A high buffer cache hit ratio typically indicates that the database is effectively using the buffer cache and does not often need to read data from disk. However, this metric alone is not a reliable indicator of the I/O performance of the database for several reasons:
* Full table scans and fast full index scans (A) can bypass the buffer cache by design if the blocks are not
* deemed reusable shortly, which can impact the cache hit ratio.
* A high cache hit ratio (B) can be misleading if the database performance is poor due to other factors, such as inefficient queries or contention issues.
* The buffer cache advisory (C) is a more valuable tool for understanding the potential impact of different cache sizes on the database's I/O performance. It simulates scenarios with different cache sizes and provides a more targeted recommendation.
* The RECYCLE and KEEP buffer caches (D) are specialized caches designed for certain scenarios.
While high hit ratios can be beneficial, they are not universally required; some workloads might not be significantly impacted by lower hit ratios in these caches.
* A lower cache hit ratio (E) does not necessarily mean poor I/O performance. In some cases, a system with a well-designed storage subsystem and efficient queries might perform well even with a lower cache hit ratio.
References
* Oracle Database 19c Performance Tuning Guide - Buffer Cache Hit Ratio
* Oracle Database 19c Performance Tuning Guide - v$db_cache_advice