Chapter 1 – Introduction and Good Advice
“Some birds aren't meant to be caged; their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice.”
What is Parallel Processing?
“After enlightenment, the laundry”
-Zen Proverb
“After parallel processing the laundry, enlightenment!”
-Teradata Zen Proverb
Two guys were having fun on a Saturday night when one said, “I've got to go and do my laundry.” The other said, “What?!” The man explained that if he went to the laundry mat the next morning, he would be lucky to get one machine and be there all day. But if he went on Saturday night, he could get all the machines. Then, he could do all his wash and dry in two hours. Now that's parallel processing mixed in with a little dry humor!
Start Small and Think Big
“A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
-Lao Tzu
Teradata was born to be parallel, and with each query, a single step is performed in parallel by each AMP. A Teradata system consists of a series of AMPs that will work in parallel to store and process your data. This design allows you to start small and grow infinitely. If your Teradata system provides you with an excellent Return On Investment (ROI), then continue to invest by purchasing more AMPs. Most companies start small, but after seeing what Teradata can do, they continue to grow their ROI from the single step of implementing a Teradata system to millions of dollars in profits.
Give your Enterprise the Tools they need
“To have everything is to possess nothing.”
-Buddha
When you possess a tool like Nexus, you have access to everything! The Nexus Query Chameleon is the only tool that works on all systems. Its Super Join Builder allows for the ERwin Logical Model to be loaded, and then Nexus shows tables and views visually as well as guiding users to what joins to what. Then, Nexus builds the SQL perfectly with each click of the mouse. Nexus was designed for Teradata and Hadoop, but works on all platforms. Nexus even converts table structures between vendors, so querying and managing multi-vendor platforms is transparent.
Model the Business with ERwin
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
-Socrates
The true wisdom of modeling your business is in knowing that your experts know everything. You build models for the same reasons that architects build designs. They can be inexpensively tested and altered. Use ERwin from Computer Associates to design your data models. ERwin allows you to model both your tables, views and the physical model. It doesn't have to be perfect, but should be done in a normalized 3rd normal form manner. Allow your business and modeling experts to model everything, but as they say, “Model the business, but don't make a business of modeling.”
Educate the Business on the Business by Sharing the Model
“If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants.”
-Isaac Newton
Great companies model the business but don't allow the masses to reap its rewards. Allow your business users to stand on the shoulders of giants and understand the business. Start first by allowing users to visually see what tables join to what tables.
Load Your Models and have the SQL Built Automatically
“Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.”
-Christopher Columbus
Don't let Christopher Columbus follow the sun and navigate the SQL West because your profits will soon be going south. Some users like to build their SQL by hand, but this makes as much sense as an assembly line baker wanting to churn his/her own butter. Load the logical models for every system in your enterprise, show the tables and views visually, allow users to click on the columns they want, and then let the tool build the SQL perfectly every time. You can save magnitudes of order in development costs.
Five Brilliant Pieces of Teradata (1 of 5) is MPP
“If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got.”
-Anonymous
The largest systems in the world have used Teradata for market dominance for the past 20 years. Its Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) technology analyzes on such a large scale that companies can run queries they have never been able to run before. Recognize that you now have something very powerful and that is the ability to analyze every aspect of your business. So, do what you've never done, and get something that you've never got.
Five Brilliant Pieces (2 of 5) are Tactical Queries
“The entire sum of existence is the magic of being needed by just one other person.”
-Vi Putnam
Forget about the quote above and the magic of being needed by just one person. The real magic is that Teradata can find a single row in under a second using just one AMP! That is of major importance. Imagine a table with trillions of rows, and yet if the user searches on the Primary Index column, the query is lightning fast and sub second. Count on Teradata for analyzing mass amounts of data, but realize that Teradata can find individual rows in a moment's notice with only a single AMP being contacted.
Five Brilliant Pieces (3 of 5) Is a Traffic System
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
-Robert Frost
Imagine our highways with only one lane or our roads with no stop signs or lights. Teradata has the most sophisticated traffic system in the industry. Teradata allows for rules, times, delays, green lights to query, and red lights to wait. Why put a long-haul trucker with an oversized load in the fast lane? Marathon runners don't run at the same speed as sprinters, so you need to give your fastest speeds to your tactical queries and slower speeds for your batch processing. Teradata Active System Management (TASM) controls the query traffic so users can take the route less traveled.
Five Brilliant Pieces (4 of 5) Is Viewpoint
“A man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”
-Muhammad Ali
Teradata allows your queries to float like a butterfly and not sting at all! This is because Viewpoint gives the DBA and the users their own view of their Teradata world, so everyone knows exactly what is going on with the system.
Five Brilliant Pieces (5 of 5) Are Data Processing Options
“He who walks in another's tracks leaves no footprints.”
-Joan L. Brannon
The Teradata environment allows for everyone to walk in their own tracks because there are so many design options to suit each type of query. Large massive joins, sub second tactical queries, partitioned tables for range queries, columnar designs for specific columns combined with secondary indexes, join and hash indexes provide an environment where everyone can leave their footprint on the company by running that query that is going to make the company a million dollars.
Support Large Queries, but Monitor them closely
“Not all who wander are lost.”
-J. R. R. Tolkien
2% of the bad queries can take up 50% of the machine time. Some who wander are lost!
There are companies that make 10 million dollars on a single query. Sometimes those queries run for 40 hours. As an executive, you need to promote this type of effort because not all who wander are lost. At the same time, people make mistakes, and some queries meant to be much shorter also run for 40 hours. With Viewpoint, your DBA's will have the ability to monitor and abort queries or set up TASM rules that don't allow long running queries. Find a way to support the monster query that is swinging for the fences while also stopping the bad query from taking up time and money.
Experiment and Improve Loading Data Strategies
“Write a wise saying and your name will live forever.”
-Anonymous
Load most of your data nightly, but consider loading important timely data every 15 minutes.
Twenty years ago, companies loaded data once a month. This eventually quickened to once a week, and now it is once a day. A major retailer loads data directly from every store in the world every 15 minutes. During the 911 attack on the twin towers, a DBA there noticed that American flags were selling at 3000% of normal. Within two hours, the decision was made to buy every American flag from every flag manufacturer in the world. Other retailers noticed the same thing the next day, but it was too late.
Compress Your Data with Multi-Value Compression
“Too much of a good thing is just right.”
-Mae West
Teradata has block level compression and that saves space. But it comes with a cost, so you may or may not want to use that. Teradata Multi-Value Compression is a no brainer. You will average a 35% space savings, queries will be faster, and there is absolutely no bad news. Teradata does not have a Multi-Value tool, so buy one from an outside source. Compress your large tables first, but do not forget to compress your small tables also. This strategy can help enormously when tables are queried or joined.
Separate your Production System from Your Test System
“I know that you believe that you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”
-Sign on Pentagon office wall
The two things never fun to buy are test systems and spare tires! Buy both. Never ever test on a production system. It is a little like hitting a rattlesnake in the wilderness with a ten foot stick. You will only get bit once in a blue moon, but when you do, it dawns on you, “Why did I do that?” and then “What is that helicopter sound?” Invest in a small test system, and prototype everything that will be put into production. Your Teradata system is your weapon in battle but turns to nothing if corrupted even a little.