Agents Administration - Tests
 

Configuration of OraInstStatusTest

This test monitors each instance of an Oracle server, and reports whether that instance is available or not. If a user complaints of an Oracle server being inaccessible, you can use this test to determine whether the server itself is down or only the target instance is down.

Note:

For this test to report metrics for an Oracle database server that is executing on Unix platforms, the eG installed user that is executing the sqlplus command to collect the required metrics should be within the Oracle group. To add the eG installed user say for e.g., tim, you should use the following command:
usermod -a -G <Oracle_Group> <eG_User>

Example:

usermod -a -G Oracle_Group tim

To make sure that this test reports metrics for an Oracle database server configured with multiple instances, you need to insert the following entry in the listener.ora file of each instance.

SID_LIST_LISTENER=
SID_LIST=
(SID_DESC=
(GLOBAL_DBNAME=orcl.us.acme.com)
(ORACLE_HOME=/oracle10g)
(SID_NAME=orcl))

The default parameters associated with this test are as follows:

  • The TEST PERIOD list box helps the user to decide how often this test needs to be executed. 

  • In the HOST text box, the host name of the server for which the test is to be configured has to be specified.

  • The port number to which the oracle server is listening is to be provided in the PORT text box.

  • In order to monitor an Oracle database server, a special database user account has to be created in every Oracle database instance that requires monitoring. A Click here hyperlink is available in the test configuration page, using which a new oracle database user can be created. Alternatively, you can manually create the special database user. When doing so, ensure that this user is vested with the select_catalog_role and create session privileges.

    The sample script we recommend for user creation (in Oracle database server versions before 12c) for eG monitoring is:

    create user oraeg identified by oraeg
    create role oratest;
    grant create session to oratest;
    grant select_catalog_role to oratest;
    grant oratest to oraeg;

    The sample script we recommend for user creation (in Oracle database server 12c) for eG monitoring is:

    alter session set container=<Oracle_service_name>;
    create user <user_name> identified by <user_password> container=current default
    tablespace <name_of_default_tablespace> temporary tablespace <name_of_temporary_tablespace>;
    Grant create, session to <user_name>;
    Grant select_catalog_role to <user_name>;

    The name of this user has to be specified in the USER text box, and the password of this user has to be entered in the PASSWORD text box. This login information is required to query Oracle's internal dynamic views, so as to fetch the current status / health of the various database components.

  • Specify the full path in which the oracle server is installed in the ORACLE_HOME text box.

  • If the value chosen against ISPASSIVE is YES, then the server under consideration is a passive server in a cluster. No alerts will be generated if the server is not running. Measures will be reported as “Not applicable” by the agent if the server is not up.

  • To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise suite embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

    The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

    • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability

    • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

  • If multiple components of the same component type are awaiting configuration, then an APPLY TO OTHER COMPONENTS check box will appear in this page. Clicking on this check box will allow you to apply the configuration to all/selected components of that type.

  • Once the necessary values have been provided, clicking on the Update button will register the changes made.

When changing the configuration for specific servers, a “*” beside the text box corresponding to the parameter signifies that these values have to be manually configured by the user. The parameter values that require to be configured will typically be prefixed with a “$” or contain a series of “*”. A value of "none" in the parameter value indicates that the corresponding parameter value can be changed if required.