Patent ID: 7805434

Claim:
A method for evaluating at least one desired setting for a database system comprising: providing at least one configuration derivative including the at least one desired setting, the configuration derivative being uncommitted such that the at least one desired setting is not used in actual operation of the database system; running the database system for a period of time in standard and actual operation of the database system, the period of time greater than a point in time and being sufficient time to allow the database system to operate under a plurality of different conditions of the standard and actual operation, wherein the database system is run using a committed configuration, the committed configuration including a plurality of settings for the database system, at least one of the plurality of settings being different than the at least one desired setting in the configuration derivative; collecting and storing data on performance of the database system based on the at least one configuration derivative during the running of the database system for the period of time, the data related to the at least one configuration derivative, wherein the data is collected based on the at least one configuration derivative as a background process during the running of the database system in the actual operation, the actual operation using the committed configuration, the collecting the data being performed during an operation under the plurality of different conditions of the standard and actual operation; and analyzing the data to evaluate a performance of the configuration derivative as an alternate configuration to the committed configuration for the running of the database system in the actual operation, the evaluation occurring prior to committing the configuration derivative, the analyzing the data including using the data collected during the different conditions of the standard and actual operation and indicating how the configuration derivative performs under the different conditions of the standard and actual operation, wherein the at least one desired setting includes at least one materialized query table for the database system or at least one index and wherein the collecting further includes at least one of determining whether the at least one materialized query table is utilized during the actual operation of the database system over the period of time or determining a number of times the at least one index is used during the actual operation of the database system.