Oracle RAC Alerts Test

This test periodically tracks the errors that are newly added to the alert log of the target Oracle Cluster database server.

Note:

This test will not report metrics for an Oracle 12c PDB server in an Oracle Cluster database server.

Target of the test : An Oracle Cluster

Agent deploying the test : An internal agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for every alert log file.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test period

How often should the test be executed

Host

The host for which the test is to be configured.

Port

The port on which the server is listening.

Service Name

A ServiceName exists for the entire Oracle RAC system. When clients connect to an Oracle cluster using the ServiceName, then the cluster routes the request to any available database instance in the cluster. By default, the Service Name is set to none. In this case, the test connects to the cluster using the ORASID and pulls out the metrics from that database instance which corresponds to that ORASID. If a valid service name is specified instead, then, the test will connect to the cluster using that Service Name, and will be able to pull out metrics from any available database instance in the cluster.

To know the Service Name of a cluster, execute the following query on any node in the target cluster:

select name, value from v$parameter where name =’service_names’

ORASID

The variable name of the oracle instance.

Username

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 select any dictionary 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>;

Grant select any dictionary to <user_name>;

The name of this user has to be specified here.

Password

Specify the password of the specified database user.

Confirm Password

Confirm the Password by retyping it here.

Search Pattern

Enter the specific patterns of alerts to be monitored. The pattern should be in the following format: <PatternName>:<Pattern>, where <PatternName> is the pattern name that will be displayed in the monitor interface and <Pattern> is an expression of the form - expr or expr or expr or expr, etc. A leading ‘*’ signifies any number of leading characters, while a trailing ‘*’ signifies any number of trailing characters.  

For example, say you specify ORA:ORA-* in the Search Pattern text box. This indicates that “ORA” is the pattern name to be displayed in the monitor interface. “ORA-*” indicates that the test will monitor only those lines in the alert log which start with the term “ORA-“. Similarly, if your pattern specification reads: offline:*offline, then it means that the pattern name is offline and that the test will monitor those lines in the alert log which end with the term offline.

Multiple search patterns can be specified as a comma-separated list. For example: ORA:ORA-*,offline:*offline*,online:*online.

Specify all if all Oracle alerts are to be monitored.

Exclude Pattern

Provide a comma-separated list of message patterns to be excluded from monitoring. For instance, if you want to monitor all alert messages that begin with “ORA-“, except the messages that begin with    “ORA—“ and “ORA-info”, you can configure ORA-* as the Search Pattern and configure ORA--,ORA-info as the Exclude Pattern.

SSL

By default, this flag is set to No, as the target Oracle cluster is not SSL-enabled by default. If the target cluster is SSL-enabled, then set this flag to Yes.

SSL Cipher

This parameter is applicable only if the target Oracle Cluster is SSL-enabled, if not, set this parameter to none. A cipher suite is a set of cryptographic algorithms that are used before a client application and server exchange information over an SSL/TLS connection. It consist of sets of instructions on how to secure a network through SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security). In this text box, provide a comma-seperated list of cipher suites that are allowed for SSL/TLS connection to the target cluster. By default, this parameter is set to none.

Truststore File

This parameter is applicable only if the target Oracle Cluster is SSL-enabled, if not, set this parameter to none. TrustStore is used to store certificates from Certified Authorities (CA) that verify and authenticate the certificate presented by the server in an SSL connection. Therefore, the eG agent should have access to the truststore where the certificates are stored to authenticate and connect with the target cluster and collect metrics. For this, first import the certificates into the following default location <eG_INSTALL_DIR>/lib/security/mytruststore.jks. To know how to import the certificate into the truststore, refer toPre-requisites for monitoring Oracle Cluster. Then, provide the truststore file name in this text box. For example: mytruststore.jks. By default, none is specified against this text box.

Truststore Type

This parameter is applicable only if the target Oracle Cluster is SSL-enabled, if not, set this parameter to none.Specify the type of truststore that contains the certificates for server authentication in this text box. For eg.,JKS. By default, this parameter is set to the value none.

Truststore Password

This parameter is applicable only if the target Oracle Cluster is SSL-enabled, if not, set this parameter to none. If a Truststore File name is provided, then, in this text box, provide the password that is used to obtain the associated certificate details from the Truststore File. By default, this parameter is set to none.

Detailed Diagnosis

To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise 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.
Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Recent errors

Indicates the number of new errors that have been written by oracle to the alert log file.

Number

The value of this measure is a clear indicator of the number of “new” alerts that have come into the alert log of the monitored database.