Main Buffer Cache Activity Message

The main buffer cache activity message displays information about the IQ main store buffer cache.

This line in the IQ message log (.iqmsg file) displays information about the IQ main store buffer cache:

Main      I: L331224/P22 O: D25967/P7805 C:D0
IQ Main Store Buffer Cache Message

Item

Description

Main: I: L#

Number of logical file reads.

P#

Number of physical file reads.

O: D#

Number of times a buffer was destroyed.

P#

Number of physical writes.

C: D#

Buffer manager data compression ratio. This is the total number of bytes eligible for compression, minus the number of bytes used after compression, divided by total number of bytes eligible for compression times 100. In other words, how much data has been compressed (what percentage it is of its uncompressed size). The larger the number, the better. Only certain data blocks are eligible for compression. Eligible blocks include indexes, (90-95% of a database) and sort sets. The sort reflects only data compression techniques used by the buffer manager. Other data compression may take place before data reaches the buffer manager, so the total data compression may be higher.

In general, assuming the buffer cache is full, you should have between 10 and 1000 logical reads per physical read. A lower value indicates excessive thrashing in the buffer manager. More than 1000 times larger can indicate that you may have allocated too much memory to your buffer cache.