071410 sun a_1515_feldman_stephen
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This document provides best practices for optimizing Blackboard Learn performance. It recommends deploying for performance from the start, optimizing platform components continuously through measurements, using scalable deployments like 64-bit architectures and virtualization, improving page responsiveness through techniques like gzip compression and image optimization, optimizing the web server, Java Virtual Machine, and database through configuration and tools. It emphasizes the importance of understanding resource utilization, wait events, execution plans, and statistics/histograms for database optimization.
071410 sun a_1515_feldman_stephen
- 1. Best Practices for Optimizing Blackboard Learn Steve Feldman, [email protected]
- 2. optimizing* The process of increasing speed (performance) and capacity (scalability) of a system and/or program.
- 4. What We’ll Cover • Deploy for performance from the start. • Optimizing the platform components. • Continuous measurements are absolutely critical.
- 6. Flexible and Scalable Application Deployment
- 7. Deployment: Large Address Space • As of Blackboard Learn™ Release 9.1 all supported/ certified configurations include a 64-bit option. • Pushing more processing to client and DB over the last few releases, but major memory management technique is to use more application caches. – Memory stays persistent longer – Less wasteful from a creation/destruction perspective, but puts greater demands on larger spaces. • Most of our application testing focused on 4GB and 8GB JVM deployments on 6GB and 10GB OS spaces. – Limited testing at 16GB and 32GB
- 8. Deployment: Resource Utilization via Virtualization • Moore’s law is in full effect – CPUs are getting faster with more cores – Memory is in abundance and cheap – Storage is grossly abundant • Massive systems can be obtained at low cost, but cannot be saturated in stand-alone configurations. • Virtualization offers this opportunity… – Deploy with availability in mind – Saturate system resources – Save money and data center space
- 10. Deployment: Improving Page Responsiveness • Gzip…Gzip…Gzip… – All of our supported browsers handle gzip? – Reduces payload • Improves lower latency connections like Cable, DSL and Dial-up – Minor overhead on the application layer (~2% to ~5%) • Have the option to perform at the load-balancer layer – Most Bb deployments do not enable Gzip at all • Even when enabled, some proxies and software packages mess-up the Accept Encoding Header • Optimize your images – Page size really does matter – Reduce the size without reducing the quality – Smush.it, PunnyPng, OptiPng, RIOT and ImageOptim
- 13. Tools for Page Performance • Analysis Tools – Independent tools: Fiddler, HTTPWatch, WebPageTest.org, Web Inspector (Mac), IE Developer Tools – Browser Plugins: Firebug/YSlow, Google Page Speed, WebPageTest Client – JavaScript tools: dynatrace, IE Developer Tools, • Optimization Tools – Image optimization to reduced overall size and metadata: SmushIt, PNGOptimize, PNGCrusher, OptiPng and graphicsoptimization.com • http://yuiblog.com/blog/2008/10/29/imageopt-1/ – CSS optimization to reduce unused elements and compress CSS of unnecessary white spaces: CSS Optimizer, CSS Compressor and CleanCSS
- 15. Optimizing the Web Server • The web server in the BbLearn configuration is nothing more than a gateway to the application container. – When clusters were more relevant, the web server acted as a pseudo load-balancer. • Not many opportunities for optimization other than – KeepAlives – Interfaces – Compression • It can become a bottleneck if not properly optimized – Better to have high ceilings from an interface perspective
- 16. Optimizing the JVM • Java hotspot offers standard –X and non-standard –XX options for performance and behavior. – -X options are always guaranteed across releases and patches of Java. – -XX options must be used with caution as they are subject to change with any release of Java. • -XX options should be tested and measured using the production safe arguments. – Be careful of leveraging options you see on ListServes and Google • Read the release notes of Java for “performance” updates – http://java.sun.com/javase/6/webnotes/ReleaseNotes.html
- 17. Regions of the JVM
- 18. Optimizing the JVM • Cross-platform recommendation for using Concurrent Mark Sweep Collector – Best optimized for 64-bit address – Combine –XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGCwith –XX:+UseParNewGC • Manually size New Space using –XX:NewSize and – XX:MaxNewSize options (1/4 to 1/3 total heap). – Consider Survivor Space ratios 4 or lower. • Be careful about sharing –XX non-standard options across customers. – If you don’t understand what the option does and it’s not recommended by Blackboard, best choice is to not use it. • PermSpace and B2s – Every B2 you add, make sure to measure PermSpace usage via tools like JStat and VerboseGC
- 19. High Level Old Space Collection
- 20. Prototyping JVM Arguments • Wrapper.conf exists on both UNIX and Windows configurations for handling JVM arguments. • Options can be tested out without a PushConfigUpdates by simply adding an additional line with – wrapper.java.additional.<insert numeric sequence>= – Simply issue a “./ ServiceController services.appserver.restart” to restart the JVM without arguments
- 21. PrintGCStats
- 22. Tools for Java Instrumentation • GC Log Analysis Tools: PrintGCStats, Jstat, GCViewer, • Thread Analysis Tools: Samurai, JConsole, JavaVisualVM, • Memory Analysis Tools: Eclipse Memory Analyzer, Jhat, • Robust Commercial Tools: Quest Foglight, Oracle OEM, Dynatrace for Java, CA IntroScope • Profiling Tools: Jprobe, YourKit, JProfiler
- 23. Optimizing the Database: SQL Server • # of data files makes no difference on SQL Server for Data and Transaction • Allow the data/transaction files to grow as big as they want within reason. – What’s reason: 64GB – http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143432(sql.90).aspx • TempDB is completely different story – # of files = # of DB Threads – Set first X files to a uniform size, set last file to same size with auto-extension ON – Determine size need over time • Separate volume for paging file
- 24. Optimizing the Database: SQL Server • Be aware of MDOP: Max Degree of Parallelism – Setting to unlimited can have a negative affect on query performance unintentionally. • AWE can and does work on 64-bit systems • Configure READ_COMMITTED_SNAPSHOT • Two nuggets of information: – Learn How to Use SQL DMVs – Study SQL Server Wait Events and Tuning
- 25. Optimizing the Database: Oracle • Balance I/Os across multiple data files (~2 to 8GB per file). • REDO is critical to performance a session/query level. – Be aware of how much REDO is being used over time. – NOLOGGING will disable, be we rarely use NOLOGGING • TEMP is very complex and used for managing transient data. – One TEMP file is adequate – If latency exists on TEMP, consider introducing TEMP file groups • SGA is important, but PGA can be your best friend or your worst enemy with high concurrency.
- 26. Optimizing the Database: Oracle • Oracle CBO can be your friend – Must understand optimizer behavior – Willingness to read Cost Execution Plans • Using Wait Events and Cost Execution Plans for tuning initiatives – Wait events are at a system, session and query level • Importance of Statistics and Histograms – CBO is just guessing without properly set statistics and histograms. – CBO is dependent on your data.
- 27. Approach to Understanding DB Performance • Capture statements using some pre-identified tool – Oracle AWR and ASH (Session Level) – SQL Server Performance Dashboard and Performance Warehouse • Review Instance Level Information to gain a cursory view of “system” performance. • Deep dive into SQL Analysis – Focus on Logical I/Os as starting point. • Physical I/Os are important, but more often logical – Drill into CPU consumers followed by executions – Isolate physical and structural for over usage and possible locking conditions – Question why executions, but 0 rows processed – Importance of both: Histograms and Statistics • Know your data better than your DBAs
- 29. Please provide feedback for this session by emailing [email protected]. The subject of the email should be title of this session: Best Practices for Optimizing Blackboard Learn