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.

Oracle Exadata Management — Diary of an Exadata DBA

By Scott McNeil

I recently had the chance to sit down with Deba Chatterjee, Senior Product Manager, Database Manageability to talk about Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c and how it's making Oracle Exadata management easier for DBAs. He had a great analogy that I wanted to share. "To describe how Enterprise Manager is making Exadata management simple and less complex, is by using an approach we call, 'Exadata Aware Database Performance Analysis'. The best way to illustrate how this works, is to use real-world scenarios," Deba added. Here is one of those scenarios—an excerpt from the diary of an Exadata DBA. November 15th, Late Evening Database performance has suddenly dropped becoming very poor. The same reports that were running fine a couple of hours ago are now taking forever to complete. The boss just left me a message that the CRM analytics director was pretty upset and wants to know why we have a performance problem. I checked the queries and the execution plans both look the same with lots of smart scans and cell offloading. Suddenly, the response time has gone south and I cannot figure out why? My first step was to look at the database performance page in Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c, which now comes with built-in Oracle Exadata support. Hey, what do I have here in the I/O tab? The Exadata system health button is red, that's not good. What's happening? I clicked the button and it took me to the Exadata health triage page, this is where I can see if I have potential issues such as; Load imbalance ASM related problems Cell software or hardware failures Cell configuration issues Network related failures The red Oracle Exadata system health button indicates potential issues impacting database performance. Next, I noticed that the network status was red, it must be a network issue, right? I quickly checked the administration screen in the Infiniband Target Home page, and saw we had a degraded port in the Port Details status section. I disabled the bad port and allowed the network traffic to automatically fail over to its peer. I'll have to look into this later, for now I just wanted to get the system up and running. View of the degraded port in Infiniband Switch Schematic. I quickly re-checked the Exadata system health status again, it showed all green—looks like everything was working, problem solved. I called my boss back to give him the good news that the database performance was back up. I sure am glad all these things are integrated; otherwise I would have been here all night trying to figure this out.

Questions and Answers from the Oracle Enterprise Management Online Forum

By Scott McNeil

We received tons of questions from our recent Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c Online Forum, we wanted to continue to provide answers to the most popular ones. In this installment, we'll cover questions from the DBA and developer track. Q. What kind of testing do you recommend for upgrading from Oracle Database 11gR1 to 11gR2? A. Oracle Real Application Testing using Database Replay and SQL Performance Analyzer's capabilities are recommended for any Oracle Database upgrade. Check out these resources for more details: Oracle Real Application Testing datasheet and OTN for details on upgrading your database. Q. Can I manage Oracle Exadata and traditional Oracle Databases from the same console? A. Yes, you can manage Oracle Exadata and single instance and/or RAC databases from the same Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control console, as well as WebLogic and many other targets. Check out this demo to see how. Q. I thought Active Session History (ASH) was intended for real-time? A. ASH can be use for both real-time and historical analysis. It is a black box that records session activities and helps to analyze across several performance dimensions. Click here to see a quick demo. Q. What is the difference between Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c and Oracle Database Control? A. Database Control is a subset which runs off a single database. Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c is a central repository which allows administrators to manage and monitor from a single console. Q. How does Real-Time Automatic Database Diagnostics Monitor (ADDM) work – the database is hung right? A. Real-Time ADDM, included in the Oracle Diagnostic Pack for Oracle Database, uses 2 different modes of connection to the database. A normal connection and a diagnostic mode that is a lock less, latch less connection which allows only few actions. Using the diagnostic mode connection Real-Time ADDM performs a hang analysis and determines any blockers in the systems. Check out this demo to see how Real-Time ADDM works. Q. Can we achieve all the new functionality in Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c using terminal? A. No. Features like ASH Analytics, Real-Time ADDM and Compare Period ADDM are only available using Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c's console. Q. Is Real-Time ADDM available only in Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c? A. Yes, Real-Time ADDM is a new feature in Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c. Q. Can you explain the difference between Oracle Database 11g Monitor in Memory Access Mode vs. Real-Time ADDM direct access to SGA? A. Real-Time ADDM does not use Memory attach mode. We use a proprietary connection method which connects using a lock less, latch less connection bypassing the SQL Access layer. Q. Is there any limit on the number of days on which ASH can be used for analysis? A. The in memory ASH data is typically available for 1 hour or till the point the memory buffer is flushed to disk. You can find out ASH retention by using: select min(sample_time), max(sample_time) from sys.WRH$_ACTIVE_SESSION_HISTORY;

OTN detailed documentation on Lifecycle Management

Dear Friends,

Oracle have just released a detailed documentation on Database and Middleware Lifecycle Mgmt on OTN.

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/em.121/e27046.pdf

Standing at more than 700 pages, this is possibly one of the most detailed EM documentations released till date. It covers Provisioning, Patching, Change Mgmt, Compliance and Config Mgmt of different configurations in detail. The information map in section 1.2 takes you directly to sections of interest.

Oracle has also released a podcast on database-as-a-service today,

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OracleOfmRadio/~3/LQtr7entDjg/11171719_DB_Service_011812.mp3

Regards,

Porus.

Cloud Management documentation enhanced and released

Friends,

The Cloud Management documentation has been enhanced and released for the public.

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Administration Guide 12c Release 1 (12.1.0.1)

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/doc.121/e28814/toc.htm

Regards,

Porus.

Now Available: OVERVIEW presentation of Enterprise Manager 12c Cloud Control

Dear Readers,

Now Available: a brand-new OVERVIEW presentation of Enterprise Manager 12c Cloud Control. This is an excellent introduction to Enterprise Manager in general. Updated to latest EM 12c version.

This presentation also includes a number of slides on the Database Lifecycle Management pack, a very handy pack including database/server/OS configuration management, database provisioning and patch automation, and database change management (schema level changes and comparisons). Have a look at the presentation to get an idea of Cloud Control as well as this newly-combined powerful pack.

Download from Mediafire:

OVERVIEW presentation of Enterprise Manager 12c Cloud Control including DB Lifecycle Management Pack

http://www.mediafire.com/file/l25h2chvyv3ocvc/Enterprise_Manager12c_CloudControl_Overview_plus_DBLifeCycleMgmtPack.pdf

Alternatively, download from Ge.tt:

http://ge.tt/8j4CkDB?c

Includes a General introduction to Enterprise Manager 12c Cloud Control, recommended architecture, list of the most popular packs and a short introduction to the Application Management Suites, many slides on the Database Lifecycle Management Pack including the configuration management, provisioning, patch management and database change management aspects. Also includes slides on the new Test Data Management Pack (data subsetting) and a number of slides on Oracle and the cloud, showing cloud setup tasks for Iaas, DbaaS, and PaaS using Enterprise Manager, and on chargeback.

In all a very well-rounded presentation on Enterprise Manager that I have personally delivered to many customers/partners across ASEAN to give a solid idea of what is Enterprise Manager.

Enjoy!!

If you are based in the ASEAN region and feel your company could use any of the Enterprise Manager packs, please feel free to contact me for further details.

Regards,

Porus.

Applying database and CRS patches on Exadata

A friend asked: "Could you share what is the best practise for appling rolling patches

on database, grid infrastructure and Storage cells on EXADATA environment, we

are using half rack node in our environment?"

My reply:

You can have a look at Enterprise Manager's Provisioning and Patch Automation pack,

which can automate the application of rolling patchs on database and Grid Infrastructure.

It is worthwhile to spend a few extra dollars on Enterprise Manager packs to aid

with managment of complicated Exadata machines - and EM managment of Exadata is

going to get better and better! Get the customer to agree on the management

software cost (EM). It will definitely help them in the long run. EM will be

able to centrally manage Exadata machines in the organization, find performance

issues, patch and upgrade the database, etc.

In reality, CRS/RAC patching is used extensively by Enterprise Manager Grid Control customers for RAC databases. We have had good success stories in the real world. In Exadata, there are mostly 8 nodes in the RAC database so It makes sense to use the automated patch deployment procedures in the Provisioning and Patch automation pack of Grid Control when we can have rolling patch upgrades automatically handled by the deployment procedure. It is not rocket science.

Remember to apply the OMS cumulative patches first, of course. Core DBAs should remember that this is a way to ease their manual work and their late nights, especially if CPU/PSU patches are to be applied every three months (as per Oracle recommendations) to the RAC databases. Fundamentally, give it a whirl. If the pre-reqs pass, the patching will work. If not, you can either fix the issues or do the patching manually if you prefer.

11g OCM certification achieved

Friends,

I am pleased to announce that I am now an Oracle 11g OCM (Oracle Certified Master), after passing the 1 day upgrade exam, in addition to my Oracle 10g OCM certification.

Regards,

Porus.

Publisher says Outstanding Orders to be filled soon

Friends,

I have heard back from the publisher today. They have printed enough copies to fill the demand. All outstanding orders should be filled within the next two weeks. The demand was higher than expected and caught them off guard. That is actually good news that the book is selling better than expected. Moving forward there will be sufficient copies available to satisfy everyone.

Thanks for the great support from all my readers.

You can place an order for the book by clicking on the title below. An out of stock warning may appear right now, but you can safely ignore that. A description of the book is as follows.

Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control: Advanced OEM Techniques for the Real World

Oracle’s Enterprise Manager Grid Control is recognized as the IT Industry’s leading Oracle stack (application to disk) administration and management tool. It is unrivalled in its ability to monitor, manage, maintain and report on entire enterprise grids that comprise hundreds (if not thousands) of Oracle databases, middle-ware and servers following an approach that is consistent and repeatable, as well as the Oracle Applications such as Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, Siebel, and so on.

However, Enterprise Manager Grid Control may seem daunting even to the most advanced Oracle Administrator. The problem is you know about the power of Enterprise Manager but how do you unleash that power amongst what initially appears to be a maze of GUI-based screens that feature a myriad of links to reports and management tasks that in turn lead you to even more reports and management tasks?

This book shows you how to unleash that power.

Based on the Author’s considerable and practical Oracle database and Enterprise Manager Grid Control experience you will learn through illustrated examples how to create and schedule RMAN backups, generate Data Guard Standbys, clone databases and Oracle Homes and patch databases across hundreds and thousands of databases. You will learn how you can unlock the power of the Enterprise Manager Grid Control Packs, PlugIns and Connectors to simplify your database administration across your company’s database network, as also the management and monitoring of important Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and the nuances of all important real-time change control using Enterprise Manager.

There are other books on the market that describe how to install and configure Enterprise Manager but until now they haven’t explained using a simple and illustrated approach how to get the most out of your Enterprise Manager. This book does just that.

Regards,

Porus.

Using Enterprise Manager Database Control for a RAC cluster

A friend wrote:

We are using 11GR2 RAC with 5 nodes on Redhat Linux;

We have configured the DB coonsole (not grid control) to run in Node 1 as repository and active node and the agents to run in nodes 2, node 3, node 4 and node 5.

We have used this command to configure that;

emca -config dbcontrol db -repos create -cluster -EM_NODE db01 -EM_NODE_LIST db02,db03,db04,db05

Now, in order to be prepared in the case of failure of our node 1, I have to prepare the procedure in order to maybe move the repository (the same node 1 repository) to run in node 2 actively and the agents to run in node 3, node 4 and node 5.

I would like to keep the node 1 repository but moving it to node 2, and run node 2 as the active node, in case of failure just to guarantee the HA.

Please let me know if it's clear now. I wonder if you could give a help and help guide me in order to have the procedure prepared,

My reply to him:

Oracle really recommends using a separate installation of Enterprise Manager Grid Control for RAC databases, and then putting agents on all RAC nodes. That way you are covered for any node failure, Enterprise Manager will keep on working.

For what you want, ie. using EM Database control and then failing over Database Control from 1 RAC node to the other, it is not recommnended but it is possible, please use these commands:

Drop the DB Control on all RAC nodes, but keeping the repository. Run this command on the first node: (in the second iteration, try it on a different node)

$ emca -deconfig dbcontrol db -cluster
Enter the following information:
- Database unique name

This emca command does the following:
- stop the DB Control (dbconsole, agent) on all nodes of the cluster
- remove all DB Control related directories on all nodes of the cluster

The repository is in the RAC database and has not been dropped. You can then recreate the DBControl without recreating the repository. Do this by:

emca -reconfig dbcontrol -cluster -EM_NODE db02 -EM_NODE_LIST db01,db03,db04,db05

Test out the above and let me know if ok.

For added info please see the My Oracle Support (MOS) note "How to manage DB Control 11.x for RAC Database with emca" [ID 578011.1]

Regards,

Porus.

Agent Performance

A friend writes:

"Do you have any tips for keeping the emagent from making a bad situation worse. For instance when everything is working well emagent hardly takes any CPU or memory, but once the host or db's start getting a high load emagent seems to start using more CPU than just about anything else. It's kind of counter intuitive to me, that something designed to monitor and notify you about problems actually becomes the problem when a server becomes short on resources."

My response:

One point to remember is that you should always upgrade to the latest version of the agent. For eg. If your central OMS is on EM11g, then your agents should also be EM11g agents and not EM10g agents. Upgrading to the latest version at the agent level will also fix some performance issues for the agent.

The issue you describe happens when there is a contention for resources at both sides. Make sure the agent is properly configured, it has enough free disk space to store its temporary work, etc. Remember the agent pre-requisites should always be followed - for eg, if you install the EM 10g agent on a box running Oracle 9i, you must ensure the OS is patched etc upto the level required if you were installing an Oracle 10g database on the same box. All such pre-requisites for an Oracle 10g database should be followed in such a case.

Many times the prerequisites are not followed, and the agent then struggles to perform on the older boxes since the OS is not patched to the level required, some packages are older than the requirement, swap space is lower than required, etc. Then, there are performance issues. So please check the setup first.

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

Enterprise Manager Creating Oracle Data Guard Standby for 11.2 Database with Grid user role separation

We recently had a LinkedIn discussion in which one of my friends had written:

We went down the role separation path with a grid user for storage/cluster admin that we were going to handover to our unix team and the oracle user for normal DB admin.....It turns out our Unix admins didn't want anything to do with managing ASM or GI so we'd have been better staying with it all under the oracle account. The role separation does cause it's fair share of issues. The listener being owned by the grid user is a particular problem as the oracle user can no longer reconfigure/restart the listener. This breaks a lot of the OEM provisioning functionality and causes problems when attempting to create standby databases...... a lot of manaul work arounds are needed to resolve.

My response to this was:

What he said about "Keep it simple" is right - that principle applies in any case. However just want to clarify on the issue mentioned. A little later after the comment was made, this issue was investigated further in his "My Oracle Support" SR and it was found it was a listener.ora file parsing issue - some spaces were missing in the sid_list_listener entry in the listener.ora file probably because the entry had been manually made. The person concerned himself found this out and fixed the issue. When the extra spaces were added in this line, the file parsed ok. So, there were no real issues with the EM11g Create Data Guard Standby database wizard which he was talking about (this is actually separate from EM11g Provisioning procedures). The EM Create Data Guard Standby database wizard works ok even with role separation with a grid user for the Grid Infrastructure home.

Shared loader directory, RAC and WebLogic Clustering

A friend wrote:

I was reading your paper on OTN http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/havewala-gridcontrol-088685.html Its a very interesting paper and well written. I am doing a similar implemention using OEM 11g on a RAC environment and had a few questions..

1. In the paper you reference about using an IP configuration to load balance between a RAC environment. In this option, uses will round robin between the two management servers running on the two instances. In this case, what happens to the feeds that come from the managed agents to the EM cluster. the feed from the agent is only received by one instance and the certain data such as the log details are available only on one instance.. how does the data get over to the other instances. Can i use ACFS to locate these files so that they are visible to both servers.

2. Have you tried to cluster the weblogic servers so that they make the OMS highly available? the Weblogic server that comes with the GC download is not complete and many of the features are not available. however if the organization has weblogic can this be used, what are the implications with use this option, specifically with respect to future OEM upgrades etc.Is weblogic clustering supported for OEM implementation?

My reply:

Thanks for your kind words. RAC is optional. Even the load balancer is optional. The feed from the agents also goes to the load balancer on a different port and it is routed to the available management server. In normal case, this is ok. If there is a failure, that is where the concept of the shared loader directory is used - so other management servers can be used to pick up the load. This concept is explained in the advanced EM manual. You should be able to use ACFS for the shared loader directory, however it is not certified or supported for use for this purpose. See the manual for the additional steps to set up the shared loader directory.

WebLogic Clustering will not be used by EM GC 11g Release 1.

Good Luck for the implementation. My tip is, keep it as simple as possible. My idea would be to first put this on a single database with Data Guard, and then upgrade to RAC after EM GC has settled down.

Regards,

Porus.

Oracle Database 11g Interactive Quick Reference

Oracle has just released the Oracle Database 11g Interactive Quick Reference, which is sure to be a big hit among DBAs. You can download it from this link:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/sbpozvrb7yn9wf8/db11g-interactivequickref-187977.zip

This is an interactive quick reference for the many DBA views, architecture and Background Processes in 11g.

New EM Provisioning Article published on Oracle Technical Network

Dear Friends,

Happy Deepavali (Indian Festival of Lights).

I am pleased to announce that a new article of mine has been published on the Oracle Technical Network in November 2010:

Manage Mass Provisioning Using Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/mass-provisioning-177500.html

Learn how to provision literally hundreds or even thousands of systems using the mass provisioning techniques described here. The Deployment Procedures supplied by Oracle for provisioning, really make it a simple process.

Regards,

Porus.

New Links to my OTN articles on EM

The Oracle Technical Network (OTN) recently upgraded its site and in the process there are new links to my articles that have been published on the OTN site in the past few years. Here are the new links, please use these from now on:

My Published Oracle White Paper
Advanced Uses of Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g

My Published Articles on The Oracle Technology Network (OTN):

Using Grid Control with Filer Snapshotting

Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control Architecture for Very Large Sites

Oracle RMAN Backups: Pushing the "Easy" Button

Patch a Thousand Databases, Using Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control

Easy Disaster Proof Production with Grid Control

Using Oracle GoldenGate for Real-Time Data Integration

Mask Your Secrets Using Oracle Enterprise Manager

New Application Management Suites

Blog Entry by Chung Wu

Introducing Oracle Application Management Suites, the most complete and integrated solutions designed specifically for managing Oracle E-Business Suite, Siebel, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne applications.

Four management suites are now available. They include:

- Application Management Suite for Oracle E-Business Suite
- Application Management Suite for Siebel
- Application Management Suite for PeopleSoft
- Application Management Suite for JD Edwards EnterpriseOne

Built on Oracle Enterprise Manager, these management suites enable you to manage your mission critical Oracle Applications more effectively so that you can achieve better application performance and availability, improve agility while maintaining control, and lowering the costs and risks that are associated with operating these software systems.


The management suites provides you with a different and better approach of managing your applications. Applications are different from other information technologies such as database, servers, and storage arrays in that applications are used directly by end users. Consequently, proper management of applications need to begin with a clear understanding on end user experience of the applications. Traditional component centric approach of managing application does not provide this kind of insight. A key new addition to each of the four application management suites is user experience management. Using the suites, one could gain insights on the identity of the users, when they use the apps, where they log in from, and click-by-click information on what they did and the application experience that they received, including response time measurement and records of errors and warnings. These information help you focus your resource on making improvements to the parts of the application and the underlying IT infrastructure that matter most to the users.

The management suites also provides full visibility into the internal workings of application specific artifacts beyond what typical management tools provide. Typical generic management tools monitor applications from the operating system level. However, each of this packaged Oracle applications include "containers" that are execution engines of various services. Application Management Suite's system monitoring and diagnostic capabilities enable you to look inside these containers, exposing a full set of metrics that you can set alerts on and visualize trends vs dashboards and reports. In additional, specialize tools for troubleshooting transactions, analyzing log files and diagnosing JVM problems are also built into the suites to provide you with a full range of options to address the toughest production problems. These tools help you proactively manage your application infrastructure in order to prevent problems from occurring, and when things do go wrong, troubleshoot problems quickly in order to minimize impacts to business operations.

In addition to user experience management and system monitoring and diagnostics, the suites also support configuration management. When something goes wrong with an application system, the natural thing to ask is what changed, as the changes are often the root causes of problems. Application Management Suites include configuration analysis tools that enable you to track changes to system configuration settings of the applications, compare settings across environments and create snapshot of good configurations so that they can be referenced later on. The new management suites added specific support to automate IT compliance management tasks as well, providing real time change detection and reconcilation of changes against change management authorizations so that unauthorized changes can be detected, and presenting compliance status on a set of compliance dashboards and reports, making it much easier to manage configuration related IT compliance tasks.

The fourth set of capabilities that the management suites provide is lifecycle automation. Using the suites, administrators can automate manual and error prone procedures by defining multi-step batch jobs and schedule them to run unattended, leaving the tasks of monitoring to be handled by the management suites automatically. For Oracle E-Business Suite, additional support for patching, cloning, customization deployment and functional setup migration are also included in the Application Management Suite for Oracle E-Business Suite product.

Additional information about these products is available on Oracle Technology Network. Click here for more information.

- Chung Wu.

Good Post by Werner De Gruyter on Differences

Good post by Werner De Gruyter on differences between Enterprise Manager 10g Grid Control and 11g Grid Control:

http://blogs.oracle.com/oem/2010/09/differences_between_em10g_and.html

New Article on Data Masking published on OTN

Friends, a new article I wrote on the Data Masking Pack of Enterprise Manager Grid Control has been published on August 2010 on the Oracle Technology Network. This is the article:

Mask Your Secrets Using Oracle Enterprise Manager

Please read and recommend to your friends. Thanks a lot.