Informatica Performance

Tuning



OBJECTIVE

The goal of performance tuning is to optimize
session performance by eliminating performance
bottlenecks .



General steps

The first step in performance tuning is to identify the
performance bottleneck .
Analyze the cause for the bottleneck.
Eliminate it.
Check the session performance and repeat the
above steps until it is satisfactory.


Performance bottlenecks can occur in

Target
Source
Mapping
session
System



Target bottleneck
Causes:
Small check point intervals , small database
network packet size , problems during heavy
loading operations .
If Relational table as target:
Check by populating the records to a flat file.
If Flat file as target:
check by populating the records to a flatfile in local
power center server.

Optimizing methods for relational target:
1. Increasing Checkpoint Intervals

2. Use Bulk Loading .

3. Increasing Database Network Packet Size
--for sybase & sql server increase from 8k-16k
--for oracle increase in tnsnames.ora and listener.ora

4. Optimizing Oracle Target Databases
--by checking the storage clause, space allocation,
and rollback segments in appropriate table spaces.

5. Dropping Indexes and Key Constraints before loading
and recreate after session completion .



Methods to identify Source bottlenecks
Flat file source:
Using Line Sequential Buffer Length setting set the
no. of bytes the power center reads per line.(
default:1024 bytes).
Relational source:
Use a filter transformation in the mapping to
measure the time it takes to read source data.
Use a Read test session.
Database queryexecute the read query present
in sql override directly in database itself.


Optimizing methods for relational source:

Optimize the query.
Create tempdb as an in-memory database to
allocate sufficient memoryfor Sybase or Microsoft
SQL Server database
Use conditional filters (i.e., using filter condition in sql
override of source qualifier itself).
Increase database network packet size
--larger packets of data to cross the network at
one time .



Methods to identify Mapping bottlenecks:

Use a filter transformation before the target table
and set the condition to false so that no data is
loaded into the target.
Multiple lookups can slow down the performance.
Transformation errors impact session performance
so check the transformation errors in session log file.

Mapping optimization
Configure Single-Pass Reading --allows you to populate
multiple targets with one source qualifier.

Avoid unnecessary data type conversions.

Reduce the number of transformations in the mapping.

Minimize the amount of data moved by deleting
unnecessary links between transformations.

Limiting the number of connected input/output or
output ports reduces the amount of data the
transformations store in the data cache.






Single Passing



Source
System 1
Source
System 2
Target
Source
Qualifier1
Source
Qualifier2
Target
Source
System 1
Source
System 2
Source
Qualifier
Target
Single pass reading
Aggregator1
Aggregator2
Exp
Target
Exp1
Aggregator1
Exp2
Aggregator2

Look up Optimization:
Implement caching the lookup table
Reduce the Number of Cached Rows by using
lookup sql override.
Always use equal ( = ) sign first in lookup condition
then use other signs such as <, >, <= ,>= , != etc.,
Use index in the lookup table.

Filter Optimization:
filter rows in sql override in source qualifier
transformation itself.
move the Filter transformation as close to the source
qualifier.
avoid using complex expressions in filter condition.
Use a Filter or Router transformation to drop rejected
rows from an Update Strategy transformation .

Aggregator Transformation:
often slow performance because they must group
data before processing it.
It need additional memory to hold intermediate
group results.
Optimizing Methods:
Use simple columns i.e number instead of strings
and dates for group by clause.
Use sorted input which decreases the use of
aggregate caches
when changed rows < target rows then Use
incremental aggregation which present in the
session properties.


Joiner:
need additional space at run time to hold
intermediate results.
uses data cache to hold the master table rows and
an index
cache to hold the join columns from the master
table.
Optimizing joiner transformation:
Ensure sufficient memory to hold the data cache
and the
index cache .
Use smaller table as a master table.
Normal joins are faster than outer joins.
Use database joins for homogenous sources

Optimizing Sequence generator:

Create single seq.generator transformation and use
it for multiple pipeline in a single mapping instead of
using different sequence generator for each pipe
line.
configure the Number of Cached Values property
approx.,>1000 but not too small.


Optimize expressions:
Remove expressions one-by-one to isolate the slow
expressions.
Steps to optimize:
Factoring Out Common Logic
Minimizing Aggregate Function Calls
Choosing DECODE versus LOOKUP
Using Operators Instead of Functions




Evaluating Expressions:

If you are not sure which expressions slow
performance ,then
Time the session with the original expressions.
Copy the mapping and replace half of the
complex expressions with a constant.
Run and time the edited session.
Make another copy of the mapping and replace
the other half of the complex expressions with a
constant.
Run and time the edited session.



Session optimizing
Increase the number of partitions.
Reduce errors tracing.
Increasing the Cache Sizes .
Increasing the Commit Interval .
Remove staging areas.



System optimizing
Improve network speed :
Slow network connections can slow session
performance
Use multiple PowerCenter Servers :
Using multiple Power Center Servers on separate
systems might double or triple session performance.
Use a server grid :
Using a collection of Power Center Servers to
distribute and process the workload of a workflow.
Improve CPU performance :
Run the Power Center Server and related
machines on high performance CPUs, or configure
your system to use additional CPUs.




Thank you !