Apr 30

Error 404 Not Found with EM 12c

I have recently installed Oracle’s Enterprise Manager 12c for a new environment. Everything was working just fine when I left work last week but when I tried to connect to EM today, I got the following:

Error 404--Not Found
From RFC 2068 Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1:
10.4.5 404 Not Found

Huh?!?!? What do you mean the initial page isn’t found? It should be there.

So I attempted to restart EM when I got the following:

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c Release 12.1.0.1.0
Copyright (c) 1996, 2012 Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
Starting WebTier...
WebTier Successfully Started
Starting Oracle Management Server...
Oracle Management Server is Down
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Notice that the OMS would not start.

I realized that the problem was due to the repository database being down. When I started the repository database, I was able to get OMS to start correctly.

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c Release 12.1.0.1.0
Copyright (c) 1996, 2012 Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
Starting WebTier...
WebTier Successfully Started
Starting Oracle Management Server...
Oracle Management Server Successfully Started
Oracle Management Server is Up

This is a change for EM 12c. With EM11g, you could start OMS without the repository database up and running. But 12c must require the repository database to be up before OMS will start correctly.

Apr 30

_gc_fusion_compression

I found this very cool blog post which discusses how Oracle decides how much of a datablock to transmit across a RAC cluster interconnect:

http://orainternals.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/_gc_fusion_compression/
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Apr 26

Blackouts with EMCLI

In my previous post, I talked about how to set a Enterprise Manager blackout with the Agent’s emctl utility on the command line. Everything was working fine until I tried to set a blackout with a clustered database. When trying to set a blackout on a clustered database target you will get an error similar to the following:

./emctl start blackout testblackout orcl
Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Release 1 Grid Control 11.1.0.1.0
Copyright (c) 1996, 2010 Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
"orcl" is a cluster target, hence skipping it. Please use EM console.

From Metalink Note 419740.1, we find that we cannot use the Agent’s emctl utility to set blackouts on RAC databases. You do have the option of scheduling blackouts in Enterprise Manager, but I still wanted to do this via the command-line. The trick is to use EM’s emcli (Command Line Interface) utility on the OMS server.

export JAVA_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/middleware/oms11g
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cd /u01/app/oracle/product/middleware/oms11g/bin
./emcli login -username=bpeasland
./emcli create_blackout -name="Standby Snapshot" -add_targets="resp:cluster_database" -description="Standby taken down to perform cold snapshot" -schedule="duration::10" -reason="backup"
./emcli logout

Unfortunately, this option requires me to login and if I want to put this in a shell script, I would be required to code the password.

Apr 26

Blackouts with EMCTL

I have a need to take down a database to perform a cold snapshot of the database’s files. This database is monitored by Enterprise Manager and I do not want to receive an alert when the database is down. So I need to figure out how to start a blackout in Enterprise Manager from the command line which will be included in our backup script.

On the database server, do the following:

cd $AGENT_HOME/bin
./emctl start blackout TestBlackoutEMCTL fgodba.acme.com
Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Release 1 Grid Control 11.1.0.1.0
Copyright (c) 1996, 2010 Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
Blackout TestBlackoutEMCTL added successfully
EMD reload completed successfully

We can verify the blackout is in effect in Enterprise Manager. Sign on to EM and click on Setup -> Blackouts. You should see something similar to the following:

Select the blackout radio button and click the View button.

We can verify that the blackout name contains the string that I denoted when I started the blackout with the date and time appended to it.
We can also query the status of the blackout on the command line:
./emctl status blackout
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Copyright (c) 1996, 2010 Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
Blackoutname = TestBlackoutEMCTL
Targets = (fgodba.acme.com:oracle_database,)
Time = ({2012-04-26|13:27:32,|} )
Expired = False

It is now time to end the blackout.

./emctl stop blackout TestBlackoutEMCTL
Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Release 1 Grid Control 11.1.0.1.0
Copyright (c) 1996, 2010 Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
Blackout TestBlackoutEMCTL stopped successfully
EMD reload completed successfully

This process is documented here:
http://docs.oracle.com/html/B12013_03/emctl.htm#i1030612

Apr 24

Installing Agent11g on Windows

Normally, to install the 11g version of the Oracle agent for Grid Control, one would push the agent from Grid Control the database server. However, when pushing from Grid Control to a Windows server, we receive an error telling us that Windows does not have SSH running on port 22. Windows servers normally do not have SSH running at all and rather than try to jump through hoops to get SSH running on Windows, we can perform a silent install of the Agent on the server and have the agent configuration contact Grid Control for final setup. This post details how to install Agent11g on Windows servers supporting Oracle databases.

To install Agent11g on Windows servers, follow these steps:
1. Download the Agent11g installer from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/oem/grid-control/downloads/agentsoft-090381.html
2. Create a response file to be used for silent installation. You can find a sample response file in the \win32\response\additional_agent.rsp file included in the download.
3. Update the response file with specific config items in the following list:
a. OMS_HOST=”my-oms.acme.com”
b. OMS_PORT=1159
c. AGENT_REGISTRATION_PASSWORD=”password”
d. BASEDIR=”C:\oracle\”
e. SECURITY_UPDATES_VIA_MYORACLESUPPORT=false
f. DECLINE_SECURITY_UPDATES=true
g. ORACLE_AGENT_HOME_LOCATION=”C:\oracle\”
h. FROM_LOCATION=”C:\product_dir\win32\agent\stage\products.xml”
4. Run the installer with the above response file:
a. cd \product_dir\win32\agent
b. setup.exe –silent –responseFile C:\dir\agent_install.rsp
5. Verify the agent will start up on reboot.
a. Go to Control Panel –> Administrative Tools –> Services
b. Verify the Oracleagent11g1Agent is set to auto start and that it is currently running.

6. Verify the agent is currently running. In a DOS window:
a. cd \oracle\agent11g\bin
b. emctl status agent
Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Release 1 Grid Control 11.1.0.1.0
Copyright (c) 1996, 2010 Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
—————————————————————
Agent Version : 11.1.0.1.0
OMS Version : 11.1.0.1.0
Protocol Version : 11.1.0.0.0
Agent Home : C:\oracle\agent11g\agent11g
Agent binaries : C:\oracle\agent11g\agent11g
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Agent URL : https:……..
Repository URL : https:……..
Started at : 2011-07-14 13:19:18
Started by user : SYSTEM
Last Reload : 2011-07-14 13:19:18
Last successful upload : 2011-07-14 13:32:31
Total Megabytes of XML files uploaded so far : 16.18
Number of XML files pending upload : 0
Size of XML files pending upload(MB) : 0.00
Available disk space on upload filesystem : 53.42%
Last successful heartbeat to OMS : 2011-07-14 13:32:55
—————————————————————
Agent is Running and Ready
7. Complete agent config:
a. On the database server, sign on to the database and verify the DBSNMP account is unlocked:
i. SELECT account_status FROM dba_users WHERE username=’DBSNMP’;
ii. Unlock the account if necessary
1. ALTER USER dbsnmp ACCOUNT UNLOCK;
iii. Change the password if necessary
1. ALTER USER dbsnmp IDENTIFIED BY new_password;
b. Sign on to Grid Control
i. Click on the Hosts tab.
1. Verify the database server is listed and is up and running.
ii. Click on the Databases tab.
iii. Find the newly added database.
1. Select the radio button next to this database and press Configure
2. Enter the DBSNMP password in the appropriate box and press Next
3. Press Submit
iv. Verify the db shows as ‘up’ in the Databases tab.

Apr 23

Patch Policy

About a year and a half ago, I moved to a new company and started working as their DBA. The company did not previously apply any patches to any Oracle databases. Since I have been here, I have seen IT system security become more of a focus point and undergo a higher level of scrutiny that previously seen. Rather than wait for a directive to start implementing regular security patches for our Oracle databases, I decided to be proactive. The day will come when we are required to start patching our Oracle databases on a regular basis and I would like to say that we already have it implemented.

The Apr2012 CPU was just released last week and this is the first CPU that we will apply to our Oracle databases. Before I applied the first CPU, a little thought went into how to implement this change in our corporate environment. I decided to share a few of those changes in case anyone else gets to a similar situation in the future.

1. The 3 D’s: Before any patching began, a patch policy was Documented, Disseminated to IT staff and management, and Discussed. This document discussed at a high level, the need for regular security patches, when the security patches would come out, and how they would be applied to our systems to as to reduce risk to the database, the application, and the end users.
2. Patch Timeline – I have the luxury of having a clone of our production database just for the DBA’s use and no one else. My timeline starts there. Within one week of the CPU’s release, I am to apply the CPU to my DBA database and resolve any issues. With two weeks of the CPU release, I am to apply the patch to our development databases. Within one month of the CPU release, I am to apply the patch to Test and Stage database. And finally, within 6 weeks of the CPU release, I am to have applied the patch to production. This is just my timeline and what works in our environment. Your timeline may be different. But it is important that everyone understands the timeline and that the timeline does two seemingly contradictory things – 1) applies the patch slowly so that any database or application issues are sorted out before proceeding to the next step in the timeline. Once the patch hits production, there should be no surprises and confidence the patch will not break anything. 2) applies the patch fast enough so that security holes are plugged in a reasonable time. In my environment, six weeks to production is slow enough to catch issues but about as fast as we feel comfortable in going. Your environment may have other timelines.
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4. Test/Test/Test – As a DBA, we have a duty to ensure that changes introduced into production have a high degree of confidence that the application will not break. It is vitally important to test your changes and patches are no different. If you do not go through your patch timeline, you will not have adequate time to test and if there is a problem that the patch has introduced to your environment, it would be career suicide if you did not adequately test before hitting production.
5. Backups – One must backup the database and the Oracle home directory being patched before applying the patch. You never know if you will have to go back to a previous point before the patch in one or both of those areas. One should occasionally test the restore methodology or backing out patches well before production. This testing may not necessarily need to be done once a quarter, but should be at least once a year.

I think those about cover the major thoughts I had on the subject. If you have questions/comments, let me know.

Apr 02

One Exabyte Per Day

I ran across this article which discusses the Square Kilometer Array (SKA). As a DBA, the thing that struck me was that this system will generate 1 exabyte of data per day that will have to be stored somewhere. That is challenge #1, getting the data into a data store of some type in a fast, efficient manner. In their case, the wrong lifestyle corresponds to the lifestyle, ie improper nutrition, frequent use of alcohol, cigarettes and other stimulants, levitra online no prescription overwork, lack of sleep and stress. It reverses aging effects and help to enjoy a healthy cialis generic price sex life. Men all around loved this buy levitra online the world face many health issues. Chromosome 9 has received the most tadalafil tablets prices attention. (Treichel 2006). Challenge #2 will be getting the data out of that data store in a fast, efficient manner so as to facilitate number crunching to provide meaningful analysis, ie glean knowledge from the data.

In my previous job, I often worked with large amounts of satellite data, on the order of 1 or 2 terabytes per day which would need to be ingested into an Oracle database. But the SKA project takes this to a whole new level!

Mar 29

OEL6 and Oracle 11g

I’ve never quite understood why Oracle released their own OS, Oracle Enterprise Linux 6 and then waited over a year for their flagship product, Oracle RDBMS 11g, to be certified on that OS platform. But the wait is over. You can now safely run Oracle 11g on Oracle Linux 6.

But wait…no so fast…While you can run the database software on this OS platform, good luck managing that database if you use Enterprise Manager Grid Control 11g or Cloud Control 12c. It seems that the Oracle Agent is not yet certified on Oracle Linux 6 and no word on when it will be certified. Many Oracle DBAs manage multiple Oracle databases and centralized management of those systems with Enterprise Manager is a must. If you fit into this category, then you will still have to wait before you can run Oracle RDBMS on Oracle Linux 6.
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This reminds me of my conundrum with upgrading Enterprise Manager. I currently use Grid Control 11g and I would like to upgrade to Cloud Control 12c. But alas, I cannot if I want to be able to manage all of my database systems. You see, through the acquisition of another company, I inherited Oracle on Windows for some of the database systems that I have to manage. Oracle will not release Agent12c until Q4FY2012 for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows platforms. Q4FY2012 for Oracle Corp is between March and May 2012 so it should come out before this summer. But since you must run Agent12c to be able to manage the database with Cloud Control 12c, I guess I will wait for a while longer before I upgrade my Enterprise Manager environments.

Mar 09

ORA-9925

Recently, I was trying fix the creation a dev database from a snapshot of our production database. To do that, we mount up the snapshot datafiles, create a new controlfile, and apply recovery and then open with resetlogs. This is pretty standard fare for us however, this time, the person performing the database refresh noted to me that he received some errors:

SQL> startup mount pfile='/directory/init.ora';
ORA-09925: Unable to create audit trail file
Linux-x86_64 Error: 2: No such file or directory
Additional information: 9925

So I was tasked with fixing this problem. Many seasoned DBA’s have seen this at least once in their career. This shouldn’t be too hard to fix. Either the audit desitination is full, or has too many inodes in use. So I proceeded as any DBA would. Verified that there is enough space (df -h). Verified that enough inodes are available (df -i). Hmm…everything checks out. And the directory $ORACLE_BASE/audit/db-name/adump exists and is writable. So what is going on here. I even recreated the directory and opened up permissions (777) on the directory, but still received the error whenever I attempted to connect “/ as sysdba” in SQL*Plus.

Ok..so now I’m stumped. Oracle should be able to write to this file and there seems to be no logical reason why it cannot. So I am now focusing on the part of the message that says “No such file or directory”. I’ve verified that the directory does exist, or at least the one I think it wants. Then it occurs to me…lets not go with what I think it wants, lets see exactly what it really wants.

I am running Oracle on Linux so I turn to the strace utility. On Solaris, you can use truss. Here is what I did:
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strace -fo sqlplus.trc sqlplus "/ as sysdba"

This will create a dump file with all of the system calls my SQL*Plus utility is making. The output of strace is placed in the file “sqlplus.trc” so I open that file in vi and search for the keyword “adump”. And right away I see the problem:

1361 open("/u01/app/oracle/admin/test1/adump/dev1_ora_1361_1.aud",O_RDWR|O_CREAT|O_EXCL, 0660) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)

Do you see the problem? The audit file being created is for my dev database DEV1 (dev1_ora_1361_1.aud). Yet look at the directory path. It is looking for a directory for my test database (TEST1) which does not exist on this server. I immediately knew that the person doing the database refresh ran the script to recreate the TEST1 controlfiles in my DEV1 server. Recreating the controlfile correctly fixed the problem.

Mar 05

LISTAGG Function

I had a requirement to rows of values in a comma-delimited list. I was thinking I would have to use some sort of arcane SQL functions or resort to PL/SQL when I came across a new function in Oracle 11.2 which fits the bill, namely LISTAGG.

Here is some sample data that I was able to return from one of our tables.

CustID PartID
5317751 5319609
5317761 5319699
5317781 5319673
5317781 12452932
5317781 14976021
5317801 5319637
5317801 11389825

For each CustID, if there was more than one PartID, then I needed the PartID values to be a comma-delimited list. I needed the output to look similar to the following:
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CustID PartsList
5317751 5319609
5317761 5319699
5317781 12452932,14976021,5319673
5317801 11389825,5319637

This is done quite nicely with the LISTAGG function. My SQL is as simple as follows:

SELECT custid, LISTAGG(partid,',') WITHIN GROUP (ORDER BY custid) AS partsList
FROM my_table
GROUP BY custid;