A general framework for improving query processing performance on multi-level memory hierarchies

Abstract

We propose a general framework for improving the query processing performance on multi-level memory hierarchies. Our motivation is that (1) the memory hierarchy is an important performance factor for query processing, (2) both the memory hierarchy and database systems are becoming increasingly complex and diverse, and (3) increasing the amount of tuning does not always improve the performance. Therefore, we categorize multiple levels of memory performance tuning and quantify their performance impacts. As a case study, we use this framework to improve the in-memory performance of storage models, B+-trees, nested-loop joins and hash joins. Our empirical evaluation verifies the usefulness of the proposed framework.