ Increasing Database Checkpoint Intervals, 12
♦ Using Bulk Loads, 12
♦ Using External Loaders, 12
♦ Minimizing Deadlocks, 13
♦ Increasing Database Network Packet Size, 13
♦ Optimizing Oracle Target Databases, 13

Optimizing Flat File Targets

If you use a shared storage directory for flat file targets, you can optimize session performance by ensuring that
the shared storage directory is on a machine that is dedicated to storing and managing files, instead of
performing other tasks.
If the Integration Service runs on a single node and the session writes to a flat file target, you can optimize
session performance by writing to a flat file target that is local to the Integration Service process node.

Dropping Indexes and Key Constraints

When you define key constraints or indexes in target tables, you slow the loading of data to those tables. To
improve performance, drop indexes and key constraints before you run the session. You can rebuild those
indexes and key constraints after the session completes.
If you decide to drop and rebuild indexes and key constraints on a regular basis, you can use the following
methods to perform these operations each time you run the session:
♦ Use pre-load and post-load stored procedures.
♦ Use pre-session and post-session SQL commands.
Note: To optimize performance, use constraint-based loading only if necessary.

11
Increasing Database Checkpoint Intervals
The Integration Service performance slows each time it waits for the database to perform a checkpoint. To
decrease the number of checkpoints and increase performance, increase the checkpoint interval in the database.
Note: Although you gain performance when you reduce the number of checkpoints, you also increase the
recovery time if the database shuts down unexpectedly.

Using Bulk Loads

You can use bulk loading to improve the performance of a session that inserts a large amount of data into a
DB2, Sybase ASE, Oracle, or Microsoft SQL Server database. Configure bulk loading in the session properties.
When bulk loading, the Integration Service bypasses the database log, which speeds performance. Without
writing to the database log, however, the target database cannot perform rollback. As a result, you may not be
able to perform recovery. When you use bulk loading, weigh the importance of improved session performance
against the ability to recover an incomplete session.
When bulk loading to Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle targets, define a large commit interval to increase
performance. Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle start a new bulk load transaction after each commit. Increasing
the commit interval reduces the number of bulk load transactions, which increases performance.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Target-Based Commit” on page 37

Using External Loaders

To increase session performance, configure PowerCenter to use an external loader for the following types of
target databases:
♦ IBM DB2 EE or EEE
♦ Oracle
When you load data to an Oracle database using a pipeline with multiple partitions, you can increase
performance if you create the Oracle target table with the same number of partitions you use for the
pipeline.
♦ Sybase IQ
If the Sybase IQ database is local to the Integration Service process on the UNIX system, you can increase
performance by loading data to target tables directly from named pipes. If you run the Integration Service on
a grid, configure the Load Balancer to check resources, make Sybase IQ a resource, and make the resource
available on all nodes of the grid. Then, in the Workflow Manager, assign the Sybase IQ resource to the
applicable sessions.
♦ Teradata

12 Chapter 3: Optimizing the Target

Minimizing Deadlocks
If the Integration Service encounters a deadlock when it tries to write to a target, the deadlock only affects
targets in the same target connection group. The Integration Service still writes to targets in other target
connection groups.
Encountering deadlocks can slow session performance. To improve session performance, you can increase the
number of target connection groups the Integration Service uses to write to the targets in a session. To use a
different target connection group for each target in a session, use a different database connection name for each
target instance. You can specify the same connection information for each connection name.
For more information about configuring deadlock retries, see the PowerCenter Workflow Basics Guide.

Increasing Database Network Packet Size

If you write to Oracle, Sybase ASE, or Microsoft SQL Server targets, you can improve the performance by
increasing the network packet size. Increase the network packet size to allow larger packets of data to cross the
network at one time. Increase the network packet size based on the database you write to:
♦ Oracle. You can increase the database server network packet size in listener.ora and tnsnames.ora. Consult
your database documentation for additional information about increasing the packet size, if necessary.
♦ Sybase ASE and Microsoft SQL Server. Consult your database documentation for information about how
to increase the packet size.
For Sybase ASE or Microsoft SQL Server, you must also change the packet size in the relational connection
object in the Workflow Manager to reflect the database server packet size.

Optimizing Oracle Target Databases

If the target database is Oracle, you can optimize the target database by checking the storage clause, space
allocation, and rollback or undo segments.
When you write to an Oracle database, check the storage clause for database objects. Make sure that tables are
using large initial and next values. The database should also store table and index data in separate tablespaces,
preferably on different disks.
When you write to Oracle databases, the database uses rollback or undo segments during loads. Ask the Oracle
database administrator to ensure that the database stores rollback or undo segments in appropriate tablespaces,
preferably on different disks. The rollback or undo segments should also have appropriate storage clauses.
To optimize the Oracle database, tune the Oracle redo log. The Oracle database uses the redo log to log loading
operations. Make sure the redo log size and buffer size are optimal. You can view redo log properties in the
init.ora file.
If the Integration Service runs on a single node and the Oracle instance is local to the Integration Service
process node, you can optimize performance by using IPC protocol to connect to the Oracle database. You can
set up Oracle database connection in listener.ora and tnsnames.ora.
For more information about optimizing Oracle databases, see the Oracle documentation.

Minimizing Deadlocks 13
14 Chapter 3: Optimizing the Target
CHAPTER 4

Optimizing the Source

This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Optimizing the Query, 15
♦ Using Conditional Filters, 16
♦ Increasing Database Network Packet Size, 16
♦ Connecting to Oracle Database Sources, 16
♦ Using Teradata FastExport, 16
♦ Using tempdb to Join Sybase or Microsoft SQL Server Tables, 17

Optimizing the Query

If a session joins multiple source tables in one Source Qualifier, you might be able to improve performance by
optimizing the query with optimizing hints. Also, single table select statements with an ORDER BY or
GROUP BY clause may benefit from optimization such as adding indexes.
Usually, the database optimizer determines the most efficient way to process the source data. However, you
might know properties about the source tables that the database optimizer does not. The database administrator
can create optimizer hints to tell the database how to execute the query for a particular set of source tables.
The query that the Integration Service uses to read data appears in the session log. You can also find the query
in the Source Qualifier transformation. Have the database administrator analyze the query, and then create
optimizer hints and indexes for the source tables.
Use optimizing hints if there is a long delay between when the query begins executing and when PowerCenter
receives the first row of data. Configure optimizer hints to begin returning rows as quickly as possible, rather
than returning all rows at once. This allows the Integration Service to process rows parallel with the query
execution.
Queries that contain ORDER BY or GROUP BY clauses may benefit from creating an index on the ORDER
BY or GROUP BY columns. Once you optimize the query, use the SQL override option to take full advantage
of these modifications.
You can also configure the source database to run parallel queries to improve performance. For more
information about configuring parallel queries, see the database documentation.

15
Using Conditional Filters
A simple source filter on the source database can sometimes negatively impact performance because of the lack
of indexes. You can use the PowerCenter conditional filter in the Source Qualifier to improve performance.
Whether you should use the PowerCenter conditional filter to improve performance depends on the session.
For example, if multiple sessions read from the same source simultaneously, the PowerCenter conditional filter
may improve performance.
However, some sessions may perform faster if you filter the source data on the source database. You can test the
session with both the database filter and the PowerCenter filter to determine which method improves
performance.

Increasing Database Network Packet Size

If you read from Oracle, Sybase ASE, or Microsoft SQL Server sources, you can improve the performance by
increasing the network packet size. Increase the network packet size to allow larger packets of data to cross the
network at one time. Increase the network packet size based on the database you read from:
♦ Oracle. You can increase the database server network packet size in listener.ora and tnsnames.ora. Consult
your database documentation for additional information about increasing the packet size, if necessary.
♦ Sybase ASE and Microsoft SQL Server. Consult your database documentation for information about how
to increase the packet size.
For Sybase ASE or Microsoft SQL Server, you must also change the packet size in the relational connection
object in the Workflow Manager to reflect the database server packet size.

Connecting to Oracle Database Sources

If you are running the Integration Service on a single node and the Oracle instance is local to the Integration
Service process node, you can optimize performance by using IPC protocol to connect to the Oracle database.
You can set up an Oracle database connection in listener.ora and tnsnames.ora.

Using Teradata FastExport

FastExport is a utility that uses multiple Teradata sessions to quickly export large amounts of data from a
Teradata database. You can create a PowerCenter session that uses FastExport to read Teradata sources quickly.
To use FastExport, create a mapping with a Teradata source database. In the session, use FastExport reader
instead of Relational reader. Use a FastExport connection to the Teradata tables that you want to export in a
session.

16 Chapter 4: Optimizing the Source

Using tempdb to Join Sybase or Microsoft SQL Server
Tables
When you join large tables on a Sybase or Microsoft SQL Server database, it is possible to improve performance
by creating the tempdb as an in-memory database to allocate sufficient memory. For more information, see the
Sybase or Microsoft SQL Server documentation.

Using tempdb to Join Sybase or Microsoft SQL Server Tables 17

18 Chapter 4: Optimizing the Source
CHAPTER 5

Optimizing Mappings
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Overview, 19
♦ Optimizing Flat File Sources, 19
♦ Configuring Single-Pass Reading, 20
♦ Optimizing Pass-Through Mappings, 20
♦ Optimizing Filters, 21
♦ Optimizing Datatype Conversions, 21
♦ Optimizing Expressions, 21
♦ Optimizing External Procedures, 23

Overview
Mapping-level optimization may take time to implement, but it can significantly boost session performance.
Focus on mapping-level optimization after you optimize the targets and sources.
Generally, you reduce the number of transformations in the mapping and delete unnecessary links between
transformations to optimize the mapping. Configure the mapping with the least number of transformations and
expressions to do the most amount of work possible. Delete unnecessary links between transformations to
minimize the amount of data moved.

Optimizing Flat File Sources

Complete the following tasks to optimize flat file sources:
♦ Optimize the line sequential buffer length.
♦ Optimize delimited flat file sources.
♦ Optimize XML and flat file sources.

Optimizing the Line Sequential Buffer Length

If the session reads from a flat file source, you can improve session performance by setting the number of bytes
the Integration Service reads per line. By default, the Integration Service reads 1024 bytes per line. If each line

19
 in the source file is less than the default setting, you can decrease the line sequential buffer length in the session
properties.

Optimizing Delimited Flat File Sources

If a source is a delimited flat file, you must specify the delimiter character to separate columns of data in the
source file. You must also specify the escape character. The Integration Service reads the delimiter character as a
regular character if you include the escape character before the delimiter character. You can improve session
performance if the source flat file does not contain quotes or escape characters.

Optimizing XML and Flat File Sources

XML files are usually larger than flat files because of the tag information. The size of an XML file depends on
the level of tagging in the XML file. More tags result in a larger file size. As a result, the Integration Service may
take longer to read and cache XML sources.

Configuring Single-Pass Reading

Single-pass reading allows you to populate multiple targets with one source qualifier. Consider using single-pass
reading if you have multiple sessions that use the same sources. You can combine the transformation logic for
each mapping in one mapping and use one source qualifier for each source. The Integration Service reads each
source once and then sends the data into separate pipelines. A particular row can be used by all the pipelines, by
any combination of pipelines, or by no pipelines.
For example, you have the Purchasing source table, and you use that source daily to perform an aggregation and
a ranking. If you place the Aggregator and Rank transformations in separate mappings and sessions, you force
the Integration Service to read the same source table twice. However, if you include the aggregation and ranking
logic in one mapping with one source qualifier, the Integration Service reads the Purchasing source table once,
and then sends the appropriate data to the separate pipelines.
When changing mappings to take advantage of single-pass reading, you can optimize this feature by factoring
out common functions from mappings. For example, if you need to subtract a percentage from the Price ports
for both the Aggregator and Rank transformations, you can minimize work by subtracting the percentage before
splitting the pipeline. You can use an Expression transformation to subtract the percentage, and then split the
mapping after the transformation.
The following figure shows the single-pass reading, where the mapping splits after the Expression
transformation:

Optimizing Pass-Through Mappings

You can optimize performance for pass-through mappings. To pass directly from source to target without any
other transformations, connect the Source Qualifier transformation directly to the target. If you use the Getting

20 Chapter 5: Optimizing Mappings

 Started Wizard to create a pass-through mapping, the wizard creates an Expression transformation between the
Source Qualifier transformation and the target.

Optimizing Filters
Use one of the following transformations to filter data:
♦ Source Qualifier transformation. The Source Qualifier transformation filters rows from relational sources.
♦ Filter transformation. The Filter transformation filters data within a mapping. The Filter transformation
filters rows from any type of source.
If you filter rows from the mapping, you can improve efficiency by filtering early in the data flow. Use a filter in
the Source Qualifier transformation to remove the rows at the source. The Source Qualifier transformation
limits the row set extracted from a relational source.
If you cannot use a filter in the Source Qualifier transformation, use a Filter transformation and move it as close
to the Source Qualifier transformation as possible to remove unnecessary data early in the data flow. The Filter
transformation limits the row set sent to a target.
Avoid using complex expressions in filter conditions. To optimize Filter transformations, use simple integer or
true/false expressions in the filter condition.
Note: You can also use a Filter or Router transformation to drop rejected rows from an Update Strategy
transformation if you do not need to keep rejected rows.

Optimizing Datatype Conversions

You can increase performance by eliminating unnecessary datatype conversions. For example, if a mapping
moves data from an Integer column to a Decimal column, then back to an Integer column, the unnecessary
datatype conversion slows performance. Where possible, eliminate unnecessary datatype conversions from
mappings.
Use the following datatype conversions to improve system performance:
♦ Use integer values in place of other datatypes when performing comparisons using Lookup and Filter
transformations. For example, many databases store U.S. ZIP code information as a Char or Varchar
datatype. If you convert the zip code data to an Integer datatype, the lookup database stores the zip code
94303-1234 as 943031234. This helps increase the speed of the lookup comparisons based on zip code.
♦ Convert the source dates to strings through port-to-port conversions to increase session performance. You
can either leave the ports in targets as strings or change the ports to Date/Time ports.

Optimizing Expressions
You can also optimize the expressions used in the transformations. When possible, isolate slow expressions and
simplify them.
Complete the following tasks to isolate the slow expressions:
1. Remove the expressions one-by-one from the mapping.
2. Run the mapping to determine the time it takes to run the mapping without the transformation.
If there is a significant difference in session run time, look for ways to optimize the slow expression.

Optimizing Filters 21
 Factoring Out Common Logic
If the mapping performs the same task in multiple places, reduce the number of times the mapping performs
the task by moving the task earlier in the mapping. For example, you have a mapping with five target tables.
Each target requires a Social Security number lookup. Instead of performing the lookup five times, place the
Lookup transformation in the mapping before the data flow splits. Next, pass the lookup results to all five
targets.

Minimizing Aggregate Function Calls

When writing expressions, factor out as many aggregate function calls as possible. Each time you use an
aggregate function call, the Integration Service must search and group the data. For example, in the following
expression, the Integration Service reads COLUMN_A, finds the sum, then reads COLUMN_B, finds the sum,
and finally finds the sum of the two sums:
SUM(COLUMN_A) + SUM(COLUMN_B)

If you factor out the aggregate function call, as below, the Integration Service adds COLUMN_A to
COLUMN_B, then finds the sum of both.
SUM(COLUMN_A + COLUMN_B)

Replacing Common Expressions with Local Variables

If you use the same expression multiple times in one transformation, you can make that expression a local
variable. You can use a local variable only within the transformation. However, by calculating the variable only
once, you speed performance. For more information about using local variables, see the PowerCenter
Transformation Guide.

Choosing Numeric Versus String Operations

The Integration Service processes numeric operations faster than string operations. For example, if you look up
large amounts of data on two columns, EMPLOYEE_NAME and EMPLOYEE_ID, configuring the lookup
around EMPLOYEE_ID improves performance.

Optimizing Char-Char and Char-Varchar Comparisons

When the Integration Service performs comparisons between CHAR and VARCHAR columns, it slows each
time it finds trailing blank spaces in the row. You can use the TreatCHARasCHARonRead option when you
configure the Integration Service in the Administration Console so that the Integration Service does not trim
trailing spaces from the end of Char source fields.

Choosing DECODE Versus LOOKUP

When you use a LOOKUP function, the Integration Service must look up a table in a database. When you use
a DECODE function, you incorporate the lookup values into the expression so the Integration Service does not
have to look up a separate table. Therefore, when you want to look up a small set of unchanging values, use
DECODE to improve performance.

Using Operators Instead of Functions

The Integration Service reads expressions written with operators faster than expressions with functions. Where
possible, use operators to write expressions. For example, you have the following expression that contains nested
CONCAT functions:
CONCAT( CONCAT( CUSTOMERS.FIRST_NAME, ‘ ’) CUSTOMERS.LAST_NAME)

You can rewrite that expression with the || operator as follows:

22 Chapter 5: Optimizing Mappings

 CUSTOMERS.FIRST_NAME || ‘ ’ || CUSTOMERS.LAST_NAME

Optimizing IIF Functions

IIF functions can return a value and an action, which allows for more compact expressions. For example, you
have a source with three Y/N flags: FLG_A, FLG_B, FLG_C. You want to return values based on the values of
each flag.
You use the following expression:
IIF( FLG_A = 'Y' and FLG_B = 'Y' AND FLG_C = 'Y',
VAL_A + VAL_B + VAL_C,
IIF( FLG_A = 'Y' and FLG_B = 'Y' AND FLG_C = 'N',
VAL_A + VAL_B ,
IIF( FLG_A = 'Y' and FLG_B = 'N' AND FLG_C = 'Y',
VAL_A + VAL_C,
IIF( FLG_A = 'Y' and FLG_B = 'N' AND FLG_C = 'N',
VAL_A ,
IIF( FLG_A = 'N' and FLG_B = 'Y' AND FLG_C = 'Y',
VAL_B + VAL_C,
IIF( FLG_A = 'N' and FLG_B = 'Y' AND FLG_C = 'N',
VAL_B ,
IIF( FLG_A = 'N' and FLG_B = 'N' AND FLG_C = 'Y',
VAL_C,
IIF( FLG_A = 'N' and FLG_B = 'N' AND FLG_C = 'N',
0.0,
))))))))

This expression requires 8 IIFs, 16 ANDs, and at least 24 comparisons.

If you take advantage of the IIF function, you can rewrite that expression as:
IIF(FLG_A='Y', VAL_A, 0.0)+ IIF(FLG_B='Y', VAL_B, 0.0)+ IIF(FLG_C='Y', VAL_C, 0.0)

This results in three IIFs, two comparisons, two additions, and a faster session.

Evaluating Expressions
If you are not sure which expressions slow performance, evaluate the expression performance to isolate the
problem.
Complete the following steps to evaluate expression performance:
1. Time the session with the original expressions.
2. Copy the mapping and replace half of the complex expressions with a constant.
3. Run and time the edited session.
4. Make another copy of the mapping and replace the other half of the complex expressions with a constant.
5. Run and time the edited session.

Optimizing External Procedures

You might want to block input data if the external procedure needs to alternate reading from input groups.
Without the blocking functionality, you would need to write the procedure code to buffer incoming data. You
can block input data instead of buffering it which usually increases session performance.
For example, you need to create an external procedure with two input groups. The external procedure reads a
row from the first input group and then reads a row from the second input group. If you use blocking, you can
write the external procedure code to block the flow of data from one input group while it processes the data
from the other input group. When you write the external procedure code to block data, you increase

Optimizing External Procedures 23

 performance because the procedure does not need to copy the source data to a buffer. However, you could write
the external procedure to allocate a buffer and copy the data from one input group to the buffer until it is ready
to process the data. Copying source data to a buffer decreases performance.
For more information about blocking data, see the PowerCenter Transformation Guide.

24 Chapter 5: Optimizing Mappings

CHAPTER 6

Optimizing Transformations
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Optimizing Aggregator Transformations, 25
♦ Optimizing Custom Transformations, 26
♦ Optimizing Joiner Transformations, 27
♦ Optimizing Lookup Transformations, 27
♦ Optimizing Sequence Generator Transformations, 30
♦ Optimizing Sorter Transformations, 30
♦ Optimizing Source Qualifier Transformations, 31
♦ Optimizing SQL Transformations, 31
♦ Eliminating Transformation Errors, 32

Optimizing Aggregator Transformations

Aggregator transformations often slow performance because they must group data before processing it.
Aggregator transformations need additional memory to hold intermediate group results.
Use the following guidelines to optimize the performance of an Aggregator transformation:
♦ Group by simple columns.
♦ Use sorted input.
♦ Use incremental aggregation.
♦ Filter data before you aggregate it.
♦ Limit port connections.

Grouping By Simple Columns

You can optimize Aggregator transformations when you group by simple columns. When possible, use numbers
instead of string and dates in the columns used for the GROUP BY. Avoid complex expressions in the
Aggregator expressions.

25
 Using Sorted Input
To increase session performance, sort data for the Aggregator transformation. Use the Sorted Input option to
sort data.
The Sorted Input option decreases the use of aggregate caches. When you use the Sorted Input option, the
Integration Service assumes all data is sorted by group. As the Integration Service reads rows for a group, it
performs aggregate calculations. When necessary, it stores group information in memory.
The Sorted Input option reduces the amount of data cached during the session and improves performance. Use
this option with the Source Qualifier Number of Sorted Ports option or a Sorter transformation to pass sorted
data to the Aggregator transformation.
You can increase performance when you use the Sorted Input option in sessions with multiple partitions.

Using Incremental Aggregation

If you can capture changes from the source that affect less than half the target, you can use incremental
aggregation to optimize the performance of Aggregator transformations.
When you use incremental aggregation, you apply captured changes in the source to aggregate calculations in a
session. The Integration Service updates the target incrementally, rather than processing the entire source and
recalculating the same calculations every time you run the session.
You can increase the index and data cache sizes to hold all data in memory without paging to disk.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Increasing the Cache Sizes” on page 37

Filtering Data Before You Aggregate

Filter the data before you aggregate it. If you use a Filter transformation in the mapping, place the
transformation before the Aggregator transformation to reduce unnecessary aggregation.

Limiting Port Connections

Limit the number of connected input/output or output ports to reduce the amount of data the Aggregator
transformation stores in the data cache.

Optimizing Custom Transformations

The Integration Service can pass a single row to a Custom transformation procedure or a block of rows in an
array. You can write the procedure code to specify whether the procedure receives one row or a block of rows.
You can increase performance when the procedure receives a block of rows:
♦ You can decrease the number of function calls the Integration Service and procedure make. The Integration
Service calls the input row notification function fewer times, and the procedure calls the output notification
function fewer times.
♦ You can increase the locality of memory access space for the data.
♦ You can write the procedure code to perform an algorithm on a block of data instead of each row of data.

26 Chapter 6: Optimizing Transformations

Optimizing Joiner Transformations
Joiner transformations can slow performance because they need additional space at run time to hold
intermediary results. You can view Joiner performance counter information to determine whether you need to
optimize the Joiner transformations.
Use the following tips to improve session performance with the Joiner transformation:
♦ Designate the master source as the source with fewer duplicate key values. When the Integration Service
processes a sorted Joiner transformation, it caches rows for one hundred unique keys at a time. If the master
source contains many rows with the same key value, the Integration Service must cache more rows, and
performance can be slowed.
♦ Designate the master source as the source with fewer rows. During a session, the Joiner transformation
compares each row of the detail source against the master source. The fewer rows in the master, the fewer
iterations of the join comparison occur, which speeds the join process.
♦ Perform joins in a database when possible. Performing a join in a database is faster than performing a join
in the session. The type of database join you use can affect performance. Normal joins are faster than outer
joins and result in fewer rows. In some cases, you cannot perform the join in the database, such as joining
tables from two different databases or flat file systems.
To perform a join in a database, use the following options:
♦ Create a pre-session stored procedure to join the tables in a database.
♦ Use the Source Qualifier transformation to perform the join.
♦ Join sorted data when possible. To improve session performance, configure the Joiner transformation to use
sorted input. When you configure the Joiner transformation to use sorted data, the Integration Service
improves performance by minimizing disk input and output. You see the greatest performance improvement
when you work with large data sets. For an unsorted Joiner transformation, designate the source with fewer
rows as the master source.

Optimizing Lookup Transformations

If the lookup table is on the same database as the source table in your mapping and caching is not feasible, join
the tables in the source database rather than using a Lookup transformation.
If you use a Lookup transformation, perform the following tasks to increase performance:
♦ Use the optimal database driver.
♦ Cache lookup tables.
♦ Optimize the lookup condition.
♦ Filter lookup rows.
♦ Index the lookup table.
♦ Optimize multiple lookups.
♦ Create a pipeline Lookup transformation and configure partitions in the pipeline that builds the lookup
source.

Using Optimal Database Drivers

The Integration Service can connect to a lookup table using a native database driver or an ODBC driver. Native
database drivers provide better session performance than ODBC drivers.

Optimizing Joiner Transformations 27

 Caching Lookup Tables
If a mapping contains Lookup transformations, you might want to enable lookup caching. When you enable
caching, the Integration Service caches the lookup table and queries the lookup cache during the session. When
this option is not enabled, the Integration Service queries the lookup table on a row-by-row basis.
The result of the Lookup query and processing is the same, whether or not you cache the lookup table.
However, using a lookup cache can increase session performance for smaller lookup tables. In general, you want
to cache lookup tables that need less than 300 MB.
Complete the following tasks to further enhance performance for Lookup transformations:
♦ Use the appropriate cache type.
♦ Enable concurrent caches.
♦ Optimize Lookup condition matching.
♦ Reduce the number of cached rows.
♦ Override the ORDER BY statement.
♦ Use a machine with more memory.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Caches” on page 36

Types of Caches
Use the following types of caches to increase performance:
♦ Shared cache. You can share the lookup cache between multiple transformations. You can share an unnamed
cache between transformations in the same mapping. You can share a named cache between transformations
in the same or different mappings.
♦ Persistent cache. To save and reuse the cache files, you can configure the transformation to use a persistent
cache. Use this feature when you know the lookup table does not change between session runs. Using a
persistent cache can improve performance because the Integration Service builds the memory cache from the
cache files instead of from the database.

Enabling Concurrent Caches

When the Integration Service processes sessions that contain Lookup transformations, the Integration Service
builds a cache in memory when it processes the first row of data in a cached Lookup transformation. If there are
multiple Lookup transformations in a mapping, the Integration Service creates the caches sequentially when the
first row of data is processed by the Lookup transformation. This slows Lookup transformation processing.
You can enable concurrent caches to improve performance. When the number of additional concurrent
pipelines is set to one or more, the Integration Service builds caches concurrently rather than sequentially.
Performance improves greatly when the sessions contain a number of active transformations that may take time
to complete, such as Aggregator, Joiner, or Sorter transformations. When you enable multiple concurrent
pipelines, the Integration Service no longer waits for active sessions to complete before it builds the cache.
Other Lookup transformations in the pipeline also build caches concurrently.

Optimizing Lookup Condition Matching

When the Lookup transformation matches lookup cache data with the lookup condition, it sorts and orders the
data to determine the first matching value and the last matching value. You can configure the transformation to
return any value that matches the lookup condition. When you configure the Lookup transformation to return
any matching value, the transformation returns the first value that matches the lookup condition. It does not
index all ports as it does when you configure the transformation to return the first matching value or the last
matching value. When you use any matching value, performance can improve because the transformation does
not index on all ports, which can slow performance.

28 Chapter 6: Optimizing Transformations

 Reducing the Number of Cached Rows
You can reduce the number of rows included in the cache to increase performance. Use the Lookup SQL
Override option to add a WHERE clause to the default SQL statement.

Overriding the ORDER BY Statement

By default, the Integration Service generates an ORDER BY statement for a cached lookup. The ORDER BY
statement contains all lookup ports. To increase performance, suppress the default ORDER BY statement and
enter an override ORDER BY with fewer columns.
The Integration Service always generates an ORDER BY statement, even if you enter one in the override. Place
two dashes ‘--’ after the ORDER BY override to suppress the generated ORDER BY statement.
For example, a Lookup transformation uses the following lookup condition:
ITEM_ID = IN_ITEM_ID
PRICE <= IN_PRICE

The Lookup transformation includes three lookup ports used in the mapping, ITEM_ID, ITEM_NAME, and
PRICE. When you enter the ORDER BY statement, enter the columns in the same order as the ports in the
lookup condition. You must also enclose all database reserved words in quotes.
Enter the following lookup query in the lookup SQL override:
SELECT ITEMS_DIM.ITEM_NAME, ITEMS_DIM.PRICE, ITEMS_DIM.ITEM_ID FROM ITEMS_DIM ORDER BY
ITEMS_DIM.ITEM_ID, ITEMS_DIM.PRICE --

Using a Machine with More Memory

To increase session performance, run the session on an Integration Service node with a large amount of
memory. Increase the index and data cache sizes as high as you can without straining the machine. If the
Integration Service node has enough memory, increase the cache so it can hold all data in memory without
paging to disk.

Optimizing the Lookup Condition

If you include more than one lookup condition, place the conditions in the following order to optimize lookup
performance:
♦ Equal to (=)
♦ Less than (<), greater than (>), less than or equal to (<=), greater than or equal to (>=)
♦ Not equal to (!=)

Filtering Lookup Rows

Create a filter condition to reduce the number of lookup rows retrieved from the source when the lookup cache
is built.

Indexing the Lookup Table

The Integration Service needs to query, sort, and compare values in the lookup condition columns. The index
needs to include every column used in a lookup condition.
You can improve performance for the following types of lookups:
♦ Cached lookups. To improve performance, index the columns in the lookup ORDER BY statement. The
session log contains the ORDER BY statement.
♦ Uncached lookups. To improve performance, index the columns in the lookup condition. The Integration
Service issues a SELECT statement for each row that passes into the Lookup transformation.

Optimizing Lookup Transformations 29

 Optimizing Multiple Lookups
If a mapping contains multiple lookups, even with caching enabled and enough heap memory, the lookups can
slow performance. Tune the Lookup transformations that query the largest amounts of data to improve overall
performance.
To determine which Lookup transformations process the most data, examine the Lookup_rowsinlookupcache
counters for each Lookup transformation. The Lookup transformations that have a large number in this
counter might benefit from tuning their lookup expressions. If those expressions can be optimized, session
performance improves.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Optimizing Expressions” on page 21

Creating a Pipeline Lookup Transformation

A mapping that contains a pipeline Lookup transformation includes a partial pipeline that contains the lookup
source and a source qualifier. The Integration Service processes the lookup source data in this pipeline. It passes
the lookup source data to the pipeline that contains the Lookup transformation and it creates the cache.
The partial pipeline is a separate target load order group in session properties. You can configure multiple
partitions in this pipeline to improve performance.

Optimizing Sequence Generator Transformations

To optimize Sequence Generator transformations, create a reusable Sequence Generator and using it in multiple
mappings simultaneously. Also, configure the Number of Cached Values property.
The Number of Cached Values property determines the number of values the Integration Service caches at one
time. Make sure that the Number of Cached Value is not too small. Consider configuring the Number of
Cached Values to a value greater than 1,000.
If you do not have to cache values, set the Number of Cache Values to 0. Sequence Generator transformations
that do not use cache are faster than those that require cache.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Optimizing Sequence Generator Transformations” on page 45

Optimizing Sorter Transformations

Complete the following tasks to optimize a Sorter transformation:
♦ Allocate enough memory to sort the data.
♦ Specify a different work directory for each partition in the Sorter transformation.

Allocating Memory
For optimal performance, configure the Sorter cache size with a value less than or equal to the amount of
available physical RAM on the Integration Service node. Allocate at least 16 MB of physical memory to sort
data using the Sorter transformation. The Sorter cache size is set to 16,777,216 bytes by default. If the
Integration Service cannot allocate enough memory to sort data, it fails the session.

30 Chapter 6: Optimizing Transformations

 If the amount of incoming data is greater than the amount of Sorter cache size, the Integration Service
temporarily stores data in the Sorter transformation work directory. The Integration Service requires disk space
of at least twice the amount of incoming data when storing data in the work directory. If the amount of
incoming data is significantly greater than the Sorter cache size, the Integration Service may require much more
than twice the amount of disk space available to the work directory.
Use the following formula to determine the size of incoming data:
# input rows ([Sum(column size)] + 16)

Work Directories for Partitions

The Integration Service creates temporary files when it sorts data. It stores them in a work directory. You can
specify any directory on the Integration Service node to use as a work directory. By default, the Integration
Service uses the value specified for the $PMTempDir service process variable.
When you partition a session with a Sorter transformation, you can specify a different work directory for each
partition in the pipeline. To increase session performance, specify work directories on physically separate disks
on the Integration Service nodes.

Optimizing Source Qualifier Transformations

Use the Select Distinct option for the Source Qualifier transformation if you want the Integration Service to
select unique values from a source. Use Select Distinct option to filter unnecessary data earlier in the data flow.
This can improve performance.

Optimizing SQL Transformations

When you create an SQL transformation, you configure the transformation to use external SQL queries or
queries that you define in the transformation. When you configure an SQL transformation to run in script
mode, the Integration Service processes an external SQL script for each input row. When the transformation
runs in query mode, the Integration Service processes an SQL query that you define in the transformation.
Each time the Integration Service processes a new query in a session, it calls a function called SQLPrepare to
create an SQL procedure and pass it to the database. When the query changes for each input row, it has a
performance impact.
When the transformation runs in query mode, construct= a static query in the transformation to improve
performance. A static query statement does not change, although the data in the query clause changes. To create
a static query, use parameter binding instead of string substitution in the SQL Editor. When you use parameter
binding you set parameters in the query clause to values in the transformation input ports.
When an SQL query contains commit and rollback query statements, the Integration Service must recreate the
SQL procedure after each commit or rollback. To optimize performance, do not use transaction statements in
an SQL transformation query.
When you create the SQL transformation, you configure how the transformation connects to the database. You
can choose a static connection or you can pass connection information to the transformation at run time.
When you configure the transformation to use a static connection, you choose a connection from the Workflow
Manager connections. The SQL transformation connects to the database once during the session. When you
pass dynamic connection information, the SQL transformation connects to the database each time the
transformation processes an input row.

Optimizing Source Qualifier Transformations 31

Eliminating Transformation Errors
In large numbers, transformation errors slow the performance of the Integration Service. With each
transformation error, the Integration Service pauses to determine the cause of the error and to remove the row
causing the error from the data flow. Next, the Integration Service typically writes the row into the session log
file.
Transformation errors occur when the Integration Service encounters conversion errors, conflicting mapping
logic, and any condition set up as an error, such as null input. Check the session log to see where the
transformation errors occur. If the errors center around particular transformations, evaluate those
transformation constraints.
If you need to run a session that generates a large number of transformation errors, it is possible to improve
performance by setting a lower tracing level. However, this is not a recommended long-term solution to
transformation errors.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Error Tracing” on page 38

32 Chapter 6: Optimizing Transformations

CHAPTER 7

Optimizing Sessions
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Grid, 33
♦ Pushdown Optimization, 34
♦ Concurrent Sessions and Workflows, 34
♦ Buffer Memory, 34
♦ Caches, 36
♦ Target-Based Commit, 37
♦ Real-time Processing, 38
♦ Staging Areas, 38
♦ Log Files, 38
♦ Error Tracing, 38
♦ Post-Session Emails, 39

Grid
You can use a grid to increase session and workflow performance. A grid is an alias assigned to a group of nodes
that allows you to automate the distribution of workflows and sessions across nodes.
A Load Balancer distributes tasks to nodes without overloading any node.
When you use a grid, the Integration Service distributes workflow tasks and session threads across multiple
nodes. A Load Balancer distributes tasks to nodes without overloading any node. Running workflows and
sessions on the nodes of a grid provides the following performance gains:
♦ Balances the Integration Service workload.
♦ Processes concurrent sessions faster.
♦ Processes partitions faster.
The Integration Service requires CPU resources for parsing input data and formatting the output data. A grid
can improve performance when you have a performance bottleneck in the extract and load steps of a session.
A grid can improve performance when memory or temporary storage is a performance bottleneck. When a
PowerCenter mapping contains a transformation that has cache memory, deploying adequate memory and
separate disk storage for each cache instance improves performance.

33
 Running a session on a grid can improve throughput because the grid provides more resources to run the
session. Performance improves when you run a few sessions on the grid at a time. Running a session on a grid is
more efficient than running a workflow over a grid if the number of concurrent session partitions is less than
the number of nodes.
When you run multiple sessions on a grid, session subtasks share node resources with subtasks of other
concurrent sessions. Running a session on a grid requires coordination between processes running on different
nodes. For some mappings, running a session on a grid requires additional overhead to move data from one
node to another node. In addition to loading the memory and CPU resources on each node, running multiple
sessions on a grid adds to network traffic.
When you run a workflow on a grid, the Integration Service loads memory and CPU resources on nodes
without requiring coordination between the nodes.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Optimizing Grid Deployments” on page 41

Pushdown Optimization
To increase session performance, push transformation logic to the source or target database. Based on the
mapping and session configuration, the Integration Service executes SQL against the source or target database
instead of processing the transformation logic within the Integration Service.

Concurrent Sessions and Workflows

If possible, run sessions and workflows concurrently to improve performance. For example, if you load data
into an analytic schema, where you have dimension and fact tables, load the dimensions concurrently.

Buffer Memory
When the Integration Service initializes a session, it allocates blocks of memory to hold source and target data.
The Integration Service allocates at least two blocks for each source and target partition. Sessions that use a
large number of sources and targets might require additional memory blocks. If the Integration Service cannot
allocate enough memory blocks to hold the data, it fails the session.
You can configure the amount of buffer memory, or you can configure the Integration Service to calculate
buffer settings at run time. For information, see the PowerCenter Advanced Workflow Guide.
To increase the number of available memory blocks, adjust the following session properties:
♦ DTM Buffer Size. Increase the DTM buffer size on the Properties tab in the session properties.
♦ Default Buffer Block Size. Decrease the buffer block size on the Config Object tab in the session properties.
Before you configure these settings, determine the number of memory blocks the Integration Service requires to
initialize the session. Then, based on default settings, calculate the buffer size and the buffer block size to create
the required number of session blocks.
If you have XML sources or targets in a mapping, use the number of groups in the XML source or target in the
calculation for the total number of sources and targets.

34 Chapter 7: Optimizing Sessions

 For example, you create a session that contains a single partition using a mapping that contains 50 sources and
50 targets. Then, you make the following calculations:
1. You determine that the session requires a minimum of 200 memory blocks:
[(total number of sources + total number of targets)* 2] = (session buffer blocks)
100 * 2 = 200

2. Based on default settings, you determine that you can change the DTM Buffer Size to 15,000,000, or you
can change the Default Buffer Block Size to 54,000:
(session Buffer Blocks) = (.9) * (DTM Buffer Size) / (Default Buffer Block Size) *
(number of partitions)
200 = .9 * 14222222 / 64000 * 1

or
200 = .9 * 12000000 / 54000 * 1

Note: For a session that contains n partitions, set the DTM Buffer Size to at least n times the value for the
session with one partition. The Log Manager writes a warning message in the session log if the number of
memory blocks is so small that it causes performance degradation. The Log Manager writes this warning
message even if the number of memory blocks is enough for the session to run successfully. The warning
message also gives a suggestion for the proper value.
If you modify the DTM Buffer Size, increase the property by multiples of the buffer block size.

Increasing DTM Buffer Size

The DTM Buffer Size setting specifies the amount of memory the Integration Service uses as DTM buffer
memory. The Integration Service uses DTM buffer memory to create the internal data structures and buffer
blocks used to bring data into and out of the Integration Service. When you increase the DTM buffer memory,
the Integration Service creates more buffer blocks, which improves performance during momentary slowdowns.
Increasing DTM buffer memory allocation generally causes performance to improve initially and then level off.
When you increase the DTM buffer memory allocation, consider the total memory available on the Integration
Service process system.
If you do not see a significant increase in performance, DTM buffer memory allocation is not a factor in session
performance.
Note: Reducing the DTM buffer allocation can cause the session to fail early in the process because the
Integration Service is unable to allocate memory to the required processes.
To increase the DTM buffer size, open the session properties and click the Properties tab. Edit the DTM Buffer
Size property in the Performance settings.
The default for DTM Buffer Size is 12,000,000 bytes. Increase the property by multiples of the buffer block
size, and then run and time the session after each increase.

Optimizing the Buffer Block Size

Depending on the session source data, you might need to increase or decrease the buffer block size.
If the machine has limited physical memory and the mapping in the session contains a large number of sources,
targets, or partitions, you might need to decrease the buffer block size.
If you are manipulating unusually large rows of data, increase the buffer block size to improve performance. If
you do not know the approximate size of the rows, determine the configured row size by completing the
following steps.

To evaluate needed buffer block size:

1. In the Mapping Designer, open the mapping for the session.

2. Open the target instance.

Buffer Memory 35
 3. Click the Ports tab.
4. Add the precision for all columns in the target.
5. If you have more than one target in the mapping, repeat steps 2 to 4 for each additional target to calculate
the precision for each target.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 for each source definition in the mapping.
7. Choose the largest precision of all the source and target precisions for the total precision in the buffer block
size calculation.
The total precision represents the total bytes needed to move the largest row of data. For example, if the total
precision equals 33,000, then the Integration Service requires 33,000 bytes in the buffers to move that row. If
the buffer block size is 64,000 bytes, the Integration Service can move only one row at a time.
Ideally, a buffer accommodates at least 100 rows at a time. So if the total precision is greater than 32,000,
increase the size of the buffers to improve performance.
To increase the buffer block size, open the session properties and click the Config Object tab. Edit the Default
Buffer Block Size property in the Advanced settings.
Increase the DTM buffer block setting in relation to the size of the rows. As with DTM buffer memory
allocation, increasing buffer block size should improve performance. If you do not see an increase, buffer block
size is not a factor in session performance.

Caches
The Integration Service uses the index and data caches for XML targets and Aggregator, Rank, Lookup, and
Joiner transformations. The Integration Service stores transformed data in the data cache before returning it to
the pipeline. It stores group information in the index cache. Also, the Integration Service uses a cache to store
data for Sorter transformations.
To configure the amount of cache memory, use the cache calculator or specify the cache size. You can also
configure the Integration Service to calculate cache memory settings at run time. For more information, see the
PowerCenter Advanced Workflow Guide.
If the allocated cache is not large enough to store the data, the Integration Service stores the data in a temporary
disk file, a cache file, as it processes the session data. Performance slows each time the Integration Service pages
to a temporary file. Examine the performance counters to determine how often the Integration Service pages to
a file.
Perform the following tasks to optimize caches:
♦ Limit the number of connected input/output and output only ports.
♦ Select the optimal cache directory location.
♦ Increase the cache sizes.
♦ Use the 64-bit version of PowerCenter to run large cache sessions.

Limiting the Number of Connected Ports

For transformations that use data cache, limit the number of connected input/output and output only ports.
Limiting the number of connected input/output or output ports reduces the amount of data the
transformations store in the data cache.

Cache Directory Location

If you run the Integration Service on a grid and only some Integration Service nodes have fast access to the
shared cache file directory, configure each session with a large cache to run on the nodes with fast access to the

36 Chapter 7: Optimizing Sessions

 directory. To configure a session to run on a node with fast access to the directory, complete the following
steps:
1. Create a PowerCenter resource.
2. Make the resource available to the nodes with fast access to the directory.
3. Assign the resource to the session.
If all Integration Service processes in a grid have slow access to the cache files, set up a separate, local cache file
directory for each Integration Service process. An Integration Service process may have faster access to the cache
files if it runs on the same machine that contains the cache directory.
Note: You may encounter performance degradation when you cache large quantities of data on a mapped or
mounted drive.

Increasing the Cache Sizes

You configure the cache size to specify the amount of memory allocated to process a transformation. The
amount of memory you configure depends on how much memory cache and disk cache you want to use. If you
configure the cache size and it is not enough to process the transformation in memory, the Integration Service
processes some of the transformation in memory and pages information to cache files to process the rest of the
transformation. Each time the Integration Service pages to a cache file, performance slows.
You can examine the performance details of a session to determine when the Integration Service pages to a cache
file. The Transformation_readfromdisk or Transformation_writetodisk counters for any Aggregator, Rank, or
Joiner transformation indicate the number of times the Integration Service pages to disk to process the
transformation.
If the session contains a transformation that uses a cache and you run the session on a machine with sufficient
memory, increase the cache sizes to process the transformation in memory.

Using the 64-bit Version of PowerCenter

If you process large volumes of data or perform memory-intensive transformations, you can use the 64-bit
PowerCenter version to increase session performance. The 64-bit version provides a larger memory space that
can significantly reduce or eliminate disk input/output.
This can improve session performance in the following areas:
♦ Caching. With a 64-bit platform, the Integration Service is not limited to the 2 GB cache limit of a 32-bit
platform.
♦ Data throughput. With a larger available memory space, the reader, writer, and DTM threads can process
larger blocks of data.

Target-Based Commit
The commit interval setting determines the point at which the Integration Service commits data to the targets.
Each time the Integration Service commits, performance slows. Therefore, the smaller the commit interval, the
more often the Integration Service writes to the target database, and the slower the overall performance.
If you increase the commit interval, the number of times the Integration Service commits decreases and
performance improves.
When you increase the commit interval, consider the log file limits in the target database. If the commit interval
is too high, the Integration Service may fill the database log file and cause the session to fail.
Therefore, weigh the benefit of increasing the commit interval against the additional time you would spend
recovering a failed session.

Target-Based Commit 37
 Click the General Options settings in the session properties to review and adjust the commit interval.

Real-time Processing
Flush Latency
Flush latency determines how often the Integration Service flushes real-time data from the source. The lower
you set the flush latency interval, the more frequently the Integration Service commits messages to the target.
Each time the Integration Service commits messages to the target, the session consumes more resources and
throughput drops.
Increase the flush latency to improve throughput. Throughput increases as you increase the flush latency up to
a certain threshold, depending on the hardware and available resources.

Source-Based Commit
Source-based commit interval determines how often the Integration Service commits real-time data to the
target. To obtain the fastest latency, set the source-based commit to 1.

Staging Areas
When you use a staging area, the Integration Service performs multiple passes on the data. When possible,
remove staging areas to improve performance. The Integration Service can read multiple sources with a single
pass, which can alleviate the need for staging areas.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Configuring Single-Pass Reading” on page 20

Log Files
A workflow runs faster when you do not configure it to write session and workflow log files. Workflows and
sessions always create binary logs. When you configure a session or workflow to write a log file, the Integration
Service writes logging events twice. You can access the binary logs session and workflow logs in the
Administration Console.

Error Tracing
To improve performance, reduce the number of log events generated by the Integration Service when it runs the
session. If a session contains a large number of transformation errors, and you do not need to correct them, set
the session tracing level to Terse. At this tracing level, the Integration Service does not write error messages or
row-level information for reject data.
If you need to debug the mapping and you set the tracing level to Verbose, you may experience significant
performance degradation when you run the session. Do not use Verbose tracing when you tune performance.

38 Chapter 7: Optimizing Sessions

 The session tracing level overrides any transformation-specific tracing levels within the mapping. This is not
recommended as a long-term response to high levels of transformation errors.

Post-Session Emails
When you attach the session log to a post-session email, enable flat file logging. If you enable flat file logging,
the Integration Service gets the session log file from disk. If you do not enable flat file logging, the Integration
Service gets the log events from the Log Manager and generates the session log file to attach to the email. When
the Integration Service retrieves the session log from the log service, workflow performance slows, especially
when the session log file is large and the log service runs on a different node than the master DTM. For optimal
performance, configure the session to write to log file when you configure post-session email to attach a session
log.

Post-Session Emails 39
40 Chapter 7: Optimizing Sessions
CHAPTER 8

Optimizing Grid Deployments

This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Overview, 41
♦ Storing Files, 41
♦ Using a Shared File System, 42
♦ Distributing Files Across File Systems, 44
♦ Optimizing Sequence Generator Transformations, 45

Overview
When you run PowerCenter on a grid, you can configure the grid, sessions, and workflows to use resources
efficiently and maximize scalability.
To improve PowerCenter performance on a grid, complete the following tasks:
♦ Add nodes to the grid.
♦ Increase storage capacity and bandwidth.
♦ Use shared file systems.
♦ Use a high-throughput network when you complete the following tasks:
− Access sources and targets over the network.
− Transfer data between nodes of a grid when using the Session on Grid option.

Storing Files
When you configure PowerCenter to run on a grid, you specify the storage location for different types of session
files, such as source files, log files, and cache files. To improve performance, store files in optimal locations. For
example, store persistent cache files on a high-bandwidth shared file system. Different types of files have
different storage requirements.
You can store files in the following types of locations:
♦ Shared file systems. Store files on a shared file system to enable all Integration Service processes to access the
same files. You can store files on low-bandwidth and high-bandwidth shared file systems.

41
 ♦ Local. Store files on the local machine running the Integration Service process when the files do not have to
be accessed by other Integration Service processes.

High Bandwidth Shared File System Files

Because they can be accessed often during a session, place the following files on a high-bandwidth shared file
system:
♦ Source files, including flat files for lookups.
♦ Target files, including merge files for partitioned sessions.
♦ Persistent cache files for lookup or incremental aggregation.
♦ Non-persistent cache files for only grid-enabled sessions on a grid.
This allows the Integration Service to build the cache only once. If these cache files are stored on a local file
system, the Integration Service builds a cache for each partition group.

Low Bandwidth Shared File System Files

Because they are accessed less frequently during a session, store the following files on a low-bandwidth shared
file system:
♦ Parameter files or other configuration related files.
♦ Indirect source or target files.
♦ Log files.

Local Storage Files

To avoid unnecessary file sharing when you use shared file systems, store the following files locally:
♦ Non-persistent cache files for sessions that are not enabled for a grid, including Sorter transformation
temporary files.
♦ Individual target files for different partitions when performing a sequential merge for partitioned sessions.
♦ Other temporary files that are deleted at the end of a session run. In general, to establish this, configure
$PmTempFileDir for a local file system.
Avoid storing these files on a shared file system, even when the bandwidth is high.

Using a Shared File System

You can use the following shared file systems for file sharing:
♦ Network file systems such as CIFS (SMB) on Windows or Network File System (NFS) on UNIX. Although
network file systems are not designed for high-performance computing, they can work well for sequential file
access.
♦ Clustered file systems. Clustered file systems provide a group of nodes with high-bandwidth file access, as
well as a unified namespace for files and directories. Clustered file system performance is similar to a direct-
attached local file system.
Note: If you have the High Availability option, use a clustered file system.

Proper configuration and tuning can be critical for small grid performance. You can also configure mappings
and sessions to avoid the intrinsic limitations of shared file systems.

42 Chapter 8: Optimizing Grid Deployments

Configuring a Shared File System
Use the following general guidelines to configure shared file systems:
♦ Make sure the network has enough bandwidth.
♦ Make sure the underlying storage has enough I/O bandwidth.
♦ Configure the shared file system daemons, particularly the client, to have enough threads to access files
quickly. For example, IBM recommends that you estimate the number of files that require simultaneous
access and provide at least two biod threads for each file.
When you run concurrent sessions on a grid that use flat file sources or targets, provide enough threads so
each partition can access the source or target files that they need simultaneously.
♦ Configure mount points of the shared file system based on access requirements. When running sequential
sessions on a grid that use flat file sources or targets, avoid any configuration that might degrade the
effectiveness of the default read-ahead or write-behind process. File systems optimize sequential file access
with read-ahead and write-behind.
♦ If necessary, tune the shared file system read-ahead and write-behind settings.
♦ Review the cache settings of the shared file systems for both the client and server. Increasing the default
settings may improve performance.
♦ Configure the release-behind settings of the file system to free memory pages after data is accessed.
Otherwise, system performance might degrade when reading or writing large files.
♦ Because of the difference in access patterns, you might use different mount points for sources and targets,
and persistent caches.
For more information, see the shared file system documentation.

Balancing CPU and Memory Usage

Unlike local file systems, a shared file system server can take extra CPU cycles to access files. If you use one of
the computation nodes as the shared file system server for the rest of the nodes, it might become overloaded and
become a bottleneck for the entire grid. When the shared file system server is overloaded, CPU cycles can
increase, along with repeated transmissions and time-out requests.
To avoid this, use one or more machines as dedicated shared file system servers for your PowerCenter grid
nodes. Each machine should have enough storage, CPUs, and network bandwidth for required tasks.
Alternatively, you can cross-mount the shared file system server to distribute the file server load across the nodes
of the grid. When PowerCenter mappings and sessions are configured to use an even balance of I/O and CPU
usage, cross-mounting shared file system servers can optimize performance. If the number of nodes in the grid is
small and you have a balanced mix of I/O and CPU usage, you might not need a dedicated shared file system
server.
When you use more than one shared file system server, dedicated or cross-mounted, try to distribute shared files
across the servers.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Distributing Files Across File Systems” on page 44

Configuring PowerCenter Mappings and Sessions

One of the most important ways to improve performance is to avoid unnecessary file sharing. When properly
configured, shared file systems can provide good performance for the sequential access of source and target files.
However, the random access required for persistent cache files, especially large persistent cache files, can be
more problematic.
Use the following guidelines for configuring persistent cache files, such as persistent dynamic lookups, for a grid
with a shared file system:
♦ When possible, configure the session cache size to keep smaller persistent cache files in memory.

Using a Shared File System 43

 ♦ Add a Sorter transformation to the mapping to sort the input rows before the persistent lookup. Shifting the
work from the persistent lookup to the Sorter transformation can improve performance because the Sorter
transformation can use the local file system.
♦ Group rows that require access to the same page of the lookup cache to minimize the number of times the
Integration Service reads each page of the cache.
♦ When the size of input data is large, use source-based commits to manage input data to allow sorting to be
performed in memory.
For example, you have a 4 GB persistent dynamic lookup that cannot be reduced without changing the
mapping logic and you have 10 GB of source data. First add a Sorter transformation to sort input data to
reduce random access of the lookup cache, then complete the following tasks:
− Configure the session to perform source-based commits with 1 GB commit intervals.
− Set the Sorter transformation transaction scope to Transaction.
− Configure the Sorter transformation for a 1 GB cache size, enough for the source input.
With this configuration, the Integration Service sorts 1 GB of input data at a time and passes rows to the
persistent lookup that require access to similar data in the cache.
♦ If more than one file system is available, configure the cache files for each partition to use different file
systems.
♦ Configure the sessions to distribute the files to different file systems if more than one file system is available.

Distributing Files Across File Systems

Distribute files to different file systems to use the combined bandwidth of the file systems. This assumes each
file system uses an independent physical disk sub-system. Distributing files to different file systems can increase
performance on a grid that uses either a shared file system or symmetric multiprocessing (SMP).

Configuring Sessions to Distribute Files

You can manually configure sessions to distribute the file load. You might need to edit sessions when the load
changes significantly or when you add new sessions or file systems, including adding new nodes to a grid with a
cross-mounted shared file system.
Instead of editing sessions manually, use session variables to distribute files to different directories. This allows
you to redirect session files to different file servers when necessary.
Use the following guidelines to use session variables:
♦ Name variables for session file names and directories to reflect business logic.
♦ In the parameter file, define each variable so the file load is evenly distributed across all available file systems.
You can also define node-specific variables.
♦ Optionally, automate reconfiguration with a script to process parameter files.
Note: When you use a script, use a placeholder in the parameter file so the script can redefine session
variables as necessary.

Guidelines for Parameter Files and Scripts

When you create parameter files and scripts, use the following guidelines:
♦ To easily maintain flexibility and control of session file locations, use a script to replace placeholders in a
parameter file.
♦ Consider the estimated file size and file system capacity when you define file locations.

44 Chapter 8: Optimizing Grid Deployments

 ♦ Avoid organizing files according to business logic if the sessions and workflows need to access business-
related files at the same time. For example, if you store California files on one file system and New York files
on another, a bottleneck might occur if the session needs to access both files at the same time.
♦ When possible, place files for different partitions of the same source, target, or lookup on different file
systems.

Examples
In the following excerpt of a raw parameter file, the placeholder “{fs}” represents the file system where the
directory is located and must be assigned by a script before being used:
[SessionFFSrc_FFTgt_CA]
$InputFile_driverInfo_CA={fs}/driverinfo_ca.dat
$SubDir_processed_CA={fs}
# Session has Output file directory set to:
# $PmTargetFileDir/$SubDir_processed_CA
# This file is the input of SessionFFSrc_DBTgt_CA.
$SubDir_RecordLkup_Cache_CA={fs}
# This session builds this persistent lookup cache to be used
# by SessionFFSrc_DBTgt_CA.
# The Lookup cache directory name in the session is set to:
# $PmCacheDir/$SubDir_RecordLkup_Cache_CA
[SessionFFSrc_FFTgt_NY]
$InputFile_driverInfo_NY={fs}/driverinfo_ny.dat
$SubDir_processed_NY={fs}
[SessionFFSrc_DBTgt_CA]
$SubDir_processed_CA={fs}
# session has Source file directory set to:
# $PmTargetFileDir/$SubDir_processed_CA
$SubDir_RecordLkup_Cache_CA={fs}
# Use the persistent lookup cache built in SessionFFSrc_FFTgt_CA.

In the following parameter file excerpt, a script has replaced the placeholder with the appropriate file system
names, such as file_system_1 and file_system_2:
[SessionFFSrc_FFTgt_CA]
$InputFile_driverInfo_CA=file_system_1/driverinfo_ca.dat
$SubDir_processed_CA=file_system_2
# Session has Output file directory set to:
# $PmTargetFileDir/$SubDir_processed_CA
# This file is the input of SessionFFSrc_DBTgt_CA.
$SubDir_RecordLkup_Cache_CA=file_system_1
# This session builds this persistent lookup cache to be used
# by SessionFFSrc_DBTgt_CA.
# The Lookup cache directory name in the session is set to:
# $PmCacheDir/$SubDir_RecordLkup_Cache_CA
[SessionFFSrc_FFTgt_NY]
$InputFile_driverInfo_NY=file_system_2/driverinfo_ny.dat
$SubDir_processed_NY=file_system_1
[SessionFFSrc_DBTgt_CA]
$SubDir_processed_CA=file_system_1
# session has Source file directory set to:
# $PmTargetFileDir/$SubDir_processed_CA
$SubDir_RecordLkup_Cache_CA=file_system_2
# Use the persistent lookup cache built in SessionFFSrc_FFTgt_CA.

Optimizing Sequence Generator Transformations

To increase performance when running a session on a grid with Sequence Generator transformations, increase
the number of cached values to one number for each row of data. This reduces the communication between the
master and worker DTM processes and the repository. The master and worker DTMs communicate once for
each cached value.
For example, you have 150,000 rows of data and seven Sequence Generator transformations. The number of
cached values is 10. The master and worker DTM communicate 15,000 times. If you increase the number of
cached values to 15,000, the master and worker DTM communicate ten times.

Optimizing Sequence Generator Transformations 45

46 Chapter 8: Optimizing Grid Deployments
CHAPTER 9

Optimizing the PowerCenter

Components
This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Overview, 47
♦ Optimizing PowerCenter Repository Performance, 47
♦ Optimizing Integration Service Performance, 49

Overview
You can optimize performance of the following PowerCenter components:
♦ PowerCenter repository
♦ Integration Service
If you run PowerCenter on multiple machines, run the Repository Service and Integration Service on different
machines. To load large amounts of data, run the Integration Service on the higher processing machine. Also,
run the Repository Service on the machine hosting the PowerCenter repository.

Optimizing PowerCenter Repository Performance

Complete the following tasks to improve PowerCenter repository performance:
♦ Ensure the PowerCenter repository is on the same machine as the Repository Service process.
♦ Order conditions in object queries.
♦ Use a single-node tablespace for the PowerCenter repository if you install it on a DB2 database.
♦ Optimize the database schema for the PowerCenter repository if you install it on a DB2 or Microsoft SQL
Server database.

47
 Location of the Repository Service Process and Repository
You can optimize the performance of a Repository Service that you configured without the high availability
option. To optimize performance, ensure that the Repository Service process runs on the same machine where
the repository database resides.

Ordering Conditions in Object Queries

When the Repository Service processes a parameter with multiple conditions, it processes them in the order you
enter them. To receive expected results and improve performance, enter parameters in the order you want them
to run.

Using a Single-Node DB2 Database Tablespace

You can optimize repository performance on IBM DB2 EEE databases when you store a PowerCenter
repository in a single-node tablespace. When setting up an IBM DB2 EEE database, the database administrator
can define the database on a single node.
When the tablespace contains one node, the PowerCenter Client and Integration Service access the repository
faster than if the repository tables exist on different database nodes.
If you do not specify the tablespace name when you create, copy, or restore a repository, the DB2 system
specifies the default tablespace for each repository table. The DB2 system may or may not specify a single-node
tablespace.

Optimizing the Database Schema

You can improve repository performance on IBM DB2 and Microsoft SQL Server databases when you enable
the Optimize Database Schema option for the Repository Service in the Administration Console. The Optimize
Database Schema option causes the Repository Service to store varying length character data in Varchar(2000)
columns instead of CLOB columns wherever possible. Using Varchar(2000) columns improves repository
performance in the following ways:
♦ Reduced disk access. The PowerCenter repository stores Varchar data directly in columns within a database
table. It stores CLOB data as references to another table. To retrieve CLOB data from the repository, the
Repository Service must access one database table to get the reference, and then access the referenced table to
read the data. To retrieve Varchar data, the Repository Service accesses one database table.
♦ Improved caching. The repository database buffer manager can cache Varchar columns, but not CLOB
columns.
Optimizing the database schema can improve repository performance for the following operations:
♦ Backing up a repository
♦ Restoring a repository
♦ Exporting repository objects
♦ Listing dependencies among objects
♦ Deploying folders
In general, performance improves proportionally as repository database and page sizes increase. Therefore,
optimizing the database schema provides greater performance improvements in larger PowerCenter repositories.
You can optimize the database schema when you create repository contents or back up and restore an existing
repository. To optimize database schema, the repository database must meet the following page size
requirements:
♦ IBM DB2. Database page size 4 KB or greater. At least one temporary tablespace with page size 16 KB or
greater.
♦ Microsoft SQL Server. Database page size 8 KB or greater.

48 Chapter 9: Optimizing the PowerCenter Components

 For information about setting the Optimize Database Schema option, see the PowerCenter Administrator Guide.

Optimizing Integration Service Performance

Complete the following tasks to improve Integration Service performance:
♦ Use native drivers instead of ODBC drivers for the Integration Service.
♦ Run the Integration Service in ASCII data movement mode if character data is 7-bit ASCII or EBCDIC.
♦ Cache PowerCenter metadata for the Repository Service.
♦ Run Integration Service with high availability.
Note: When you configure the Integration Service with high availability, the Integration Service recovers
workflows and sessions that may fail because of temporary network or machine failures. To recover from a
workflow or session, the Integration Service writes the states of each workflow and session to temporary files in
a shared directory. This may decrease performance.

Using Native and ODBC Drivers

The Integration Service can use ODBC or native drivers to connect to databases. Use native drivers to improve
performance.

Running the Integration Service in ASCII Data Movement Mode

When all character data processed by the Integration Service is 7-bit ASCII or EBCDIC, configure the
Integration Service to run in the ASCII data movement mode. In ASCII mode, the Integration Service uses one
byte to store each character. When you run the Integration Service in Unicode mode, it uses two bytes for each
character, which can slow session performance.

Caching PowerCenter Metadata for the Repository Service

You can use repository agent caching to improve DTM process performance. When you enable repository agent
caching, the Repository Service caches metadata requested by the Integration Service. When you cache
metadata, the Integration Service reads the cache for subsequent runs of the task rather than fetching the
metadata from the repository. Only metadata requested by the Integration Service is cached.
For example, you run a workflow with 1,000 sessions. The first time you run a workflow with caching enabled,
the Integration Service fetches the session metadata from the repository. During subsequent runs of the
workflow, the Repository Service fetches the session metadata from the cache. This increases DTM process
performance.
For more information about repository agent caching, see the PowerCenter Administrator Guide.

Optimizing Integration Service Performance 49

50 Chapter 9: Optimizing the PowerCenter Components
CHAPTER 10

Optimizing the System

This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Overview, 51
♦ Improving Network Speed, 52
♦ Using Multiple CPUs, 52
♦ Reducing Paging, 52
♦ Using Processor Binding, 52

Overview
Often performance slows because the session relies on inefficient connections or an overloaded Integration
Service process system. System delays can also be caused by routers, switches, network protocols, and usage by
many users.
Slow disk access on source and target databases, source and target file systems, and nodes in the domain can
slow session performance. Have the system administrator evaluate the hard disks on the machines.
After you determine from the system monitoring tools that you have a system bottleneck, make the following
global changes to improve the performance of all sessions:
♦ Improve network speed. Slow network connections can slow session performance. Have the system
administrator determine if the network runs at an optimal speed. Decrease the number of network hops
between the Integration Service process and databases. For more information, see “Improving Network
Speed” on page 52.
♦ Use multiple CPUs. You can use multiple CPUs to run multiple sessions in parallel and run multiple
pipeline partitions in parallel. For more information, see “Using Multiple CPUs” on page 52.
♦ Reduce paging. When an operating system runs out of physical memory, it starts paging to disk to free
physical memory. Configure the physical memory for the Integration Service process machine to minimize
paging to disk. For more information, see “Reducing Paging” on page 52.
♦ Use processor binding. In a multi-processor UNIX environment, the Integration Service may use a large
amount of system resources. Use processor binding to control processor usage by the Integration Service
process. Also, if the source and target database are on the same machine, use processor binding to limit the
resources used by the database. For more information, see “Using Processor Binding” on page 52.

51
Improving Network Speed
The performance of the Integration Service is related to network connections. A local disk can move data 5 to
20 times faster than a network. Consider the following options to minimize network activity and to improve
Integration Service performance.
If you use flat file as a source or target in a session and the Integration Service runs on a single node, store the
files on the same machine as the Integration Service to improve performance. When you store flat files on a
machine other than the Integration Service, session performance becomes dependent on the performance of the
network connections. Moving the files onto the Integration Service process system and adding disk space might
improve performance.
If you use relational source or target databases, try to minimize the number of network hops between the source
and target databases and the Integration Service process. Moving the target database onto a server system might
improve Integration Service performance.
When you run sessions that contain multiple partitions, have the network administrator analyze the network
and make sure it has enough bandwidth to handle the data moving across the network from all partitions.

Using Multiple CPUs

Configure the system to use more CPUs to improve performance. Multiple CPUs allow the system to run
multiple sessions in parallel as well as multiple pipeline partitions in parallel.
However, additional CPUs might cause disk bottlenecks. To prevent disk bottlenecks, minimize the number of
processes accessing the disk. Processes that access the disk include database functions and operating system
functions. Parallel sessions or pipeline partitions also require disk access.

Reducing Paging
Paging occurs when the Integration Service process operating system runs out of memory for a particular
operation and uses the local disk for memory. You can free up more memory or increase physical memory to
reduce paging and the slow performance that results from paging. Monitor paging activity using system tools.
You might want to increase system memory in the following circumstances:
♦ You run a session that uses large cached lookups.
♦ You run a session with many partitions.
If you cannot free up memory, you might want to add memory to the system.

Using Processor Binding

In a multi-processor UNIX environment, the Integration Service may use a large amount of system resources if
you run a large number of sessions. As a result, other applications on the machine may not have enough system
resources available. You can use processor binding to control processor usage by the Integration Service process
node. Also, if the source and target database are on the same machine, use processor binding to limit the
resources used by the database.

52 Chapter 10: Optimizing the System

In a Sun Solaris environment, the system administrator can create and manage a processor set using the psrset
command. The system administrator can then use the pbind command to bind the Integration Service to a
processor set so the processor set only runs the Integration Service. The Sun Solaris environment also provides
the psrinfo command to display details about each configured processor and the psradm command to change
the operational status of processors. For more information, see the system administrator and Sun Solaris
documentation.
In an HP-UX environment, the system administrator can use the Process Resource Manager utility to control
CPU usage in the system. The Process Resource Manager allocates minimum system resources and uses a
maximum cap of resources. For more information, see the system administrator and HP-UX documentation.
In an AIX environment, system administrators can use the Workload Manager in AIX 5L to manage system
resources during peak demands. The Workload Manager can allocate resources and manage CPU, memory, and
disk I/O bandwidth. For more information, see the system administrator and AIX documentation.

Using Processor Binding 53

54 Chapter 10: Optimizing the System
CHAPTER 11

Using Pipeline Partitions

This chapter includes the following topics:
♦ Overview, 55
♦ Optimizing the Source Database for Partitioning, 57
♦ Optimizing the Target Database for Partitioning, 58

Overview
After you tune the application, databases, and system for maximum single-partition performance, you may find
that the system is under-utilized. At this point, you can configure the session to have two or more partitions.
You can use pipeline partitioning to improve session performance. Increasing the number of partitions or
partition points increases the number of threads. Therefore, increasing the number of partitions or partition
points also increases the load on the nodes in the Integration Service. If the Integration Service node or nodes
contain ample CPU bandwidth, processing rows of data in a session concurrently can increase session
performance.
Note: If you use a single-node Integration Service and you create a large number of partitions or partition points
in a session that processes large amounts of data, you can overload the system.
If you have the partitioning option, perform the following tasks to manually set up partitions:
♦ Increase the number of partitions.
♦ Select the best performing partition types at particular points in a pipeline.
♦ Use multiple CPUs.

Increasing the Number of Partitions

You can increase the number of partitions in a pipeline to improve session performance. Increasing the number
of partitions allows the Integration Service to create multiple connections to sources and process partitions of
source data concurrently.
When a session uses a file source, you can configure it to read the source with one thread or multiple threads.
Configure the session to read file sources with multiple threads to increase session performance. The Integration
Service creates multiple concurrent connections to the file source.
When you create a session, the Workflow Manager validates each pipeline in the mapping for partitioning. You
can specify multiple partitions in a pipeline if the Integration Service can maintain data consistency when it
processes the partitioned data.

55
 Use the following tips when you add partitions to a session:
♦ Add one partition at a time. To best monitor performance, add one partition at a time, and note the session
settings before you add each partition.
♦ Set DTM Buffer Memory. When you increase the number of partitions, increase the DTM buffer size. If
the session contains n partitions, increase the DTM buffer size to at least n times the value for the session
with one partition. For more information about the DTM Buffer Memory, see “Buffer Memory” on
page 34.
♦ Set cached values for Sequence Generator. If a session has n partitions, you should not need to use the
“Number of Cached Values” property for the Sequence Generator transformation. If you set this value to a
value greater than 0, make sure it is at least n times the original value for the session with one partition.
♦ Partition the source data evenly. Configure each partition to extract the same number of rows.
♦ Monitor the system while running the session. If CPU cycles are available, you can add a partition to
improve performance. For example, you may have CPU cycles available if the system has 20 percent idle
time.
♦ Monitor the system after adding a partition. If the CPU utilization does not go up, the wait for I/O time
goes up, or the total data transformation rate goes down, then there is probably a hardware or software
bottleneck. If the wait for I/O time goes up by a significant amount, then check the system for hardware
bottlenecks. Otherwise, check the database configuration.

Selecting the Best Performing Partition Types

You can specify different partition types at different points in the pipeline to increase session performance. To
optimize session performance, use the database partitioning partition type for source and target databases. You
can use database partitioning for Oracle and IBM DB2 sources and IBM DB2 targets. When you use source
database partitioning, the Integration Service queries the database system for table partition information and
fetches data into the session partitions. When you use target database partitioning, the Integration Service loads
data into corresponding database partition nodes.
You can use multiple pipeline partitions and database partitions. To improve performance, ensure the number
of pipeline partitions equals the number of database partitions. To improve performance for subpartitioned
Oracle sources, ensure the number of pipeline partitions equals the number of database subpartitions.
To increase performance, specify partition types at the following partition points in the pipeline:
♦ Source Qualifier transformation. To read data from multiple flat files concurrently, specify one partition for
each flat file in the Source Qualifier transformation. Accept the default partition type, pass-through.
♦ Filter transformation. Since the source files vary in size, each partition processes a different amount of data.
Set a partition point at the Filter transformation, and choose round-robin partitioning to balance the load
going into the Filter transformation.
♦ Sorter transformation. To eliminate overlapping groups in the Sorter and Aggregator transformations, use
hash auto-keys partitioning at the Sorter transformation. This causes the Integration Service to group all
items with the same description into the same partition before the Sorter and Aggregator transformations
process the rows. You can delete the default partition point at the Aggregator transformation.
♦ Target. Since the target tables are partitioned by key range, specify key range partitioning at the target to
optimize writing data to the target.

Using Multiple CPUs

The Integration Service performs read, transformation, and write processing for a pipeline in parallel. It can
process multiple partitions of a pipeline within a session, and it can process multiple sessions in parallel.
If you have a symmetric multi-processing (SMP) platform, you can use multiple CPUs to concurrently process
session data or partitions of data. This provides increased performance, as true parallelism is achieved. On a
single processor platform, these tasks share the CPU, so there is no parallelism.

56 Chapter 11: Using Pipeline Partitions

 The Integration Service can use multiple CPUs to process a session that contains multiple partitions. The
number of CPUs used depends on factors such as the number of partitions, the number of threads, the number
of available CPUs, and amount or resources required to process the mapping.

Optimizing the Source Database for Partitioning

You can add partitions to increase the speed of the query. Usually, each partition on the reader side represents a
subset of the data to be processed.
Complete the following tasks to optimize the source database for partitioning,
♦ Tune the database. If the database is not tuned properly, creating partitions may not make sessions quicker.
For more information, see “Tuning the Database” on page 57.
♦ Enable parallel queries. Some databases may have options that must be set to enable parallel queries. Check
the database documentation for these options. If these options are off, the Integration Service runs multiple
partition SELECT statements serially.
♦ Separate data into different tables spaces. Each database provides an option to separate the data into
different tablespaces. If the database allows it, use the PowerCenter SQL override feature to provide a query
that extracts data from a single partition.
♦ Group the sorted data. You can partition and group source data to increase performance for a sorted Joiner
transformation. For more information, see “Grouping Sorted Data” on page 57.
♦ Maximize single-sorted queries. For more information, see “Optimizing Single-Sorted Queries” on page 57.

Tuning the Database

If the database is not tuned properly, the results may not make the session any quicker. You can test the
database to ensure it is tuned properly.

To verify that the database is tuned properly:

1. Create a pipeline with one partition.

2. Measure the reader throughput in the Workflow Monitor.
3. Add the partitions.
4. Verify that the throughput scales linearly.
For example, if the session has two partitions, the reader throughput should be twice as fast. If the
throughput does not scale linearly, you probably need to tune the database.

Grouping Sorted Data

You can also partition and group the source data to increase performance for the sorted Joiner transformation.
Place the partition point before the Sorter transformation to maintain grouping and sort the data within each
group.
To group data, ensure that rows with the same key value are routed to the same partition. The best way to
ensure that data is grouped and distributed evenly among partitions is to add a hash auto-keys or key-range
partition point before the sort origin.

Optimizing Single-Sorted Queries

To optimize a single-sorted query on the database, consider the following tuning options that enable
parallelization:

Optimizing the Source Database for Partitioning 57

 ♦ Check for configuration parameters that perform automatic tuning. For example, Oracle has a parameter
called parallel_automatic_tuning.
♦ Make sure intra-parallelism is enabled. Intra-parallelism is the ability to run multiple threads on a single
query. For example, on Oracle, look at parallel_adaptive_multi_user. On DB2, look at intra_parallel.
♦ Verify the maximum number of parallel processes that are available for parallel executions. For example,
on Oracle, look at parallel_max_servers. On DB2, look at max_agents.
♦ Verify the sizes for various resources used in parallelization. For example, Oracle has parameters such as
large_pool_size, shared_pool_size, hash_area_size, parallel_execution_message_size, and
optimizer_percent_parallel. DB2 has configuration parameters such as dft_fetch_size, fcm_num_buffers,
and sort_heap.
♦ Verify the degrees of parallelism. You may be able to set this option using a database configuration
parameter or an option on the table or query. For example, Oracle has parameters parallel_threads_per_cpu
and optimizer_percent_parallel. DB2 has configuration parameters such as dft_prefetch_size, dft_degree,
and max_query_degree.
♦ Turn off options that may affect database scalability. For example, disable archive logging and timed
statistics on Oracle.
Note: For a comprehensive list of database tuning options, see the database documentation.

Optimizing the Target Database for Partitioning

If a session contains multiple partitions, the throughput for each partition should be the same as the throughput
for a single partition session. If you do not see this correlation, then the database is probably inserting rows into
the database serially.
To ensure that the database inserts rows in parallel, check the following configuration options in the target
database:
♦ Set options in the database to enable parallel inserts. For example, set the db_writer_processes and DB2
has max_agents options in an Oracle database to enable parallel inserts. Some databases may enable these
options by default.
♦ Consider partitioning the target table. If possible, try to have each partition write to a single database
partition using a Router transformation to do this. Also, have the database partitions on separate disks to
prevent I/O contention among the pipeline partitions.
♦ Set options in the database to enhance database scalability. For example, disable archive logging and timed
statistics in an Oracle database to enhance scalability.

58 Chapter 11: Using Pipeline Partitions

APPENDIX A

Performance Counters
This appendix includes the following topics:
♦ Overview, 59
♦ Errorrows Counter, 59
♦ Readfromdisk and Writetodisk Counters, 60
♦ Rowsinlookupcache Counter, 61

Overview
All transformations have counters. The Integration Service tracks the number of input rows, output rows, and
error rows for each transformation. Some transformations have performance counters. You can use the
following performance counters to increase session performance:
♦ Errorrows
♦ Readfromcache and Writetocache
♦ Readfromdisk and Writetodisk
♦ Rowsinlookupcache

Errorrows Counter
Transformation errors impact session performance. If a transformation has large numbers of error rows in any
of the Transformation_errorrows counters, you can eliminate the errors to improve performance.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Eliminating Transformation Errors” on page 32

Readfromcache and Writetocache Counters

If a session contains Aggregator, Rank, or Joiner transformations, examine the Transformation_readfromcache
and Transformation_writetocache counters along with the Transformation_readfromdisk and

59
 Transformation_writetodisk counters to analyze how the Integration Service reads from or writes to disk. To
view the session performance details while the session runs, right-click the session in the Workflow Monitor and
choose Properties. Click the Properties tab in the details dialog box.
To analyze the disk access, first calculate the hit or miss ratio. The hit ratio indicates the number of read or
write operations the Integration Service performs on the cache.
The miss ratio indicates the number of read or write operations the Integration Service performs on the disk.
Use the following formula to calculate the cache miss ratio:
[(# of reads from disk) + (# of writes to disk)]/[(# of reads from memory cache) + (# of
writes to memory cache)]

Use the following formula to calculate the cache hit ratio:

[1 - Cache Miss ratio]

To minimize reads and writes to disk, increase the cache size. The optimal cache hit ratio is 1.

Readfromdisk and Writetodisk Counters

If a session contains Aggregator, Rank, or Joiner transformations, examine each Transformation_readfromdisk
and Transformation_writetodisk counter. To view the session performance details while the session runs, right-
click the session in the Workflow Monitor and choose Properties. Click the Properties tab in the details dialog
box.
If these counters display any number other than zero, you can increase the cache sizes to improve session
performance. The Integration Service uses the index cache to store group information and the data cache to
store transformed data, which is typically larger. Therefore, although both the index cache and data cache sizes
affect performance, you may need to increase the data cache size more than the index cache size. However, if
the volume of data processed is greater than the memory available you can increase the index cache size to
improve performance.
For example, the Integration Service uses 100 MB to store the index cache and 500 MB to store the data cache.
With 200 randomly distributed accesses on each of the index and data caches, you can configure the cache in
the following ways:
♦ To optimize performance, allocate 100 MB to the index cache and 200 MB to the data cache. The
Integration Service accesses 100 percent of the data from the index cache and 40 percent of the data from the
data cache. The Integration Service always accesses the index cache, and does not access the data cache 120
times. Therefore, the percentage of data that gets accessed is 70 percent.
♦ Allocate 50 MB to the index cache and 250 MB to the data cache. The Integration Service accesses 50
percent of the data from the index cache and 50 percent of the data from the data cache. The Integration
Service does not access both index and data caches a 100 times each. Therefore, the percentage of data that
gets accessed is 50 percent.
If the session performs incremental aggregation, the Integration Service reads historical aggregate data from the
local disk during the session and writes to disk when saving historical data. As a result, the
Aggregator_readtodisk and Aggregator_writetodisk counters display numbers besides zero.
However, since the Integration Service writes the historical data to a file at the end of the session, you can still
evaluate the counters during the session. If the counters show numbers other than zero during the session run,
you can tune the cache sizes to increase performance. However, there is a cost associated with allocating or
deallocating memory, so refrain from increasing the cache sizes to accommodate more data volume if you know
what volume of data the Integration Service will process.

60 Appendix A: Performance Counters

Rowsinlookupcache Counter
Multiple lookups can decrease session performance. To improve session performance, tune the lookup
expressions for the larger lookup tables.

RELATED TOPICS:
“Optimizing Multiple Lookups” on page 30

Rowsinlookupcache Counter 61
62 Appendix A: Performance Counters
INDEX

A repository metadata 49
sequence values 30
aggregate functions tuning 36
minimizing calls 22 cache directory
Aggregator transformation sharing 36
incremental aggregation 26 cache files
optimizing with filters 26 optimal storage 42
optimizing with group by ports 25 Char datatypes
optimizing with limited port connections 26 removing trailing blanks 22
optimizing with Sorted Input 26 checkpoint intervals
performance details 59, 60 increasing 12
tuning 25 clustered file systems
ASCII mode See also shared file systems
performance 49 high availability 42
commit interval
session performance 37
B converting
binding datatypes 21
processor 52 CPU
bottlenecks multiple for concurrent workflows 52
eliminating 3 multiple for pipeline partitioning 56
identifying 3 Custom transformation
mappings 6 minimizing function calls 26
on UNIX 8 processing blocks of data 26
on Windows 8 tuning 26
sessions 7
sources 5
system 7 D
targets 5 data cache
thread statistics 4 connected ports 36
buffer block size optimal location 36
optimal 35 optimal size 37
buffer length data flow
optimal setting 19 monitoring 59
buffer memory optimizing 59
allocating 34 data movement mode
buffering optimal 49
data 23 database drivers
bulk loading optimal for Integration Service 49
tuning relational targets 12 database query
busy time source bottlenecks, identifying 6
thread statistic 4 databases
checkpoint intervals 12
joins 27
C minimizing deadlocks 13
cache network packet size 13, 16
optimal location 36 optimizing sources for partitioning 57
optimal size 37 optimizing targets for partitioning 58
reduce cached rows 29 tuning Oracle targets 13

63
 tuning single-sorted queries 57 source data 31
tuning sources 15 filters
datatypes sources 16
Char 22 flat file logging
optimizing conversions 21 post-session emails 39
Varchar 22 flat files
DB2 buffer length 19
PowerCenter repository performance 48 compared to XML files 20
deadlocks delimited source files 20
minimizing 13 optimal storage location 52
DECODE function optimizing sources 19
compared to Lookup function 22 flush latency
using for optimization 22 performance, increasing 38
delimited flat files function calls
sources 20 minimizing for Custom transformation 26
directories functions
shared caches 36 compared to operators 22
disk DECODE versus LOOKUP 22
access, minimizing 52
dropping
indexes and key constraints 11 G
DTM buffer
grid
optimal pool size 35
node bottleneck 43
optimal storage locations 41
E performance 33, 41
Sequence Generator performance, increasing 45
error tracing group by ports
See tracing levels optimizing Aggregator transformation 25
errors
minimizing tracing level 38
evaluating H
expressions 23
high availability
expressions
clustered file systems 42
evaluating 23
replacing with local variables 22
tuning 21
external loader
I
performance 12 IBM DB2
External Procedure transformation repository database schema, optimizing 48
blocking data 23 idle time
thread statistic 4
IIF expressions
F tuning 23
incremental aggregation
factoring
optimizing Aggregator transformation 26
common logic from mapping 22
index cache
FastExport
optimal location 36
for Teradata sources 16
optimal size 37
file sharing
indexes
cluster file systems 42
dropping 11
network file systems 42
for Lookup table 29
file storage
Integration Service
local 42
commit interval 37
shared file system 41
grid 33
types 41
optimal database drivers 49
file systems
tuning 49
cluster 42
IPC protocol
network 42
Oracle sources 16
shared, configuring 43
Filter transformation
source bottlenecks, identifying 6
filtering
data 21

64 Index
J Microsoft SQL Server
in-memory database 17
Joiner transformation repository database schema, optimizing 48
designating master source 27 minimizing
performance details 59, 60 aggregate function calls 22
sorted data 27
tuning 27
joins N
in database 27
network
improving speed 52
K tuning 52
network file systems
key constraints See shared file systems
dropping 11 network packets
increasing 13, 16
non-persistent cache
L optimal storage for files 42
local variables numeric operations
replacing expressions 22 compared to string operations 22
log files
optimal storage 42
lookup condition O
matching 28 object queries
optimizing 29 ordering conditions 48
LOOKUP function operations
compared to DECODE function 22 numeric versus string 22
minimizing for optimization 22 operators
Lookup SQL Override option compared to functions 22
reducing cache size 29 optimal file storage
Lookup transformation log files 42
optimizing 61 non-persistent cache files 42
optimizing lookup condition 29 parameter files 42
optimizing lookup condition matching 28 source files 42
optimizing multiple lookup expressions 30 target files 42
optimizing with cache reduction 29 temporary files 42
optimizing with caches 28 Oracle
optimizing with concurrent caches 28 external loader 12
optimizing with database drivers 27 IPC protocol 16
optimizing with high-memory machine 29 optimizing connections 16
optimizing with indexing 29 tuning targets 13
optimizing with ORDER BY statement 29 ORDER BY
tuning 27 optimizing for Lookup transformation 29

M P
mappings page size
bottlenecks, eliminating 7 minimum for optimizing repository database schema 48
bottlenecks, identifying 7 paging
factoring common logic 22 reducing 52
pass-through mapping, tuning 20 parameter files
single-pass reading 20 optimal storage 42
tuning 19 performance guidelines 44
memory partition types
64-bit PowerCenter 37 optimal 56
buffer 34 partitions
increasing 52 adding 55
Microsoft SQL Server databases 17 pass-through mapping
Sybase ASE databases 17 tuning 20
methods performance
filtering data 21 flush latency 38
real-time sessions 38

Index 65
 repository database schema, optimizing 48
tuning, overview 1
S
performance counters select distinct
Rowsinlookupcache 61 filtering source data 31
Transformation_errorrows 59 Sequence Generator transformation
Transformation_readfromcache 59 grid performance 45
Transformation_readfromdisk 60 reusable 30
Transformation_writetocache 59 tuning 30
Transformation_writetodisk 60 sequential merge
types 59 optimal file storage 42
persistent cache session log files
for lookups 28 disabling 38
persistent cache files session on grid
configuration guidelines 43 Sequence Generator performance, increasing 45
optimal storage 42 sessions
pipeline partitioning bottlenecks, causes 7
adding partitions 55 bottlenecks, eliminating 7
multiple CPUs 56 bottlenecks, identifying 7
optimal partition types 56 concurrent 34
optimizing performance 55 grid 33
optimizing source databases 57 pushdown optimization 34
optimizing target databases 58 tuning 33
tuning source database 57 shared cache
pipelines for lookups 28
data flow monitoring 59 shared file systems
ports configuring 43
connected, limiting 36 CPU, balancing 43
post-session email high bandwidth 42
performance 39 low bandwidth 42
PowerCenter repository overview 42
optimal location 48 server load, distributing 43
performance on DB2 48 single-pass reading
tuning 47 definition 20
processor sorted input
binding 52 optimizing Aggregator transformation 26
pushdown optimization Sorter transformation
performance 34 optimizing partition directories 31
optimizing with memory allocation 30
tuning 30
Q source files
flat versus XML 20
queries
optimal storage 42
tuning relational sources 15
Source Qualifier transformation
tuning 31
R sources
bottlenecks, causes 5
Rank transformation bottlenecks, eliminating 6
performance details 59, 60 filters 16
read test mapping identifying bottlenecks 5
source bottlenecks, identifying 6 relational, tuning 15
real-time sessions tuning queries 15
performance, increasing 38 spaces
removing trailing, removing 22
trailing blank spaces 22 SQL transformation
repositories tuning 31
database schema, optimizing 48 staging areas
Repository Service removing 38
caching repository metadata 49 string operations
Repository Service process compared to numeric operations 22
optimal location 48 minimizing 22
run time Sybase ASE
thread statistic 4 in-memory database 17

66 Index
Sybase IQ
external loader 12
U
system UNIX
bottlenecks on UNIX, identifying 8 bottlenecks, eliminating 8
bottlenecks on Windows, identifying 8 processor binding 52
bottlenecks, causes 7 system bottlenecks 8
bottlenecks, eliminating 8
bottlenecks, identifying with Workflow Monitor 8
tuning 51 V
Varchar datatypes

T removing trailing blanks 22

tablespace
optimal type for DB2 48 W
target files Windows
optimal storage 42 bottlenecks 8
targets bottlenecks, eliminating 8
allocating buffer memory 34 workflow log files
bottlenecks, causes 5 disabling 38
bottlenecks, eliminating 5 workflows
identifying bottlenecks 5 concurrent 34
temporary files
optimal storage 42
Teradata FastExport
performance for sources 16
X
thread statistics XML file
bottlenecks, eliminating 4 compared to flat file 20
bottlenecks, identifying 4 XML sources
threads allocating buffer memory 34
bottlenecks, identifying 4
busy time 4
idle time 4
run time 4
thread work time 4
tracing levels
minimizing 38
transformation thread
thread worktime 4
transformations
eliminating errors 32
optimizing 59
tuning 25
tuning
Aggregator transformation 25
caches 36
Custom transformation 26
expressions 21
Integration Service 49
Joiner transformation 27
Lookup transformation 27
mappings 19
network 52
PowerCenter repository 47
relational sources 15
Sequence Generator transformation 30
sessions 33
Sorter transformation 30
Source Qualifier transformation 31
SQL transformation 31
system 51
transformations 25

Index 67
68 Index
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