Modern database environments are getting more and more complicated demanding a new breed of DBAs. You can no longer look at single component at a time instead you need to be able to see the entire picture, know the trends and be able to spot anomalies before they become bigger problems. If you fail in this task you will make your job a lot harder and eventually crash and burn all together.
What you will find here is what works for me day in day out – 24x7x365 – simple tools written using components that are available on every Unix platform with an ORACLE database — sqlplus and KSH.
Once you get proficient with sqlplus and KSH (or any other shell) you’ll run circles around “GUI DBAs” accomplishing Oracle Database Administration tasks with ease. Many times GUI tools alone will not even ‘cut it’ which was clearly evident with APPS Profile Options script I wrote that eventually made it’s way to Oracle Metalink.
The formula to become proficient with sqlplus is very simple – take the time to write sqlplus scripts as you go about doing your day-to-day operations. Overtime these scripts will build your own, powerful toolkit and that’s where SQLDIR will come in handy.
Eventually you will want to use your own sqlplus scripts to monitor ORACLE Database and with the help of the Unix Programming Environment and EVNT Framework it is very easy to accomplish, not only that it’s easy but it’s also Free and the most Lightweight Solution available when it comes to Oracle Database Monitoring.
