Databases are used to store, maintain and access any kind of data. Improving and optimising your database for maximum performance can result in better efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Much as it seems challenging at first, there are a few straightforward performance tuning tips that you can get started with. Proper database performance allows developers or administrators to enhance the system resources for lasting performance improvements. Before we look at improving your database’s performance, let’s explore what a database is!
What is a database?
A database is an organised body of structured and related information or data usually stored electronically in a computer. Minor databases can be stored on a file system, and large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. Databases are set up for easy access, management and updating of information. Databases let you work with large amounts of data efficiently. They provide security features to control access to information and minimise redundancy.
Databases are usually managed by software known as a Database Management System (DBMS). Database management systems are crucial as they offer programmers, database administrators and customers a centralised view of data and free applications and customers from having to understand where data is physically located.
Below we discuss a few approaches you can take to improve and optimise your database.
Improve Queries
Enhancing your database performance usually involves optimising queries. Queries are one of the things that make databases ultimately robust. Therefore, if you have poor queries, chances are that you will have database performance issues. A query is basically a real-time request for data from a database. Optimising those queries can put you in a tricky situation, such as using IN or EXISTS or writing a subquery or a join. There are many ways to optimise queries, depending on the indexing method and the specific needs of your database. To initiate your query optimisation process, target specific queries that significantly impact query execution times, like queries that are occasionally or consistently slow or have red flags. You can also speed up your database queries using query optimisers such as Eversql query optimiser.
Improve Indexes
Apart from queries, indexes are yet another crucial element of databases. With proper implementation, indexing can be one of the fundamental approaches to boosting your database performance and improving your query execution duration. Indexing implements a data structure that assists you in keeping data organised, making it easier to track down information. Indexes have a search key connected to a value or data reference. The index file directs a query to a record, a pool of data, depending on the indexing method used. Choosing a suitable indexing method for your specific needs reduces strain on your system by making it much easier for data to be located since a uniform, systematic organisation is applied to the entire database.
Data Defragmentation
Continuous database maintenance is essential as it increases your database’s productivity. Data defragmentation is one of the most effective approaches to substantially boost your database performance. Over time, large amounts of data are constantly written to and deleted from your database, making the data inevitably fragmented. This fragmentation slows down the data retrieval process or interferes with a query execution plan, making locating information complex. Defragmentation rebuilds and reorganises indexes to match the logical ordering of data with the physical ordering. But before performing any defragmentation operation, all the indexes should be appropriately analysed. The analysis results usually determine whether a reorganisation or rebuild is required.
Strengthen your CPU
A better CPU translates directly into a more efficient system, resulting in a more efficient database. If your database has performance issues, consider upgrading to a more powerful CPU. The more robust your CPU is, the less strained it will be when assigned several applications and requests. When gauging your CPU, keep track of all the performance elements, including CPU ready times, which tell you about the times your system tried to use the CPU but couldn’t because the resources were otherwise occupied.
Review Access
Keeping track of who and what accesses your database is essential in optimising your database performance. Ensure to review your database access, including the applications that are actually accessing the database. Understanding the applications and services that access your database helps you identify performance obstructions and pin them down to the particular source. If a single service has performance issues, you can determine that it is contained in that one service. It will likely be a quick fix with minimal impact on your other applications. However, if you are experiencing interruptions across your entire database, it could be a more significant issue with your servers or hardware.
Allocate more memory
When there is insufficient memory available in the database to execute the tasks that it’s being requested, database performance is understandably going to take a hit. Allocating more memory to your computer will help you boost the system’s efficiency and overall performance. One way to identify if you need more memory is to check the number of page faults your system has. When your memory is wholly or nearly complete, things get backed up while the system struggles to find room for creating temporary files and moving things around. Therefore, increasing your computer memory can swiftly optimise your database’s performance.
Connection capacity evaluation
You must reconfigure the connection pool if connection acquisition consumes a substantial portion of the database’s response time. Proper connection pool configuration involves knowing how many connections the database can accommodate. Determine capacity by monitoring the server’s metrics as they gradually increase the load and number of links until the CPU, memory, or disk performance reaches its limit. A hardware upgrade may be necessary to meet the application’s needs if they need additional connections.
Conclusion
With time, your system keeps growing, the amount of data you’re storing increases, and your database will work harder for you. Times will come when you’ll notice performance degradation. When these times get around the corner, continuously optimise and improve your database performance. The approaches above will assist you in levelling your database’s performance. Ultimately, whether you choose to utilise one or more of these methods, you can rest assured that there are plenty of options for improving your database performance. Test them one by one to see which one will have the most significant impact on your database.
