The Real Value of Oracle Health Checks

Real Value of Oracle Database Health Checks

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1/23/2017 2www.datavail.com

Welcome!

Megan Elphingstone15+ years of Oracle database experience10 years as an Oracle Database Administrator

Favorite part about being a DBA…I like helping customers and users solve problems and implementing solutions that are automated, stable, and reliable.


Health Check: Why, What, When, How

And then what?

Why should I run a Health

Check?What should I check?

How often should I run a

Health Check?

• OLTP vs

• Warehouse vsHow?

• Manually vs automated

• What tool should I use?

• Should I use a service

provider?

Then what?

• How do I interpret the results?

• How do I react to the information?


I’m in a crisis, should I run a Health Check?

It may be required by

Oracle for an SR

It could help diagnose the

problem Users are complaining


Why do a Health Check on a stable system?

You don’t know what you

don’t know

Do things seem acceptable

when they could be faster?

Are people complaining, but

you aren’t hearing it?

An upgrade is always on the horizon, are

you prepared?

• Ununsable indexes and invalid objects will cause

problems in an upgrade – fixing them now will make

your upgrade go more smoothly

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…

• This mentality will leave you unprepared for an

upgrade

• Trouble may be brewing and you won’t know until it

starts to affect users


What if I never run a Health Check?

Can’t get access to the

system when you need to

Long delays and difficulties

logging in

Unable to replicate the

database accurately

Experience forced software upgrades

performed on the spot rather than

planned for

Are fined for failure to properly comply

with backup and security requirements


What to look for in a Health Check

Size and Space Issues

• Size of your SGA

• Object size

• Size of database

• Space utilization, file system (ASM?)

• Adequate space for backups

• CPU, disk and memory utilization

• Table space critical and warning threshold levels



System Issues

• Database components

• Backup test

• Recovery test

• Is it a supported version of Oracle?

• Has it been patched?



Performance Issues

• How are the stats being generated?

• Issues related to collecting stats

• Unusable indexes and invalid objects

• Are table space, auto extendable data files used?

• Top buffer gets, reads and lag times

• IO balance across the file system

• Block change tracking

• Wait statistics through the database

• Are you taking advantage of flashback?

• Logging operations

• Corrupt log files

• IO stats: top reads, top writes

• Re-do logs



Security Issues

• Analysis of user accounts

• Dormant accounts present security risks

• Are privileges properly assigned?

• Is recycle bin properly configured?

• Listing of hidden users

• Listing GRANTs on SYS tables


When should I run a Health Check?

Monthly for high-stress,

high-turnover agile

environments

Quarterly for a growing

user base generating

growing data

Semi-annual for non-

growing, steady-state

user bases


How to run a Health Check

ORAchk

Oracle Health Checks

Datavail Health Check

Toad


How to run a Health Check: Orachk

• ORAchk and EXAchk User’s Guide

• Frequently required by Oracle when working an SR

• With 12c it is installed with the software $ORACLE_HOME/suptools/orachk

• Run on demand, via daemon, via cron

• Output can be emailed or stored in a directory


Show Check Ids

Remove finding from report

ORAchk continued…

• Finding Needing Attention On Database Server- On Database Server

• Maximum Availability Architecture (MAA) Scorecard

• Finding Passed - On Database Server

• RDBMS patch recommendation Summary report

• RDMS Patch recommendation Detailed report

• TOP 10 Time Consuming Checks

Oracle orachk Assessment Report

System Health Score is 88 out of 100 (detail)

Table of Contents


ORAchk results


Health Check Monitor

Health Checks can be run via Health Monitor

• Reactive

• Manual

• Scheduled

PL/SQL Package

BEGIN

DBMS_HM.RUN_CHECK('Dictionary Integrity Check', 'my_run');

END;

ADRCI

View Data via Health Monitor Views

• V$HM_RUN

• V$HM_FINDING

• V$HM_RECOMMENDATIONS


The DB Admin Module includes a health

check

Toad

https://www.toadworld.com/products/toad-for-

oracle/b/weblog/archive/2013/07/07/toad-database-health-check

• Vulnerability assessment

• Configuration (including Oracle RAC and usage of Oracle

options, OEM management packs and Exadata)

• Performance

• Storage


Have Datavail Do A Health Check

Datavail has hundreds of DBAs

with shared knowledge.

We have a proprietary assessment

tool that reports on a series of 72

tests of database capacity, speed,

resilience, flexibility, and security.

The Datavail Health Check report

is easy to read and understand

Your DBAs may be too busy fighting

fires to be proactive – Datavail can

help.

Datavail can assess database

health as well as provide solutions

to issues.


Health Check results and responses

Nologging operations

that can result in

unavailability or

unrecoverability

Corrupt log files can

lead to a standby

failure when you

need it

Forced upgrade – you

may be so far behind on

patches that a bug may

crop up and you will be

forced to upgrade as a

solution from Oracle

Failed RMAN backups

may put you out of

compliance with

Corporate policies and

cause major problems if

you need them

Potential space

issues if disk space

and growth isn’t

monitored


Health Check results and responses

Users with DBA privs

should be evaluated.

Locked accounts

should be deleted

Recyclebin contents

– set up a script to

empty on a regular

basis

Duplicate datafile names,

or files with a double

extension – address

before they become a

problem in a move

Add auto extensible

files to reduce I/O

contention


Health Check performance issues

1

2

3

5

4

How are Stats gathered

– Use latest method

Are there objects without stats

– gather stats on all objects

unless there is a good reason

How often are redo logs

switching – goal should be 2-3

times per hour

Are database writes/reads

balanced – use auto extendible

files across mount points

Are there unstable plans – this can

be addressed if on EE with

diagnostics pack


Health Check Performance Issues

• How are Stats gathered – Use latest method

• Are there objects without stats – gather stats on all objects unless there is a

good reason

• How often are redo logs switching – goal should be 2-3 times per hour

• Are database writes/reads balanced – use auto extendible files across mount

points

• Are there unstable plans – this can be addressed if on EE with diagnostics pack


Health Check performance issues


Download the Oracle Health Assessment Checklist

www.Datavail.com/oracleHealthCheckList


Questions?

Contact

Datavail at www.datavail.com

or call

866-600-2995

Date post:	22-Jan-2018
Category:	Data & Analytics
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The Real Value of Oracle Health Checks

Data & Analytics