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Overview
Sort Operations: Causes
Index Creation
ORDER BY or GROUP BY clause usage
DISTINCT keyword usage
UNION, INTERSECTION and MINUS Operations
Sort-Merge Operations:Example
Sort-Merge Operations
ANALYZE Command
SORT_AREA_SIZE
Sort Process: Sequence
Sort space requirement > SORT_AREA_SIZE
SORT_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT parameter
Sort Areas: Setting Parameters
Setting Parameters and Sort Areas
Multithreaded Server Connection
Dedicated Server Connection
SORT_AREA_SIZE: Setting
SORT_AREA_SIZE: Altering
ALTER SESSION with SORT_AREA_SIZE syntax
ALTER SESSION with SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE Syntax
Summary
Quick Quiz
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Overview: Maximizing Sort

Efficiency

Purpose

In this lesson you will learn to identify the

different causes for a sort and the
sequence of the sort process. You will
also learn to select and set the
appropriate SORT_AREA_SIZE
parameter.
Upon completion of this lesson, you
should be able to:
Identify the SQL operations that require
sorts
Identify the sequence of the sort
process
Select and set the appropriate
SORT_AREA_SIZE parameter

Sort Operations: Causes

The various operations that require a sort are discussed in the following
pages. Excessive sorting operations decrease server performance.
The operations that require a sort are shown below:
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Index Creation

The server process uses a sort to arrange the indexed values before
building the B-tree. Server processes also use a sort in cases where the
index is created in parallel.
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ORDER BY or GROUP BY
Clause Usage

When the ORDER BY or GROUP BY

clause is used, the server process uses a
sort on the values specified in the
ORDER BY or GROUP BY clause.
However, if an ORDER BY clause is used
with an existing index on a NOT NULL
column, the server uses the index and
does not sort the rows.

DISTINCT Keyword Usage

When the DISTINCT keyword is used, the

server process is forced to perform a sort.
The sort is used to eliminate rows with
duplicate selected values.

UNION, INTERSECT, and MINUS Operations

For operations involving UNION, INTERSECT, and MINUS, the server

process sorts the tables to eliminate or identify duplicates.
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Sort-Merge Operations: Example

An example of an equijoin is displayed. The query requests for the DEPTNO

Columns from the EMP and DEPT tables. For an equijoin request with no
indexes, the server performs extensive sorts. The server performs full table
scans of EMP and DEPT tables and then sorts each row source separately.
This is the SORT process in the sort-merge operation.
In the example below, SET AUTOTRACE ON EXPLAIN is used to display
the optimizer's execution path. Observe in the ouput that the execution plan
shows that a full table scan is done on the EMP table.
Example:
SQL> SET AUTOTRACE ON EXPLAIN
SQL> SELECT e.deptno, d.deptno
2 FROM emp e, dept d
3 WHERE e.deptno = d.deptno;

DEPTNO DEPTNO
---------- ----------
20 20
30 30
30 30
20 20
30 30
.. ..
.. ..
14 rows selected.
Execution Plan
----------------------------------------------------
0 SELECT STATEMENT
Optimizer=CHOOSE (Cost=1 Card=14 Bytes=70)
1 0 NESTED LOOPS (Cost=1 Card=14 Bytes=70)
2 1 TABLE ACCESS (FULL) OF 'EMP'
(Cost=1 Card=14 Bytes=42)
3 1 INDEX (UNIQUE SCAN) OF 'PK_DEPT' (UNIQUE)

Sort-Merge Operations

The equijoin request merges the sorted sources together, combining each
row from one source with each matching row of the other source. This is the
merge aspect in a sort-merge operation.
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Check Your Understanding

Identify the server process for which the

tables are sorted to identify or
eliminate duplicates:
JOIN

UNION

PRODUCT

SELECTION

Correct!
Incorrect. A SELECTION does not require a sorting operation. Please try
again
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Incorrect. A PRODUCT does not require a sorting operation. Please try

again
Incorrect. A JOIN does not require a sorting operation. Please try again

ANALYZE Command

The ANALYZE command that is used to collect statistics on tables, indexes,

and clusters requires a sort. The ANALYZE command helps the Cost Based
Optimizer (CBO) define the best execution plan. The sorting process
arranges the details of the statistics before providing summarized
information for the table or index specified.
Show Me an Example

Summary — Sort Operations: Causes

In this topic you learned to identify the operations that

require sort processing. This information helps you use the
commands carefully, remembering that sorting operations
can decrease server performance.
The operations that require a sort action are:

Index Creation The server process (or processes, if the

index is being created in parallel) has to
sort the indexed values before building the
B-tree.
ORDER BY or GROUP BY The server process must sort the values in
Clause Usage the ORDER BY or GROUP BY clauses.
DISTINCT Keyword Usage For the DISTINCT keyword, the sort
process is required to eliminate duplicates.
UNION, INTERSECT, or The server process must sort the tables on
MINUS Operations which the UNION, INTERSECT or MINUS
Operations are to be performed to
eliminate duplicates.
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MINUS Operations which the UNION, INTERSECT or MINUS

Operations are to be performed to
eliminate duplicates.
Sort-Merge Operations If there are no indexes available, an
equijoin request needs to perform the
following operations:
scan the tables mentioned in the FROM
clause, using full table scans
sort each row source separately
merge the sorted sources together,
combining each row from one source
with each matching row of the other
source
ANALYZE Command The ANALYZE command helps the Cost
Based Optimizer (CBO) define the best
execution plan. The sorting process
arranges the details of the statistics before
providing summarized information for the
table or index specified.

SORT_AREA_SIZE

Now that we have learned about the

operations that require a sort process, let
us look at the sequence of steps that
takes place in a sort process.
The Oracle server sorts in memory if the
sorting process can be done in an area
smaller than the value of the
SORT_AREA_SIZE parameter. The
following pages describe the steps that
occur when a sort operation exceeds the
space specified by the
SORT_AREA_SIZE parameter and needs more disk work space.
One SORT_AREA_SIZE value exists for each user process at any time.
SORT_AREA_SIZE specifies the maximum amount of memory that is used
for a sort.
You set the value in bytes by using the ALTER SESSION or ALTER
SYSTEM DEFERRED command. The lowest value is an equivalent of six
data blocks, and the highest value is system-dependent. The default value of
the SORT_AREA_SIZE parameter is operating system (OS) dependent.
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Sort Process: Sequence

The three steps that take place during a

sort process to disk are listed below. Click
on each of the links to learn more about
the three steps.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3

Sort Process to Disk: Step 1

When the sort space requirements exceed SORT_AREA_SIZE, the data is

split into two or more smaller pieces called sort runs. Each sort run is sorted
individually.

Sort Process to Disk: Step 2

The server process first creates the sort runs and then writes the pieces to
temporary segments on the disk. These segments hold intermediate sort run
data while the server works on another sort run.
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Sort Process to Disk: Step 3

Finally, the server process merges the sorted pieces to produce the result of
the sort.
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Sort Space Requirement > SORT_AREA_SIZE

If SORT_AREA_SIZE is not large enough to merge all the runs at once, the
server process uses a number of merge passes to merge the subsets of the
runs.

SORT_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT Parameter

The SORT_MULTIBLOCK _READ_COUNT parameter forces a sort to read

a larger section of each sort run into the memory from a temporary segment
on the disk.
Show me more about the effect of the
SORT_MULTIBLOCK _READ_COUNT parameter on the sort process.
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Summary — Sort Process: Sequence

You have learned about the steps in the sort process when
the work space exceeds SORT_AREA_SIZE. The
sequence of steps that takes place in a sort process are:

When the sort space requirements exceed

SORT_AREA_SIZE, the data is split into two or more
Step 1
smaller pieces called sort runs. Each sort run is sorted
individually.
The server process first creates the sort runs and then
writes the pieces to temporary segments on the disk.
Step 2
These segments hold intermediate sort run data while the
server works on another sort run.
Finally, the server process merges the sorted pieces to
Step 3
produce the result of the sort.
You use the SORT_MULTIBLOCK _READ_COUNT parameter to specify
the number of database blocks to read each time a sort performs a read
from a temporary segment.
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Sort Areas: Setting Parameters

You have learned to identify the

operations that require sort processing
and about the steps in the sort process.
Let us now learn how to increase the sort
space for a larger sort. Changing the
SORT_AREA_SIZE enables you to
improve database performance for certain
operations.

In this topic you learn how to set the SORT_AREA_SIZE parameter by using
the ALTER SESSION command. You use the SORT_AREA_SIZE
parameter to specify the maximum amount of memory that is used for a sort.
Depending on the size of the operation, you may require a larger
SORT_AREA_SIZE.

Setting Parameters and Sort Areas

The sort space is part of the Program Global Area (PGA). The location of the
PGA, and therefore the sort space, is determined by the type of server
connection being used, either dedicated or multithreaded.

Multithreaded Server Connection

In a Multithreaded Server Connection (MTS), the User Global Area (UGA)

and sort space are in the shared pool of the System Global Area (SGA). The
UGA and Program Global Area (PGA) are separate components. In the case
of MTS, the DBA must increase the shared pool size if an application uses
large sorts. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid requests for large sorts.
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Dedicated Server Connection

When using a dedicated server connection, the UGA and sort space are
stored in the PGA.

SORT_AREA_SIZE: Setting

You set the sort space size with the INIT.ORA parameter,
SORT_AREA_SIZE. The default value of this parameter is operating system
(OS) dependent and adequate for most online transaction processing
(OLTP) operations. You might want to adjust the value for decision support
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system applications, batch jobs, or larger transactions.

The graphic below shows an extract from an INIT.ORA file. The
SORT_AREA_SIZE is set to 65536 bytes.

SORT_AREA_SIZE: Altering

If SORT_AREA_SIZE = 64 K and 10 users are sorting, 10 * 64 K memory is

required for sorting. Increasing the SORT_AREA_SIZE parameter improves
the efficiency of large sorts.
Individual users can alter the size of the SORT_AREA_SIZE for the session
that they are using by using the ALTER SESSION command. However, if
the SORT_AREA_SIZE for the Oracle instance has to be changed, the
ALTER SYSTEM command must be used.
The following pages discuss these commands in detail.
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ALTER SESSION with SORT_AREA_SIZE Syntax

SORT_AREA_SIZE can be set dynamically by using the ALTER SESSION

or ALTER SYSTEM DEFERRED command. The ALTER SESSION
command stays in effect until you disconnect from the database. However,
the ALTER SYSTEM command dynamically alters your Oracle instance. The
settings stay in effect as long as the database is mounted.
ALTER SESSION
SET SORT_AREA_SIZE = <integer>;
ALTER SYSTEM
SET SORT_AREA_SIZE = <integer DEFERRED>;
The DEFERRED keyword sets or modifies the value of the parameter for
future sessions that connect to the database.
Example:
For example, to process a large operation you must dynamically increase
the sort area for the session. The following example sets the
SORT_AREA_SIZE to 128000 bytes.
SQL> ALTER SESSION
2 SET SORT_AREA_SIZE = 128000;
Session altered.
The session was altered by increasing the SORT_AREA_SIZE to 128,000.

ALTER SESSION with SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE

Syntax

When a sort is finished, the sort space still contains sorted rows to be
fetched. You can shrink the sort area to the size specified in the
SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE parameter. This parameter can also be set
dynamically by using the ALTER SESSION or ALTER SYSTEM DEFERRED
command.
ALTER SESSION
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SET SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE = <integer>;

ALTER SYSTEM
SET SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE = <integer DEFERRED>;
The DEFERRED keyword sets or modifies the value of the parameter for
future sessions that connect to the database.
After the last row is fetched from the sort space, the memory is released
back to the UGA, not to the OS. This space is released for reuse by the
same Oracle server process.

ALTER SESSION with

SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE: Example

The default value for the SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE parameter is

equal to the value of the SORT_AREA_SIZE parameter. The example below
displays the usage of an ALTER SESSION command to change the
SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE size. The SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE
is set to 32,000 bytes.
Example:

SQL> ALTER SESSION

2 SET SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE = 32000;
Session altered.

Summary — Sort Areas: Setting Parameters

You have learned how to set the SORT_AREA_SIZE

parameters dynamically by using the ALTER SESSION
command. You have also learned about ALTER SYSTEM
and ALTER SYSTEM DEFFERED commands. This will
help you to increase the sort space for a larger sort.
Changing the SORT_AREA_SIZE enables you to improve
database performance for certain operations.
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Summary — Maximizing Sort Efficiency

In this lesson, you have learned to identify the different

causes for a sort and the sequence of the sort process.
You have also learned to select and set the appropriate
SORT_AREA_SIZE parameter.
Sort Operation-Causes: The operations that require a
sort are:
Index Creation
ORDER BY or GROUP BY Clause
Usage
DISTINCT Keyword Usage
UNION, INTERSECT, and MINUS
Operations
Sort-Merge Operations
Sort Process-Sequence: The steps in the sort process when the work
exceeds SORT_AREA_SIZE and needs more disk work space are:
The data is split into two or more smaller pieces called sort runs. Each
sort run is sorted individually.
The server process first creates the sort runs and then writes the pieces
to temporary segments on the disk. These segments hold intermediate
sort run data while the server works on another sort run.
The server process merges the sorted pieces to produce the result of the
sort.
Sort Areas-Setting Parameters:
You set the sort space size with the INIT.ORA parameter,
SORT_AREA_SIZE.
SORT_AREA_SIZE can be set dynamically by using the ALTER
SESSION or ALTER SYSTEM DEFERRED command.
ALTER SESSION SET SORT_AREA_SIZE = <integer>;
ALTER SYSTEM SET SORT_AREA_SIZE = <integer DEFERRED>;
You can shrink the sort area to the size specified in the
SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE parameter.
ALTER SESSION
SET SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE = <integer> ;
ALTER SYSTEM
SET SORT_AREA_RETAINED_SIZE = <integer DEFERRED>;