Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is it that WireCache does?
A: WireCache makes and markets transparent database acceleration appliances, built from high-performance Symmetrical Multi-Processor (SMP) hardware running WireCache's proprietary database acceleration software. WireCache appliances return queries 2 to 12 times faster than a well-tuned RDBMS, and reduce the load on operational database servers by 50-70%. The result is faster applications, doubled application scaling, and a significant reduction in RDBMS hardware, license and support costs.
Q: How do you do that?
A:Firstly, the WireCache SQL Analyzer records and analyzes the SQL-level communications between a database server and the applications that use it during a typical business period. Using proprietary algorithms, WireCache analyzes this data to determine which queries present performance problems, and which data columns are required to satisfy those queries. It then creates a cache plan which is used to drive the creation of a live cache of data from the RDBMS database. The appliance emulates enough of the underlying RDBMS SQL to be able to answer queries using its own cache. Because the Appliance is highly tuned for in-memory data access, it can answer queries much faster than an RDBMS, whose data structures are attuned to disk access.
For more information, read about WireCache's appliances and how they work.
Q: What is unique about WireCache's appliances?
A: Three things: Zero latency, complete transparency, and ease of management.
Unlike a data warehouse that is periodically refreshed from an operational data store, the WireCache Appliance is transactionally identical to the underlying database. There is no latency at all. This means that business managers can get reports on up-to-the-second live data without impacting the applications that run the business.
The interface to a Data Warehouse software does not typically exactly match the SQL used by the operational RDBMS. This means that applications have to be rewritten to use the warehouse. WireCache, on the other hand, is absolutely transparent to applications. You will not have to touch a single line of application code.
Other acceleration solutions create additional databases, which inevitably create more system management concerns relating to security, backup, tuning and so on. WireCache requires no management at all. It is an appliance that plugs into the network, and maintains itself. In normal operations it is invisible. Because it is not the database of record, it does not need to be backed up. Security and authentication are managed by the underlying RDBMS, so there is no additional administrative burden.
For more information, read about the WireCache products.
Q: Why would I need a WireCache appliance?
A: If you have any one of these symptoms, you can benefit from WireCache:
- Users complain of sluggish or unpredictable response times in their applications.
- The ETL process to create a data warehouse is extending beyond the available time window.
- You have a database server at or near capacity, and are facing an upgrade to the hardware and/or database server.
- You want to deploy more users on an existing server without having to upgrade the hardware and the database server.
- You want to deploy more or different applications against the server without having to upgrade the hardware and the database server.
- You want to reduce your RDBMS license and support fees by reducing the number of CPUs allocated to the RDBMS.
Q: Why not just upgrade the RDBMS?
A:WireCache appliances offer you a superior alternative to a database server upgrade, in terms of time, cost and risk.
Time Savings: Your WireCache appliance can be operational in less than a week and requires no application or database recoding. Because it is invisible to applications, you do not need to plan a WireCache installation with operational groups. They will see nothing but better performance. Compare this with a server upgrade which may take months just to plan.
Cost Savings: WireCache appliances are typically priced at less than half the cost of an equivalent database hardware and software upgrade.
Reduced Risk: WireCache provides a performance estimate up front, derived from the SQL Analysis, so you can plan around known performance metrics. WireCache guarantees the performance of its appliances. Compare this with a typical server upgrade, where you really won’t know the results until after you have spent all the time and money on the upgrade.
Q: Who are your competitors?
A: Typically WireCache competes against database tuning and
server upgrades on the one hand and data warehousing on the other.
WireCache has no direct technical competitors.
Compared with tuning and upgrades, WireCache is much less intrusive, is much faster to implement, comes at a significantly lower cost, and dramatically lowers risk.
Compared with data warehousing, WireCache offers zero latency so that reports can be run against live data, and complete application transparency, so you don’t have to write or change a single line of code.
Q: What is inside a WireCache Appliance?
A: The WireCache Appliance contains two types of units: a Transaction Processor (TP), and up to 4 Storage Engines (SE). They are connected internally by a private Gigabit Ethernet fabric. The Transaction Processor scans SQL traffic, and forwards queries that be answered from the cache to one of the Storage Engines which executes SQL just as if it were the RDBMS.
The Appliance can be configured to be fault tolerant by adding a redundant internal network, and a spare module which can take over for either a failed Storage Engine or a failed Transaction Processor.
Q: What technologies is your appliance based on?
A: WireCache appliances are based on x86 multi-core SMP hardware and a Linux operating system kernel that has been stripped down for use in the appliances.
Q: What routine maintenance do the WireCache Appliances require?
A. None. WireCache Appliances maintain themselves.
In order to detect hardware failures, the appliances expose SNMP MIBs for integration with network management tools like OpenView or Tivoli. WireCache appliances can easily be used in lights-down and lights-out operational environments.
The only typical routine activity is to swap in a different cache plan. WireCache Appliance can easily be retargeted at a different databases or workloads. A web interface is provided for installing and enabling additional cache plans. This feature is often used to switch from routine daily load to end of month load, for example.
Q: How are the WireCache products priced?
A: WireCache appliances are priced based on the number of modules in the appliance. This in turn is determined by the workload and whether the appliance is set up to be fault-tolerant. Please contact t WireCache
Salesto arrange for a SQL Analysis and a sizing of the WireCache
appliance that will solve your performance problem.
Q: What are the maintenance programs for the product?
A: WireCache offers standard one-year maintenance agreements that include 5x8 customer support and software updates. Full 7x24 customer support, automated update services and cache plan archival services (for disaster recovery purposes) are also available at additional cost.
Q: Are there volume purchase discounts?
A: Yes. WireCache offers volume purchase discounts to customers
who agree to purchase three or more WireCache appliances within a 12-month
period.
Q: Do you support other databases besides Oracle?
A: WireCache currently supports Oracle databases of version 8 or higher. We expect to offer support for at least one more RDBMS in 2008. We are interested in hearing from potential customers and partners who need to accelerate databases other than Oracle. If you are interested in other databases, please contact
WireCache.
Q: Do you have version requirements for Oracle?
A: WireCache appliances support Oracle 8 and higher. There are no other version requirements or restrictions.
Q: Will the WireCache product corrupt my database?
A: Never. WireCache never makes any changes to enterprise data. It
does not interfere with any data change statements that pass through the appliance
on their way to the enterprise database. WireCache is not the database of record:
that continues to be provided by the enterprise RDBMS itself..
Q: Will the WireCache appliance ever supply wrong answers?
A: No. The instrumentation installed in the database by WireCache ensures that the WireCache appliance is always exactly synchronized with the enterprise database, even when changes come from unmonitored batch operations. This means that results coming from WireCache are always identical with the results that would be obtained from the RDBMS.
Q: Does the WireCache appliance handle stored procedures, triggers,
server-side programs and administrative changes made at the back
end?
A: Yes. The instrumentation installed in the database by WireCache ensures that the WireCache appliance is always exactly synchronized with the enterprise database, even when data changes come from such operations.
Q: Do you have application-specific dependencies?
A: None. WireCache Appliances can support any kind of application, turnkey packages or custom-built. However, WireCache does not accelerate PL/SQL, so applications that make extensive use of PL/SQL stored procedures may be poor candidates for acceleration by WireCache.
Q: Do you have requirements or limitations for servers, operating systems, etc.?
A: None. WireCache Appliances do not run on the database server machine. The applications, application server and RDBMS may run on any kind hardware and operating system.
Q: How do you handle the changing workloads on my servers, like what happens at the end of each month and end of quarter?
A :WireCache is able to support multiple cache plans. This
allows for the switching of cache plans either at scheduled times or
at the request of the appliance administrator. This operation is performed
using a simple web interface.
Q: Aren't you a single point of failure in my architecture?
A: No. WireCache can be configured to be fault-tolerant or to degrade gracefully to a pass-through proxy.
In a non-redundant configuration, a catastrophic failure of the WireCache appliance will not compromise your applications or your database server. You will simply lose the WireCache acceleration and fall back to standard database speed.
WireCache offers a fault-tolerant configuration, which includes dual internal Gigabit Ethernet switches, and a stand-by processing unit within the WireCache appliance itself. This standby unit can be configured into the appliance whenever a live unit fails, taking over the work of either a Transaction Processor or a Storage Engine, and allowing the appliance to continue processing.
Q: Can you help me with WAN or LAN throughput issues?
A: No. There are other solutions that address other bottlenecks
in the architecture. WireCache accelerates only database queries.
Q: What kind of load does WireCache place on the database server?
A: WireCache places a small load on the database server in order to maintain its coherent cache and to detect and respond to out-of-band changes to the database server. This load is typically less that 1% of the unaccelerated database server load. Since the overall acceleration is typically 200-1200%, this small load is easily amortized.
Q: What kinds of security issues do you create?
A:None. WireCache appliances automatically participate in existing application- and database-level security schemes. Anyone who has permission to see given data in the database can see it in WireCache, and vice versa. WireCache does not expose the contents of the cache either directly or programmatically to any application or person, including individuals with administrative rights to the WireCache appliance itself.
Q: How can I find out if WireCache can solve my performance problem?
A:
The first step is to perform a WireCache SQL Analysis of your application’s SQL traffic. This analysis will require less than an hour of a DBA's time, and is conducted on a typical laptop or server plugged into a mirrored port on your network. It can also be done using a WireCache appliance.
The SQL Analysis will provide you with unique and valuable insight into the sources of your database server performance and capacity issues, and will also allow WireCache to define exactly what we can do to alleviate your performance and capacity problems. If the SQL Analysis indicates that we can provide you with significant acceleration, we can install a WireCache appliance for a 30-day trial.
Q: What do I have to do to prepare for a SQL Analysis?
A: The WireCache SQL Analyzer runs on any modern PC or server, or on a WireCache appliance. All that is required is to provide a mirrored port that the analyzer can use to sniff Ethernet traffic between the applications and the RDBMS.
Q: What kind of site preparation is required for the Appliance?
A: WireCache Appliance elements are standard rackable units and require no special site preparation. They occupy 5x2U or less of rack space.
Q: What kind of power and HVAC does the array require?
A: WireCache Appliances are standard rackable units and require no special power or HVAC. Each module consumes about 850W.
