for Oracle Databases Guide

Release 9.5
CA Application Performance
Management







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CA Technologies Product References
This document references the following CA Technologies products and features:
CA Application Performance Management (CA APM)
CA Application Performance Management ChangeDetector (CA APM
ChangeDetector)
CA Application Performance Management ErrorDetector (CA APM ErrorDetector)
CA Application Performance Management for CA Database Performance (CA APM
for CA Database Performance)
CA Application Performance Management for CA SiteMinder (CA APM for CA
SiteMinder)
CA Application Performance Management for CA SiteMinder Application Server
Agents (CA APM for CA SiteMinder ASA)
CA Application Performance Management for IBM CICS Transaction Gateway (CA
APM for IBM CICS Transaction Gateway)
CA Application Performance Management for IBM WebSphere Application Server
(CA APM for IBM WebSphere Application Server)
CA Application Performance Management for IBM WebSphere Distributed
Environments (CA APM for IBM WebSphere Distributed Environments)
CA Application Performance Management for IBM WebSphere MQ (CA APM for
IBM WebSphere MQ)
CA Application Performance Management for IBM WebSphere Portal (CA APM for
IBM WebSphere Portal)
CA Application Performance Management for IBM WebSphere Process Server (CA
APM for IBM WebSphere Process Server)
CA Application Performance Management for IBM z/OS (CA APM for IBM z/OS)
CA Application Performance Management for Microsoft SharePoint (CA APM for
Microsoft SharePoint)
CA Application Performance Management for Oracle Databases (CA APM for Oracle
Databases)
CA Application Performance Management for Oracle Service Bus (CA APM for
Oracle Service Bus)
CA Application Performance Management for Oracle WebLogic Portal (CA APM for
Oracle WebLogic Portal)
CA Application Performance Management for Oracle WebLogic Server (CA APM for
Oracle WebLogic Server)
CA Application Performance Management for SOA (CA APM for SOA)


CA Application Performance Management for TIBCO BusinessWorks (CA APM for
TIBCO BusinessWorks)
CA Application Performance Management for TIBCO Enterprise Message Service
(CA APM for TIBCO Enterprise Message Service)
CA Application Performance Management for Web Servers (CA APM for Web
Servers)
CA Application Performance Management for webMethods Broker (CA APM for
webMethods Broker)
CA Application Performance Management for webMethods Integration Server (CA
APM for webMethods Integration Server)
CA Application Performance Management Integration for CA CMDB (CA APM
Integration for CA CMDB)
CA Application Performance Management Integration for CA NSM (CA APM
Integration for CA NSM)
CA Application Performance Management LeakHunter (CA APM LeakHunter)
CA Application Performance Management Transaction Generator (CA APM TG)
CA Cross-Enterprise Application Performance Management
CA Customer Experience Manager (CA CEM)
CA Embedded Entitlements Manager (CA EEM)
CA eHealth Performance Manager (CA eHealth)
CA Insight Database Performance Monitor for DB2 for z/OS
CA Introscope
CA SiteMinder
CA Spectrum Infrastructure Manager (CA Spectrum)
CA SYSVIEW Performance Management (CA SYSVIEW)


Contact CA Technologies
Contact CA Support
For your convenience, CA Technologies provides one site where you can access the
information that you need for your Home Office, Small Business, and Enterprise CA
Technologies products. At http://ca.com/support, you can access the following
resources:
Online and telephone contact information for technical assistance and customer
services
Information about user communities and forums
Product and documentation downloads
CA Support policies and guidelines
Other helpful resources appropriate for your product
Providing Feedback About Product Documentation
If you have comments or questions about CA Technologies product documentation, you
can send a message to techpubs@ca.com.
To provide feedback about CA Technologies product documentation, complete our
short customer survey which is available on the CA Support website at
http://ca.com/docs.


Contents 7

Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction 9
CA Introscope Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 9
CA APM for Oracle Databases Overview ...................................................................................................................... 9
Features and Benefits ......................................................................................................................................... 10
Usage Scenarios .................................................................................................................................................. 11
Functionality ............................................................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Extension 13
Prepare for Installation .............................................................................................................................................. 13
How to Install CA APM for Oracle Databases ............................................................................................................. 14
Run the Enterprise Manager Installer ................................................................................................................. 14
Install the Extension Agent Components ............................................................................................................ 15
Configure Oracle User On Monitored Database ................................................................................................. 16
Configure Oracle Database Instances to Monitor ............................................................................................... 17
Configure the OracleDBAgent.profile File on Windows or UNIX ........................................................................ 17
Set Up the Management Module ....................................................................................................................... 17
Next Steps: View the Database Data in the Workstation ................................................................................... 18
Chapter 3: Viewing Extension Data in CA Introscope 19
View Oracle Database Metric Information in the Workstation ................................................................................. 19
Viewing CA APM for Oracle Databases Metrics .................................................................................................. 19
Dashboards ................................................................................................................................................................ 20
Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................................................................................... 21
Appendix A: Metrics 23
Collected Metrics: Oracle Database ........................................................................................................................... 23
General Metrics ................................................................................................................................................... 23
SGA Metrics ................................................................................................................................................................ 24
SGA | Log Buffer Metrics..................................................................................................................................... 24
SGA | Shared Pool | Library Cache Metrics ........................................................................................................ 25
SGA | Shared Pool | Dictionary Cache Metrics ................................................................................................... 25
SGA | Shared Pool | UGA Metrics ....................................................................................................................... 25
Buffer Cache Metrics .................................................................................................................................................. 25
Sorts Metrics .............................................................................................................................................................. 26
Full Table Scans Metrics ............................................................................................................................................. 26


8 for Oracle Databases Guide

Rollback Segments Metrics ........................................................................................................................................ 27
Redo Log File Metrics ................................................................................................................................................. 27
Tablespaces Metrics ................................................................................................................................................... 28
Deadlock Metrics ........................................................................................................................................................ 28
Index 29


Chapter 1: Introduction 9

Chapter 1: Introduction

This section contains the following topics:
CA Introscope Overview (see page 9)
CA APM for Oracle Databases Overview (see page 9)
Functionality (see page 11)
CA Introscope Overview
CA Introscope is a system management application that lets you manage Java
Application performance. Unlike development tools, the product scales with the
minimal performance impact. You can monitor and manage your application
performance in live production environments.
Real-time Java Application performance management does not require application
source code access or modification. Rich and customizable data views are integral to the
product. Users can define and trigger alerts that are based on application activity. The
product also includes historical performance analysis and trend analysis. All these
features can be used on every Java component in the system including the Java Web
application server and software with no source code.
To identify which components are causing the application to be slow or busy, Blame
Technology lets you study interactions between components.
The product easily integrates with selected web application servers and JVMs.
You can quickly start managing applications by placing a few files in the application
directory and relaunching the application server.
To provide more value to the product, application server vendors, application vendors,
and others can provide extensions and customizations.
Note: For system requirements, see the Compatibility Guide.
CA APM for Oracle Databases Overview
An extension of CA Introscope, the web application management solution, CA APM for
Oracle Databases provides visibility into the performance and availability of Oracle
databases. With this extension, you can better ensure the health and availability of
Oracle-connected web applications. You can proactively detect and isolate
database-related performance problems and effectively communicate with database
administrators for fast problem resolution.
CA APM for Oracle Databases Overview

10 for Oracle Databases Guide

CA APM for Oracle Databases enables you to:
Monitor the performance of Oracle databases from a web application perspective
Correlate Oracle database-to-web application activity
Verify the application use of Oracle database activity capacity
Share critical performance and availability information with DBAs
Compare current database activity with historical database activity
CA APM for Oracle Databases provides real-time visibility into critical database
resources such as deadlocks, full table scans, redo log files, rollback segments and more.
You can see immediate time to value in preconfigured dashboards and
performance-triggered alerts that pro-actively notify you of potential SLA violations,
before end users are affected. CA APM for Oracle Databases arms application support
personnel with the information to determine whether web application performance
issues are related to the database. By providing critical performance data, it facilitates
collaboration with database administrators and eliminates finger-pointing so that
problems can be detected, isolated and eliminated quickly. Because this product uses
theCA Introscope platform, all the information that is gathered can be visualized,
analyzed and queried as with any other CA Introscope data.
Features and Benefits
CA APM for Oracle Databases monitors the following database resources:
Availability
Number of deadlocks
Number of full Table Scans
Redo Log Files wait and switch counts
Rollback Segments get/wait counts and ratios
System Global Area (SGA) buffer size
Sorts disk/memory ratio
Table Spaces read/write count
Functionality

Chapter 1: Introduction 11

CA APM for Oracle Databases offers you the following benefits:
Seamless integration with CA Introscope, provides direct visibility into the Oracle
database from within CA Introscope
Prebuilt Dashboards and Alerts give instant information
Deeper visibility into back-end systems that affect the application availability and
performance
Captures most important metrics, directly from Oracle performance metrics
Application administrators do not need to learn different tools to monitor Oracle
databases
Constructive communication between application administrators and database
administrators; an application administrator can relay critical Oracle database
information in the language that the database administrator understands.
Usage Scenarios
CA Introscope and application administrators can use the extension to diagnose the
following problems:
Problem root cause isolation: You can effectively triage problems, showing
whether the problem is with your application, the application server, or the Oracle
database.
Oracle Database instance availability: When web applications are running slowly or
returning errors, the extension reports availability of all monitored Oracle database
instances. Administrators can rapidly determine which Oracle databases are
unavailable.
Slow response times: The extension shows data to determine the databases
resources that are causing performance slowdown.
Functionality
CA APM for Oracle Databases is a standalone Java application that can be installed on a
separate host from the one on which Oracle resides.
The extension queries Oracle through JDBC for its health statistics, converts the data to
CA Introscope metrics and sends the information to the Enterprise Manager. The
information is viewed and manipulated within the Workstation.
One installation of the extension can monitor multiple Oracle databases on multiple
hosts.


Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Extension 13

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the
Extension

This section contains the following topics:
Prepare for Installation (see page 13)
How to Install CA APM for Oracle Databases (see page 14)
Prepare for Installation
Verify that all the requirements are met before installing this extension.
Follow these steps:
1. Verify that the following components are installed and running:
The supported Oracle databases
Note: For system requirements, see the Compatibility Guide.
Enterprise Manager and Workstation
2. Verify that you have sufficient network access through firewalls for the extension.
3. Identify the following directory locations in your CA Introscope environment:
CA Introscope directorythe installation directory for CA Introscope on your
Enterprise Manager computer, henceforth referred to as <EM_Home>.
CA APM for Oracle Databases directorythe installation directory for the
extension, assumed here to be on the Enterprise Manager computer. This
directory is referred to as <PPOracleDBHome>.
How to Install CA APM for Oracle Databases

14 for Oracle Databases Guide

How to Install CA APM for Oracle Databases
Installing and configuring the extension involves the following steps:
1. Run the Enterprise Manager Installer (see page 14).
2. Install Extension Agent Components on Windows or UNIX (see page 15).
3. Configure Oracle User On Monitored Database (see page 16).
4. Configure Oracle Database Instances to Monitor (see page 17).
5. Configure the OracleDBAgent.profile File on Windows or UNIX (see page 17).
6. Set Up the Management Module (see page 17).
Next Steps: View the Extension Database Data in the Workstation (see page 18).
Run the Enterprise Manager Installer
If another agent is already using this Enterprise Manager, you do not need to perform
this step. With the first agent installation, all the Enterprise Manager components are
installed in the <EM_Home>/examples directory. You do not have to continue with this
step and instead can continue with configuring the Enterprise Manager.
Note: For details about the main installer and where to find the installer executable, see
the CA APM Installation and Upgrade Guide.
Follow these steps:
1. Run the Enterprise Manager installer.
The installer places the files into the
<EM_Home>\examples\PowerPackForOracleDB directory.
2. Copy the files to the correct location based on how they are organized in the
\examples directory.
The Enterprise Manager installer places the following files onto the Enterprise
Manager host:
<EM_Home>\examples\PowerPackForOracleDB\config\modules\
PPOracleDB_ManagementModule.jar
This file is the Management Module, which contains preconfigured dashboards.
How to Install CA APM for Oracle Databases

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Extension 15

Install the Extension Agent Components
You can install the extension agent components on a Windows or UNIX operating
system. The extension does not install an agent on the Oracle database to collect Oracle
database data. The extension does use the agent to report the data back to the
Enterprise Manager.
To install and configure the extension, run the Standalone agent installer.
This installer configures the agent with the Enterprise Manager host and port number.
The Standalone agent installer configures the OracleDBAgent.profile file in the
<PPOracleDBHome>\conf directory with the following properties based on your entries
in the installer:

Property Value and Description
introscope.agent.enterprisemanag
er.
transport.tcp.host.DEFAULT
The host setting must be either the host name or
IP address of a host with an Enterprise Manager
on it.
introscope.agent.enterprisemanag
er.
transport.tcp.port.DEFAULT
The value must be the port on which the
Enterprise Manager listens for agent connections.
Default setting is 5001.
The port specified in this setting must match the
port defined in the setting,
introscope.enterprisemanager.port.channel1 in
the IntroscopeEnterpriseManager.properties file
for each matching Enterprise Manager.
You can also define the properties in the PPOracleDBAgent.profile file that control the
following features:
The way the agent connects to the Enterprise Manager
Agent side metric aging
Metric clamping
Note: For more information, see the CA APM Java Agent Implementation Guide and the
CA APM Installation and Upgrade Guide.
How to Install CA APM for Oracle Databases

16 for Oracle Databases Guide

The Extension Agent Files on Windows\UNIX
The Standalone agent installer places the following files on the agent host in the
<PPOracleDBHome> directory:
PPOracleDB.jar
Extension for Oracle databases .jar file located in the <PPOracleDBHome>\lib
directory.
ojdbc14.jar
Oracle JDBC driver located in the <PPOracleDBHome>\lib directory.
OracleDBAgent.jar
Agent that reports Oracle information to the Enterprise Manager configuration file
located in the <PPOracleDBHome>\lib directory.
PPOracleDB.properties
Configuration file for the extension for Oracle databases located in the
<PPOracleDBHome>\conf directory.
OracleDBAgent.profile
Extension configuration file located in the <PPOracleDBHome>\conf directory.
PPOracleDB_UserPrivileges.sql
Script to create an Oracle user located in the <PPOracleDBHome>\deploy directory.
startMonitor.bat | startMonitor.sh
Script for Windows or UNIX to start up the extension for the Oracle databases agent
located in the <PPOracleDBHome>\bin directory.
Configure Oracle User On Monitored Database
For CA APM for Oracle Databases to communicate with the Oracle database instance,
the ISCOPE_ORCL user account must exist. A script creates this user in
<PPPOracleDBHome>/deploy/PPOracleDB_UserPrivileges.sql. Ask your DBA to run it to
create the user. This user must be created for every monitored Oracle instance.
How to Install CA APM for Oracle Databases

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring the Extension 17

Configure Oracle Database Instances to Monitor
You configure Oracle Database instances to monitor. Contact your DBA to obtain the
hostname/port/database name information for the targeted Oracle databases.
Follow these steps:
1. Open the PPOracleDB.properties file located in the <PPOracleDBHome>\conf
directory.
2. For the hostname-port-db property, list all the databases to monitor, using
semicolon separated hostname/port/database name pairs. For example:
hostname-port-db: qwora02.acme.com/1521/ora02;qwora01.acme.com/9000/ora01
3. If desired, you can change how often the extension queries the monitored
databases by changing the value of the queryFrequency property. The
recommended value is 15000 (15 seconds).
4. Save changes to the file.
Configure the OracleDBAgent.profile File on Windows or UNIX
CA APM for Oracle Databases uses a special agent to report the data back to the
Enterprise Manager. Configure this agent with the Enterprise Manager host and port
information.
Follow these steps:
1. Open the file, <PPOracleDBHome>/conf/OracleDBAgent.profile.
2. (Optional) Specify logging properties.
3. (Optional) Specify the agent name and process name.
Set Up the Management Module
To display the extension dashboard, you set up the extension Management Module.
Follow these steps:
1. Copy the management module file, PPOracleDB_ManagementModule.jar, from the
<EM_Home>\examples\PowerPackForOracleDB\config\modules directory to the
<EM_Home>/config/modules directory.
2. Restart the Enterprise Manager.
After the management module is in place, CA Introscope can display the extension
dashboard.
How to Install CA APM for Oracle Databases

18 for Oracle Databases Guide

Next Steps: View the Database Data in the Workstation
To learn how to use dashboards and the Explorer to monitor Web Servers and diagnose
problems, view the extension data in CA Introscope (see page 19).


Chapter 3: Viewing Extension Data in CA Introscope 19

Chapter 3: Viewing Extension Data in CA
Introscope

This section contains the following topics:
View Oracle Database Metric Information in the Workstation (see page 19)
Dashboards (see page 20)
View Oracle Database Metric Information in the Workstation
You can view Oracle database metric information in the CA Introscope workstation.
Follow these steps:
1. Start the targeted Oracle database.
2. Start CA APM for Oracle Databases.
3. Launch Enterprise Manager.
4. Launch and log in to the Workstation.
Viewing CA APM for Oracle Databases Metrics
CA APM for Oracle Databases reports Oracle-specific metrics under the Oracle
Databases > OracleAgent node for each database server name and Oracle instance
being monitored. For example, you have a database server named
qwora01.wilytech.com and the Oracle database system identifier (SID) is ora01. The
metrics for Oracle resources are located in the investigator tree under the oar01 node
which is located under qwora01.wilytech.com.
Note: The metrics that are displayed depend on the Oracle resources that are
discovered and used in your environment.
More information:
Metrics (see page 23)

Dashboards

20 for Oracle Databases Guide

Dashboards
CA APM for Oracle Databases provides several sample dashboards for displaying Oracle
database performance metrics. Dashboards for CA APM for Oracle Databases begin with
"Oracle" to distinguish them from other dashboards installed in CA Introscope. The
Oracle-specific dashboards provide default alerts and graphs.
Note: For information about customizing dashboards, see the CA APM Workstation User
Guide.
Oracle Performance Overview
An Availability alert indicator and graph on the Oracle Performance Overview
Dashboard provide a summary of the overall availability of your monitored Oracle
databases. The dashboard includes the following information:
Status of individual monitored Oracle database instances
When individual instances were started
A summary of the database resources that influence performance.
Oracle Datafile Activity
The Oracle Datafile Activity Dashboard shows the amount of disk activity on Oracle
tablespace files. You can detect when one or more datafiles is experiencing high
disk activity, which could indicate inefficient data caching.
Oracle Deadlock Activity
The Oracle Deadlock Activity Dashboard shows whether Oracle is experiencing any
deadlocks. Deadlocks could be an indicator of resource contention between
multiple transactions.
Oracle Full Table Scan Activity
The Oracle Full Table Scan Activity Dashboards reports the number of Large Full
Table Scans. A high number of full table scans indicates poor or insufficient
indexing, which could be a cause of slow transactions.
Oracle Rollback Segment Activity
The Oracle Rollback Segment Activity Dashboard measures how effectively the
database is accessing its rollback segments. A high number of Waits is one cause of
slow database performance.
Dashboards

Chapter 3: Viewing Extension Data in CA Introscope 21

Oracle SGA Buffer Cache Activity
The Oracle SGA Buffer Cache Activity Dashboard shows how effectively the
database is using its System Global Area Buffer. If the database is not using its SGA
Buffer effectively, lower Hit Ratios, and higher Waits counts, which correspond to
slower data retrieval are indicated.
Oracle SGA Log Buffer Activity
The Oracle SGA Log Buffer Activity Dashboard shows the databases access to the
SGA log buffer.
Oracle SGA Redo Logfile Activity
The Oracle SGA Redo Logfile Activity Dashboard shows the accessing redo logfiles
effectiveness. If it is not accessing effectively, the Wait count increases.
Oracle Shared Pool Activity
The Oracle Shared Pool Activity Dashboard describes how efficiently the database
uses frequently used queries and data stored in-memory (in the library and
dictionary caches, respectively). Decreasing library cache hit ratios and increasing
dictionary cache misses are an indication that the shared pool is not sized
appropriately.
Oracle Sort Activity
The Oracle Sort Activity Dashboard compares the number of data sorts being done
in memory to those being written to disk. An increasing disk-to-memory sort ratio
or increasing number of sorts indicates that the database sort parameters possibly
need tuning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why use CA APM for Oracle Databases to monitor my Oracle databases?
A: CA APM for Oracle Databases monitors a number of Oracle database-specific
operations and critical resources. In addition, the extension also comes with
preconfigured Dashboards and Alerts for monitoring performance metrics.
Q: Do I need CA Introscope to use CA APM for Oracle Databases?
A: Yes, the CA APM for Oracle Databases is an add-on component to CA Introscope.
Q: How do I contact Professional Services to customize CA APM for Oracle Databases for
my environment?
A: Contact Customer Support.
Dashboards

22 for Oracle Databases Guide

Q: How do I contact CA Technologies Support to get CA APM for Oracle Databases
support?
A: Contact Customer Support.


Chapter 3: Viewing Extension Data in CA Introscope 23

Appendix A: Metrics

This chapter describes the metrics that are produced from the CA APM for Oracle
Databases.
All CA APM for Oracle Databases metrics appear in the Investigator tree under the
Oracle Databases node.
This section contains the following topics:
Collected Metrics: Oracle Database (see page 23)
SGA Metrics (see page 24)
Buffer Cache Metrics (see page 25)
Sorts Metrics (see page 26)
Full Table Scans Metrics (see page 26)
Rollback Segments Metrics (see page 27)
Redo Log File Metrics (see page 27)
Tablespaces Metrics (see page 28)
Deadlock Metrics (see page 28)
Collected Metrics: Oracle Database
The CA APM for Oracle Databases reports its metrics as a separate process from agents.
The fully qualified metric name is:
<processname>|<agentname>|<hostname>|<oraclesid>|<componentname>:[metric name]
For example:
Oracle Databases|OracleAgent|awora01.acme.com|ora1|Redo Log Files:Wait Count
General Metrics
Start Time
Database instance start time is an informational text string.
Version
Database instance version is an informational text string.
Availability
Database instance can be connected to or not.
SGA Metrics

24 for Oracle Databases Guide

SGA Metrics
Database Buffers
Size in bytes.
Fixed Size
Size in bytes.
Redo Buffers
Size in bytes.
Variable Size
Size in bytes.
Total SGA
Size in bytes of the SGA, includes the sum of database buffers, redo buffers fixed
size and variable size.
SGA | Log Buffer Metrics
Space Waits Count
Indicates if there are waits for space in the log buffer. The session is writing data
into the log buffer faster than LGWR can write it out. Solution is to make the Log
Buffer space larger or move log files to faster disks. This value is as of the instance
startup.
Redo Allocation Retries
Redo Buffer Allocation Retries indicates the number of times a user process waits
for space in the redo log buffer. The expected value is near 0. Processes try to copy
new entries over old entries. The value for Redo Buffer Allocation Retries
increments consistently when the processes have had to wait for space in the
buffer.
Allocation Retries Ratio
An acceptable ratio of Redo Buffer Allocation Retries to Redo Entries is less than 1
percent. Look at increasing the log buffer size, by increasing LOG_BUFFER. Also look
into improving the checkpoint or archiving process.
Buffer Cache Metrics

Chapter 3: Viewing Extension Data in CA Introscope 25

SGA | Shared Pool | Library Cache Metrics
Hit Ratio
This ratio determines the percentage of parse calls that find a cursor to share
(GETHITS/GETS). This expected ratio is in the high 90 percentile in an OLTP
environment.
Reload Ratio
This metric indicates the reloads-to-pins ratio. If the value is greater than 1 percent,
increase the SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter.
Shareable Mem Per User
Memory that is allocated to the Library Cache, per user.
Shareable Mem per SQL Stmts
Memory that is allocated to the Library Cache, per SQL statement.
Shareable Mem per Stored Obj
Memory that is allocated to the Library Cache, per Stored Object.
SGA | Shared Pool | Dictionary Cache Metrics
Cache Miss Ratio
The ratio of dictionary cache requests resulting in cache-misses. If the ration is
greater than 15 percent, increase the SHARED_POOL_SIZE parameter.
SGA | Shared Pool | UGA Metrics
Total Memory
Total memory that is allocated to the User Global Area, which is a memory region in
the large pool and is used for user sessions.
Buffer Cache Metrics
Hit Ratio
The hit ratio for the buffer cache. For OLTP systems, the acceptable cache hit ratio
is greater than 90 percent. Hit ratio can be improved by increasing the
DB_BLOCK_BUFFERS.
Free Buffer Inspected
Number of buffers skipped to find a free buffer. Buffers are skipped because they
are dirty or pinned. Increase the buffer cache size if there are high or increasing
values for Free Buffer Inspected.
Sorts Metrics

26 for Oracle Databases Guide

Free Buffer Waits
Indicates that a server process is unable to find a free buffer. Posts the database
writer to make free buffers by writing out dirty buffers. Examine ways to speed up
the write process with DBWRs by increasing the number of DBWRs
(DB_WRITER_PROCESSES). Also look into increasing the size of the buffer cache.
Buffer Busy Waits
This wait indicates that there are some buffers in the buffer cache that multiple
processes are attempting to access concurrently. Common buffer classes that have
buffer busy waits include:
Data block
Segment header
Undo header
Undo block
Sorts Metrics
Disk
Indicates the number of sorts that were sent to disk. Disk sorts cause swapping and
paging.
Memory
Indicates the number of sorts done in memory.
Ratio
The acceptable ratio of sorts (disk) to sorts (memory) is less than five percent. If the
ratio indicates a high number of sorts going to disk, increases the value of
SORT_AREA_SIZE.
Full Table Scans Metrics
Large Table Count
If the value of table scans (long tables) is high, then a large percentage of the tables
accessed were not indexed. Tables are tuned by adding indexes. Also increasing
DB_FILE_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT can reduce the number of I/O calls required
for a full table scan.
Rollback Segments Metrics

Chapter 3: Viewing Extension Data in CA Introscope 27

Rollback Segments Metrics
Get Count
Indicates the number of successful gets of the rollback segments as of the instance
startup.
Wait Count
Indicates the number of waits for a rollback segment as of the instance startup. A
non-zero value indicates contention in the rollback segments.
Ratio
The ratio of the waits to the gets. This acceptable ratio is less than one percent. If
needed, create more rollback segments.
Redo Log File Metrics
Wait Count
Indicates the number of waits for parallel writes to the event log file as of instance
startup. A large and increasing number of waits could indicate a possible I/O
problem with the log files.
Log File Switch Completion Count
The log file switch waits that result from log switches as of instance startup.
Possibly due to disk I/O contention on the redo log files. Be sure that the redo log
files are stored on separate, fast devices. Increase the size of redo log files.
Log file Switch | Checkpoint Incomplete Count
The log file switch waits that result from incomplete checkpoints as of instance
startup. This count increases when the DBWR has not completed checkpointing and
the log file and the LGWR needs the file again. LGWR has to wait. Set the
appropriate values for LOG_CHECKPOINT_INTERVAL and
LOG_CHECKPOINT_TIMEOUT. Also adjust the size and number of redo log groups.
Log file Switch | Archiving Needed Count
The occurrences as of instance startup where the archiver cannot write to the
archive redo log files or cannot achieve the archive process fast enough. There, it
prevents the LGWR from writing. Confirm that the archive device is not full and add
redo log groups.
Tablespaces Metrics

28 for Oracle Databases Guide

Tablespaces Metrics
Physical Reads
Number of physical reads that are done on the datafile.
Physical Writes
Number of physical writes that are done on the datafile.
Deadlock Metrics
Enqueue Deadlock Count
Indicates the number of times that an enqueue deadlock has been detected as of
instance startup. A high and increasing count of Enqueue Deadlocks is a result of
resource contention across multiple transaction. Query the Oracle V$LOCK and
V$SESSION tables for more details about involved users, SQL statements, and so
forth.


Index 29

Index

B
Buffer Cache Metrics 25
C
CA APM for Oracle Databases Overview 9
CA Introscope Overview 9
CA Technologies Product References 3
Collected Metrics
Oracle Database 23
Configure Oracle Database Instances to Monitor 17
Configure Oracle User On Monitored Database 16
Configure the OracleDBAgent.profile File on
Windows or UNIX 17
Contact CA Technologies 5
D
Dashboards 20
Deadlock Metrics 28
F
Features and Benefits 10
Frequently Asked Questions 21
Full Table Scans Metrics 26
Functionality 11
G
General Metrics 23
H
How to Install CA APM for Oracle Databases 14
I
Install the Extension Agent Components 15
Installing and Configuring the Extension 13
Introduction 9
M
Metrics 23
N
Next Steps
View the Database Data in the Workstation 18
P
Prepare for Installation 13
R
Redo Log File Metrics 27
Rollback Segments Metrics 27
Run the Enterprise Manager Installer 14
S
Set Up the Management Module 17
SGA | Log Buffer Metrics 24
SGA | Shared Pool | Dictionary Cache Metrics 25
SGA | Shared Pool | Library Cache Metrics 25
SGA | Shared Pool | UGA Metrics 25
SGA Metrics 24
Sorts Metrics 26
T
Tablespaces Metrics 28
The Extension Agent Files on Windows\UNIX 16
U
Usage Scenarios 11
V
View Oracle Database Metric Information in the
Workstation 19
Viewing CA APM for Oracle Databases Metrics 19
Viewing Extension Data in CA Introscope 19