Case Studies

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Liquid Digital Media

"Ignite for Oracle gave me the visibility into our database that I never had before and as a result I was able to ensure we exceeded our service requirements during the busiest season."
- DBA Manager

Digital Media Problems:

• Unable to resolve the source of customer reported application delays.
• Conventional tools in use could not identify the specific SQLs that were causing database problems.
• Could not meet service level commitments for their Internet music downloads.

Confio Ignite Solution:

• DigitalMedia installed Ignite for Oracle just before their critical holiday season.
• Ignite increased performance of the search, selection and fulfillment of purchased music.
• Ignite illustrated which Oracle Wait-Events were the major contributors to end-user delays.

Confio Ignite Benefits:

• Ignite allowed Digital Media to resolve bottlenecks that a database-wide view could not see.
• Ensured highest levels of performance and meeting response time commitments during the busiest season.
• Ignite quickly identified and resolved Oracle database bottlenecks making a large improvement in Digital Media's IT system performance.

Summary

Company Digital Media develops and operates real-time delivery of multi-media content for retail delivery. Their system enables customers at a major mass market retailer to offer individual song downloads from their internet retail website. When a customer purchases music for instant delivery, Digital Media is responsible for the fulfillment of the purchase in real-time. A custom CD feature enables end-users to make multiple selections and have a custom burned CD sent directly to their home.

The high traffic and purchase volume experienced by this dominant retailer, especially during peak seasons, requires that Digital Media monitor and optimize performance for this business critical operation. Ensuring highest levels of performance and meeting response time commitments for the retailer were highest business priorities for Digital Media.

The Problem

Technology in use is an Oracle database supporting a custom developed web application running on J2EE servers. The majority of the load for search, selection and fulfillment of the purchased music relies on the Oracle database operated by Digital Media.

Digital Media utilized Ignite™ for Oracle as an essential tool in identifying and resolving Oracle database bottlenecks allowing them to meet service commitments for this application. Prior to using Confio Ignite, Digital Media was unable to resolve the source of customer reported application delays. Conventional tools in use could not identify the specific SQLs that were causing delays in the database, and it was very difficult to improve database response time without knowing which SQL statements were the source of the problem. Confio Ignite identified the exact source of the problem and illustrated which Oracle Wait-Events were the major contributors to end-user delays.

The Solution

Digital Media DBA Manager began using Confio Ignite for Oracle in the fall of 2005 and came to depend on its capabilities during the critical holiday season. The DBA Manager stated, "Ignite for Oracle gave me the visibility into our database that I never had before, and as a result I was able to ensure we exceeded our service requirements for the customer during the busiest season. Ignite allowed me to resolve bottlenecks that a database-wide view could not see, and as a result it made a big difference in our system performance."

Digital Media used the alerting capabilities of Ignite to monitor for abnormal operation and to alert the DBA team of conditions that could potentially lead to problems. As a result, the DBA team was able to avoid critical situations and weekend problem resolution because they had advance warning of growing bottlenecks. Key benefits achieved with Confio Ignite for Oracle:

• Ensured compliance with service levels during busiest retail season.
• Identified the true source of problems, enabling correct assignment of tasks across Java, development and database areas.
• Proactively improved the customer application, by identifying specific changes that prevented problems from occurring.