Since we installed ArcGIS 10.1, we have been experiencing extreme performance issues. We couldn't prove it just by panning and zooming so I had to create a comparison charts to compare different environments.
We managed to do several testing on the speed of ArcGIS Desktop layer loading between several geodatabase, compared Different Clients (10, 10.1 SP1) vs Oracle and SQL Server. The hardware is relatively the same 16 GB RAM with 8 Core CPU running on Windows 2008 R2 SP1. That is except for the SQL Server DB which is running on 8 GB Windows 2008 R2 SP1. These have exactly the same configurations.
The log file below shows only loading the a set data set with a geometric network
Scenario A: From Client ArcMap 10.1 to 10.1 Database (Oracle 11g)
[ 1 ] About to add WaterDistributionDataSet
[ 1 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 2 ] About to set the source of WaterDistributionDataSet
[ 2 ] About to get the feature class object WaterDistGeomNetwork_Junctions
[ 2 ] finished in 11 seconds
[ 3 ] About to get the feature class object SystemValve
[ 3 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 4 ] About to get the feature class object AirValve
[ 4 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 5 ] About to get the feature class object ServiceValve
[ 5 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 6 ] About to get the feature class object FlowControlValve
[ 6 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 7 ] About to get the feature class object PressureReliefValve
[ 7 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 8 ] About to get the feature class object Fitting
[ 8 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 9 ] About to get the feature class object Junction
[ 9 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 10 ] About to get the feature class object Hydrant
[ 10 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 11 ] About to get the feature class object Pump
[ 11 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 12 ] About to get the feature class object WServicePoint
[ 12 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 13 ] About to get the feature class object Meter
[ 13 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 14 ] About to get the feature class object Tank
[ 14 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
Scenario B: From Client ArcMap 10.1 to 10 Database (Oracle 11g)
[ 1 ] About to add WaterDistributionDataSet
[ 1 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 2 ] About to set the source of WaterDistributionDataSet
[ 2 ] About to get the feature class object WaterDistGeomNetwork_Junctions
[ 2 ] finished in 13.4 seconds
[ 3 ] About to get the feature class object SystemValve
[ 3 ] finished in 0.7 seconds
[ 4 ] About to get the feature class object AirValve
[ 4 ] finished in 0.7 seconds
[ 5 ] About to get the feature class object ServiceValve
[ 5 ] finished in 0.7 seconds
[ 6 ] About to get the feature class object FlowControlValve
[ 6 ] finished in 0.7 seconds
[ 7 ] About to get the feature class object PressureReliefValve
[ 7 ] finished in 0.8 seconds
[ 8 ] About to get the feature class object Fitting
[ 8 ] finished in 0.8 seconds
[ 9 ] About to get the feature class object Junction
[ 9 ] finished in 0.7 seconds
[ 10 ] About to get the feature class object Hydrant
[ 10 ] finished in 0.7 seconds
[ 11 ] About to get the feature class object Pump
[ 11 ] finished in 1.5 seconds
[ 12 ] About to get the feature class object WServicePoint
[ 12 ] finished in 0.7 seconds
[ 13 ] About to get the feature class object Meter
[ 13 ] finished in 0.7 seconds
[ 14 ] About to get the feature class object Tank
[ 14 ] finished in 0.7 seconds
Scenario C: From Client ArcMap 10 to 10.1 Database (Oracle 11g)
[ 1 ] About to add WaterDistributionDataSet
[ 1 ] finished in 0 seconds
[ 2 ] About to set the source of WaterDistributionDataSet
[ 2 ] About to get the feature class object WaterDistGeomNetwork_Junctions
[ 2 ] finished in 1.9 seconds
[ 3 ] About to get the feature class object SystemValve
[ 3 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 4 ] About to get the feature class object AirValve
[ 4 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 5 ] About to get the feature class object ServiceValve
[ 5 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 6 ] About to get the feature class object FlowControlValve
[ 6 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 7 ] About to get the feature class object PressureReliefValve
[ 7 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 8 ] About to get the feature class object Fitting
[ 8 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 9 ] About to get the feature class object Junction
[ 9 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 10 ] About to get the feature class object Hydrant
[ 10 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 11 ] About to get the feature class object Pump
[ 11 ] finished in 0.3 seconds
[ 12 ] About to get the feature class object WServicePoint
[ 12 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 13 ] About to get the feature class object Meter
[ 13 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 14 ] About to get the feature class object Tank
[ 14 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
Scenario D: From Client ArcMap 10.1 to 10.1 Database (SQL Server 2008 R2) [Virtual Machine]
[ 1 ] About to add WaterDistributionDataSet
[ 1 ] finished in 0.1 seconds
[ 2 ] About to set the source of WaterDistributionDataSet
[ 2 ] About to get the feature class object WaterDistGeomNetwork_Junctions
[ 2 ] finished in 1.5 seconds
[ 3 ] About to get the feature class object SystemValve
[ 3 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 4 ] About to get the feature class object AirValve
[ 4 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 5 ] About to get the feature class object ServiceValve
[ 5 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 6 ] About to get the feature class object FlowControlValve
[ 6 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 7 ] About to get the feature class object PressureReliefValve
[ 7 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 8 ] About to get the feature class object Fitting
[ 8 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 9 ] About to get the feature class object Junction
[ 9 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 10 ] About to get the feature class object Hydrant
[ 10 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 11 ] About to get the feature class object Pump
[ 11 ] finished in 0.3 seconds
[ 12 ] About to get the feature class object WServicePoint
[ 12 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 13 ] About to get the feature class object Meter
[ 13 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
[ 14 ] About to get the feature class object Tank
[ 14 ] finished in 0.2 seconds
Notice that surprisingly SQL Server while on a virtual machine scored the best performance more than 80% of the 10.1 configuration. This depends on so many factors and configuration but apparently it proves that there is something fishy with 10.1 and Oracle. I would recommend using SQL Server since it complies much better with ESRI technology.
