Single block reads

When a “cache read” tablescan (or index fast full scan) takes place we generally expect to see waits on “db file scattered read” as Oracle performs multi-block reads to do the scan. But we all know that Oracle will skip over blocks that are already in the cache and can therefore end up doing multi-block reads of many different sizes, even down to the point where it does single block reads (waiting for “db file sequential read”).

A quirky little question came up on OTN a little while ago: “for a large table we expect multiblock reads to be positioned at the end of the LRU for prompt re-use; but when Oracle does a single block read as part of a tablescan does it go to the end of the LRU (because it’s part of a large tablescan) or does it go to the mid-point of the LRU (because it’s a single block read)?”

The description of how blocks are treated in a tablescan has been simplified, of course, but the question is still valid – so what’s the answer, and how (without going into an extreme level of detail) would you demonstrate it ?

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3. Serial direct path reads in 11GR2 and Exadata environments
4. Advanced Oracle Troubleshooting Guide – Part 10: Index unique scan doing multiblock reads?!
5. In-memory PQ and physical reads
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8. When do Oracle Parallel Execution Slaves issue buffered physical reads – Part 2?
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