Memory, CPU, and concurrent transaction management have a significant impact on performance in a Greenplum Database cluster. Resource groups are a newer resource management scheme that enforce memory, CPU, and concurrent transaction limits in Greenplum Database.

While it is not always possible to increase system memory, you can avoid many out-of-memory conditions by configuring resource groups to manage expected workloads.

The following operating system and Greenplum Database memory settings are significant when you manage Greenplum Database resources with resource groups:

  • vm.overcommit_ratio

    This Linux kernel parameter, set in , identifies the percentage of RAM that is used for application processes; the remainder is reserved for the operating system. Tune the setting as necessary. If your memory utilization is too low, increase the value; if your memory or swap usage is too high, decrease the setting.

  • gp_resource_group_memory_limit

    The percentage of system memory to allocate to Greenplum Database. The default value is .7 (70%).

  • By default, Greenplum Database calculates the maximum per-query memory allotment for all hosts using the memory configuration of, and the number of primary segments configured on, the master host.

    If the hardware configuration of your master and segment hosts differ, set the gp_resource_group_enable_recalculate_query_mem server configuration parameter to true; this prompts Greenplum Database to recalculate the maximum per-query memory allotment on each segment host based on the memory and the number of primary segments configured on that segment host.

  • gp_workfile_limit_files_per_query

    Set gp_workfile_limit_files_per_query to limit the maximum number of temporary spill files (workfiles) allowed per query. Spill files are created when a query requires more memory than it is allocated. When the limit is exceeded the query is terminated. The default is zero, which allows an unlimited number of spill files and may fill up the file system.

  • gp_workfile_compression

    If there are numerous spill files then set gp_workfile_compression to compress the spill files. Compressing spill files may help to avoid overloading the disk subsystem with IO operations.

  • memory_spill_ratio

  • statement_mem

    When memory_spill_ratio is 0, Greenplum Database uses the statement_mem setting to determine the amount of memory to allocate to a query.

Other considerations:

  • Do not configure the operating system to use huge pages. See the Recommended OS Parameters Settings in the Greenplum Installation Guide.
  • When you configure resource group memory, consider memory requirements for mirror segments that become primary segments during a failure to ensure that database operations can continue when primary segments or segment hosts fail.

Available memory for resource groups may be limited on systems that use low or no swap space, and that use the default and gp_resource_group_memory_limit settings. To ensure that Greenplum Database has a reasonable per-segment-host memory limit, you may be required to increase one or more of the following configuration settings:

  1. The system’s vm.overcommit_ratio setting.
  2. The resource group gp_resource_group_memory_limit setting.

Greenplum Database resource groups provide a powerful mechanism for managing the workload of the cluster. Consider these general guidelines when you configure resource groups for your system:

  • A transaction submitted by any Greenplum Database role with SUPERUSER privileges runs under the default resource group named admin_group. Keep this in mind when scheduling and running Greenplum administration utilities.
  • Ensure that you assign each non-admin role a resource group. If you do not assign a resource group to a role, queries submitted by the role are handled by the default resource group named default_group.
  • Use the CONCURRENCY resource group parameter to limit the number of active queries that members of a particular resource group can run concurrently.
  • Use the MEMORY_LIMIT and MEMORY_SPILL_RATIO parameters to control the maximum amount of memory that queries running in the resource group can consume.
  • Greenplum Database assigns unreserved memory (100 - (sum of all resource group MEMORY_LIMITs) to a global shared memory pool. This memory is available to all queries on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Alter resource groups dynamically to match the real requirements of the group for the workload and the time of day.
  • Use the gp_toolkit views to examine resource group resource usage and to monitor how the groups are working.

A low setting (for example, in the 10MB range) has been shown to increase the performance of queries with low memory requirements. Use the memory_spill_ratio and statement_mem server configuration parameters to override the setting on a per-query basis. For example:

The default resource group for database transactions initiated by Greenplum Database SUPERUSERs is the group named admin_group. The default CONCURRENCY value for the admin_group resource group is 10.

Certain Greenplum Database administrative utilities may use more than one CONCURRENCY slot at runtime, such as gpbackup that you invoke with the --jobs option. If the utility(s) you run require more concurrent transactions than that configured for admin_group, consider temporarily increasing the group’s MEMORY_LIMIT and values to meet the utility’s requirement, making sure to return these parameters back to their original settings when the utility completes.

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