5.2

The Standard Work Unit

Abstract

Standard work unit. The key to satisfactory online transaction performance is the standard work unit. The SWU mandates that every transaction be small and uniform in size. The SWU is understood in terms of an hourglass. The flow of sand in an hourglass is fast when only grains of sand are allowed to pass through the center of the hourglass. When a pebble is mixed with the grains of sand, the flow is slow and irregular. Another appropriate analogy is that of a racetrack. The cars on the racetrack achieve a very high rate of speed. But when dump trucks are allowed on the racetrack, the average speed for everyone greatly slows down. If you want to achieve high performance you must recognize that the system ...

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