Let me tell you in very simple words.
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In AWS, IOPS is a standard measure that stands for Input/Output Operations Per Second. It measures how fast a storage device can handle both read and write operations.
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It’s an important metric for storage performance, especially for databases like Oracle, which can have varying levels of I/O demand depending on the workload.
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Knowing your peak IOPS is crucial for good performance under heavy load when migrating an Oracle database to AWS. You can provision Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store) volumes based on this peak IOPS to ensure the database performs well, even when busy.
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However, if you make a provision based on the average IOPS, performance might drop during peak times. Using Amazon EBS gp2 volumes can help, as they allow short bursts to handle higher IOPS needs.
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Many businesses overestimate their IOPS needs, often due to confusion between storage system IOPS and database IOPS. For typical databases, IOPS needs range widely:
- Enterprise Databases (like ERP or CRM): Around 3,000–30,000 IOPS.
- OLTP Systems : Sometimes up to 60,000 IOPS.
- Test Environments: Generally need only 200–2,000 IOPS.
If your database’s IOPS needs to go beyond these typical ranges, it’s worth analyzing further to confirm.
Want to learn more about Amazon Elastic Block Store? Click here for the full tutorial on everything you need to know about EBS!