5
Data Guard Manager Scenarios

This chapter provides several scenarios that show how to use the Oracle9i Data Guard Manager graphical user interface (GUI) to create, manage, and monitor a broker configuration.

This chapter contains the following scenarios:

• Scenario 1: Starting Data Guard Manager
• Scenario 2: Creating a Configuration
• Scenario 3: Connecting to a Configuration
• Scenario 4: Verifying the Configuration
• Scenario 5: Adding Sites to a Broker Configuration
• Scenario 6: Performing Routine Maintenance
• Scenario 7: Performing a Switchover Operation
• Scenario 8: Performing a Failover Operation
• Scenario 9: Monitoring a Data Guard Configuration
• Scenario 10: Using Event Tests
• Scenario 11: Removing a Configuration and Exiting Data Guard Manager
• Scenario 12: Re-Creating a Configuration with Data Guard Manager

5.1 Scenario 1: Starting Data Guard Manager

Start Data Guard Manager through the Oracle Enterprise Manager Console by taking the following steps.

Step 1 Start Oracle Management Server.

Start the Oracle Management Server from the command-line prompt by entering the oemctl start oms command.

Step 2 Launch the Oracle Enterprise Manager Console.

Launch Oracle Enterprise Manager at the command-line prompt by entering the oemapp console command. When the Enterprise Manager Console login dialog displays, you must select Login to the Oracle Management Server. Do not select Launch standalone, because Data Guard Manager will not be available from the Enterprise Manager Console if you select this option.

Step 3 Start the Intelligent Agent on the primary and standby nodes.

The Intelligent Agent must be running for Data Guard Manager to discover nodes, execute jobs and monitor events. Follow the directions in the Oracle Intelligent Agent User's Guide to configure and use the Intelligent Agent on the primary and standby nodes.

Step 4 Discover the primary and standby nodes.

Run the Enterprise Manager Discovery wizard, also referred to as the Discovery wizard, to discover the primary and standby nodes and gain access to the databases that you want to configure and administer with Data Guard Manager. To invoke the Discovery wizard from the Enterprise Manager Console menu bar, select Navigator > Discover Nodes.

Follow the directions in the Discovery wizard. When finished, all discovered nodes and databases are displayed in the Enterprise Manager navigator tree:

• On the primary node, the wizard discovers the primary database that you want to configure and administer with Data Guard Manager.
• On the standby node, the wizard discovers the following:
  • If you discover a standby node on which a standby database exists, the wizard gains access to the standby database and displays it in the Enterprise Manager navigator tree. When you run the Create Configuration wizard to create a configuration, you can have Data Guard Manager automatically add the existing standby database to the configuration.
  • If you discover a standby node on which a standby database does not exist, the wizard finds the Oracle homes on the system including the one where you have installed Oracle9i Enterprise Edition or Personal Edition. When you run the Create Configuration wizard to create a configuration, you can select this Oracle home as the location in which you want Data Guard Manager to create a new standby database.

Step 5 Set Preferred Node Credentials on the primary and standby nodes.

You should set Preferred Credentials on both the primary and standby nodes to ensure Data Guard Manager can run remote processes to create the configuration. To set Preferred Credentials from the Enterprise Manager Console menu bar, select: Configuration > Preferences > Preferred Credentials.

Although setting Preferred Credentials for the databases is not required, you might want to set Preferred Credentials for the primary database and for the standby database if you are adding an existing standby database.

Step 6 Start Data Guard Manager.

You can start Data Guard Manager from the Enterprise Manager Console or at the command-line prompt:

• At the command-line prompt, enter the oemapp dataguard command.
• From the Enterprise Manager Console, use either of the following methods:
  • From the Tools menu in the Oracle Enterprise Manager Console, choose Database Applications > Data Guard Manager.
  • From the Database Applications drawer in the Oracle Enterprise Manager Console, move the cursor over the icons and select the Data Guard Manager icon.

  Figure 5-1 shows both methods of starting Data Guard Manager from the Enterprise Manager Console.

Figure 5-1 Starting Data Guard Manager

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When launched, Data Guard Manager displays the informational page shown in Figure 5-2.

Figure 5-2 Oracle Data Guard Manager Welcome Window

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On this page, you can:

• Learn about Data Guard Manager: Click Quick Tour to call up the Data Guard Manager quick tour for an easy-to-follow product tour that describes Data Guard Manager concepts and operation.
• Search for information about any Data Guard Manager or Enterprise Manager topic--Click Help to display the Welcome to Oracle Data Guard Manager help topic. Once in the help system, you can use the Contents page or Search page to locate help topics of interest.
• Set up your environment to begin using Data Guard Manager: Click setup requirements.
• Create a broker configuration: Either right-click Data Guard Configurations in the navigator tree or click Create in the bulleted list on the right-hand window to start the Create Configuration wizard (described in Section 5.2).

5.2 Scenario 2: Creating a Configuration

Creating a broker configuration is the first thing you must do before you can manage and monitor the databases. Data Guard Manager provides the Create Configuration wizard to create a broker configuration that includes a primary database and one standby database. (You can use the Add Site wizard later to add more sites. See Section 5.5.) To start the Create Configuration wizard, right-click Data Guard Configurations in the navigator tree and choose Create Configuration wizard.

The wizard takes you through the following steps:

1. Ensure the Data Guard environment is set up properly.
2. Provide a configuration name.
3. Choose a primary database.
4. Choose how you want to add a standby database:
   • Import an existing standby database
   • Create a new physical or logical standby database
5. Verify the information you supplied to the wizard and make changes, if necessary.

The following steps create a configuration and create a new physical standby database. It shows how the wizard takes you through additional steps to select the Oracle home for the database and to copy datafiles to the standby site.

Step 1 Ensure the Data Guard environment is set up properly.

Before the Create Configuration wizard steps you through the process of creating a broker configuration, you must ensure some basic configuration requirements have been met on the primary and standby nodes.

• When you click Details on the wizard welcome page shown in Figure 5-3, Data Guard Manager provides a handy checklist of setup requirements and information to help you ensure the environment is properly prepared.

Figure 5-3 Create Configuration Wizard - Welcome Page

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Step 2 Provide a configuration name.

The next dialog asks you to provide the name of the new broker configuration. Each configuration name must be an Oracle identifier that is unique among the configurations that you have created with Data Guard Manager.

Figure 5-4 shows the Configuration Name step in which a new configuration, Sales, is named.

Figure 5-4 Create Configuration Wizard - Configuration Name

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Step 3 Choose a primary database.

The list of discovered database instances listed on this page contains all of the instances that have been discovered through the Enterprise Manager Console Discovery wizard. (These instances were discovered during the setup work performed in Section 5.1 in the step titled, "Discover the primary and standby nodes.")

Figure 5-5 Create Configuration Wizard - Choose Primary Database

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To select a primary database, select the Oracle9i database instance that you want to serve in the role of a primary database for this broker configuration. The database instance that you choose must be release 9.2 or greater, and it must be a primary database, such that the CONTROLFILE_TYPE in the V$DATABASE view is equal to CURRENT.

Note: The list of instances on this page may include both Oracle9i database instances and older instances (such as Oracle8i). For compatibility, you must select only Oracle9i release 2 (9.2) instances from the list.

Step 4 Choose how you want to add a standby database.

The wizard allows you to create a new physical or logical standby database or add an existing standby database.

This scenario will create a new physical standby database, as shown in Figure 5-6.

Figure 5-6 Create Configuration Wizard - Standby Database Creation Method

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If you choose to add an existing standby database, the wizard displays a list of discovered database instances from which you select a physical or logical standby database to import into the broker configuration. The wizard connects to the database that you choose.

Step 5 Select an Oracle home, if necessary.

If you choose to create a new standby database, the wizard asks you to select the Oracle home on the standby node in which you want to create the standby database.

The wizard lists all of the Oracle homes that have been discovered through the Enterprise Manager Discovery wizard. You must select a discovered Oracle home and provide a unique name for the standby site.

Figure 5-7 shows this step of the configuration process.

Figure 5-7 Create Configuration Wizard - Select an Oracle Home

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Step 6 Copy datafiles to the standby node.

If you choose to create a new standby database, part of the creation process involves copying the datafiles for the primary database to the standby node. Data Guard Manager uses the operating system (OS) method to copy the files.

• Select the location where you want the datafiles to be copied.

  As you enter the destination directory, the wizard assumes you want the archived redo logs in the same directory as the rest of the datafiles. and mirrors your input to the Standby archived log file directory field at the bottom of the page. Figure 5-8 shows this step of the configuration process.

Figure 5-8 Create Configuration Wizard - Supplying the Datafile Copy Location

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Copy all files to the same directory on the standby node: Specify a single directory on the standby node. All files for the new standby instance will be copied to this directory. If the directory you specify does not exist on the standby database, Data Guard Manager will ask if you want to create the new directory and automatically create it. (As you enter the destination directory, it is mirrored to the standby archived redo log file directory field at the bottom of the dialog.)

Copy files to different directories: You can specify individual destination directories on the standby node for each file. Enter each directory separately, or click File Location Assistant to automatically generate directory names. If a directory you specify does not exist on the standby database, Data Guard Manager will ask if you want to automatically create the directory.

Datafile compression: If the new standby database instance is located on a different node than the primary database, you can choose compression for the datafile copy. Depending on the composition of the datafiles, compression may result in a faster copy process, especially for large databases.

Concurrent copy processes: If the new standby database instance is located on a different node than the primary database, you can optionally specify up to 10 concurrent copy processes. Increasing the number of copy processes may result in a faster copy time for a large dataset. This option is available only on UNIX systems.

Standby archived log file directory: Specify a path name for the location on the standby node where you want log transport services to copy archived redo logs. Because archived redo logs sometimes require a large amount of space on the standby node, you might want to specify a different destination location from the datafiles. The default destination is the directory that you specified in the "Copy all files to the same directory on the standby node" text box at the top of this page.

Step 7 Verify the information you supplied to the wizard and make changes, if necessary.

This page of the wizard provides several last-minute tuning opportunities. Normally, no input is necessary on this page because all parameters are set automatically. However, you can optionally change the following:

• Standby instance name
• Standby initialization file
• Standby database SYSDBA password
• Standby LISTENER.ORA file location and content

Figure 5-9 shows the Options dialog.

Figure 5-9 Create Configuration Wizard - Options

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Although you do not have to provide any input, you can optionally make changes to any of the fields. Table 5-1 describes the default values for each field and includes comments about how the information is used.

Table 5-1  Optional Input to the Create Configuration Wizard

Field	By Default . . .	Comments
Standby instance name	This is the primary database name with a number appended to it. Typically, the number equals the number of sites in the configuration, plus 1.	If you edit the default name shown, ensure the new name is unique on the standby host and it must be 8 characters or less. Note that the name is case sensitive.
Standby initialization parameter file	This file is derived automatically from a combination of the current parameter settings for the primary database and additional standby database settings. You can edit the standby database parameter file to add or modify its contents.	The wizard creates the initialization parameter file for the standby instance in the platform-specific default Oracle home. (For example, on UNIX this would be $ORACLE_HOME/dbs/initinstance_name.ora). In the Sales example, the generated filename would be initsfdb.ora. If a file with this name already exists, you will be prompted to change the instance name.
Standby database SYSDBA password	Although Data Guard Manager does not require a remote login password file for the standby database, this dialog box allows you to create one for the standby database to enable remote connections.	The wizard uses the orapwd utility to create the remote login password file in the default location in the Oracle home where you installed the standby database. For example, on a UNIX system the name of the file is $ORACLE_HOME/dbs/orapwsfdb.
Standby LISTENER.ORA file	A LISTENER.ORA file must already exist in the default location of the standby Oracle home (for example, $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/ on UNIX). Otherwise, the standby creation process will fail.	Whether or not you edit the file, the wizard: Installs the modified LISTENER.ORA file in the default location in the Oracle home. Starts the Oracle Net listener (or restarts it, if it is already running) that will listen for the new instance, using the lsnrctl utility.

Note: By default, the primary database remains open during the standby creation process, which results in a hot (inconsistent) backup of the datafiles. You can opt to shut down the primary database (with the immediate option) prior to creating the standby database instance. This will result in a cold (consistent) backup of the datafiles.

Next, the wizard displays a summary page on which you can verify the information that you provided to the wizard. If you find an error or decide to rename something, click Back to move backward through the screens in the wizard. Otherwise, click Finish to begin creating the configuration.

Figure 5-10 shows the summary page.

Figure 5-10 Create Configuration Wizard - Summary Page

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After you finish providing input to the wizard, Data Guard Manager opens a dialog box (shown in Figure 5-11) to display the wizard's progress as it creates the new configuration. The progress information that is displayed varies depending on if you are importing an existing standby database or creating a new standby database.

The progress dialog window displays the progress of the operation. Click Close when the create operation is done to close the progress dialog window and return control to the Data Guard Manager main window.

Figure 5-11 shows the progress dialog after the successful creation of the configuration named DGConfig.

Figure 5-11 Progress Dialog Box for Creating the Configuration

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When the Create Configuration wizard completes, a To Do list is displayed describing a few tasks you must perform to finish configuring the broker configuration. Follow the instructions in the list to complete the tasks.

Note: If a problem occurs while creating the new configuration, Data Guard Manager prompts you to fix the problem and allows you to restart the creation process without having to rerun the wizard from the beginning. The restart option skips the step of copying the datafiles if they have already been copied from the primary site to the new standby site.

5.3 Scenario 3: Connecting to a Configuration

You must connect to the new configuration (created in Section 5.2) through the Data Guard Configuration Connect Information dialog box to manage and monitor the resources in it. You can connect through either the primary or a standby database.

To connect, double-click the configuration name in the navigator tree; this launches the Data Guard Connect Information dialog box shown in Figure 5-12.

Figure 5-12 Configuration Connect Information Dialog Box

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If you require full management access (including the ability to add and remove sites and database resources, and to perform switchover and failover operations), connect using an Administrator account that has SYSDBA privileges. For read-only access to the configuration for monitoring purposes, you can connect as NORMAL. See the online help for more information about connecting to the configuration.

By default, the configuration, site, and resource objects are automatically enabled and the primary and standby database systems are online when you create a configuration. When the configuration is enabled, it means that you can manage and monitor all of the objects because they are under the control of Data Guard broker.

5.4 Scenario 4: Verifying the Configuration

Use the Verify operation when you first create a configuration and at any time you want to perform a series of validation checks on the broker configuration, including a health check of each site and resource in the configuration.

Figure 5-13 shows how the Verify operation:

1. Starts monitoring the alert and configuration logs for any errors that may happen when switching logs. If any errors are found, they are reported at the end of the progress dialog (in step 6).
2. Shows current data protection mode settings, including the current log transport mode settings for each site and whether or not the standby redo logs are configured properly. In the figure, the value "No Standby Redo Logs" can indicate that no standby redo logs exist, there is an insufficient number of standby redo logs available, or the size of the standby redo logs is insufficient.
3. Validates each site for the current status.
4. Performs a log switch on the primary database and then verifies that the log was applied on each standby database.
5. Notifies you to run the Discovery wizard to rediscover nodes and update site information for the configuration
6. Shows the results of the Verify operation, including errors, if any. The Verify operation completes successfully if there are no errors and a redo log was successfully applied to at least one standby site.

   Note: You can click Cancel at any time to stop the Verify operation.

Figure 5-13 Verify Progress Dialog

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The Verify operation shown in Figure 5-13 was successful because the archived redo logs were applied on all standby databases. The progress dialog displays a blue check mark in the status area (left of the dialog) if the Verify operation is successful.

5.5 Scenario 5: Adding Sites to a Broker Configuration

You can use the Add Site wizard to add up to 8 additional standby sites, one at a time, to an existing broker configuration. You can choose to create or add existing (physical or logical) standby databases. Many of the tasks you perform with the Add Site wizard are similar to the steps you performed with the Create Configuration wizard in Section 5.2

To start the Add Site wizard, right-click the configuration in the navigator tree and select Add Site. The Add Site wizard guides you through the following steps:

1. Ensure the Data Guard environment is set up properly.
2. Choose to create a new standby database or add an existing standby database. (If you choose to create a new standby database, the wizard also takes you through additional steps to select the Oracle home for the database and to copy datafiles to the standby site.)
3. Optionally, tune parameters such as the standby instance name, standby initialization file, LISTENER.ORA file location and content, SYSDBA password for the standby database, and more.
4. Verify the information you supplied to the wizard and make changes, if necessary.

   In addition, if there is no current connection to the primary database and you do not have Preferred Credentials set for the primary database in the current Enterprise Manager session, Data Guard Manager might prompt you to connect to the primary database.

The following figures highlight some of the pages you will see when you use the Add Site wizard. Figure 5-14 shows how you create a new logical standby database.

Figure 5-14 Adding Standby Sites to an Existing Configuration

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When you create a logical standby database, the wizard lists datatypes and tables in the primary database that the logical standby database cannot support. Although log apply services will automatically exclude unsupported datatypes or tables when applying the archived redo logs to the logical standby database, you should examine the list to determine if any critical tables exist on the primary database that must be maintained on the logical standby database. If so, you should consider creating a physical standby database instead of a logical standby database. Otherwise, you can continue creating the logical standby database.

Figure 5-15 shows an example of many unsupported objects on the Logical Standby Support page.

Figure 5-15 Logical Standby Support

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As with the Create Configuration wizard, you are prompted to select an Oracle home on the standby site, and specify a datafile copy location or locations. After you verify your input to the Add Site wizard on the Summary page, the wizard automatically creates the logical standby database, and adds it to the broker configuration.

The following list describes the progress dialog shown in Figure 5-16:

1. Shutting down and then starting and mounting the primary database, which is performed only when necessary or when requested by the user.
2. Copying the primary database datafiles and the standby control file to file locations on the standby site.
3. Setting up the new standby instance, which includes installing files, starting the listener, starting the standby database instance, and renaming datafiles on the standby site.
4. Building the broker configuration, which includes starting the broker on the standby site, and adding and enabling the new logical standby database.

Figure 5-16 Progress Dialog When Adding a Logical Standby Site

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5.6 Scenario 6: Performing Routine Maintenance

Data Guard Manager can help simplify some of the routine maintenance tasks you must perform in the configuration. The following sections provide two examples: one shows how to take a site offline to replace a faulty disk drive.

5.6.1 Changing the State of a Database Resource

This section describes how to take the standby database resource offline for the purpose of replacing a faulty disk drive.

To change the state of the standby database to be offline, follow these steps:

1. In the navigator tree, select the standby database resource.
2. In the right-hand property sheet, click Set State.
3. Click Offline.
4. Click OK.

When changing the state of any database to offline, you also need to click Yes in the pop-up dialog box that displays to confirm that you want to change its state.

When you change the state of the standby database to offline, the standby database instance will be put into a started, nomount state and log apply services will be stopped. This temporarily pauses the transmission of redo logs to this site and also the application of the archived redo logs to the standby database while you replace the faulty disk drive. After completing your maintenance tasks, you can follow the same sequence of steps to bring the database online again.

Note: Taking any object offline should be done only when absolutely necessary, because it will perform a shutdown immediate and startup nomount on the databases.

Figure 5-17 shows the Set State dialog on which you will change the state of the standby database to offline.

Figure 5-17 Verifying a State Change to a Physical Standby Database

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5.6.2 Changing the Database Protection Mode and LogXptMode Database Property

You can change the protection mode properties with Data Guard Manager at any time to modify and tune your current configuration.

When the configuration was first created it was placed in the maximum performance mode by default. This section describes the 4-step process for upgrading to the maximum protection mode. The maximum protection mode offers the highest level of data protection for the primary database because all data that has been committed on the primary database is guaranteed to be recoverable on properly configured physical standby sites in the event of a failure.

To set the maximum protection data protection mode:

1. Select the configuration in the navigator tree and click the Data Protection tab.

Figure 5-18 Data Protection Mode Dialog

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• Click Standby Redo Log Assistant to configure standby redo logs. Standby redo logs are required for physical standby databases running in maximum protection or maximum availability mode.

  Figure 5-19 Standby Redo Log Assistant

  

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  The Standby Redo Log Assistant automatically determines the correct number and size of standby redo logs needed for all databases in the configuration, and adds those logs using the directory locations you specify. You can optionally click Skip to avoid adding standby redo logs to one or more specific databases. See the Data Guard Manager help system for more information.

• Set the LogXptMode property value appropriately for the data protection mode you chose in step 1. The maximum protection mode requires that you configure the value of the LogXptMode database property to SYNC on at least one physical standby site. To set the LogXptMode:
  1. In the navigator tree, select the physical standby database resource. (Logical standby databases do not support the maximum protection mode.)
  2. Click the Properties tab in the pane on the right side.
  3. Click the LogXptMode property and select SYNC from the choice box in the Value column, as shown in Figure 5-20.

  Figure 5-20 Setting the LogXptMode Database Property

  

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• Click Apply.

  You can change database properties at any time in Data Guard Manager. Plus, when you set definitions or values for database properties in the broker configuration, the broker records the change in the configuration file and also propagates the changes to the related initialization parameters in the SPFILE files throughout the configuration.

• Set the data protection mode to maximum protection:
  1. Select the configuration in the navigator tree.
  2. Click the Data Protection tab (see Figure 5-18).
  3. On the Data Protection page, select Maximum Protection. The primary database will be shut down and restarted.

     See Also: Section 4.3.2 for complete information about configurable database resource properties

  5.7 Scenario 7: Performing a Switchover Operation

  There may be occasions when you might want to perform a switchover operation between the primary database and standby databases. This scenario steps you through the process of using the Switchover wizard to switch roles between the primary site and a standby site.

  To start the Switchover wizard, use either of the following methods:

  • In the tree view, right-click the configuration and select Switchover.
  • On the Object menu, select Switchover.

  The Switchover wizard displays a welcome screen and performs the following steps:

  1. Ensures that the primary site and primary database are not currently in an error status condition, and verifies that the primary database resource is enabled and online.
  2. Checks for, and notifies you of, any active user sessions connected to the primary database instance. The wizard closes these sessions in a manner similar to using the SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE command if you do not shut them down yourself.
  3. Lists existing standby sites that are viable (enabled and online) candidates for the switchover operation, and prompts you to choose a new primary site from the list. Figure 5-21 shows this dialog box.

  Figure 5-21 Choose a New Primary Site for the Switchover Operation

  

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• Notifies you of any active user sessions running against the chosen standby database instance. See the Check Open Sessions help topic for more information.
• Verifies the information you supply to the wizard and prompts you to make changes, if necessary.
• Performs the switchover operation by first changing the primary site to the standby role, and then the standby site to the primary role, displaying a progress dialog as the switchover operation progresses.
• Restarts any physical standby instances.

  5.8 Scenario 8: Performing a Failover Operation

  This scenario steps you through the process of using the Failover wizard to transition one of the physical standby sites, San Francisco, into the primary role. You should perform a failover operation only in the event of a software or system failure that results in the loss of the primary database. The primary database is discarded and the standby database assumes the primary database role.

  In Figure 5-22, the configuration General page shows the ORA-16625 status that indicates problems accessing the primary database.

  Figure 5-22 Failure Condition Indicates a Failover Operation May Be Necessary

  

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  If you determine that a failure has occurred on the primary database and there is no possibility of recovering the primary database in a timely manner, you can start the Failover wizard by selecting Failover on the Object menu. Oracle Corporation recommends that you always choose a physical standby database (over a logical standby database) as the target of a failover operation.

  The Failover wizard displays a welcome screen and performs the following steps:

  1. Prompts you to choose the type of failover: graceful or forced:
     • Graceful failover automatically recovers some or all of the original primary database application data and attempts to bring along any physical bystander standby databases.
     • Perform a forced failover to the standby database only in an emergency. Forced failover may result in lost application data even when standby redo logs are configured on a physical standby database.
  2. Lists existing standby sites that contain an enabled standby database resource; standby sites that are not viable candidates for the transition to the primary role are not displayed on this page.
  3. Notifies you of any active user sessions running against a standby database instance. See the Check Open Sessions help topic for more information.
  4. Fails over to the San Francisco physical standby database.

  Figure 5-23 lists existing standby sites and prompts you to choose the one you would like to have serve as the new primary site.

  Figure 5-23 Choosing a Target Standby Database for the Failover Operation

  

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  During the failover operation, the wizard opens a window to display the progress of the operation as it transitions the selected standby site into the primary role and restarts all online physical standby database instances involved in the failover operation. When completed, the configuration General page reflects the updated configuration, as shown in Figure 5-24.

  Figure 5-24 General Page After a Failover Operation Completes

  

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  In the figure, a red X is displayed in the Status column to indicate that the original primary database (Boston) and the logical standby database (Chicago) are both permanently disabled and can no longer be managed through Data Guard Manager.

  A graceful failover operation attempts to bring along any physical bystanders. However, when the graceful failover operation involves a logical standby database, you must re-create the original primary database and any logical bystanders. Also, you must stop and restart the Intelligent Agent and use the Discovery wizard from the Enterprise Manager Console to rediscover all nodes in the configuration.

  See Also: Chapter 3 for more information about failover operations

  5.9 Scenario 9: Monitoring a Data Guard Configuration

  Data Guard Manager provides several ways to monitor the status of a configuration as well as the redo log activity of the primary and standby databases. At the most basic level, the General tab for the configuration not only displays information about the configuration, but it also includes summary information about its sites and database resources.

  For example, the summary information on the General property page shows the states and status for all of the sites and databases in the configuration. If you want to find out more information about why a standby database resource is offline, select it in the navigator tree and view the database resource's property pages. Any Data Guard specific database properties that are incorrect, inconsistent or known to be in conflict with other parameters will be flagged with a warning in the Properties page for the database resource.

  • To check the configuration status, select the configuration in the navigator view and look at the status information on the General page. The traffic light is green if the configuration is functioning normally, yellow if there is a warning, and red for an error condition. To see the status of individual site and database resource objects, hover the mouse over the Status field in the Summary area.
  • To check a database resource object's status, in the navigator tree expand the configuration and the site, then select database resource that you want to check. Click the Properties tab to see a list of the database properties (reference the online help to get a brief description of each property). Hover the mouse over the icons in the first column for status information.

    For example, hovering over a yellow warning icon displays the message "A yellow warning indicates an inconsistent property has been detected. The value for this property is inconsistent between Data Guard and the database, Data Guard and the SPFILE, or Data Guard and both the database and SPFILE."

  Figure 5-25 shows the General property page for the configuration.

  Figure 5-25 Displaying General Information About a Configuration

  

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  5.9.1 Verifying a Broker Configuration

  Another way to quickly check the overall health of a broker configuration is to run the Verify command. The Verify command performs a series of validation checks on the broker configuration, including a health check of each site and database resource object in the configuration. The checks include:

  1. Monitoring the alert logs and Data Guard logs, reporting any errors.
  2. Evaluating the configuration protection modes and identifying potential issues with switchover operations. For example, it checks that each site is enabled and online, and switches logs to make sure that the log was successfully archived and applied to the standby databases.

  To verify the configuration, right-click the configuration in the navigator tree and select Verify from the drop-down list. The Verify command displays a progress dialog (see Section 5.4, "Scenario 4: Verifying the Configuration" for an example). When the verify operation completes successfully, the broker configuration is healthy, guarding the data and ready for a switchover or failover operation.

  5.9.2 Viewing Alert Log and Data Guard Log Information

  The View Log dialog allows you to display the database alert logs, the Data Guard configuration logs, or both logs for the primary and standby sites. Use it for rapid error searches and monitoring because you can obtain results quickly, if common Oracle errors or specific patterns.

  To use the View Log dialog:

  1. Click the ViewLog icon that is located above the Help icon on the far left-hand side of the Data Guard main window, or select View Log from the Object menu.
  2. In the View Options dialog, select one or more log files that you want to view and choose your viewing preferences. For example, you can monitor the logs continuously or choose a time period to view them. Also, you can highlight errors to make them easier to find.
  3. Use the Window menu option to arrange the resulting panes for the best view.

     In addition, you can use the F3, F7 and F8 keys for rapid searching in the logs. Choose Matching common Oracle errors to view a subset of errors discovered in the logs. Choose Match Regular Expression to perform a search on specific words in the logs. Click OK.

  5.9.3 Monitoring Configuration Performance

  For more in-depth performance and monitoring, you can display detailed performance statistics for a broker configuration using performance charts that provide a graphical summary of all redo log activity in the configuration. The charts are refreshed based on a collection interval (the rate at which data is sampled from the primary database) that you can specify. The default collection interval is 60 seconds, which can be changed. See the online Help for detailed information about performance sampling rates.

  For example, Figure 5-26 shows performance information for all of the objects in the configuration.

  Figure 5-26 Displaying the Performance Chart Page

  

  Text description of the illustration perf_loggaps.gif

  The Performance page begins charting information as soon as the page is displayed. The charts run continuously while the configuration is selected in the navigator tree, even if you go to another page for the configuration. For example, if you click the General, Data Protection, or Properties tab, the charts continue collecting data and be up-to-date when you return to the Performance tab. The Performance page stops collecting data when you click Pause All at the bottom of the page, disconnect from the configuration, or select another object in the tree view. Also, data will not be collected for any offline or disabled sites. For example, if the primary site is offline, no charts will be displayed for it.

  .

  Note: To view the Performance page while also using other features of Data Guard Manager, right-click the configuration in the navigator tree and choose Edit. This displays the Performance information in a new window to provide you the flexibility to perform other functions in the Data Guard Manage main window. This is effective unless sessions used by the Performance page need to be terminated for some reason, such as a switchover operation.

  From the Performance page, click Options to access the Performance Chart Options dialog that allows you to customize display settings on the Performance page or invoke a Test Application that modifies a test table and generates redo to test the configuration setup.

  The Test Application is a good way to make sure that the configuration is set up and functioning properly before using live data and to test relative performance.

  Running the Test Application

  You use the Test Application dialog (shown in Figure 5-27) to help you evaluate the performance of your broker configuration by adding and deleting rows in a test schema on your primary database. To set up a Test Application, perform the following steps:

  1. On the Performance Page, click Options.
  2. Click Start Test and start a test on the primary database (the default). You can also select logical standby databases and physical standby databases that are in read-only mode.
  3. Click Setup at the bottom of the page to create the test tables.
  4. Choose Single Update Mode or Continuous Update Mode:

  Single Update Mode

  Single Update Mode inserts one row of the value you specify into the Test Application. To use Single Update Mode:

  On the primary database:

  1. Enter a value (using a VARCHAR datatype) in the text box under Single Update Mode.
  2. Click Apply.

  On the physical standby databases:

  3. Set the state of the physical standby database to read-only mode.
  4. Click Options on the Performance Page and start another Test Application for each physical standby database.
  5. View the Value field in the Test Application to see the inserted value.

  On logical standby databases:

  1. Click Options on the Performance Page and start another Test Application for each logical standby database.
  2. View the Value field in the Test Application to see the inserted value.

  When the value from the primary database is inserted into the standby database, the value will appear in the Test Value text area of the Test Application started on the logical.

  Continuous Update Mode

  Continuous Update Mode inserts a number of insert and delete threads in the Test Application. To set it up, select Options in the Continuous Update Mode section of the Test Application page and enter the number of Insert and Delete threads.

  More threads will produce more transactions resulting in more log traffic. The Test Application will run until you click Stop or until there is a lack of resources. There are no restrictions on how many threads may be started and it is possible to exceed the hardware or database resource limits (which can also be a very useful test).

  Figure 5-27 shows the Test Application dialog for setting up single or continuous update mode tests.

  Figure 5-27 Testing the Data Guard Configuration

  

  Text description of the illustration test_app.gif

  The test application plots the number of transactions per second (TPS) in a graph, providing a profile of the performance impact of the simulated archived redo log traffic. By using the Test Application, you can determine how different settings may affect overall performance. For example, you might want to test the effect of the different protection modes: maximum protection, maximum availability, and maximum performance.

  .

  Note: The performance information is for the Test Application only. You may see different results based on different applications and other factors when you run different tests.

  5.10 Scenario 10: Using Event Tests

  In addition to monitoring the status and log activity using Data Guard Manager, you can register event tests with Oracle Enterprise Manager to monitor the redo log activity on the primary and standby databases or monitor the status of the configuration as a whole.

  You can create events using predefined event tests that are installed with Data Guard. Table 5-2 describes the six Data Guard event tests.

  Table 5-2  Data Guard Event Tests

  Event	Description
  Actual Apply Delay	Measures the difference (in number of archived redo logs) between the current log at the primary database and the last log applied on the standby database.
  Data Not Applied	Measures the time difference (in minutes) between the last archived redo log received and the last log applied on the standby database.
  Logs Not Applied	Measures the difference (in number of archived redo logs) between the last log received and the last log applied on the standby database.
  Logs Not Shipped	Measures the difference (in number of archived redo logs) between the current log on the primary database and the last log shipped to the standby database.
  Potential Data Loss	Measures the time difference (in minutes) between the current redo log on the primary database and the last log received on the standby database.
  Status	Checks the status of the broker configuration. Note: If the status is not SUCCESS, then this event test is triggered.

  Using the Enterprise Manager Event System, you can register one or more Data Guard event tests against both the primary and standby databases. You can also set up the Paging /Email Services to notify you through your pager or e-mail if any of the event tests are triggered.

  In addition to registering the Data Guard event tests, consider registering the Node UpDown event test against each node where the Oracle Intelligent Agent is running. This event test monitors the node and the Intelligent Agent. Because the UpDown event test is triggered if any problems occur with the node or agent, it can be very beneficial in detecting problems that may prevent other event tests, including Data Guard event tests, from running.

  See Also: Oracle Enterprise Manager help and documentation for more information about registering event tests and using the Paging/Email Services

  5.10.1 Creating and Registering Data Guard Events

  The example in this section describes how to create and register Data Guard event tests and set up for notification through e-mail when an event occurs.

  Step 1 Ensure Oracle Enterprise Manager is prepared.

  To prepare the Enterprise Manager environment for events, it is essential that you have performed the following prerequisite tasks:

  • Ensure the Oracle Intelligent Agent is running on all nodes in the configuration.
  • Ensure the primary and standby nodes have been discovered (and therefore the primary and standby databases have been discovered).
  • Set Preferred Credentials on all databases (requires the SYSDBA role).
  • Invoke Data Guard Manager and connect to the broker configuration.

    Note: These tasks were discussed in detail in Section 5.1.

  Step 2 Set up to receive event notification by pager or e-mail.

  If you want to receive event notification by pager or e-mail, invoke the Paging/Email Services to set up the SMTP mail gateway and mail address of the person who will receive the event notification. From the menu bar on the Enterprise Manager Console, invoke the Paging/Email Services by selecting: Configuration > Configure Paging/Email.

  See Also: The Oracle Enterprise Manager documentation and help for a complete description of the Paging/Email Services

  Step 3 Create the event tests.

  From the menu bar on the Enterprise Manager Console, select:

  Event > Create Event

  Complete or modify the fields in the following Create Event property pages:

  • General: Specifies a name for the event, target type, and monitored targets. To create one or more Data Guard event tests, enter a user-friendly name for the Event Name, select Database as the Target Type, and add the primary and standby databases as the targets you want to monitor.
  • Tests: Specifies the event tests that you want to create. You can select any event listed in the Available Tests navigator tree, including any of the Data Guard event tests that were described in Table 5-2. To see the list of Data Guard event tests, select:

    Database > Specialized > Data Guard

    For each event test that you want to create, select the test from the Available Tests view and click Add to move it to the Selected Tests list. In Figure 5-28, all of the Data Guard event tests have been selected.

  Figure 5-28 Predefined Data Guard Event Tests

  

  Text description of the illustration event_tests.gif

  • Parameters: Specifies settings, such as the number of occurrences and threshold values, that you can customize for each event test. Parameters vary according to the event test selected. The available parameters for an event test are displayed when the event test is selected in the Tests tab. Some event tests, such as Data Guard Status, do not have parameters.
  • Schedule: Specifies how frequently you want the Oracle Intelligent Agent to run event tests. By default, all of the event tests run every 5 minutes (except for the Up/Down event test, which is checked at an interval set by the system itself).

    Note: You should experiment with the schedule setting because there is a trade-off between frequency of the test and the performance of your system. Running tests at a more frequent interval increases the workload on your system and may produce a noticeable effect on performance.

  • Access: Specifies the access permissions that you want to assign for the event. You can allow other DBAs no access, full access, or restricted access so that other DBAs can only view the event or modify the event log. Because the example in this section is set up for e-mail notification, you should ensure that the Notify option is selected for each DBA who requires notification.
  • Fixit Jobs: Specifies jobs that respond to specific error conditions. There are no fixit jobs for Data Guard event tests.

  When you have completed all of the Create Event property sheets, select Register & Add to Library option on the bottom left side and then click Register & Add to send the event to the selected destinations. This adds the event to the Library and saves the event definitions.

  When the event is submitted, the primary and standby database destinations are validated and the Intelligent Agent for each destination processes the event.

  Step 4 View registered events.

  If the registration is successful, the event displays in the Registered page of the Events pane. For example, Figure 5-29 shows that the event named Data Guard Event was registered successfully.

  Note: Remember, the primary and standby nodes must already be discovered, Preferred Credentials must be set, the Intelligent Agent must be running, and you must be connected to the broker configuration for the registration to be successful.

  Figure 5-29 Viewing Registered Events

  

  Text description of the illustration registered_event.gif

  Step 5 View triggered events.

  If an event condition is triggered or a threshold value is exceeded, it shows up in the Alerts pane. If you double-click on an event, the Event Viewer displays a property page showing the status of your events.

  Figure 5-30 shows some Data Guard events that were triggered after log transport services and log apply services stopped between the primary and standby databases.

  Figure 5-30 General Property Page of the Event Viewer

  

  Text description of the illustration event_viewer_general.gif

  In Figure 5-30, notice how the events return a different flag symbol and message, depending on the severity of the event. The severity levels are determined by the parameters you set for the event tests when you created them. See the Oracle Enterprise Manager online help system for more information about the different symbols.

  When running the Data Guard event tests, an error might occur for the following reasons:

  • The event test fails to run.
  • The event test cannot make requests of the Data Guard broker.

  Because the Paging/Email Services was set up, DBAs are also notified by an e-mail message similar to the one shown in Figure 5-31.

  Figure 5-31 E-Mail Notification for the Actual Apply Delay Event

  

  Text description of the illustration email_notification.gif

  After an event condition is fixed, the event is cleared automatically. You can also clear an event by acknowledging it and moving it to the Events History page.

  5.11 Scenario 11: Removing a Configuration and Exiting Data Guard Manager

  You can remove a configuration so that it is no longer visible from the navigator in the current Data Guard Manager window, or you can permanently delete the broker configuration.

  When you remove a configuration from Data Guard Manager, you remove all broker objects in the configuration from management and monitoring through the GUI. By default, it does not affect the underlying operations of the primary and standby databases, log transport services, or log apply services. Operations such as log shipping and log applying could continue to function. However, these services are no longer manageable through Data Guard Manager.

  5.11.1 Remove the Data Guard Configuration

  To remove the broker configuration, you must be connected to the configuration through the primary database. Perform the following steps:

  1. In the navigator tree, select the configuration.
  2. From the Object menu, select Remove. The Remove Data Guard Configuration dialog displays, as shown in Figure 5-32.

  Figure 5-32 Removing a Data Guard Broker Configuration

  

  Text description of the illustration removeconfig.gif

• Select Remove from Navigator only or Remove Data Guard configuration permanently and click OK.
  • Remove from Navigator only

    This option removes the configuration from the Data Guard Manager console without actually destroying it. When you choose this option, the actual Data Guard configuration, sites, and resources are still operational and the configuration still exists. You can make the configuration visible in Data Guard Manager once again by using the Enterprise Manager Discovery wizard to rediscover any one of the nodes on which one of the sites is located.

  • Remove Data Guard configuration permanently

    When you choose this option, Data Guard Manager removes (deletes) the selected broker configuration permanently. You must be connected to the broker configuration through the primary database to use this option. When you permanently remove a configuration, the remove operation:

    • Does not affect the underlying operations of the standby databases or the log apply services. Operations such as log shipping and log applying continue to run; however, these services are no longer manageable through Data Guard Manager.
    • Destroys all broker configuration information maintained on each site; the configuration is then unknown to the broker and can no longer be managed from Data Guard Manager.
    • By default, does not stop or remove the log transport services. You can optionally choose to have Data Guard Manager automatically remove each of the standby sites in the configuration from the list of standby destinations currently in use by the primary database. In the Standby Destination Removal section, select from the following options: Do not remove any destinations, Remove all destinations in configuration, Specify destinations to remove. (Press the Destinations button to specify exactly which destinations to remove.)

  Although the configuration information is not recoverable once you delete a broker configuration permanently, you can easily re-create the configuration with the Create Configuration wizard. See Section 5.12 for more information.

  5.11.2 Exit from Data Guard Manager

  To exit from Data Guard Manager, choose File > Exit.

  5.11.3 Stop the Data Guard Monitor

  On both the primary and standby sites, stop the Data Guard monitor by setting the DG_BROKER_START=FALSE parameter using the SQL ALTER SYSTEM statement.

  SQL> ALTER SYSTEM SET DG_BROKER_START=FALSE;
  System altered.
  
  SQL> SHOW PARAMETER DG_BROKER_START;
  NAME         TYPE      VALUE
  ------------------------------------  
  dg_broker_start    boolean   FALSE
  

  .

  Note: After performing this step, you should stop and restart the Intelligent Agent on both nodes to rediscover the nodes and databases. See Oracle Intelligent Agent User's Guide for additional information.

  5.12 Scenario 12: Re-Creating a Configuration with Data Guard Manager

  Use the Create Configuration wizard and choose the Create Existing Standby option to create and enable the broker configuration based on the new primary and standby roles. (Follow the steps in Section 5.2 through Section 5.4.) Because the standby site is already created, you can use the Create Existing Standby method to create the standby database. This method takes only a few minutes to re-create the standby database.