Oracle 10g Enterprise Manager Packages usage and licensing

The Enterprise Manager for Oracle 10g comes with a number of packages which need an additional license if you want to use them. These packages get installed automatically with Enterprise Edition and can be accessed from inside the EM-console (database control, grid control) as well as through APIs from inside the database.
These packages are as follows:
- Database Diagnostics Pack
- Database Diagnostics Pack
- Configuration Management Pack

What many DBAs do not know is the fact that you also need the additional licenses if you do not use the EM at all but use certain functionalities such as reports created with scripts located in $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin or just by using certain procedures from a number of advisor packages, because these functionalities use the above listed packages.

Here is a list of functionalities which need additional licensing in Oracle 10g Enterprise Edition and how you access them:

- Database Diagnostic Pack includes:
- use of DBMS_WORKLOAD_REPOSITORY package
- use of DBMS_ADVISOR PACK if:
- when using any ADDM prefix for the value of the ADVISOR_NAME parameter
- when using any ADDM prefix for the value of the TASK_NAME parameter
- use of the view V$ACTIVE_SESSION_HISTORY
- use of any Data Dictionary view the DBA_HIST_ prefix in the name of the view
- use of any Data Dictionary view the DBA_ADVISOR_ prefix in the name of the view if query to these views retuns values from the ADDM or ADVISOR_NAME column or a value of ADDM* inthe TASK_NAME column or the corresponding TASK_ID

- use of any of the following reports created by using one of the following scripts from $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin:
awrrpt.sql
awrrpti.sql
addmrtp.sql
addmrpti.sql
awrrpt.sql
awrrpti.sql
addmrpt.sql
addmrpti.sql
ashrpt.sql
ashrpti.sql
awrddrpt.sql
and awrddrpi.sql

- Database Tuning Pack includes (needs Diagnostics Pack as prerequisit!):
- use of the DBMS_SQLTUNE
- use of DBMS_ADVISOR if the parameter ADVISOR_NAME is set to SQL Tuning Advisor or SQL Access Advisor
- use of the script $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/sqlrpt.sql

- Configuration Management Pack
– software and hardware inventory with history function
– patching
– cloning
– policy framework

It is possible to disable the access to these packages from inside the EM-console by navigating to the SETUP link. If you cannot efford to buy these licenses you can still use the classical methods for performance tuning like statspack, sql tracing and performance statistics from the v$views.

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New RAC demos on Oracle By Example

A new demo viewlet has been added to the very handy collection of demos for Oracle 10gR2 REAL APPLICATION CLUSTERS in the Oracle By Example series.
It shows how virtual IPs are used.
The man behind these nice little demos is Jean-Francois Verrier.
He designs a number of Oracle’s core courses which are delivered by Oracle Education.

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RAC TTT in Utrecht finished

Today we’ll finish the Train The Trainer event for
Oracle 10gR2 Real Application Clusters
in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Jean-Francios Verrier

It was such a pleasure and fun also to meet Jean-Francois Verrier again who has designed this course. He is also responsible for a number of other Oracle classes.

This picture shows all the delegates taking part in the training.
From the left there are:
John Boyle, Joel Goodman, Harald van Breederode, Jean-Francois Verrier, , Lothar Auert, John Abrahams, Andreas Reinhardt, Roman Niehoff, Thomas Hoogerwerf
and in the first row Pete Jones and me.
This week was so densly filled with highly compressed knowledge and inspiring talks.
I am so happy that I had the chance to get to know all these highly skilled experts and I hope that I can stay in touch with them.
It was a pitty that two of the German trainers had to leave one day too early.

connect lutz hartmann as sysdba

How to convert a single instance database to a RAC database

There are multiple ways in Oracle 10gR2 to convert a single instance database into a
clustered database.
You can use the following methods to do this:
- dbca
- enterprise manager
- rconfig utility (new in 10gR2!)

After you have checked if your operating system requirements are met you can choose either of these methods to do the conversion.
You should make sure first that your hardware and operating system are supported.
To do so you check with your hardware vendor and for the platforms you check metalink.

Once this is done you go on with either methode:
- dbca does most of the tasks of the conversion automatically
- grid control provides fully support the conversion process
there is a very nice demo for this in the OBE (Oracle By Examples demos for RAC 10gR2 section)
- new with 10gR2 there is utility called rconfig which is located in $ORACLE_HOME/bin.
It uses a file called $ORACLE_HOME/assistants/rconfig/sampleXMLs/ConvertToRAC.xml which you need to edit in order to adjust some parameters as needed and then save it under a new name. It contains the parameter for the Convert verify option which accepts three different values:
CONVERT VERIFY= “YES” — performs checks to make sure everything is in place before starting the conversion
- “NO” — starts conversion right away without checking the prerequisits
- “ONLY” — only performs the prerequisits-check

You then call the utility and hand over your modified xml file:
$ rconfig my_db_conversion_file.xml

connect lutz hartmann as sysdba

Harald van Breederode training the trainers

Harald van Breederode,
a blind trainer from the Netherlands,
delivered a training on RAC installation
and also a special one on storage configurations
like SAN NAS and ASM today .
This was a very impressing lecture because
Harald is a very knowledgeable teacher who has
been delivering trainigs on RAC since 4 years
and also has been a UNIX administrator for
a long time as well.

The training is held in his classroom and it is really amazing how he can navigate though the location and how he even uses the whiteboard and develops complex pictures on it without seeing anything.
This picture shows his special braille display. It has 80 left and 80 right mice buttons. And he uses a voice synthesizer to get the powerpoints read out to him. Which is done in a speed that nobody else but him can follow.

This picture shows him demonstrating
his special equipment to us.

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Arrived in Utrecht (The Netherlands)

Yesterday I have arrived in Utrecht in Holland.
Here I will take part in the Train The Trainer class
for the Oracle 10gR2 Real Application Cluster Class in De Meern.

connect lutz hartmann as sysdba