Oracle Enterprise Manager Concepts Guide Release 2.2 Part Number A85250-01 |
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Oracle Enterprise Manager is a system management tool that provides an integrated solution for centrally managing your heterogeneous environment. Combining a graphical console, Oracle Management Servers, Oracle Intelligent Agents, common services, and administrative tools, Oracle Enterprise Manager provides a comprehensive systems management platform for managing Oracle products.
From the client interface, the Oracle Enterprise Manager Console, you can perform the following tasks:
This chapter presents an overview of Oracle Enterprise Manager's benefits, architecture, and major components. The chapter is divided into the following sections:
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Oracle Enterprise Manager architecture consists of a three-tier framework. Unlike a two-tier client-server structure, where a client tier responsible for the presentation of information accesses data from a server, Release 2 of Oracle Enterprise Manager utilizes a three-tier architecture which includes:
With Oracle Enterprise Manager, data-intensive business logic is moved off the client and is recast as shared services on one or more middle-tier Oracle Management Servers, providing reliability, scalability, and fault tolerance for enterprise environments.
The first tier of Oracle Enterprise Manager is comprised of clients such as consoles and management applications, which present graphical user interfaces to administrators for all management tasks. These client components can be installed locally or brought up with a web browser.
The first-tier clients depend on second-tier Oracle Management Servers for the bulk of their application logic. The consoles and management applications communicate with one or more Oracle Management Servers via standard CORBA interfaces and IIOP.
The second tier of the Oracle Enterprise Manager framework is comprised of one or more Oracle Management Servers. The Management Server is the core of the Enterprise Manager framework. It provides administrative user accounts, processes management functions such as jobs and events, and manages the flow of information between the Console (first tier) and the managed nodes (third tier).
The Oracle Management Server uses a repository to store all system data, application data, information about the state of managed nodes, and information about any system management packs. A repository is a set of database tables that must be located in any Oracle database accessible to the Oracle Management Server. If necessary, a large enterprise can use more than one Oracle Management Server in the middle tier. Multiple Oracle Management Servers share a repository and provide reliability and fault tolerance for one another.
One of the most important responsibilities of the Oracle Management Server is distributing tasks to the Oracle Intelligent Agents, which run on managed nodes in the third tier. The Intelligent Agents are responsible for the localized execution of tasks and the on-going monitoring of databases and other services on the managed nodes.
The third tier of the Oracle Enterprise Manager framework is comprised of managed nodes which contain databases and other managed services. Residing on each node is an Oracle Intelligent Agent, which communicates with the Oracle Management Server(s) and performs tasks sent by consoles and client applications.
The Oracle Intelligent Agent monitors databases and other services in the node for registered events (potential problem occurrences) and scheduled jobs (activities), both sent by the client via the middle-tier Oracle Management Server(s).
Intelligent Agents function independently of the databases and other services they support, and also function independently of the Console, management applications, and Oracle Management Servers. By running independently of other components, Intelligent Agents can perform such tasks as starting up and shutting down a database and staying operational if another part of the system is down.
Intelligent Agents support Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), enabling third-party applications to communicate with the Intelligent Agent and be managed along with Oracle services.
The Intelligent Agent also includes a data collection service that collects system performance data (for example, file I/O or CPU usage data) for Capacity Planner and Performance Manager, which are data-analysis applications in the optional Oracle Diagnostics Pack, Oracle Management Pack for Oracle Applications, and Oracle Management Pack for SAP R/3.
Note: For more information about the Intelligent Agent, see the Oracle Intelligent Agent Users Guide. For more information about the Oracle Diagnostics Pack, Oracle Management Pack for Oracle Applications, and Oracle Management Pack for SAP R/3, see Chapter 5, "Oracle Management Packs and Integrated Applications". For more information about Oracle Enterprise Manager architecture, see the Oracle Enterprise Manager Quick Tour. |
Oracle Enterprise Manager enables administrators to maintain the highest level of performance and availability while controlling system management costs. This section describes the major benefits of Oracle Enterprise Manager and its scalability, power, and reliability.
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From the Oracle Enterprise Manager Console, you can manage and administer all your distributed systems, databases, tools, and users from a central location. Through an intuitive graphical user interface that provides powerful and robust system management, the Console gives you a central point of control for the Oracle environment. The easy-to-use interface enables even junior systems administrators to be effective with minimal training.
With Oracle Enterprise Manager, a distributed enterprise can be managed as easily and effectively as a local workgroup, lowering the cost of system ownership. The Oracle Enterprise Manager framework allows the automation and delegation of routine, time-consuming tasks on multiple services. Jobs can be scheduled on multiple nodes simultaneously and groups of services can be monitored together.
In many enterprises, teams of database administrators must cooperate to manage numerous systems, often remotely. With Oracle Enterprise Manager, database management tasks can be organized and distributed in multi-administrator enterprises, and system data can be safely shared among administrators.
With Oracle Enterprise Manager, system data, application data, and the state of managed services is contained in the Oracle Management Server and a backend repository, which stores all administrative data. (If you are using more than one Oracle Management Server, they share a repository). The Oracle Management Server handles security and distributes notifications and management information to administrators based on the permissions that are set up for them in the repository. Each administrator has an account which provides access to the Oracle Management Server and the central data stored in the repository.
The Oracle Management Server filters information as it flows between different consoles and the services on the managed nodes. Because all administrative data is stored in a central repository, administrators can work together and see the activity of other administrators. This distribution of information reduces redundancy, which saves time and keeps administrative costs down.
With its three-tier architecture, Oracle Enterprise Manager is more scalable than ever in maintaining performance and automating routine tasks in rapidly growing, distributed environments. As the number of nodes and managed services in your network increases, or if the current Oracle Management Server is overloaded, you can add more Oracle Management Servers to the middle tier to share and balance the workload. Balancing the workload in the middle tier rather than investing in additional systems management overhead, controls the cost of systems management.
Because multiple Oracle Management Servers share a repository as their back-end store, they provide fault tolerance for each other. If one Oracle Management Server goes down, the clients registered with it can immediately log in again and register with any of the other Oracle Management Servers running with that repository, and work continues seamlessly. Any clients registered with an Oracle Management Server other than the failed one are unaffected.
For failover and scalability of the repository database, Oracle has database solutions such as Oracle Parallel Server, failover, Replication Management, clustering, and others.
Oracle Enterprise Manager's flexible architecture allows new products and additional modules to be written and added to the suite. Oracle Enterprise Manager's use of open standards (CORBA, IIOP, etc.) makes it possible to integrate third-party tools into the Console.
In a large, distributed database environment, the proportion of managed nodes per administrator increases rapidly, requiring tools that can automate tasks. Oracle Enterprise Manager offers automated, "lights-out" task management and proactive service monitoring for pre-set events, which enables control of the enterprise without necessarily needing additional staff to meet increasing system responsibilities.
Using the Job Scheduling System, you can automate routine tasks such as database backups or running reports on a regular basis. Using the Event Management System, you can have remote databases and other services monitored for important occurrences (events) and set up "fixit" jobs that automatically execute in response to events. Monitoring of services for occurrences and automatic problem correction ensures that problems are dealt with before they noticeably impact end users.
Because jobs are executed locally at the managed nodes, they can be completed even when a crucial part of the network is down. Localized tasks are dependable because all jobs are processed by the Intelligent Agents on the individual managed nodes.
For example, if you schedule a job to run on a node, the job will be executed locally at the node at the specified time, and will run even if a network outage occurs between the node, the Oracle Management Server, and the Console. If a service on the node is down, the Intelligent Agent stores any jobs to be performed on the service until the service is back up. If the Console is down, the Intelligent Agent stores any information about the status of the job until the Console is back in service and can receive information.
Oracle Enterprise Manager provides a complete user-friendly system management solution that allows administrators to manage distributed environments with a minimum of effort. With the ability to see operational data in remote managed services, an administrator can more easily make changes and execute commands. The Oracle Enterprise Manager framework is designed to offer high scalability without increasing complexity, allowing an administrator to manage more and more services, confident that the environment is under control.
In addition, all Oracle Enterprise Manager applications have a similar graphical user interface allowing the administrator to manage the Oracle enterprise using the same familiar front end with each application. This interface can be used by both beginning and advanced users, and also can serve as a training tool when used with the Oracle Enterprise Manager wizards and quick tours.
Additionally, the Oracle Management Servers and Consoles require little or no configuration. Manual intervention from the administrator is reduced to an absolute minimum.
This section describes in further detail the basic components of Oracle Enterprise Manager and contains the following sections:
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The Oracle Enterprise Manager Console is a client graphical user interface which provides menus, toolbars, and drawers allowing access to Oracle tools as well as utilities available through other vendors. The Console is partitioned into four panes for different administrative purposes. These panes include:
Figure 1-5 shows the Console screen.
Note: See Chapter 2, "The Console" for descriptions of the basic components of the Console and how they are organized. For information about the Console menus, see the Oracle Enterprise Manager Administrator's Guide. |
The Oracle Management Server is the middle tier in the Oracle Enterprise Manager framework and provides centralized intelligence and controlled distribution between console clients and managed nodes. A central engine for notification, the Oracle Management Server processes all system management tasks and administers the distribution of these tasks to Intelligent Agents on managed nodes across the enterprise.
When multiple Oracle Management Servers are used, they share and balance the workload, ensuring high performance and scalability.
Oracle Enterprise Manager is made up of common services that help you manage the Oracle environment.
These common services include:
A repository is a set of tables in an Oracle database and is used as a back-end store by the Oracle Management Server(s). The Repository contains state information for the managed environment, including the management packs, and is created when you set up an Oracle Management Server using the Oracle Enterprise Manager Configuration Assistant. The repository tables can be installed in any database accessible to the Oracle Management Server.
Whatever the administrator sees on the Console when connected to the Oracle Management Server is determined by the administrator's permissions data stored in the repository.
Oracle Enterprise Manager automatically discovers (locates) all the databases and other services running on the managed nodes once the nodes are identified. During the discovery process, Intelligent Agents search for services on the nodes they manage, then communicate their findings to the Oracle Management Server. Discovered services are then displayed in a hierarchical tree view in the Navigator window of the Console, displaying a big-picture view of all discovered nodes and their respective services.
The Job Scheduling System enables the automation of standard and repetitive administrative tasks. With the Job Scheduling System, you can create and manage jobs, schedule their execution, and view and share information about defined jobs with other administrators connected to the repository. Upon job completion or failure, the system automatically notifies you and/or other administrators through Console alert (with view permissions), e-mail, or page.
Because a job is an administrative entity (object) within the Oracle Enterprise Manager framework, an owner is always specified for the job as well as basic security parameters, which prevent or allow viewing and modifications by other administrators.
The Event Management System allows the Oracle environment to be monitored for operational occurrences and borderline conditions such as loss of service, shortage of storage, and resource problems such as high CPU usage.
Note: Only up/down events are shipped with base Oracle Enterprise Manager; all other events are bundled with the separately licensable packs. |
These critical occurrences, called "events", are each made up of one or more "tests" which an Intelligent Agent makes towards a managed service when an event is registered against it. When you register an event through the Console, you define the event condition by selecting one or more tests.
When an event occurs and is detected by an Intelligent Agent, specified administrators are notified by Console alert, e-mail, or page, depending on their permissions and preferred credentials. You can also set up a "fixit" job to run automatically in response to an event.
As in the Job Scheduling System, you can share event information with other administrators connected to the repository. Events are also objects within the Oracle Enterprise Manager framework and are assigned owners and security parameters.
Note: For more information about the Event Management System, see Chapter 3, "Job and Event Systems". |
Administrators can be notified of the status of jobs and events by Console alert, e-mail, or page. When scheduling a job or registering an event, you set up notification procedures and choose which administrators to have notified of job completion or failure or event occurrence. You also can specify different email and page filters to administrators in response to events and job status notifications.
Oracle Enterprise Manager has a paging and email blackout feature, which prevents administrators from being flooded with emails and pages if a managed service is brought down. For example, if a service is brought down on a regular basis for scheduled maintenance, you can specify paging and email "blackouts" for the services during those periods. During a specified blackout, enhanced notification (paging/e-mail) is deactivated while the service is down.
Security parameters in Oracle Enterprise Manager are defined for services, objects, and administrators. All administrator accounts are defined by a Super Administrator who creates and defines the permissions of all the repository's administrators. A Super Administrator can access any object and control its security parameters, including objects owned by other administrators. Security parameters are set up in the Preferences dialog box, shown in Figure 1-7, "Preferences Dialog Box".
The following table describes the options available in each tab of the Preferences dialog box.
If you try to access an object or service for which your preferred credentials are not set up, the service will try using your Console login information.
Generating an Enterprise Report allows you to create an HTML-based Enterprise Report containing information such as event alerts, scheduled jobs, groups, and discovered services for all managed nodes in your enterprise. For more information, see the Oracle Enterprise Manager online help.
You can control font size and style. If the default fonts are too large or small for your display, you can change them from the Console. Any application which is then launched from the Console will display the updated font size.
Bundled with Oracle Enterprise Manager is the DBA Management Pack, which is an integrated set of standard database administration tools to help automate and simplify the common daily tasks of administrators. These supplemental tools focus on specific areas of database administration, helping administrators with their daily and routine tasks of managing databases and other services and keeping them operational.
Oracle Enterprise Manager also contains integrated applications for help in managing the Oracle Environment.
Note: For an overview of the database tools, see Chapter 4, "DBA Management Pack" or the Oracle Enterprise Manager online help. For information on the integrated applications, see Chapter 5, "Oracle Management Packs and Integrated Applications". |
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