New in 11g

An interesting new parameter in 11g for the EM Packs:

In Oracle Database 11g, you need to set the initialization parameter 'control_management_pack_access' to disable
or enable Database Diagnostic and Tuning Packs.

These are the presentations for EM in Oracle Open World 2007.

Open World 2007 Enterprise Manager Presentations

Quite informative, especially the RAC deployment presentation:

"Automating Oracle RAC Deployment and Patching
on Dell PowerEdge Servers, using Oracle Enterprise Manager
Provisioning Pack"

Using Oracle Enterprise Linux for Grid Control

Last week a colleague asked me what was the best platform to install Enterprise Manager Grid Control. He wanted to install everything on 1 server since it was only going to manage about 20 targets. Then he suggested he would get a Windows server.

Well, I have personally installed Grid Control on Windows (as also on Solaris, Aix and Red Hat Linux) and it works fine on all these platforms. However, when Oracle supplies Oracle Enterprise Linux as a FREE distribution, the only cost being support (which is less than the support cost of other commerical Linux Distros), then what's the point in getting any other op system?

Just get the Oracle Free Distro of Enterprise Linux (which is equivalent to Red Hat Release 5) and install Grid Control on top of that. You get savings instantly because you are not paying the initial licence fee. And you get ONE support point for both Oracle and Linux, which is Oracle's Worldwide Support.

That got me thinking about why Oracle is giving out Enterprise Linix for free. Personally I feel Oracle is doing this for a very noble reason, to make sure Linux Distros that are certified fully with Oracle, stay very affordable. Oracle is doing this to support the Linux OS in the commerical world, and I feel the Linux community would be grateful.

Interesting links on your Grid Control Home page

How do you find the exact version of Grid Control installed at your site? A lot of clients ask that question.

The answer is quite simple. Go to the Grid Control Home page at your site. There is a link at the bottom of the home page:

About Oracle Enterprise Manager

Click on this link. It takes you to a new page where your installed version of Grid Control is shown. For example, in our case it is:

Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Release 4 Grid Control 10.2.0.4.0

There is another interesting link on this page:

Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Release 4 Grid Control License Information

If you go to this link, you will be taken to a page with a list of all the EM packs available, and a detailed description of each. So if you ever wanted to know what the Data Masking pack is all about, this is where to look.

EM Packs and Plug-Ins

Many people do not realize how powerful Enterprise Manager Grid Control
has become, with the ability to monitor and manage almost anything. This
is done via Enterprise Manager Packs and Plug-Ins.

These are the main licensable packs for Grid Control, ie, using these
packs needs a licence fee, most people pay per processor:

• Diagnostic Pack
• Tuning Pack
• Provisioning Pack
• Change Management Pack
• Configuration Management Pack
• Data Masking Pack

Most of the Dbas using Grid Control may have used the Diagnostic Pack and
Tuning Pack that are the most commonly used packs for performance issues.
Some of these packs can be used for the database, application server as
well as other infrastructure, for eg, the diagnostic pack.

A number of Dbas may also have used the Provisioning pack, which is used for
patch application, Oracle software cloning, RAC provisioning. The Change
management pack has also been used by some Dbas for comparing
schemas, databases, and dictionary baselines.

The Configuration Management Pack and Data Masking Pack are quite new,
we would love to hear from Dbas who have used these and what their
experience is.

Other packs available for Grid Control are:

• Diagnostic Pack for non-Oracle middleware
• Oracle Linux Management Pack
• SOA Managment Pack
• Identity Management Pack
• Service Level Management Pack
• Business Intelligence Management Pack
• Management Pack for E-Business Suite
• Management Pack for Peoplesoft Enterprise
• Management Pack for Siebel

Then there are a host of Plug-Ins for the Netapps Filer, EMC Clarion, EMC Symmetrix DMX, MS Exchange Server, BEA Weblogic, MS Sql Server, IBM Websphere and so on.

Full details are on http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/oem/datasheets.html