* Operating System Performance Analysis: Start this section with a one- or two-sentence summary of the operating system performance analysis. This section contains details about only the operating system bottleneck. Unless these areas are specifically specified to be out of scope, make sure to investigate the CPU, memory, IO, and network subsystems. I usually include many screen shots and raw command output in this section. The more raw, relevant, and accurate the output, the more trust you will receive from the operating system team.

When I start any performance analysis, I begin with a blank document, with the exception of the section headings listed in the previous section and shown in Figure 1-2. Here, I perform a detailed analysis on each circle, copying and pasting, making notes, and slowly and iteratively cleaning up the document. I usually start with the Oracle analysis, as that guides me to what kind of SQL I'm looking for and what to expect from the operating system. But, honestly, sometimes I start with the operating system.

When I first perform my analysis, while the overall structure is set, the document is essentially a scratch pad. Sure, it's full of report output and technical details, but it also contains comments, ideas, and offhand remarks. These are meant for my eyes only, as they contain undeveloped, untested, and miscellaneous ideas. I will never show this raw document to management. Only when I have a chance to back off a bit and rest, and then make a second pass will I allow anyone other than the DBAs to view my work.