System and method for predicting execution time of a database utility command

An apparatus for predicting the time required to execute a database command, comprising:

• a historical record module having recorded therein a plurality of measurements of execution times of the database command wherein the database command is a database utility command;
• an analysis module coupled to the historical record module and configured to analyze the measurements recorded in the historical record module by selecting a historical record for analysis based upon one or more of the following:
• a) the database utility command;
• b) an option specified with a previously executed instance of the database utility command;
• c) the time that the previously executed instance of the database utility command was executed;
• d) the day that the previously executed instance of the database utility command was executed;
• e) a processor load on a machine executing a previously executed instance of the database utility command;
• and
• f) a storage access load on a machine executing a previously executed instance of the database utility command;
• and
• a utility scheduling module configured to determine whether to execute the database command based on an analysis of the database command measurements.

An apparatus for predicting a time for executing a database command, comprising:

• means for measuring a time to complete the database command wherein the database command is a database utility command;
• means for recording the measured time, thereby creating a time historical record;
• and
• means for analyzing the time historical record to estimate the time required to execute the database utility command by selecting a historical record for analysis based upon one or more of the following:
• a) the database utility command;
• b) an option specified with a previously executed instance of the database utility command;
• c) the time that the previously executed instance of the database utility command was executed;
• d) the day that the previously executed instance of the database utility command was executed;
• e) a processor load on a machine executing a previously executed instance of the database utility command;
• and
• f) a storage access load on a machine executing a previously executed instance of the database utility command.

A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for predicting a time for executing a database command, comprising:

• program instructions for measuring a time to complete execution of the database command wherein the database command is a database utility command;
• program instructions for recording the measured time, thereby creating a time historical record;
• and
• program instructions for analyzing the time historical record to estimate the time required to execute the database utility command by selecting a historical record for analysis based upon one or more of the following:
• a) the database utility command;
• b) an option specified with a previously executed instance of the database utility command;
• c) the time that the previously executed instance of the database utility command was executed;
• d) the day that the previously executed instance of the database utility command was executed;
• e) a processor load on a machine executing a previously executed instance of the database utility command;
• and
• f) a storage access load on a machine executing a previously executed instance of the database utility command.

A method for predicting the time required to execute a database command, comprising:

• measuring a plurality of execution times to complete the database command wherein the database command is a database utility command;
• recording the measured execution times, thereby creating a time historical record;
• using the time historical record to estimate the time required to execute the database command by selecting a historical record for analysis based upon one or more of the following:
• a) the database utility command;
• b) an option specified with a previously executed instance of the database utility command;
• c) the time that the previously executed instance of the database utility command was executed;
• d) the day that the previously executed instance of the database utility command was executed;
• e) a processor load on a machine executing a previously executed instance of the database utility command;
• and
• f) a storage access load on a machine executing a previously executed instance of the database utility command;
• wherein said database command is a command for which a time required to execute has been estimated, the method further comprising:
• editing the database command;
• analyzing the time historical record using a statistical analysis technique to generate an estimate of the time required to execute the edited database command.