Some types of database operation generate extremely busy client/server communications. This can be expecially true when general-purpose reporting tools are deployed directly to users. Not only can performance of the solution disappoint, but there may be adverse impact on established system operations.

Modern tools for EIS, analysis and reporting, may offer little opportunity for review or optimisation of data access methods. Generic query builders may not generate the best-performing SQL, while some ODBC interfaces may not even permit some constructions that could provide better performance ('if exists' is a common example). The effects of this are usually hidden in a head office LAN environment, where all networking is local. But try to deploy the solutions to other offices and performance could disappoint.

SMH Systems are experts in analysing and explaining performance problems - please refer to Client-Server Networks and to the several Case Studies for Oracle and other relational databases. We can also develop traffic models to predict the performance of a solution that you may be planning,