Home > Workload Solutions > Oracle > White Papers > Accelerate Oracle Databases and Maximize Your Investment > Scenario 1: Application database system upgrade
We used an Oracle database server and an application server with storage that requires an upgrade. The objective is to improve the responsiveness of the application system for the users and enhance availability and flexibility. Both the database and application layers are on separate dedicated bare metal servers.
PowerEdge R750 servers offer two socket 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processor configurations that match many customer requirements for databases. Two 24-core processors in a PowerEdge R750 provide 48 total physical cores and 96 total virtual (hyper-threaded) cores. R750 offers multiple 24 core processor options, in that, the 6342 SKU has the highest base frequency of 2.8 GHz. This means database jobs will finish faster on the 6342 SKU than other 24 core processor SKUs. The last-level cache (LLC) or L3 cache size of 36 MB in the 6342 is the same as other 24 core processors thus, the base frequency is the influencing factor for the workload performance.
Intel Xeon Gold 6342 processor would be a good option for application systems that serve a large community of users and significant OLTP workload.
Intel Xeon Gold 6354 processor is a good option for applications that serve a community of fewer users and significant, but smaller OLTP workloads.
The 6354 processor has six fewer processor cores per CPU than the 6342 model. With both sockets are populated in the R750 the total core count is 36 and the total virtual cores 72. The base frequency is 3.0 GHz, and the cache size is 39 MB. For many databases 72 virtual cores and a slightly higher base and maximum turbo frequencies makes this processor a strong choice.
The 6346 has two fewer cores per CPU than the 6354. With both sockets populated the R750 would have 32 physical cores and 64 virtual cores. The base frequency for 6346 is the slightly higher than the other two of all three CPUs shown in Table 1. The CPU cache size is the same as the 6342 and slightly smaller than the 6354.
Intel Xeon | Gold 6342 | Gold 6354 | Gold 6346 |
Total cores | 24 | 18 | 16 |
Total threads | 48 | 36 | 32 |
Base frequency | 2.8 GHz | 3.0 GHz | 3.1 GHz |
Max turbo frequency | 3.5 GHz | 3.6 GHz | 3.6 GHz |
Cache | 36 MB | 39 MB | 36 MB |
CPU utilization is the amount of work performed by the processors at a given point in time. It is important to consider the average CPU utilization and allocating a portion of processing power to burst workloads when configuring a sever. For example, the planned utilization might range between 50 to 70 percent, in addition to the unutilized processor power for periods of peak workloads. Configuring the PowerEdge server with CPUs that target the expected average CPU utilization and peak workload conditions will enhance business outcomes.
CPU efficiency is the amount of time that is required to complete an instruction or job. Both base frequency and maximum frequency are critical to efficiency. Base frequency is the foundational speed in which instructions are performed. Base frequency applies to all jobs whether they are single threaded or multi-threaded. It’s highly recommended to consider CPUs with a greater base frequency.
Maximum frequency is the capability of a CPU to temporarily increase efficiency by raising the frequency and completing jobs faster during peak workloads. Maximum frequency should be considered as part of how the PowerEdge server can manage periods of peak workloads.
Parallelism is the number of instructions that processors can simultaneously perform. As some database systems increase in application users, workload parallelism becomes increasingly important. The database can distribute jobs across a multi-processor CPUs to complete more tasks in parallel. Oracle and other databases license their application based upon the number of cores because core count is a strong indicator of the capability of the system to process data.
For Oracle and other databases, the selection of CPUs can directly impact the licensing the database on the server. In a 2022 Quest IOUG Database Priorities Survey, cost was in the top three factors that customers indicated they consider when selecting infrastructure for their Oracle environments. The top three factors include:
Dell and Oracle Licensing Guide offers a general overview of Oracle licensing and a describes the costs related to running the database on infrastructure. The present white paper does not explore Oracle Licensing, as the topic is complex and requires an understanding of a customer’s specific database infrastructure. If a customer must license the database and price is an important factor, then the selection of the CPU must also include analysis of the related software costs. Dell server and database specialists can partner with customers to configure a highly efficient system that delivers the required performance while balancing related database license costs.
There are a group of customers that already have database licenses or are covered an Unlimited License Agreement (ULA). These customers analyze the server configuration to achieve the performance and efficiency required however, database software costs might not heavily influence the final server design.
There are components and configuration settings that increase performance and server efficiency that do not increase database licensing costs, these include:
The PowerEdge R750 server can support up to 2 TB of RDIMM memory or up to 8 TB of LRDIMM at speeds up to 3200 MT/s. For this scenario, the database server is dedicated to production with no virtualization. As RDIMMs provide slightly better performance, customers should consider this choice of memory. Using RDIMMs limits the total memory that the server can support. Customers should consider this memory restriction when in their long-term plans, in the case this server might support more databases.
LDIMMs offer good performance and increase the memory capacity of the server. LDIMMs is a strong choice for long-term plans because it encompasses consolidation. With the maximum capacity of 8 TB, more databases could be consolidated to the server.
The variability between databases and the workloads they support requires a great degree of flexibility in configuration choices. This scenario only presented three processors, there are more options available for the PowerEdge R750. Of the three processors for this scenario, the 6324 model offers the greatest degree of parallelism with 96 virtual cores in a fully populated server. The other two processors ,6354 and the 6346, have fewer cores, but could be the right choice depending on the workload.
Base frequency, turbo boost frequency and cache sizes are very similar across the three CPUs. This means that core count is the primary factor to consider when selecting the appropriate CPU. For customers that are influenced by database licensing costs, the best configuration might be largely determined by striking a balance between performance and cost. Recommendations to consider include:
Licensing costs may be less of a determining factor for customers that can apply existing database licenses or have a ULA.
In terms of memory, where database response times are of utmost importance RDIMM should be strongly considered as it provides better latency performance over LRDIMM memory. If a customer requires more than 2 TB of memory, LRDIMM memory is the only other DRAM option. LRDIMM is nearly as fast as RDIMM but provides for the PowerEdge server to be configured with a maximum of 8 TB of memory.
For the application tier the Dell PowerEdge R650xs can deliver the combination of performance and scalability required for the applications. This is a two-socket server that support up to 32 cores per CPU and a total of 1 TB of RDIMM memory. Dell has a broad portfolio of servers which provides flexibility for support application tier services. The R650xs was selected in this scenario as it a balance of CPU offerings that can address many workloads.
The Intel Xeon Gold 6326 has 16 cores with threading 32 virtual processors. With both sockets populated in the R650 there will be 32 physical cores and 64 virtual cores. The base frequency of 2.9 GHz and the maximum frequency of 3.5 GHz offers a clock speed comparable to the other two processors in Table 2.
The Intel Xeon Gold 5317 offers four few cores at 12 processors per CPU with threading 24 virtual processors. With both sockets populated there will be 24 physical cores and 48 virtual cores. The base frequency of 3.0 GHz and the maximum frequency of 3.6 GHz is very comparable to the 6326.
The Intel Xeon Gold 6334 offers four few cores at 8 processors per CPU and with threading 16 virtual processors. With both sockets populated there will be 16 physical cores and 32 virtual cores. This processor offers the highest base frequency clock speed of the three CPUs shown in Table 2. The 3.6 GHz base clock speed is as fast as the maximum turbo frequency of the 6326 and the 5317. For small application server configurations, the 6334 offers the fastest processing capability.
Intel Xeon | Gold 6326 | Gold 5317 | Gold 6334 |
Total cores | 16 | 12 | 8 |
Total threads | 32 | 24 | 16 |
Base frequency | 2.9 GHz | 3.0 GHz | 3.6 GHz |
Maximum turbo frequency | 3.5 GHz | 3.6 GHz | 3.7 GHz |
Cache | 24 MB | 18 MB | 18 MB |
The Dell PowerEdge R650xs server is a good choice for a separate dedicated application tier. Of the three CPUs described for this scenario, the 6326 offers the greatest parallel processing power and the 6334 offers the highest base frequency. The 6326 CPU has the greatest number of processor cores and the largest cache size of the three processors. The 6326 CPU is the strongest choice if parallel processing on the application server is the primary design consideration.
Comparing the 5317 to the 6334 is more complex. The 12 cores in the 5317 will likely outperform the 8 cores in the 6334, even though this processor has a base frequency of 3.6 GHz. Under intense workload the maximum frequency of the 5317 is 3.6 GHz bringing it closer in frequency to the 6334. z. Hz.
For small application servers, in which most jobs could be single-threaded, the 6334 is a strong choice. The high base frequency accelerates the time to complete single-threaded jobs while providing 16 virtual cores for parallelization. In internal testing the Intel Xeon Gold 6334 performed very well comparatively to other processors with much lower base clock frequencies.
The only memory option in the PowerEdge R650xs is RDIMM which for applications offers fast performance. Up to 1 TB can be used in the server however, if more than 1 TB of memory there are other Dell server models to choose from.