Department =IT

OS=DBA
Learning module:09
Unit of competence: Monitor and Administer Database
Module Title: Monitoring and Administering Database
Occupational code: ICT DBA4 09 0710
 LO1: Start up a database
 LO2: Manage database
LO3: Manage database access
Trainees manual and information sheet for DBA level
IV
Compiled By D

in 12/12/2007

1
Technical Note
Administering the Monitoring
database
Administering the Monitoring database
Introduction to Database Management
Database management involves the monitoring, administration, and maintenance of the databases and
database groups in your enterprise. Enterprise Manager is the premier tool for managing your database
environment.

With Enterprise Manager, you receive:

 A complete set of integrated features for managing Oracle Databases

 Unparalleled scalability that lets you manage a single database or thousands of instances
 An intuitive management product that leads the industry in ease of deployment and use

Database Control Versus Grid Control

Enterprise Manager provides two separate consoles that you can use to monitor your database:
Database Control and Grid Control.

 Database Control is the Enterprise Manager Web-based application for managing Oracle
Database 10g Release 2 (10.2). Database Control is installed and available with every Oracle
Database 10g installation. From Database Control, you can monitor and administer a single
Oracle Database instance or a clustered database.
 Grid Control is the Enterprise Manager console you use to centrally manage your entire Oracle
environment. Within Grid Control, you access the multiple database targets using the Targets
tab, then Databases.

Database Home Page as the Management Hub

The Enterprise Manager Database Home page shows important status and performance information
about your database instance from a single source, including:

 A quick view of the status of the database and basic information about the database
 Relative CPU utilization of the Oracle host
 Amount of time the instance consumed using CPU and I/O, and the amount of time it
consumed in bottlenecks
 Current response of the tracked set of SQL versus the reference collection response

2
  The number of Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitoring (ADDM) findings, the number of
policy violations (Database Control only), and the Alert Log status
 Storage-related issues and recommendations for improved performance, and information about
space violations and ADDM
 The most recent backup time and backup status
 Outstanding alerts and related alerts
 Rolled-up number of Oracle policy violations across all member targets in a system
 A quick view of database security
 Job executions that show the scheduled, running, suspended, and problem executions

Starting from the Database Home page, you can access additional details and management functions
by drilling down through the user interface. In addition, the Database Home page provides a list of
Related Links. From these links you can perform activities such as editing metric thresholds, analyzing
job activity and metric collection errors, and accessing a number of advisors to help you improve the
performance of your database.

Monitoring Databases
Comprehensive database monitoring enables you to identify the problem areas in your database
environment that are degrading performance. After you have identified the areas to improve, you can
tune your databases' performance using the Enterprise Manager administration capabilities.

Enterprise Manager uses data from the Automatic Workload Repository (AWR) to display
performance information and initiate database alerts. The user interface provides several real-time
performance charts and drill-downs for the targets you manage. Both aggregate and instance-specific
performance statistics are displayed using color-coded charts for easier viewing. To help you identify
the source of a problem and resolve it, you can click a legend link next to a chart to display a detail
page that provides comprehensive information.

The basic work flow in monitoring performance is to first go to the Database Performance page, which
provides a high-level, comprehensive overview of important performance indicators.

Assessing Database Performance

Database tuning is much easier and more effective when all the information for an in-depth
performance diagnosis is available on a single screen. On the Database Performance page (which is
accessible from the Database Home page, you can quickly view performance data for the instance and
its underlying host. Additionally, you can analyze trends for all critical performance metrics and
compare the trends to those of other database instances.

The most direct method for investigating and diagnosing performance problems from this page
consists of accessing the Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitor (ADDM). After you start your
Oracle database, the Automatic Workload Repository (AWR) begins taking snapshots of database
activity once every hour by default, and ADDM executes when the snapshots are collected. ADDM
uses these snapshots to perform a top-down analysis of your database activity and then provide tuning
recommendations.

3
Another method for investigating and diagnosing performance problems consists of observing which
of the wait classes beside the Average Active Sessions chart appears to be consuming an excessive
amount of time, shown as a spike above the Maximum CPU line, then drilling down for more
information. This provides a way for you to visualize the data for which ADDM has made its
recommendations.

Either method assists you in diagnosing and resolving problems. The first automated method produces
textual findings, whereas the second interactive method produces graphical findings.

Lo1: Starting Up a Database

When you start up a database, you create an instance of that database and you determine the state of
the database. Normally, you start up an instance by mounting and opening the database. Doing so
makes the database available for any valid user to connect to and perform typical data access
operations. Other options exist, and these are also discussed in this section.

This section contains the following topics relating to starting up an instance of a database:

Options for Starting Up a Database

You can start up a database instance with SQL*Plus, Recovery Manager, or Enterprise Manager.

Starting Up a Database Using SQL*Plus

You can start a SQL*Plus session, connect to Oracle Database with administrator privileges, and then
issue the STARTUP command. Using SQL*Plus in this way is the only method described in detail in
this book.

Starting Up a Database Using Recovery Manager

You can also use Recovery Manager (RMAN) to execute STARTUP and SHUTDOWN commands. You
may prefer to do this if your are within the RMAN environment and do not want to invoke SQL*Plus.

See Also:

Oracle Database Backup and Recovery User's Guide for information on starting up the database using
RMAN

Starting Up a Database Using Oracle Enterprise Manager

You can use Oracle Enterprise Manager (EM) to administer your database, including starting it up and
shutting it down. EM combines a GUI console, agents, common services, and tools to provide an
integrated and comprehensive systems management platform for managing Oracle products. EM
Database Control, which is the portion of EM that is dedicated to administering an Oracle database,
enables you to perform the functions discussed in this book using a GUI interface, rather than
command line operations.

See Also:
4
The remainder of this section describes using SQL*Plus to start up a database instance.

About Initialization Parameters and Startup

To start an instance, the database must read instance configuration parameters (the initialization
parameters) from either a server parameter file (SPFILE) or a text initialization parameter file.

When you issue the SQL*Plus STARTUP command, the database attempts to read the initialization
parameters from an SPFILE in a platform-specific default location. If it finds no SPFILE, it searches for
a text initialization parameter file.

Note:

For UNIX or Linux, the platform-specific default location (directory) for the SPFILE and text
initialization parameter file is:
$ORACLE_HOME/dbs

For Windows NT and Windows 2000 the location is:

%ORACLE_HOME%\database

In the platform-specific default location, Oracle Database locates your initialization parameter file by
examining filenames in the following order:

1. spfile$ORACLE_SID.ora
2. spfile.ora
3. init$ORACLE_SID.ora

The first two filenames represent SPFILEs and the third represents a text initialization parameter file.

Note:

The spfile.ora file is included in this search path because in an Oracle Real Application Clusters
environment one server parameter file is used to store the initialization parameter settings for all
instances. There is no instance-specific location for storing a server parameter file.

For more information about the server parameter file for an Oracle Real Application Clusters
environment, see Oracle Real Application Clusters Administration and Deployment Guide.

If you (or the Database Configuration Assistant) created a server parameter file, but you want to
override it with a text initialization parameter file, you can specify the PFILE clause of the STARTUP
command to identify the initialization parameter file.

STARTUP PFILE = /u01/oracle/dbs/init.ora

Starting Up with a Non-Default Server Parameter File

5
A non-default server parameter file (SPFILE) is an SPFILE that is in a location other than the default
location. It is not usually necessary to start an instance with a non-default SPFILE. However, should
such a need arise, you can use the PFILE clause to start an instance with a non-default server parameter
file as follows:

1. Create a one-line text initialization parameter file that contains only the SPFILE parameter. The
value of the parameter is the non-default server parameter file location.

For example, create a text initialization parameter file /u01/oracle/dbs/spf_init.ora that

contains only the following parameter:

SPFILE = /u01/oracle/dbs/test_spfile.ora

Note:

You cannot use the IFILE initialization parameter within a text initialization parameter file to
point to a server parameter file. In this context, you must use the SPFILE initialization
parameter.

2. Start up the instance pointing to this initialization parameter file.

3. STARTUP PFILE = /u01/oracle/dbs/spf_init.ora

The SPFILE must reside on the machine running the database server. Therefore, the preceding method
also provides a means for a client machine to start a database that uses an SPFILE. It also eliminates
the need for a client machine to maintain a client-side initialization parameter file. When the client
machine reads the initialization parameter file containing the SPFILE parameter, it passes the value to
the server where the specified SPFILE is read.

Note that on the UNIX and Linux platforms, if your SPFILE is not in the default location, you can also
create a symbolic link to the SPFILE and place the symbolic link in the default location.

See Table 2-3 for information on PFILE and SPFILE default names and locations.

Initialization Files and Automatic Storage Management

A database that uses Automatic Storage Management (ASM) usually has a non-default SPFILE. If you
use the Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) to configure a database to use ASM, DBCA creates
an SPFILE for the database instance in an ASM disk group, and then creates a text initialization
parameter file in the default location in the local file system to point to the SPFILE.

See Also:

Chapter 2, "Creating and Configuring an Oracle Database", for more information about initialization
parameters, initialization parameter files, and server parameter files

Preparing to Start Up an Instance

6
You must perform some preliminary steps before attempting to start an instance of your database using
SQL*Plus.

1. Ensure that environment variables are set so that you connect to the desired Oracle instance.
For details, see

2. Start SQL*Plus without connecting to the database:

3. SQLPLUS /NOLOG

4. Connect to Oracle Database as SYSDBA:

5. CONNECT username AS SYSDBA

Now you are connected to the database and ready to start up an instance of your database.

See Also:

SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference for descriptions and syntax for the CONNECT, STARTUP, and
SHUTDOWN commands.

Starting Up an Instance
You use the SQL*Plus STARTUP command to start up an Oracle Database instance. You can start an
instance in various modes:

 Start the instance without mounting a database. This does not allow access to the database and
usually would be done only for database creation or the re-creation of control files.

 Start the instance and mount the database, but leave it closed. This state allows for certain
DBA activities, but does not allow general access to the database.

 Start the instance, and mount and open the database. This can be done in unrestricted mode,
allowing access to all users, or in restricted mode, allowing access for database administrators
only.

 Force the instance to start after a startup or shutdown problem, or start the instance and have
complete media recovery begin immediately.

Note:

You cannot start a database instance if you are connected to the database through a shared server
process.

The following scenarios describe and illustrate the various states in which you can start up an instance.
Some restrictions apply when combining clauses of the STARTUP command.

Note:

7
It is possible to encounter problems starting up an instance if control files, database files, or redo log
files are not available. If one or more of the files specified by the CONTROL_FILES initialization
parameter does not exist or cannot be opened when you attempt to mount a database, Oracle Database
returns a warning message and does not mount the database. If one or more of the datafiles or redo log
files is not available or cannot be opened when attempting to open a database, the database returns a
warning message and does not open the database.

See Also:

SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference for information about the restrictions that apply when
combining clauses of the STARTUP command

Starting an Instance, and Mounting and Opening a Database

Normal database operation means that an instance is started and the database is mounted and open.
This mode allows any valid user to connect to the database and perform data access operations.

The following command starts an instance, reads the initialization parameters from the default
location, and then mounts and opens the database. (You can optionally specify a PFILE clause.)

STARTUP

Starting an Instance Without Mounting a Database

You can start an instance without mounting a database. Typically, you do so only during database
creation. Use the STARTUP command with the NOMOUNT clause:

STARTUP NOMOUNT

Starting an Instance and Mounting a Database

You can start an instance and mount a database without opening it, allowing you to perform specific
maintenance operations. For example, the database must be mounted but not open during the
following tasks:

 Enabling and disabling redo log archiving options. For more information, please refer to
Chapter 11, "Managing Archived Redo Logs".

 Performing full database recovery. For more information, please refer to Oracle Database
Backup and Recovery User's Guide

The following command starts an instance and mounts the database, but leaves the database closed:

STARTUP MOUNT

Restricting Access to an Instance at Startup

You can start an instance, and optionally mount and open a database, in restricted mode so that the
instance is available only to administrative personnel (not general database users). Use this mode of
instance startup when you need to accomplish one of the following tasks:

8
  Perform an export or import of data
 Perform a data load (with SQL*Loader)
 Temporarily prevent typical users from using data
 Perform certain migration or upgrade operations

Typically, all users with the CREATE SESSION system privilege can connect to an open database.
Opening a database in restricted mode allows database access only to users with both the CREATE
SESSION and RESTRICTED SESSION system privilege. Only database administrators should have the
RESTRICTED SESSION system privilege. Further, when the instance is in restricted mode, a database
administrator cannot access the instance remotely through an Oracle Net listener, but can only access
the instance locally from the machine that the instance is running on.

The following command starts an instance (and mounts and opens the database) in restricted mode:

STARTUP RESTRICT

You can use the RESTRICT clause in combination with the MOUNT, NOMOUNT, and OPEN clauses.

Later, use the ALTER SYSTEM statement to disable the RESTRICTED SESSION feature:

ALTER SYSTEM DISABLE RESTRICTED SESSION;

If you open the database in nonrestricted mode and later find that you need to restrict access, you can
use the ALTER SYSTEM statement to do so, as described in "Restricting Access to an Open Database".

See Also:

Oracle Database SQL Language Reference for more information on the ALTER SYSTEM statement

Forcing an Instance to Start

In unusual circumstances, you might experience problems when attempting to start a database
instance. You should not force a database to start unless you are faced with the following:

 You cannot shut down the current instance with the SHUTDOWN NORMAL, SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE,
or SHUTDOWN TRANSACTIONAL commands.

 You experience problems when starting an instance.

If one of these situations arises, you can usually solve the problem by starting a new instance (and
optionally mounting and opening the database) using the STARTUP command with the FORCE clause:

STARTUP FORCE

If an instance is running, STARTUP FORCE shuts it down with mode ABORT before restarting it. In this
case, beginning with Oracle Database 10g Release 2, the alert log shows the message "Shutting down
instance (abort)" followed by "Starting ORACLE instance (normal)." (Earlier versions of the
database showed only "Starting ORACLE instance (force)" in the alert log.)

9
See Also:

"Shutting Down with the ABORT Clause" to understand the side effects of aborting the current
instance

Starting an Instance, Mounting a Database, and Starting Complete Media Recovery

If you know that media recovery is required, you can start an instance, mount a database to the
instance, and have the recovery process automatically start by using the STARTUP command with the
RECOVER clause:

STARTUP OPEN RECOVER

If you attempt to perform recovery when no recovery is required, Oracle Database issues an error
message.

Automatic Database Startup at Operating System Start

Many sites use procedures to enable automatic startup of one or more Oracle Database instances and
databases immediately following a system start. The procedures for performing this task are specific to
each operating system. For information about automatic startup, see your operating system specific
Oracle documentation.

Starting Remote Instances

If your local Oracle Database server is part of a distributed database, you might want to start a remote
instance and database. Procedures for starting and stopping remote instances vary widely depending
on communication protocol and operating system.

Lo2:mange database

Organizations Use Data

Organizations use large amounts of data. These data can be related to the people who work for the
organization, its products or services, the customers or any other aspect of the operations of the
organization. The data need to be organized in a way that supports decision-making. The most
common data types are text and numbers, but data can also include images, photographs, sound, video
and other types. Data are organized in a database.

Library Example
Let's consider an example of how databases are used. Think of a public library. A library contains
books, magazines, CDs, DVDs and other materials. All these materials need to be catalogued so we
know what is available in the library. For each item, the catalog would describe things like the type of
item, the title, the authors, the publishers and other relevant details. The catalog also needs to be

10
searchable, so the librarian typically assigns some keywords to each item. The library catalog is a type
of database.

Once we have a catalog, we also need to have a way for users to check out the materials. Users need to
be able to register, get a library card and use this card to check out the materials they want to take
home. So the library needs a database of users. This would include the user's name, address, telephone
number, e-mail and age. With a catalog of materials and a user database, the library can start
operating. What is needed to support the day-to-day operations is a system to keep track of which
materials each user checks out and when they get returned. This system needs to be linked to the
catalog and the user database.

Now consider how you actually use the library and what decisions are being made. You go to the
library and want to learn something about the theory of evolution. The first thing you probably do is
go to a computer terminal and search the catalog with a keyword like 'evolution theory.' You browse
through the results to see which books might be most useful. Once you have found a few titles, you
can check to make sure they are not already checked out.

You find the materials you are interested in on the shelves and take them to the checkout counter. The
staff at the counter scans your library card to make sure your account is in good standing. If you have
books overdue, the staff member will be quick to remind you. Then the materials you want to check
out are scanned, and the staff member will make sure you don't exceed any limits set by the library -
such as a maximum of three music CDs.

You take your materials home, and a week later you get a reminder e-mail that your music CDs are
due, since you can only keep them for a week. You return the music CDs but keep the books for now.
Two weeks later, you get a reminder your books are due. You are not quite done reading them, so you
log on to the library's website and renew the books online. A few weeks later, you return the books.

Throughout these steps, you have used the library system in several ways:

 The catalog terminals at the library

 The checkout counters
 The e-mail notification system, and
 The online renewal system

All of this is possible because of the database systems maintained by the library.

Also consider how the library staff uses the databases. Staff at the checkout counters process user
requests. Librarians add new books to the catalogue and help users find materials at other libraries.
Senior staff at the library analyze how the collections are being used, which new materials should be
acquired and how to best meet the needs of the many library users. All of these decisions are informed
by the various databases.

Benefits of Database Management

The library example has demonstrated a number of benefits of database management:

To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Create your account

11
Lo3: Manage database access
Each Access database consists of multiple objects that let you interact with data. Databases can
include forms for entering data, queries for searching within it, reports for analyzing it, and tables
for storing it. Whenever you work with your database, you are working with many of these objects at
once. Fortunately, Access makes managing these objects pretty easy.

In this lesson, you will learn how to to open and close databases, as well as how to open, close, and
save objects.

Throughout this tutorial, we will be using a sample database. If you would like to follow along,
download our example and use it to follow the procedures demonstrated in this lesson.

Manage database objects in the Navigation Pane

In Access 2010, database objects are displayed in the Navigation Pane, a feature introduced in Access
2007. The Database window of earlier versions is not available.

You can customize the categories and groups of objects in the Navigation Pane. You can also hide
objects, groups, or even the entire Navigation Pane. Access 2010 provides several categories that you
can use right away, and also lets you create custom categories and groups.

Note   The Navigation Pane is not available when you use a Web database in a browser. However, you
can use the Navigation Pane when you open a Web database by using Access.

The Navigation Pane is the primary means by which you view and access all your database objects.
When you open a database in Access 2010, by default the Navigation Pane appears along the left side
of the workspace.

Adjusting the Navigation Pane

You can adjust the appearance of the Navigation Pane in the following ways:

To Do this
Position the pointer over the right edge of the Navigation Pane and then, when
Change the width of the
it changes to a double-sided arrow, drag the edge to increase or decrease the
Navigation Pane
width.
Open and close the Click the Shutter Bar Open/Close Button , or press F11 to open and
Navigation Pane close the Navigation Pane.

12
Using database objects

You can use any object in the Navigation Pane by double-clicking it. If you right-click an object, you
see a shortcut menu that lets you do a variety of things, such as opening an object in Design view.

Categories and groups

You can organize the objects in a database into categories and groups. Categories let you arrange the
objects in the Navigation Pane and groups let you filter the categorized objects.

13
For example, in the preceding figure, Object Type is the category, and All Access Objects is the
group.

When you select a category, the items are arranged into the groups that the category contains. For
example, if you choose the Tables and Related Views category, the items are arranged into one group
per table, with each group containing shortcuts to all the objects that use the table — queries, forms,
reports, and so on. If an object uses more than one table, it appears in all relevant groups.

Top of Page

Select a category
When you create a new database, the category displayed by default is Tables and Related Views, and
the group is All Tables. Every database also has a category named Custom that you can use to create
a custom view of your objects. In addition, Access provides two more predefined categories that you
can select, according to the way in which you want the objects to be displayed:

Category Description
Object
View all the objects in the database, sorted by their type.
Type
Created
Date
Locate objects that are created or modified on a specific date or in a date range. You can
and filter by Today or All Dates. These categories display objects in descending order from
when they were created or last modified.
Modified
Date

14
For example, in the Northwind sample database, if you display the All Tables group, you see this:

Note the Employees group displays the Employees table followed by the objects related to the
Employees table. If you expand their groups, the same occurs with the remaining tables.

15
 Each time that you select a predefined category, Access
includes a global group that contains all the objects in the database. You can easily locate the global
group for a category by looking for the word All in front of the group name. For example, if you select
the Tables and Related Views category, the global group is called All Tables.

Top of Page

Display and sort objects

You can select the way in which the objects in the database are displayed in the Navigation Pane. For
example, you can include the creation or modified dates, or display objects as icons or lists. By
default, Access sorts the objects in the Navigation Pane by object type in ascending alphabetical order,
but you can also change the sorting to suit your needs. To specify how objects are displayed and
sorted, do the following:

 Right-click the top of the Navigation Pane to display the shortcut menu, and then do any one of
the following:

o To change how the objects are displayed, point to View By, and then click either
Details, Icon, or List.

o To view all the groups in the database, click Show all groups.

o To change the sort order of the Navigation Pane, point to Sort By and then select a
sorting option.

o To sort manually and customize the display order, click Sort By, and then click
Remove Automatic Sorts.

Top of Page
16
Find objects in a database
While you type text in the Search box, Access searches within the category for any groups that
contain an object or object shortcut that meets your search terms. Any groups that don't contain a
match are collapsed.

Note   Access searches for objects only in the categories and groups that are currently displayed in the
Navigation Pane.

Tip   To search the whole database for a specific object, select one of the predefined categories in the
Navigation Pane, such as Tables and Related Views or Object Type. This helps make sure that all
the groups are visible in the Navigation Pane.

Use the Search box to find database objects or shortcuts

1. If the Search box is not already visible at the top of the Navigation Pane, right-click the menu
bar at the top of the Navigation Pane, and then click Search Bar.

2. Type either a part or the complete name of the object or shortcut in the Search Bar box.

While you type characters, Access searches and eliminates any

group headings that don't contain a match.

3. To perform another search, click Clear Search String or press BACKSPACE to delete
characters, and then type the new text for which you want to search.

Note   When you clear the Search Bar box, the Navigation Pane again displays all of the
available objects.

Top of Page

Create and modify custom categories and groups

When you create a new database without using a template, by default the database contains a Custom
category, which displays one group that contains all the objects that are defined in the database. You
can rename the custom category, create more custom groups in it, and assign objects to those groups.
The default sorting option for groups is All Tables.

When you view custom categories and groups from the Navigation Pane, you always see the shortcuts
to the objects. Shortcuts can be identified by a small arrow next to the lower-left corner of the object
icon.

17
 When you open a shortcut, you open the object it points to. However,
if you delete a shortcut, Office Access 2007 does not delete the object in the database that the shortcut
points to. You can also hide and rename shortcuts without changing the data that the shortcuts point to
in the database.

One way to customize the objects in a database is by creating custom categories. For example, you can
create a custom category when you want to create a form with specific types of buttons or links that
you can use to navigate the database. When you create a custom category, it applies to the current
database only. You cannot transfer custom categories and groups to other databases. You can create a
custom category by either renaming the default Custom category that Access provides or by creating a
new custom category. Limiting the number of custom categories and groups in your database can
make it easier to locate data.

Note    Although you can remove objects from a custom category or group, you cannot remove objects
from a predefined category or group.

Use the Navigation Options dialog box to create and manage custom categories and groups. The
dialog box displays a list of all the categories that have been defined in the database, and shows the
groups for a selected category.

Create a custom category

When you create a new custom category, groups named Unassigned Objects and Custom Group 1
are created for that category. By default, Office Access 2007 does not put any objects in the
Unassigned Objects group. Instead, all the objects in a category that are not assigned to any group are
displayed in the Unassigned Objects group in the Navigation Pane.

1. To create a new category, right-click the menu at the top of the Navigation Pane, and then click
Navigation Options.

2. Under Categories, click Add Item.

A new category appears under Categories in the Navigation Options dialog box.

3. Type a name for the new category, and then press ENTER.

Rename a custom category

If an unused custom category is available, you can rename it instead of adding a new custom category.

1. To rename a custom category, right-click the menu at the top of the Navigation Pane, and then
click Navigation Options.

18
 2. Under Categories, click Custom, and then click Rename Item.

3. Type a new name for the category, and then press ENTER.

After you create or rename a custom category, you need to create custom groups under each custom
category.

Access automatically creates a Custom Group 1 and an Unassigned Objects group under each new
category. Objects that are not assigned to groups are automatically put in the Unassigned Objects
group. You can either create a new custom group or rename the Custom Group 1 group to the name
that you choose.

Create a custom group

1. To create a new custom group, right-click the menu at the top of the Navigation Pane, and then
click Navigation Options.

2. Under Groups for category name, click Add Group.

3. Type a name for the new group, and then press ENTER.

Rename a custom group

1. To rename a custom group, right-click the menu at the top of the Navigation Pane, and then
click Navigation Options.

2. Under Groups for category name, click the custom group, and then click Rename Group.

3. Type a new name for the group, and then press ENTER.

After you have created a custom group in a custom category, you add or move objects, such as tables,
into the custom group.

Add objects to a custom group

You can add objects to a custom group in several different ways, such as dragging an object to create a
shortcut, copying and pasting, and importing objects from external sources. However, if you choose to
cut an object from a group, be aware that this can cause problems. We do not recommend cutting an
object because a database is a set of components that work together, and if an object is deleted from
that set of components, it can break part or all of the functionality of the database.

 To add or move objects in the database into a custom group, click the drop-down arrow at the
top of the Navigation Pane, and then click the custom group that you created.

 Under Unassigned Objects, right-click the object that you want to add or move.

 Click Add to group on the shortcut menu, and then click the custom group that you want to
add the object to.

19
Copy and paste objects

 In the Navigation Pane, right-click the object that you want to copy, and then click Copy.

 Right-click the group in the Navigation Pane where you want to paste the object, and then click
Paste. You can also paste the object into the Navigation Pane of another database that is open
in Access 2010.

Importing tables from other databases or data from other programs (such as text files and Microsoft
Office Excel workbooks) is another way to add objects to your database. For more information about
how to import external data, see the links in the See Also section of this article.

Top of Page

Remove and restore shortcuts in custom groups

When you view custom objects in the Navigation Pane, you are actually looking at shortcuts to those
objects. An object icon with a small arrow next to its lower-left corner indicates that it is a shortcut or
pointer to the actual object.

If you remove or delete a shortcut from the Navigation Pane, you are
only removing the pointer to that object and not removing the object from the database. When the
shortcut of an object is removed from a custom group in the Navigation Pane, the reference to the
object is removed from the custom group, and the object appears in the Unassigned Objects group in
the Navigation Pane.

 To remove a shortcut, right-click the object in the Navigation Pane, and then click Remove.

 To restore the shortcut for the object, drag the object from the Unassigned Objects group in
the Navigation Pane to the custom group.

Important   Although you can delete (that is, permanently remove) predefined and custom groups, we
do not recommend doing this because it can cause problems in the database. Databases are sets of
components that work together, and if an object is deleted from that set of components, it can break
part or all the functionality of the database.

Hide objects and groups

Hiding an object or group can be a better option than deleting it when the object or group is not used
or you want to restrict access to it. Hiding an object does not change the database, whereas deleting an
object or group (even if it appears to be a duplicate) can break part or all of the functionality of the
database.

20
To hide an object or group in the Navigation Pane, do one of the following:

 To hide an object, right-click the object, and then click Hide in this Group.

 To hide an entire group, right-click the group, and then click Hide.

To hide an object or group that appears dimmed in the Navigation Pane, do the following:

1. Right-click the menu bar at the top of the Navigation Pane, and then click Navigation
Options.

2. In the Navigation Options dialog box, clear the Show Hidden Objects check box, and then
click OK.

Unhide objects and groups

To display hidden objects or groups without providing access to them, do the following:

 Right-click the menu bar at the top of the Navigation Pane, and then click Navigation
Options.

 In the Navigation Options dialog box, select the Show Hidden Objects check box, and then
click OK.

If the hidden objects and groups appear dimmed in the Navigation Pane, they are not enabled. To
make these dimmed objects or groups available from the Navigation Pane, do the following:

 To enable an object, right-click the object, and then click Unhide in this Group.

 To unhide a group, right-click the group, and then click Unhide.

Lo4:Document database maintenance tasks

Managing Automated Database Maintenance Tasks

Oracle Database has automated several common maintenance tasks typically performed by database
administrators. These automated maintenance tasks are performed when the system load is expected to
be light. You can enable and disable individual maintenance tasks, and can configure when these tasks
run and what resource allocations they are allotted.

In this chapter:

 About Automated Maintenance Tasks

 About Maintenance Windows
 Configuring Automated Maintenance Tasks
 Configuring Maintenance Windows

21
  Configuring Resource Allocations for Automated Maintenance Tasks
 Automated Maintenance Tasks Reference

Note:

This chapter explains how to administer automated maintenance tasks using PL/SQL packages. An
easier way is to use the graphical interface of Enterprise Manager.

To manage automatic maintenance tasks with Enterprise Manager:

1. Access the Database Home Page.

See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA or the Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control online help
for instructions.

2. On the Database Home Page, click Server to display the Server page.

3. Under the Oracle Scheduler section, click Automated Maintenance Tasks to configure
maintenance tasks, or Windows to configure maintenance windows.

About Automated Maintenance Tasks

Automated maintenance tasks are tasks that are started automatically at regular intervals to perform
maintenance operations on the database. An example is a task that gathers statistics on schema objects
for the query optimizer. Automated maintenance tasks run in maintenance windows, which are
predefined time intervals that are intended to occur during a period of low system load. You can
customize maintenance windows based on the resource usage patterns of your database, or disable
certain default windows from running. You can also create your own maintenance windows.

Oracle Database has three predefined automated maintenance tasks:

 Automatic Optimizer Statistics Collection—Collects optimizer statistics for all schema objects
in the database for which there are no statistics or only stale statistics. The statistics gathered
by this task are used by the SQL query optimizer to improve the performance of SQL
execution.

See Also:

Oracle Database Performance Tuning Guide for more information on automatic statistics
collection

 Automatic Segment Advisor—Identifies segments that have space available for reclamation,
and makes recommendations on how to defragment those segments.

You can also run the Segment Advisor manually to obtain more up-to-the-minute
recommendations or to obtain recommendations on segments that the Automatic Segment
Advisor did not examine for possible space reclamation.

22
 See Also:

"Using the Segment Advisor" for more information.

 Automatic SQL Tuning Advisor—Examines the performance of high-load SQL statements,

and makes recommendations on how to tune those statements. You can configure this advisor
to automatically implement SQL profile recommendations.

See Also:

Oracle Database Performance Tuning Guide for more information on SQL Tuning Advisor

By default, all three automated maintenance tasks are configured to run in all maintenance windows.

About Maintenance Windows

A maintenance window is a contiguous time interval during which automated maintenance tasks are
run. Maintenance windows are Oracle Scheduler windows that belong to the window group named
MAINTENANCE_WINDOW_GROUP. A Scheduler window can be a simple repeating interval (such as
"between midnight and 6 a.m., every Saturday"), or a more complex interval (such as "between
midnight and 6 a.m., on the last workday of every month, excluding company holidays").

When a maintenance window opens, Oracle Database creates an Oracle Scheduler job for each
maintenance task that is scheduled to run in that window. Each job is assigned a job name that is
generated at run time. All automated maintenance task job names begin with ORA$AT. For example, the
job for the Automatic Segment Advisor might be called ORA$AT_SA_SPC_SY_26. When an automated
maintenance task job finishes, it is deleted from the Oracle Scheduler job system. However, the job
can still be found in the Scheduler job history.

Note:

To view job history, you must log in as the SYS user.

In the case of a very long maintenance window, all automated maintenance tasks except Automatic
SQL Tuning Advisor are restarted every four hours. This feature ensures that maintenance tasks are
run regularly, regardless of window size.

The framework of automated maintenance tasks relies on maintenance windows being defined in the
database. Table 26-1 lists the maintenance windows that are automatically defined with each new
Oracle Database installation.

See Also:

 "About Jobs and Supporting Scheduler Objects" for more information on windows and groups.

Configuring Automated Maintenance Tasks

23
To enable or disable specific maintenance tasks in any subset of maintenance windows, you can use
the DBMS_AUTO_TASK_ADMIN PL/SQL package.

This section contains the following topics:

 Enabling and Disabling Maintenance Tasks for all Maintenance Windows

 Enabling and Disabling Maintenance Tasks for Specific Maintenance Windows

Enabling and Disabling Maintenance Tasks for all Maintenance Windows

You can disable a particular automated maintenance task for all maintenance windows with a single
operation. You do so by calling the DISABLE procedure of the DBMS_AUTO_TASK_ADMIN PL/SQL
package without supplying the window_name argument. For example, you can completely disable the
Automatic SQL Tuning Advisor task as follows:

BEGIN
dbms_auto_task_admin.disable(
client_name => 'sql tuning advisor',
operation => NULL,
window_name => NULL);
END;
/

To enable this maintenance task again, use the ENABLE procedure, as follows:

BEGIN
dbms_auto_task_admin.enable(
client_name => 'sql tuning advisor',
operation => NULL,
window_name => NULL);
END;
/

The task names to use for the client_name argument are listed in the DBA_AUTOTASK_CLIENT
database dictionary view.

To enable or disable all automated maintenance tasks for all windows, call the ENABLE or DISABLE
procedure with no arguments.

EXECUTE DBMS_AUTO_TASK_ADMIN.DISABLE;

See Also:

 "Automated Maintenance Tasks Database Dictionary Views"

 Oracle Database PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference for more information on the
DBMS_AUTO_TASK_ADMIN PL/SQL package.

24
Enabling and Disabling Maintenance Tasks for Specific Maintenance Windows

By default, all maintenance tasks run in all predefined maintenance windows. You can disable a
maintenance task for a specific window. The following example disables the Automatic SQL Tuning
Advisor from running in the window MONDAY_WINDOW:

BEGIN
dbms_auto_task_admin.disable(
client_name => 'sql tuning advisor',
operation => NULL,
window_name => 'MONDAY_WINDOW');
END;
/

Configuring Maintenance Windows

You may want to adjust the predefined maintenance windows to a time suitable to your database
environment or create a new maintenance window. You can customize maintenance windows using
the DBMS_SCHEDULER PL/SQL package.

This section contains the following topics:

 Modifying a Maintenance Window

 Creating a New Maintenance Window
 Removing a Maintenance Window

Modifying a Maintenance Window

The DBMS_SCHEDULER PL/SQL package includes a SET_ATTRIBUTE procedure for modifying the
attributes of a window. For example, the following script changes the duration of the maintenance
window SATURDAY_WINDOW to 4 hours:

BEGIN
dbms_scheduler.disable(
name => 'SATURDAY_WINDOW');
dbms_scheduler.set_attribute(
name => 'SATURDAY_WINDOW',
attribute => 'DURATION',
value => numtodsinterval(4, 'hour'));
dbms_scheduler.enable(
name => 'SATURDAY_WINDOW');
END;
/

Note that you must use the DBMS_SCHEDULER.DISABLE subprogram to disable the window before
making changes to it, and then re-enable the window with DBMS_SCHEDULER.ENABLE when you are
finished. If you change a window when it is currently open, the change does not take effect until the
next time the window opens.

See Also:

25
"Managing Job Scheduling and Job Priorities with Windows" for more information about modifying
windows.

Creating a New Maintenance Window

To create a new maintenance window, you must create an Oracle Scheduler window object and then
add it to the window group MAINTENANCE_WINDOW_GROUP. You use the
DBMS_SCHEDULER.CREATE_WINDOW package procedure to create the window, and the
DBMS_SCHEDULER.ADD_GROUP_MEMBER procedure to add the new window to the window group.

The following example creates a maintenance window named EARLY_MORNING_WINDOW. This window
runs for one hour daily between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.

BEGIN
dbms_scheduler.create_window(
window_name => 'EARLY_MORNING_WINDOW',
duration => numtodsinterval(1, 'hour'),
resource_plan => 'DEFAULT_MAINTENANCE_PLAN',
repeat_interval => 'FREQ=DAILY;BYHOUR=5;BYMINUTE=0;BYSECOND=0');
dbms_scheduler.add_group_member(
group_name => 'MAINTENANCE_WINDOW_GROUP',
member => 'EARLY_MORNING_WINDOW');
END;
/

See Also:

 "Creating Windows"

 Oracle Database PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference for information on the
DBMS_SCHEDULER package

Removing a Maintenance Window

To remove an existing maintenance window, remove it from the MAINTENANCE_WINDOW_GROUP

window group. The window continues to exist but no longer runs automated maintenance tasks. Any
other Oracle Scheduler jobs assigned to this window continue to run as usual.

The following example removes EARLY_MORNING_WINDOW from the window group:

BEGIN
DBMS_SCHEDULER.REMOVE_GROUP_MEMBER(
group_name => 'MAINTENANCE_WINDOW_GROUP',
member => 'EARLY_MORNING_WINDOW');
END;
/

See Also:

"Removing a Member from a Window Group"

"Dropping Windows"

26
  Oracle Database PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference for information on the
DBMS_SCHEDULER package

Configuring Resource Allocations for Automated Maintenance

Tasks
This section contains the following topics on resource allocation for maintenance windows:

 About Resource Allocations for Automated Maintenance Tasks

 Changing Resource Allocations for Automated Maintenance Tasks

See Also:

Chapter 27, "Managing Resources with Oracle Database Resource Manager"

About Resource Allocations for Automated Maintenance Tasks

By default, all predefined maintenance windows use the resource plan DEFAULT_MAINTENANCE_PLAN.
Automated maintenance tasks run under its subplan ORA$AUTOTASK_SUB_PLAN. This subplan divides
its portion of total resource allocation equally among the maintenance tasks.

DEFAULT_MAINTENANCE_PLAN defines the following resource allocations:

Consumer Group/subplan Level 1 Level 2 Maximum Utilization Limit

ORA$AUTOTASK_SUB_PLAN - 25% 90
ORA$DIAGNOSTICS - 5% 90
OTHER_GROUPS - 70%  
SYS_GROUP 75% -  

In this plan, any sessions in the SYS_GROUP consumer group get priority. (Sessions in this group are
sessions created by user accounts SYS and SYSTEM.) Any resource allocation that is unused by sessions
in SYS_GROUP is then shared by sessions belonging to the other consumer groups and subplans in the
plan. Of that allocation, 25% goes to maintenance tasks, 5% goes to background processes performing
diagnostic operations, and 70% goes to user sessions. The maximum utilization limit for
ORA$AUTOTASK_SUB_PLAN and ORA$DIAGNOSTICS is 90. Therefore, even if the CPU is idle, this
group/plan cannot be allocated more than 90% of the CPU resources.

To reduce or increase resource allocation to the automated maintenance tasks, you make adjustments
to DEFAULT_MAINTENANCE_PLAN. See "Changing Resource Allocations for Automated Maintenance
Tasks" for more information.

Note that as with any resource plan, the portion of an allocation that is not used by a consumer group
or subplan is available for other consumer groups or subplans. Note also that the Database Resource
Manager does not begin to limit resource allocations according to resource plans until 100% of CPU is
being used.

27
Note:

Although DEFAULT_MAINTENANCE_PLAN is the default, you can assign any resource plan to any
maintenance window. If you do change a maintenance window resource plan, ensure that you include
the subplan ORA$AUTOTASK_SUB_PLAN and the consumer group ORA$DIAGNOSTICS in the new plan.

See Also:

Chapter 27, "Managing Resources with Oracle Database Resource Manager" for more information on
resource plans.

Changing Resource Allocations for Automated Maintenance Tasks

To change the resource allocation for automated maintenance tasks within a maintenance window, you
must change the percentage of resources allocated to the subplan ORA$AUTOTASK_SUB_PLAN in the
resource plan for that window. (By default, the resource plan for each predefined maintenance window
is DEFAULT_MAINTENANCE_PLAN.) You must also adjust the resource allocation for one or more other
subplans or consumer groups in the window's resource plan such that the resource allocation at the top
level of the plan adds up to 100%. For information on changing resource allocations, see Chapter 27,
"Managing Resources with Oracle Database Resource Manager".

Automated Maintenance Tasks Reference

This section contains the following reference topics for automated maintenance tasks:

Predefined Maintenance Windows

Automated Maintenance Tasks Database Dictionary Views

Predefined Maintenance Windows

By default there are seven predefined maintenance windows, each one representing a day of the week.
The weekend maintenance windows, SATURDAY_WINDOW and SUNDAY_WINDOW, are longer in duration
than the weekday maintenance windows. The window group MAINTENANCE_WINDOW_GROUP consists of
these seven windows. The list of predefined maintenance windows is given in Table 26-1.

Table 26-1 Predefined Maintenance Windows

Window Name Description

MONDAY_WINDOW Starts at 10 p.m. on Monday and ends at 2 a.m.
TUESDAY_WINDOW Starts at 10 p.m. on Tuesday and ends at 2 a.m.
WEDNESDAY_WINDOW Starts at 10 p.m. on Wednesday and ends at 2 a.m.
THURSDAY_WINDOW Starts at 10 p.m. on Thursday and ends at 2 a.m.
FRIDAY_WINDOW Starts at 10 p.m. on Friday and ends at 2 a.m.
SATURDAY_WINDOW Starts at 6 a.m. on Saturday and is 20 hours long.
SUNDAY_WINDOW Starts at 6 a.m. on Sunday and is 20 hours long.

28
Automated Maintenance Tasks Database Dictionary Views

Table 26-2 displays information about database dictionary views for automated maintenance tasks:

Table 26-2 Automated Maintenance Tasks Database Dictionary Views

View Name Description

Contains information about currently running Scheduler jobs created
for automated maintenance tasks. It provides information about
DBA_AUTOTASK_CLIENT_JOB some objects targeted by those jobs, as well as some additional
statistics from previous instantiations of the same task. Some of this
additional data is taken from generic Scheduler views.
DBA_AUTOTASK_CLIENT
Provides statistical data for each automated maintenance task over 7-
day and 30-day periods.
DBA_AUTOTASK_JOB_HISTORY
Lists the history of automated maintenance task job runs. Jobs are
added to this view after they finish executing.
Lists the windows that belong to MAINTENANCE_WINDOW_GROUP,
DBA_AUTOTASK_WINDOW_CLIENTS along with the Enabled or Disabled status for the window for each
maintenance task. Primarily used by Enterprise Manager.
Provides per-window history of job execution counts for each
DBA_AUTOTASK_CLIENT_HISTORY automated maintenance task. This information is viewable in the Job
History page of Enterprise Manager.

29