Automatic Memory Management(AMM) on 11g

System Global Area (SGA)?

The SGA is a group of shared memory structures, known as SGA components that contain data and control information for one Oracle Database instance. The SGA is shared by all server and background processes.

Program Global Area (PGA)?

A PGA is a memory region that contains data and control information for a server process. It is nonshared memory created by Oracle Database when a server process is started. Access to the PGA is exclusive to the server process. There is one PGA for each server process. Background processes also allocate their own PGAs. The total PGA memory allocated for all background and server processes attached to an Oracle Database instance is referred to as the total instance PGA memory and the collection of all individual PGAs is referred to as the total instance PGA, or just instance PGA.

It contains global variables and data structures and control information for a server process. Example of such information is the runtime area of a cursor. Each time a cursor is executed, a new runtime area is created for that cursor in the PGA memory region of the server process executing that cursor.
 

Oracle Database 11g

Automatic Memory Management is being introduced in 11g. This enables automatic tuning of PGA and SGA with use of two new parameters named MEMORY_MAX_TARGET and MEMORY_TARGET.

The most important SGA components are the following:

Oracle Database 11g

Automatic Memory Management is being introduced in 11g. This enables automatic tuning of PGA and SGA with use of two new parameters named MEMORY_MAX_TARGET and MEMORY_TARGET.

The most important SGA components are the following:

Component	Description	Parameter
Database Buffer Cache	The database buffer cache is the portion of the SGA that holds copies of data blocks read from datafiles. All users concurrently connected to the instance share access to the database buffer cache.	DB_CACHE_SIZE DB_KEEP_CACHE_SIZE DB_RECYCLE_CACHE_SIZE DB_nK_CACHE_SIZE
Redo Log Buffer	The redo log buffer is a circular buffer in the SGA that holds information about changes made to the database. This information is stored in redo entries. Redo entries contain the information necessary to reconstruct, or redo, changes made to the database by INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE, ALTER, or DROP operations. Redo entries are used for database recovery, if necessary.	LOG_BUFFER
Shared Pool	The shared pool portion of the SGA contains the library cache, the dictionary cache, the result cache, buffers for parallel execution messages, and control structures.	SHARED_POOL_SIZE SHARED_POOL_RESERVED_SIZE RESULT_CACHE_SIZE *
Large Pool	Used for allocating session memory for shared server, Oracle XA, or parallel query buffers or for RMAN.	LARGE_POOL_SIZE
Java Pool	Java pool memory is used in server memory for all session-specific Java code and data within the JVM.	JAVA_POOL_SIZE
Streams Pool	The streams pool is used exclusively by Oracle Streams. The Streams pool stores buffered queue messages, and it provides memory for Oracle Streams capture processes and apply processes.

Supports various memory management methods, which are chosen by initialization parameter settings.

****Oracle recommends that you enable the automatic memory management method

• Automatic Memory Management – For Both the SGA and Instance PGA
• Automatic Shared Memory Management – For the SGA
• Manual Shared Memory Management – For the SGA
• Automatic PGA Memory Management – For the Instance PGA
• Manual PGA Memory Management – For the Instance PGA

 Automatic Memory Management – For Both the SGA and Instance PGA

 Beginning with Oracle Database 11g, Oracle Database can manage the SGA memory and instance PGA memory completely automatically. You designate only the total memory size to be used by the instance, and Oracle Database dynamically exchanges memory between the SGA and the instance PGA as needed to meet processing demands. This capability is referred to as automatic memory management. With this memory management method, the database also dynamically tunes the sizes of the individual SGA components and the sizes of the individual PGAs.

To achieve this, two new parameters have been introduced named MEMORY_MAX_TARGET and MEMORY_TARGET. To do so (on most platforms), you set only a target memory size initialization parameter (MEMORY_TARGET) and optionally a maximum memory size initialization parameter (MEMORY_MAX_TARGET).

Switching to Automatic Memory Management

1) Check the current values configured for SGA_TARGET and PGA_AGGREGATE_TARGET.

SQL>SHOW PARAMETER TARGET

NAME TYPE VALUE
—————————— ———– —————-
archive_lag_target integer 0
db_flashback_retention_target integer 1440
fast_start_io_target integer 0
fast_start_mttr_target integer 0
memory_max_target big integer 0
memory_target big integer 0
pga_aggregate_target big integer 200M
sga_target big integer 500M

Add the values of pga_aggregate_target and sga_target. In our case it would sum to 700 M.

2) Decide on a maximum amount of memory that you would want to allocate to the database which will determine the maximum value for the sum of the SGA and instance PGA sizes. In our case we decide to set to 808M

3) Change the parameter in initialization parameter file.

Using Spfile
========

SQL>ALTER SYSTEM SET MEMORY_MAX_TARGET = 808M SCOPE = SPFILE;
SQL>ALTER SYSTEM SET MEMORY_TARGET = 808M SCOPE = SPFILE;
SQL>ALTER SYSTEM SET SGA_TARGET =0 SCOPE = SPFILE;
SQL>ALTER SYSTEM SET PGA_AGGREGATE_TARGET = 0 SCOPE = SPFILE;

Using Pfile
=======
If you have started the instance with Pfile, then edit the pfile and set the parameters manually

MEMORY_MAX_TARGET = 808M
MEMORY_TARGET = 808M
SGA_TARGET =0
PGA_AGGREGATE_TARGET = 0

In case you do not specify any value for MEMORY_MAX_TARGET and only use MEMORY_TARGET then database automatically sets MEMORY_MAX_TARGET to the value of MEMORY_TARGET.

If you omit the line for MEMORY_TARGET and include a value for MEMORY_MAX_TARGET, the MEMORY_TARGET parameter defaults to zero. After startup, you can then dynamically change MEMORY_TARGET to a non-zero value, provided that it does not exceed the value of MEMORY_MAX_TARGET.

MEMORY_MAX_TARGET is a static parameter i.e it cannot be changed Dynamically and Instance has to be bounced for modifying the value. So ensure that you have set it to appropriate value.

4) Shutdown and startup the database

SQL> shutdown immediate;
Database closed.
Database dismounted.
ORACLE instance shut down.
SQL> startup mount
ORACLE instance started.

Total System Global Area 845348864 bytes
Fixed Size 1303188 bytes
Variable Size 469765484 bytes
Database Buffers 369098752 bytes
Redo Buffers 5181440 bytes
SQL> show parameter target

NAME TYPE VALUE
———————————— ———– ——————————
archive_lag_target integer 0
db_flashback_retention_target integer 1440
fast_start_io_target integer 0
fast_start_mttr_target integer 0
memory_max_target big integer 808M
memory_target big integer 808M
pga_aggregate_target big integer 0
sga_target big integer 0

Monitoring and Tuning Automatic Memory Management

The dynamic performance view V$MEMORY_DYNAMIC_COMPONENTS shows the current sizes of all dynamically tuned memory components, including the total sizes of the SGA and instance PGA.
The view V$MEMORY_TARGET_ADVICE provides tuning advice for the MEMORY_TARGET initialization parameter.

SQL> select * from v$memory_target_advice order by memory_size;

You can also use V$MEMORY_RESIZE_OPS which has a circular history buffer of the last 800 SGA resize requests.

For More Information you can refer to: Automatic Memory Management(AMM) on 11g [ID 443746.1]