There's an Open Source utility called
Flexible I/O (called
fio ) that is used by kernel and driver developers to test I/O.
We would like to use this to create a very typical Oracle I/O load (async I/O, 8kb block reads, etc) for
fio. The idea is that we can use this to test specific storage driver versions and driver parameters and kernel configurations options to determine stability and robustness and of course, performance - without having to deal with installing and setting up the Oracle software layer. We can also test new driver releases using this, without having to go to the effort of duplicating an Oracle instance and database and workloads on that database.
It will also enable us to provide this as a test harness to storage vendors and driver developers for simulating a typical Oracle I/O load - and should trigger the same problems and issues that Oracle would if it was doing the I/O.
Feasible? Or are there potential issues with this approach to be aware of?
Any ideas what Oracle uses for testing I/O - like with Exadata Storage Cells and OFED drivers for example? What are other shops using to test storage systems and drivers and so on (there can be a number of moving parts on the storage layer and a test harness for this make sense)
Any comments as to what
fio parameters should be used to represent typical Oracle I/O?
Will appreciate input on this. Thanks.