Questions and Answers from Oracle Webinar: Simplify Database Lifecycle Management with Oracle

Dear Friends,

On March 21st, the ancient New Year or Navroz day for many countries on our planet that celebrates the spring equinox as the auspicious start of the year, I was the speaker at an Oracle Webinar "Simplify Database Lifecycle Management with Oracle".

The webinar was very well received, with 140+ registrations and 95 attendees on the day and time itself. There were a number of good questions asked at the end of the webinar, and as per my usual practice, I am posting the answers on the blog for the reference of everyone. Enjoy!!

Question:
Is an out of place upgrade of grid control OMS possible from 11g to 12c?

Answer:
Yes, this is possible. Please refer to the upgrade methods described in the Cloud Control Upgrade Guide http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/upgrade.121/e22625/overview_upg_approaches.htm#CJAHJGJI

Question:
I was told that 12c OMS will support only targets where 12.1.0.1 agent is installed. Is this correct? If so, does this agent version can monitor 9i databases?

Answer:
Yes, 12c OMS will only support 12c agents. It cannot talk to 11g agents. This is because the agent has been revamped to a modular architecture. For eg. even a database plug-in needs to be deployed now to an agent running on a database server, previously this was in-built. So now it is easier to deploy a new db plug-in. for eg when the 12c db comes along.  Regarding the target db version, yes, the 12c agent with the db plug-in can manage 9i, 10g, 11g databases.

Question:
It is interesting to know about EM 12c, but ERP like SAP does not have this features in built for the only reason could be Licenses, or limiting functionality given by Oracle so that we are only limited with features provided by SAP only.

Answer:
Certain EM Packs can be used depending on the SAP license you have. I would suggest to speak with your local SAP representative.

Question:
Question related to licensing: We are using Oracle RAC Standard Edition and DbConsole. To what extent (excluding the additional OEM license packs) are we entitled to use the OEM 12c?

Answer:
Configuration of metric thresholds and viewing alerts in the console are part of base EM. This is known as basic monitoring, you can use that. However since since you can't use/license the packs with standard one edition, you can't use pack features such as notifications.  Neither can you use the advanced features such as configuration management, EM patching provisioning, change management, or tuning. You can see the features in each pack at http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/license.121/e24474/ch2_db_mgmt.htm

Question:
Can I have multiple Gold image at different instance of time?

Answer:
Yes, definitely. You can have multiple Gold images at any time. Suppose you had a Gold image created 3 months ago with an older CPU (critical patch update), you can now create a second one with the new CPU. Likewise, you can have a Gold image for a 10g database, or 11.1, or 11.2, and also gold images for different operating systems, eg. different ones for Linux, Solaris, AIX, etc.

Question:
Hi Porus, does EM 12c has the facility to tune the parameter? What about the static parameter.

Answer:
With the Diagnostics/Tuning Pack licence, when you run ADDM and the Tuning/Access advisors, advice is given on how to best tune your system and your SQL. This will include some of the init parameters for eg. cursor_sharing, the memory parameters, optimizer parameters, etc. Would recommend trying it out.

Question:
How can we provision the golden database in EM and use that for deployments

Answer:
You mean the Gold Copy. It is possible to take a reference database system, and create a Provisioning Profile from that. The Profile can then be used as input by the Provisioning Designer when he/she launches a deployment procedure to create a single-instance or RAC database, and then locks down the inputs, saving the procedure and publishing it to a Provisioning Operator. The operator is then able to use the locked down procedure to create new database installations and new databases either for single-instance or RAC. This requires the licence of the Database Lifecycle Management pack (DBLM).

Question:
Please share the upgrade methodology of 11g Grid to 12c Grid

Answer:
There are two methods, the one-system approach or the two-system approach. You can upgrade from EM10g or 11g to EM12c. Please read the Upgrade Guide http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/upgrade.121/e22625/toc.htm for further details.

Question:
Honestly, I would liked to see 12c 3-4 years back. Does Oracle have R&D dept and what can be delivered? R&D must be present, but how much investment to come up with market demand? like SAP.

Answer:
EM 12c builds on the experience of EM 10g and 11g. I have been using EM since the PC-based days of Oracle Server Manager in the 1990s and I would say it has definitely got better. There is no tool in the market that can do everything. Oracle technology is very complex and Oracle EM is the best to manage the Oracle stack.

Question:
Do you have any plugin for big data appliances.

Answer:
No EM12c plug-in exists for Big Data yet. However, as far as I am aware, the Big Data Appliance is using the X4270M2, Oracle Linux, and an application stack made of hadoop, java, nosql, R, connectors, HDFS.  Enterprise Manager Ops Center comes out of the box ready to help with the hardware and OS part of the stack. If you want to do configuration management, Enterprise Manager has a highly extensible configuration framework to capture configurations and retain a history of configuration changes.

EM also has a provisioning framework that can be used to generically provision applications. There is also an extensible user defined metric capability (UDM) that can be used to capture and alarm value matches.
These capabilities can be used to monitor and manage Big Data today. You can also use Cloudera Manager to monitor the Hadoop stack.

Question:
What are the steps to clone agent ?

Answer:
Please refer to the chapter ""Cloning Oracle Management Agent"" in the Cloud Control Advanced Installation and Configuration Guide. The link is:
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/install.121/e24089/clone_agent.htm

Question:
Hi I got few questions, it would be better if you could clarify me on these areas
1) OEM 12c Doesn't require and agents running on each target?
2) Will it support the targets on different time zones?
3) What about the Oracle Inventory status while cloning

Answer to Question 1:
To have fully managed targets, the 12c agents need to be installed. In initial discovery, you can use an IP scan in EM to find targets and probable software running on them, this is done via IMAP protocol. Then, you need to promote these targets from unmanaged to managed, this deploys the agent.
Note that you can have a shared agent - refer to http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/install.121/e24089/install_agent_usng_shrd_hm.htm#CACHFCGE which is in the Cloud Control Advanced Installation and Configuration Guide. This chapter describes how you can install a Shared Agent with the help of a central, shared Oracle home location of an existing Oracle Management Agent (Management Agent) that is installed on an NFS-mounted drive.

Answer to Question 2:
Yes, you can have management agents in different time zones. The Managemet Agent uses the time zone set in emd.properties file. Resetting the time zone for an agent is explained in http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/doc.121/e24473/emctl.htm#BABJAJGF which is the Cloud Control Administrator's Guide.

Answer to Question 3:
Yes, the Oracle inventory will be updated on the target server when cloning. This is Oracle who has written the deployment procedure so they are aware of what needs to be done in the Oracle inventory, most definitely.

Question:
It is possible to Add new RAC node through EM?

Answer:
Yes, you can extend a RAC cluster and add a new RAC node via EM. Please see http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/em.121/e27046/prov_extend_racdb.htm#CHDCCJDA which is ""Extending Oracle Real Application Clusters"" in the Oracle Enterprise Manager Lifecycle Management Administrator's Guide 12c .

Question:
Can we configure DB replication using EM ?

Answer:
Yes. This is a part of the base database management features of Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c. You can configure and manage movement of data between databases using features such streams, replication, data pump. Please see http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/license.121/e24474/ch11_base_functionality.htm

Question:
Regarding agentless discovery. How does OEM know that particular server is the one I need to do discovery on? Should we need to give the IP or server name?

Answer:
Yes, IP scan requires the IP address or range of IP addresses. This uses the NMAP protocol.

Question:
Can u please brief us on Licencing of 12c EM

Answer:
You can install EM12c on a separate server(s) for free, there is no cost for the Oracle database or OMS software on the EM servers provided you dont use the EM database for any other application.
If you use Data Guard or RAC for the EM database, then the EE license and RAC licence is payable.

The base installation of Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c includes several features free of charge WITH the purchase of ANY Oracle software license or Support contract.

The release of EM 12c makes several licensing changes. Some features that were part of licensed packs are now included in the base functionality. Please look at this chapter http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/license.121/e24474/ch11_base_functionality.htm in the Licensing Information 12c guide, which outlines the list of features that are included with the base functionality of Oracle Enterprise Manager.

Anything beyond those features is payable. Look at http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/license.121/e24474/ch2_db_mgmt.htm#BABGAFHD for the Enterprise Database Management licences. This chapter explains the database packs like Diagnostics, Tuning, Lifecycle Management, Data Masking, and so on. This guide "Oracle Enterprise Manager Licensing Information" on http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/license.121/e24474/toc.htm is good enough.

Question:
Can we configure & monitor Oracle EBS Sevices & processes on OEM?

Answer:
Yes, definitely.  You can use the Enterprise Manager Application Management Suite (AMS) for E-Business to monitor and manage E-Business, including cloning, patch management and customization management. For further information please see the white paper I wrote "Managing Oracle Applications with Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g" http://www.oracle.com/us/products/enterprise-manager/managing-oracle-apps-404877.pdf

Question:
Does this integrate with SQL Developer Data Modeler for capturing changes from base system?

Answer:
A change plan can be created by the developer in SQL Developer, who then submits it, which the DBA can then access in Enterprise Manager 12c, approve, and synchronize another database with that change plan for eg. the developer can make changes on development, put the changes in a change plan, and the DBA can approve and apply on a test database, followed by production later. Please see section 1.15 Change Manager Support in SQL Developer in the Oracle SQL Developer User's Guide at http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E25259_01/appdev.31/e24285.pdf

Question:
Benifits of agent cloning?

Answer:
Benefits are obvious. If you want to install an additional Management Agent that is identical to the existing well-tested, pre-patched, and running Management Agent, then the best option is to clone the existing instance. This saves time and effort in patching a fresh installation all over again and bringing it to the current state. Please refer to the chapter ""Cloning Oracle Management Agent"" in the Cloud Control Advanced Installation and Configuration Guide. The link is:
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/install.121/e24089/clone_agent.htm

Question:
SAP sometime does not recognize the schema provided by Oracle directly. So when you install Oracle for SAP, EM does not come along with it.

Answer:
Certain EM Packs can be used depending on the SAP license you have. I would suggest to speak with your local SAP representative.

Question:
Will Oracle support for this free basic tool?

Answer:
Oracle EM Base licence for basic monitoring and basic database management is only free if you have purchased some Oracle software licence and support. For eg. say there is an Oracle Database Enterprise Edition in your company, it has been purchased and you have the support license purchased too per year (that is the only way you can upgrade to new versions and get patches from Oracle). Then, you can call Oracle Support and also ask them to help with basic EM issues to do with basic monitoring and basic database management. IF you dont have a support contract all all, you cannot do this since you wouldnt have a CSI number in the first place.

Question:
Where can I see the list of features for which I have paid the licences?

Answer:
Certain things are free, look at the earlier answer in this post for the Licensing question. If you have paid licenses for packs like Diagnostics, Tuning, etc, because Oracle products have never had a licence key, there is no way you can check inside the product. You need to ask your Oracle sales representative as to what licences your company has purchased.

Question:
Is golden gate replication managed by EM?

Answer:
The Oracle Golden Gate (OGG) plug-in for Em 12c will be released in the near future. However, there is an existing "management pack" for OGG that you can use. Please see the pdf on http://www.oracle.com/us/products/middleware/data-integration/goldengate/059449.pdf
This will help you to monitor and manage OGG. However this is not EM but a separate product.

Question:
As per today webcast patch cloning possible through cloned oracle home ... basically my question how does that work ..

Answer:
This is known as "out of place" patching. Basically you select a patch or multiple patches into a patch plan, and say you want out of place patching. You then have to specify a new Oracle Home on the target server. When you deploy the patches, Oracle Enterprise Manager first clones the existing home, makes a copy of it, and then patches the copy. During this time, there is no downtime. When you schedule the last stage, EM will shut the database, switch it to the new home and start it from the new home, and run the post-patch SQL on the database. This reduces downtime. However, space is required for the cloned homes.

Question:
Can we upgrade EM 12c from EM 10g Rel2?

Answer:
Yes, the database version must be 10.2.0.4 or above for upgrade to 11.2.0.1 and 11.2.0.2. Please see ""Upgrading Databases"" http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/em.121/e27046/upgrade_db.htm#CHDJGJJC in the  Lifecycle Management Administrator's Guide for 12c.

Question:
Our Organization is trying to deploy on 10g for its Microfinance business, which one is most suitable ot us in terms of technology and price and Technology

Answer:
I would recommend Oracle Enterprise Edition 11.2 and not 10g. Always use the latest version, it continues in support longer. Older versions eventually need to pay extended support if they are not upgraded, and older versions will run into this scenario sooner than the newer versions.

Question:
How does EM 12c compare with VMware tools? How about Oracle VM versus VMWare?

Answer:
EM 12c is able to manage the Oracle stack much more deeply than any other product. In the EMC VMware world, they can monitor a Vmware machine but only at the machine level - the products used may be unaware of the internal state of the Oracle database inside the machine. Whereas, Oracle EM can fully manage Oracle Databases on our supported and certified Oracle VM hypervisor product.

Regarding VMware, see Metalink Note 249212.1 – “Oracle Support Policy Regarding VMware”, which states, “"Oracle has not certified any Oracle Software on VMware virtualized environments”. On the other hand, Oracle has announced certification of key Oracle products including Oracle Database, Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle Applications, and Oracle Real Application Clusters with Oracle VM Server for x86.

Oracle EM provides integrated management of the physical and virtual infrastructure whereas VMware’s management is primarily for the virtual infrastructure with very limited capabilities for the rest of the IT stack. Oracle VM is less costly and is more performant (less overhead) than VMware. Oracle VM 3.0 is four times more scalable than the latest VMware offering, supporting up to 128 virtual CPUs per virtual machine, at a fraction of the cost. When compared to VMware vSphere5 running Red Hat Enterprise Linux guest VMs, Oracle VM 3.0 running Oracle Linux guest VMs is four times less expensive. Oracle VM is free to download, has zero license cost, and affordable, enterprise-quality support is offered through a simple subscription model per server.

Question:
What is the architecture used for large installations of Enterprise Manager?

Answer:
When used for thousands of targets, you can use multiple management services fronted by a load balancer and back-ended by a repository database server which may or may not be a clustered RAC database. So the architecture is fully scalable.

Question:
Is it possible to set up Data Guard using Enterprise Manager?

Answer:
Yes, of course. This and other DBA tasks, like setting up RMAN backups, can be simplified and automated by simply answering wizard questions. Time savings are enormous.

Question:
Can you compare as well as synchronize reference data using the change management capabilities of DBLM?

Answer:
Yes, but only data comparison can currently be done via the Enterprise Manager console. Data synchronization can only be done via the command line i.e. using the DBMS_COMPARISON package.

Question:
Can you perform auto discovery on a range of IP addresses behind a firewall?

Answer:
Yes, but you need to use an agent for the auto discovery which is also behind the same firewall.

Question:
Is it possible to patch the Oracle RAC databases on Exadata using out of place patching?

Answer:
Absolutely yes, however regular RAC databases are not supported for out of place patching at this point.

Question:
Is there a master note for Installation of Enterprise Manager 12c?

Answer:
Yes, please see this document in My Oracle Support (MOS):
Master Index for Cloud Control Oracle Management Service (OMS) and Repository Installation, Upgrade and Patching [ID 1363769.1]

Regards,

Porus.

Popular Webinar

Looks this was a very popular EM webinar.

There were 434 people registered for the Webcast out of whom 169 attended.

Since the live event 90 people have watched the on demand version of the Webcast. And this number is growing.

And many, many questions were asked (see the previous blog post) showing the growing interest among DBAs for Enterprise Manager technology.

Thanks to all who attended, those who watched the on demand version, and all my readers.

Regards,

Porus.

Favourite questions and answers from the EM webinar

Here are some favourite questions and answers from the EM webinar,

the answers may benefit all of you. I have put the most interesting

questions at the top.

Q. Is Oracle Enterprise Manager a licensed Product?

A. Base EM Grid Control software is free, you can install EM Grid Control on a separate server,

and then put EM agents on your target servers and start basic monitoring. When you start using the EM Packs like Diagnostics/Tuning/Config. Mgt/Change Mgt/Provisioning and Patch Automation Pack etc, you pay the licence fee per target server you use it on. For the cost please contact your local sales rep.

Regarding the difference between what is considered the licensable advanced monitoring (as opposed to basic monitoring), you can refer to the following link http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E11857_01/license.111/e11987/database_management.htm#sthref12

for an idea of the features in each pack. If you use any of these features, you need the licence.

Another method to find out which pack is required is to use the + link at the bottom of the EM console, this shows what packs are required on each page.

Q. Can you give a noteID for us to follow on how to install the Oracle Enterprise managment?

A. Please see Master Note for Grid Control 11.1.0.1.0 Installation and Upgrade [ID 1067438.1], this is on My Oracle Support.

Q. How much impact is on performance if standalone Oracle Enterprise Manager

Database Control Console is running on the Database Server machine?

A. There is an impact since after all it is a JVM application running on

your database server, and as per the old rule, database servers should

not have applications on them. I recommend instead using Grid Control on

a separate non-Exadata machine and just putting agents on your Exadata

database servers.

Q. What is SQL Profile, is it a separate pack? Do we need to purchase

or is it in built with Oracle Enterprise Edition?

A. SQL Profile is a feature of the EM Tuning Pack, so you need to purchase

the Tuning Pack. You also need to get the Diagnostics pack which works to

find issues first. These packs are not included in the Oracle Enterprise

Edition database licence.

Q. In EM 10g, all components of Enterprise Manager Grid Control are bundled.

But in EM 11gR1, we need to install Oracle Database, WebLogic Server and Grid Control

separately. What is Oracle's philosophy behind this new installation scenario?

Please explain.

A. In EM 10g, database software was bundled but was often behind the current

version, for eg. 10.1 was used as the bundled database version. Serious production

users never used the budnled version since they wanted to use the more recent

database version which was better all around. So the decision was taken to

remove the bundled database software so there is no version lag issue.

Likewise for the application server software.

Q. Where can I get the Forrester report on OEM ROI ?

A. Go to http://www.oracle.com/oms/enterprisemanager11g and click on economic benefits.

Q. Where can we get the Installers for Oracle Enterprise Management?

A. From http://technet.oracle.com, please see Downloads and select Enterprise Manager.

Q. With Oracle EM 11g, Can it is possible to manage 9i, 10g DB ?

A. Yes, most definitely. You can manage all of 9i, 10g, 11g Oracle databases.

You can also manage Application Servers, Hosts and Applications etc. ie. a lot

of other things.

Q. Migrate DB from Sun V series to Sun T series (having Chip Multithread technology) shows

some batch precesses running slow. Can Enterprise manager Real Application Testing solve this type of issue?

A. Yes, definitely, also use Diagnostics and Tuning packs in addition to RAT. All three of these work together.

Q. Can I upgrade directly an existing Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Grid Control Release (10.1.0.x) to Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Grid Control Release 1 (11.1.0.1.0)?

A. Yes, upgrade is possible, Your repository and targets info will be retained. Please refer to EM documentation for the upgrade. Also see the Master Note for Grid Control 11.1.0.1.0 Installation and Upgrade [ID 1067438.1].

Q. Can we perform Databse Replay on captured workload in Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10.2.0.5.0)?

A. Not Database replay at this stage for 10g Rel 2 databases. You can use SPA for this purpose right now.

Q. How can we access the previous stored sql plans in 11g?

A. Use SQL Plan Management, refer to http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B28359_01/server.111/b28274/optplanmgmt.htm

This requires Tuning Pack to be licenced.

Q. We are looking at setting EM as a DR also. The database repository part is easy i.e. Dataguard. How is the OMS failover handled please ?

A. There is an entire section in the documentation for this topic. Please see

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E11857_01/em.111/e16790/part3.htm#sthref1164

This is the Oracle® Enterprise Manager Administration 11g Release 1 (11.1.0.1) Manual

and this is Part (Section) III of the manual: Enterprise Manager High Availability.

Q. Where can we see a list of all the EM Management Packs available?

A. Please see http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/oem/grid-control/datasheets-091136.html which shows a list of all the EM packs and their data sheets. This page also shows a list of the Management Connectors and the System Monitoring Plug-ins available.

Q. Please give us the another slides or any imporatant doc or tech doc you have about the Change Management for Databases.

A. Definitely. Please see the datasheet

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/oem/grid-control/overview/change-management-pack-11gr2-datash-131286.pdf

Q. what is basically diagnostics pack?

A. Please see http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/oem/grid-control/overview/diagnostics-pack-11gr2-datasheet-134502.pdf

Q. Does OEM come with a set of comprehensive reports, particularly the DB space capacity?

A. Yes, EM Grid Control comes with many out-of box reports like space capacity. You can also add your own by copying an existing report.

Q. Can OEM manage non-Oracle database ? If yes can it manage IBM DB2 running on System i ?

A. Using Plug-Ins, Enterprise Manager can monitor non-Oracle databases like DB2. Please see

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/oem/grid-control/overview/ds-db2-132295.pdf

However, the EM agent is not available for certain platforms like the IBM AS400.

Q. Hi, does the AWR snapshot report also need the diagnostic pack license?

A. Yes

Q. Can the diagnostics & tuning pack be disabled, if not required? As it requires a separate licence.

A. Yes it can be disabled in Enterprise Manager. In the 11g version there is also a parameter to

disable it, CONTROL_MANAGEMENT_PACK_ACCESS . But sooner or later all databases will need diagnosis and tuning.

Q. how can we automate or is there any way to automate the change management proccess in terms of disrtributed databases to stream line the meatadata accross all database?

A. Yes, it is excellent for this purpose. I suggest try out the Change Management Pack. You can shedule schema propagations across databases.

Q. Can we compare a awr report 10g with awr report 11g running the same database on different hosts in enterprise manager ?

A. Use SPA for this, which is a part of RAT option (Real Application Testing).

Q. what is main different between EM 10g and 11g

A. There are many enhancements. One example is the new tab for My Oracle Support inside EM and is fully integrated with Oracle Support. Also it now can do provisioning of Oracle database 11.2. Besides, the new version of EM is based on Weblogic server.

Q. Is there any bad impact of implementing SQL profile we are not sure whether it will enhance performance?

A. EM will tell you what is the impact of each profile, then you can decide. Normally choose a profile which will give you more than 60 to 70% gains.

Q. Is Grid Control 11g support Multiple OS like we have db on LINUX,WINDOWS,AIX ...

A. yes you can put the EM agent on multiple OS.

Q. In DB Enterprise edition default have diagnostic pack? If there need license other diagnostic pack for OEM?

A. DB Enterprise Edition by default does not include Diagnostics pack. You need to purchase this pack and Tuning Pack separately.

Q. Which version of agent will be required to manage 10g databases using 11g grid control

A. We recommend to use the EM 11g agent. Always use the latest agent as per your central EM installation version. This will help EM to use all the latest features since the agent is responsible for doing a lot of things.

Q. In this case whats the difference between Oracle Enterprise Manager and Grid Control ?

A. Database Control is only for 1 database, Grid Control is installed separately

and for multiple databases as well as application servers or applications etc.

Q. Is Real time SQL tuning only available in 11g r2 or r1?

A. Works on 11gR1 databases onwards

Q. How does the schema changes are logged how is authorised and unauthorised changes are determined

A. In a nutshell you need to set ENABLE_DDL_LOGGING at the db parameter level which requires a licence for the Change Mgt Pack. The authorized and unauthorized changes are for configuration changes which requires the Configuration Mgt Pack and also an EM Connector to ticket systems like Remedy. Then EM can see which config change is authorized or not.

Q. What does real time schema change detection mean?

A. In a nutshell you need to set ENABLE_DDL_LOGGING at the db parameter level which

requires a licence for the Change Mgt Pack. You can then track schema changes in real time

to identify unwanted or unplanned changes.

Q. Can we do an automatic backup in oracle enterprise management?

A. If you mean RMAN backups of databases, yes you can set up backups of any 9i/10g/11g db from EM and schedule it to run at any time.

Q. pls tell again is license must for ADDM?

A. Yes you have to purchase the Diagnostics pack licence for the target database even if you use ADDM at the command prompt or use the views.

Q. For change management pack what are important things for both database?

A. You only need the EM Agent installed and a licence to use the Change Management Pack on both servers. That is all.

Q. In Automatic SQL tuning, can EM creates Indexes automatically or else can it send and alert(probably thru email) stating that these are the coumns in a table that can be indexed.

A. Indexes are not created automatically, only SQL Profiles. The SQL Tuning results can be placed in a report and sent out.

Q. Is Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) supported with Oracle Enterprise Manager 11gR1 Grid Control?

A. Yes. 11gR2 dbs are supported. For example, Grid Infrastructure Home in 11gR2 is supported in the Provisioning and Patch Automation Pack in EM 11g.

Q. Do we need to have a separate server of oracle enterprise repository?

A. Depending on number of targets and type of EM activity. For a smaller number of targets and

normal monitoring activity, you can put all components of EM on the same server. See the install guide for some sizing info.

Q. What are the benefits of Installing Enterprise Manager Patch Set Update (PSU)?

A. As normal, a PSU contains security patches and bug fixes.

Q. Hello how the performance management will have impact on the Server side?

A. Since it is inbuilt into the kernel, AWR and ADDM has minimum impact. Tuning pack may do

workload analysis when running Access Advisor so recommend to run Access Advisor in low impact periods if looking at large workloads, but in general, it is ok.

Q. Does it help to identify Network related issues?

A. Yes, using a network management plugin from Entuity. Please see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-p9rIoYe6U

Q. Does it support Cluster Management?

A. Yes, Database RAC clusters as well as application server clusters.

Q. How can we revert back to previously used sql plans

A. Use Sql Plan Management, refer to http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B28359_01/server.111/b28274/optplanmgmt.htm

This requires Tuning Pack to be licenced.

Q. How can I get a alert regarding the results of Automatic SQL tuning

A. When you set this up, reports are available.

Q. Can profiles be applied on development databases where code keeps on changing

A. What is the point? Most useful for production databases and staging databases, also on test databases.

Q. does oracle enterprise management same with oracle enterprise management console for windows ?

A. No, it is different. The latest version is EM 11g which you can download from technet.oracle.com, see Enterprise Manager under downloads.

Q. Does it support all type of processor?

A. Please see the EM certification matrix on My Oracle Support. The note id is

Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control Certification Checker [ID 412431.1]

Q. grid or OEM is prefered for large systems?

A. EM Grid Control is recommended, the other is EM Database Control only for 1 db.

Q. Can we have multiple Instances of Oracle DB with different version in the same box?

A. Yes, place in different Oracle Homes. Oracle is quite flexible.

Q. what about ASM on oracle 11g ?

A. Yes, it can be managed by EM 11g.

Q. hi may I ask of what is the basic requirements for the OEM server like memory,HDD, cpu and memory? do I need a server type pc to install this?

A. Yes, you need a server. Guidelines for specs are in the installation manual. If there

are target servers over a certain number like 30 and performance is slow, consider increasing

number of management services ie. have a second server for Grid control.

Q. is there any way to ease and time saving process accoss data migration from production to

test database, other then traditional logical backup and recovery method?

A. Change management pack of EM will assist in schema change migration, not in data migration. You have to use database methods like data pump, RMAN backups, transportable tablespaces etc.

Q. what is spa / PA in sql?

A. SPA is SQL Performance Analyzer which is a part of RAT Real Application Testing and requires a licence. It can be used in SQL*Plus itself, please refer to the manual.

Q. How do I get trained on Oracle Exadata V2?

A. Please contact Oracle University in your city.

Q. Is oem plugins for exadata free or need to pay license?

e.g. plugin for avent KVM, cisco switch, PDU, IB switch etc thx

A. The Exadata Storage plug-in is incuded with Exadata. This monitors Exadata storage performance and availability. Monitoring things like Cisco Switch, Infiniband switch, ILOM, KVM, PDU etc require separate Plug-ins. You can download from

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/oem/grid-control/exadata-plug-in-bundle-188771.html

These are currently free. Besides these things, you can use the main EM Packs with

Exadata, such as Diagnostics/Tuning/Config. Mgt./ Provisioning and Patch Automation/

Change Management Pack etc.

Q. Can we use Enterprise Manager for Exalogic as well?

A. You can definitely use EM for Exalogic.

For Exalogic, since it is built on WLS and Sun, you can use the following EM packs:

WebLogic Management Pack Enterprise Edition

OpsCenter Provisioning and Patch Automation

On Exalogic, with EM, you can do diagnostics, config mgt, patch automation, provisioning, cloning, testing (functional and load), and of course monitoring. You can scale up your Fusion Middleware domains. You can use EM Ops center to do the hardware monitoring.

You can also use RUEI for end user experience monitoring, which has in-built SLM.

Q. Where is an upto date list of the EM articles you have written for the Oracle Technical network?

A. You can see the updated list of EM articles I have written on this blog post:

http://enterprise-manager.blogspot.com/2011/02/latest-list-of-published-otn-articles.html

Recorded Webcast on Proactive Database Management with Enterprise Manager

Dear Readers,

I recently conducted a webcast on "Proactive Database Management with Enterprise Manager". It was attended by over 155 people from all over the world with more than 75 questions asked about Enterprise Manager, there is a lot of interest in this fantastic product. You can now watch this webcast on demand. The registration link to watch the on demand Webcast is :

http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=297321&s=1&k=1C4D0481409A8E243271EF2ECA0C3287

It will ask you to register first (free), and after you do so, it will allow you to launch the webcast.

Regards,

Porus.

PowerDay WebCast on EM Configuration and Provisioning

Friends,

I recently held a popular PowerDay WebCast on EM Configuration and Provisioning, attended by over 140 people. The webcast has been recorded and is now available. Here’s the link:

http://www.forestserver.net/iSeminar/tbpwebcast_viewvideo.php?lang=ENG&wc=EMenterprise

If you are not registered on the site before, just do the simple registration and you should be able to get in. When the list of topics appears, select the topic "Managing Configuration Drift, Compliance and Change across your Datacenter".

Webinar Success

Webinar was a success - about 143 people dialled in. Thanks guys.

Regards,

Porus.

Extreme Contol and Extreme Management using Enterprise Manager

Do register for this webcast for tomorrow - I am speaking in this webcast on Oracle Enterprise Manager's Extreme Contol and Extreme Management, namely the Configuration Managment Pack and the Provisioning and Patch Automation pack with all the new 11g features.

http://www.oracle.com/dm/11h1apac/52625_live_webcast_managing_configuration_drift.html
You stand a chance to win an iPod Touch (32GB) when you attend the webcast!*
*Terms and Conditions Apply

Regards,

Porus.