CAREER: Quickstep: An Architecture-Conscious Main Memory DBMS

随着内存越来越密集、越来越便宜的趋势，在不久的将来，数据库服务器将拥有更大的主内存配置，并且大量的数据集将驻留在主内存中。在这种配置中，数据库系统的性能受到内存子系统向处理器提供指令和数据的速度的限制。传统的数据存储和查询处理技术被优化为尽量减少对磁盘的访问，并且不能有效地利用处理器缓存，导致查询性能较差。这个研究项目的目标是调查和实验评估，数据存储和查询处理技术，可以有效地利用处理器缓存。该方法包括新颖的数据存储技术，可以增量和透明地调整数据布局，以更好地利用处理器缓存，对传统字母数字数据和更丰富的数据类型（如空间数据）的缓存敏感索引技术，以及缓存敏感的查询评估和调度技术。一个名为Quickstep的原型数据库系统正在开发中，用于实验评估所提出的技术。该项目的结果将产生在数据主要驻留在主存的环境中进行高效查询评估的技术，并可能应用于高性能数据库服务器，为Internet站点和未来的网络路由器提供支持，这些服务器将需要查询处理以提供特定于应用程序的路由服务。这个项目的教育部分旨在介绍研究生数据库课程的材料，让学生了解数据库和建筑技术的新兴融合。这个项目的系统建设工作为培训本科生和研究生在数据库实现和性能评估技术方面提供了一个环境。

With the trend toward denser and cheaper memory, database servers in the near future will have large main memory configurations and a significant number of datasets will reside in main memory. In this configuration, the performance of the database system is limited by how fast the memory subsystem can feed instructions and data to the processor. Traditional data storage and query processing techniques are optimized to minimize access to disks and do not effectively utilize the processor caches, resulting in poor query performance. The goal of this research project is to investigate, and experimentally evaluate, data storage and query processing techniques that can effectively utilize the processor caches. The approach consists of novel data storage techniques that can incrementally and transparently adapt the layout of data to better utilize the processor caches, cache-conscious indexing techniques for both traditional alphanumeric data and richer data types such as spatial data, and cache-conscious query evaluation and scheduling techniques. A prototype database system, called Quickstep, is being developed to experimentally evaluate the proposed techniques. The results of this project will produce techniques for efficient query evaluation in environments where the data is mostly resident in main-memory, with possible application in high-performance database servers powering Internet sites and future network routers that will require query processing for providing application-specific routing services. The education component of this project aims to introduce material in the graduate-level database course to expose students to the emerging confluence of databases and architectural technologies. The systems-building effort of this project provides an environment for training both undergraduate and graduate students in database implementation and performance evaluation techniques.