Checklist for

Oracle Applications
Daily, Weekly and Monthly
Responsibilities for
Oracle Applications DBAs
Erik Shin
Paul Steffen
SageWise Group, Inc.
 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Daily Checklist
• Oracle Database Tasks
– Database Status and Performance
– Database Backups
– System Resources
– Log File Management
• Oracle Applications Tasks
– Applications Services Status
– Concurrent Requests
• Miscellaneous
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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Daily Database Tasks

• On database startup, pin objects in the Shared Pool

– AD_TOP/sql/ADXGNPIN.sql => ADXSPPIN.sql
• Consider these tasks for monitoring on an
HOURLY basis throughout the day
– Users or processes that are holding exclusive locks
– Open cursors
– New Invalid database objects

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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Daily Database Tasks

(continued)

• Verify all instances are online

– Could be automated, or monitored 24/7 by Enterprise
Manager
• Review Alert Log entries
– Check for “ORA” errors or other unusual entries
• Verify success of database backups
– Including archiving to tape or disk
• depending on backup schedule frequency…
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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Daily Database Tasks

(continued)

• Monitor Cache Hit ratio

• Run Stats pack
• Analyze Tables and Gather Statistics
– 11i Concurrent Request “Gather Schema Stats”
– Run at off-hours to reduce table access or performance
problems; ensure no other concurrent jobs are running
at the same time.

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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Daily Database Tasks

(continued)

• Verify resources for acceptable performance

– Free space
• Operating System “TEMP” directories.
• Applications APPLCSF (“log” and “out”) directories.
• Tablespaces.
– Rollback segments’ status.
• ONLINE, not OFFLINE or FULL
– Identify bad growth projections and space-bound objects.
• Segments growing at a rate that will exceed max_extent parameters
• next_extents exceed the largest extent the tablespace can offer
– Review contention: CPU, memory, network, disk resources.
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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Daily Database Tasks

(continued)

• Log File Management

– Copy Archived logs to Standby database, roll forward
• can be automated; then your daily task is to confirm that
this happened correctly each day.
– Clean up log files
• User, Background, Core dumps
• Apache and Jserv log files
• Net8 logs
• AD utility log files
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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Daily Database Tasks

(continued)

• Verify Enterprise Manager is online

– Enterprise Manager, Management Server, and
Intelligent Agents on monitored nodes are operating
properly.
– Events/Alerts and Administrator Notifications are
working, and that scheduled Jobs are running as
specified.

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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Daily Applications Tasks

• Verify Applications services are on-line
– Successful Log in to Apps
– Concurrent Managers are up & running
• Concurrent Request Management
– Identify problem requests and check “log” and “out” files for
indications of the issue.
• Follow up troubleshooting if required.
– Purge Concurrent Requests
• Example: all requests over 14 days old
• Purge Obsolete Workflow Definitions
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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Miscellaneous Daily Tasks

• Review Oracle Metalink for status of open
Technical Assistance Requests (TARs)
• Document all modifications and tasks completed
• Read DBA manuals and software documentation

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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Weekly Checklist

• Oracle Database Tasks

– Object management
– Security
– Remote Access
– Synchronize instances
• Miscellaneous

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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Weekly Database Tasks

• Verify scheduled scripts are completing

successfully
• Look for objects that “break the rules”
– Naming conventions, storage parameters, etc.
– Check for fragmentation/row-chaining
– Dictionary-managed tablespaces pct_increase set to 1%
– Check interim tables defined with their own tablespaces
(e.g., gl_storage_parameters)

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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Weekly Database Tasks

(continued)

• Look for Security Policy violations

• Verify remote-access tools are on-line
• Synchronize “Test” and/or “Development”
instances with “Production”
– Verify patch-level differences between instances
• Schedule will vary with local synchronization policies…

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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Miscellaneous Weekly Tasks

• Monitor User Group lists and Newsgroups for

relevant topics
• Visit websites of key vendors for new information,
troubleshooting tips, etc.

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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Monthly Checklist
• Oracle Database Tasks
– Growth Trends
– Performance & Tuning
– User maintenance
– Patches
– Predict the Future!
• Oracle Applications Tasks
– Concurrent Manager Tuning
– Patches
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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Monthly Database Tasks

• Monitor for harmful growth rates

– Rapid Table and Index growth
• Performance and Tuning
– Look for I/O contention
– Watch for poor performance caused by fragmentation
– Resolve these issues as needed

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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Monthly Database Tasks

(continued)

• User maintenance
– Password changes (will vary with local security
policies)
– FNDCPASS command (11i password
management utility -- patch 1685689)
• Patches
– Review available database patches, particularly
those related to security bugfixes.
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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Monthly Database Tasks

(continued)

• Predict the Future!

– System performance issues
• CPU and RAM usage
• Network performance
– Database space utilization
• Active instance requirements
• Archives & Backups

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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

Monthly Applications Tasks

• Concurrent Manager Tuning
– Adjust the number of “target” processes
– Create special Concurrent Managers for specific
kinds of requests
• Patches
– Review latest available patches
• Individual Patches
• Family Packs for installed modules
– Installation of patches will vary with local policies

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 Checklist for Oracle
Applications

References
• Cook, David
– Database Management from Crisis to Confidence
http://www.orapub.com/

• Cox, Thomas B.
– The Database Administration Maturity Model

• Cox, Thomas B., with Christine Choi

– Oracle DBA Checklist

• Loney, Kevin
– Oracle8 DBA Handbook

• Matthews, Barbara J.
– Administering Oracle Applications (Herding Cats Made Easy)
– Managing the Concurrent Manager
– Advanced Concurrent Manager Performance Analysis
http://www.oncalldba.com/

• Sowers, Kimberly A.
– Configuring, Managing and Monitoring the Concurrent Managers
– Concurrent Managers – Turning Foe into Friend

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 Checklist for
Oracle Applications
SageWise Group, Inc.
www.SageWiseGroup.com

Erik Shin
Email: eshin@SageWiseGroup.com
Paul Steffen
Email: psteffen@SageWiseGroup.com

Copyright 2003, SageWise Group, Inc.