Forms Diagnostics Agent or Forms Metrics Agent enables the user to analyze various performance-related information about Forms applications running in your environment. This agent accesses the metrics data (available in DMS) at regular time intervals and populates the database tables. This process allows the user to access the data collected as historical data.
Forms Diagnostics agent works only with Oracle Forms 11gR2. The deployment of this application is optional. The agent application provides an interactive interface where the user can specify the frequency of data collection and also control the starting and stopping of data collection. This can be achieved by performing the following tasks:
Since Forms Diagnostics Agent works only with Oracle forms 11g Release 2, you must install and configure this version.
For information about installing and configuring Oracle Forms 11gR2, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Oracle Forms and Reports.
In order to set up DB schema for Forms Diagnostics Agent, you must create a user and schema in the database. The user can choose a database instance of their choice. There is no special database that is installed with Forms or the diagnostic agent.
To create a user in the database, perform the following steps:
Note:
Before creating a user in the database, ensure that the user name provided by you is new and does not already exist. This is because the .sql script (used to create the user in the database) overwrites the user (user name provided during the creation) with the new user.
Log in to the database as sysdba as shown below:
sqlplus sys/<sys-password>@<DB> as sysdba
Run the following script:
@ORACLE_HOME/forms/forms_create_diagnostics_user.sql.
The user must enter the userID and password.
The user is thus created.
To create a schema in the database, perform the following steps:
Note:
Before creating a schema in the database, ensure that the user name provided by you is new and does not already exist. This is because the .sql script (used to create the schema in the database) overwrites the schema (user name provided during the creation) with the new schema.
Log in to the database as the user that you created in the above steps:
sqlplus <user>/<password>@<DB>
Run the following script:
@ORACLE_HOME/forms/forms_create_diagnostics_schema.sql.
The schema is thus created.
After setting up the database to work with the Forms Diagnostics Agent, you must set up a data source using the Weblogic console. To achieve this, perform the following steps:
Log into the WebLogic console.
In the left navigation panel, select Services and navigate to Data Sources.
Click Lock and Edit in the Change Center window to make changes.
In the Summary of JDBC Data Sources page, click Configuration.
In the Data Sources table, click New and select Generic Data Sources from the list.
Enter the values for the following parameters:
name for the JDBC Data Sources
The user can enter any name.
JNDI name
oracle/forms/agentDS
Database Type
Choose type of database that you used to create user and schema in the previous steps.
Click Next. The Create a new JDBC data sources page appears.
Select Database driver from the list of drivers available for the type of database you have selected. Click Next.
Enter the values for the following parameters:
Database Name
Host Name
Port
Database User Name
Enter the user name that you used while creating a user in the database in the steps above.
Password
Enter the password that you used while creating a user in the database in the steps above.
Click Next.
In the next page, click Test Configurations at the top left corner to check if the database has been configured successfully.
Click Next.
Select Admin Server as a target to deploy the data source.
Click Finish.
Click Activate Changes in the Change Center window to save changes.
You have now set up a JDBC data source.
After setting up a data source in Weblogic, Forms Diagnostics agent must be deployed to the Weblogic Admin Server. This can be achieved by performing the following steps in the Weblogic console:
Log into the Weblogic Console.
In the left navigation panel, select Deployments.
Click Lock and Edit in the Change Center window to make changes.
In the Summary of Deployments page, click Install.
The Install Application Assistant page appears.
Enter the path of the .war file as shown below:
ORACLE_HOME/forms/j2ee
This is the location of the formsagentapp.war file.
Select the formsagentapp.war file. Click Next.
The Choose Targeting Style page appears.
Select Install this deployment as an application.
Select Admin Server as a target to deploy Forms Diagnostics Agent. Click Next.
Leave the optional settings at their default values and click Finish.
Click Activate Changes in the Change Center window to save changes. The Forms Diagnostics agent has been successfully deployed to the Weblogic Admin Server.
To start the application, select formsagentapp from the list of deployed applications and Click Start.
The agent application allows the users to manage data collection using an interface. The user can specify the frequency of data collection and control the starting or stopping of data collection. This can be achieved through the following steps:
Log in to the agent console by using the following url:
http://<host>:<admin port>/formsagent/AgentConsole.jsp
Enter the user ID and password.
Any user with administrator's privileges can log in to the console.
Enter a value for the Frequency of Data Collection. This parameter is the time difference between two consecutive data collections.
The default value is 10 minutes. The minimum value should be one minute.
Click Start.
You will see a message indicating that the Forms Diagnostics Agent is running. Click Stop whenever you want to stop the collection of metrics by the agent.
When the user prompts the agent application to start the collection of metrics, the agent collects the metrics from DMS and populates the database tables. The user can access this collected metrics in the database tables. To bring this collected metrics into use, the user can create a frontend application which will be able to read this data and analyze the historical performance of Forms applications running in your environment by preparing charts, graphs, etc.
The primary and foreign key in each table has been mentioned in the respective tables below. The following are the database tables that get popluated during the collection of metrics by the Forms Diagnostics agent:
Table 15-1 ADMIN_SERVER Database Table
| Serial Number | Column Name | Sample Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
01 |
AGENT_ID |
1 |
AGENT_ID is the primary key in the ADMIN_SERVER database table. ID of the agent application. Any integer value beginning with 1 |
|
02 |
ADMIN_HOSTNAME |
myhost.mydomain.com |
Name of the machine where admin server is deployed |
|
03 |
ADMIN_PORT |
7001 |
Port of the admin server |
Table 15-2 AGENT Database Table
| Serial Number | Column Name | Sample Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
01 |
AGENT_STATUS |
Running |
Status of the Agent |
|
02 |
REAL_TIME |
2009.07.23 at 17:11:41 |
Date and time when status is recorded All time entries are in UTC/GMT |
|
03 |
SEQUENCE_ID |
205 |
ID created by the agent each time the agent status is recorded |
|
04 |
FREQUENCY |
40 |
Time difference (in minutes) between two consecutive data collections |
|
05 |
AGENT_ID |
1 |
AGENT_ID is a foreign key in this database table. It refers to AGENT_ID in the ADMIN_SERVER database table ID of the agent application. Any integer value beginning with 1 |
Table 15-3 FRM_DB Database Table
| Serial Number | Column Name | Sample Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
01 |
FRM_DB_ID |
8769 |
FRM_DB_ID is the primary key in the FRM_DB database table. ID assigned to the database that is used by the Forms application |
|
02 |
DB_NAME |
v11g |
The database to which frmweb is connected. If it is connected to v11g, the this field will display v11g. This can be NULL when frmweb is not connected to any database |
|
03 |
TNS_ENTRY |
(DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS_LIST = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = sample.host.com)(PORT = 1521))) (CONNECT_DATA = (SERVICE_NAME = v11g))) |
TNS entry of the database to which frmweb is connected |
|
04 |
USER_NAME |
scott |
The database user who has logged in |
Table 15-4 FRM_DB_LOGIN Database Table
| Serial Number | Column Name | Sample Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
01 |
FRM_DB_LOGIN_ID |
345 |
FRM_DB_LOGIN_ID is the primary key in the FRM_DB_LOGIN database table. ID assigned to each row in the table |
|
02 |
FRM_RUNTIME_ID |
107 |
FRM_RUNTIME_ID is a foreign key in this database table. It refers to FRM_RUNTIME_ID in the FRM_RUNTIME database table |
|
03 |
FRM_DB_ID |
1025 |
FRM_DB_ID is a foreign key in this database table. It refers to FRM_DB_ID in the FRM_DB database table ID assigned to the database that is used by the Forms application |
|
04 |
REAL_TIME |
2009.07.23 at 17:11:41 |
Date and time when status is recorded and metric data collected to update the table All time entries are in UTC/GMT |
Table 15-5 FRM_RUNTIME Database Table
| Serial Number | Column Name | Sample Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
01 |
FRM_RUNTIME_ID |
107 |
FRM_RUNTIME_ID is a primary key in the FRM_RUNTIME database table. ID that identifies the Forms process |
|
02 |
WLS_APP_ID |
5005 |
WLS_APP_ID is a foreign key in this database table. It refers to WLS_APP_ID in the WLS_APP database table Determines the Forms application in the WLS_APP table |
|
03 |
FRM_USER_ID |
1310 |
FRM_USER_ID is a foreign key in this database table. It refers to FRM_USER_ID in the FRM_USER database table ID assigned to the Forms client or client instance |
|
04 |
CONFIG_VALUE |
Configuration section name from |
|
|
05 |
CONNECT_TIME |
2009.07.23 at 17:11:41 |
Date and time when frmweb is spawned All time entries are in UTC/GMT |
|
06 |
DISCONNECT_TIME |
2009.07.23 at 18:15:43 |
Date and time when frmweb terminates All time entries are in UTC/GMT |
|
07 |
STARTING_FORM_NAME |
emp |
Name of starting form |
|
08 |
PROCESS_ID |
8020 |
Process Id of frmweb on the middle tier machine |
|
09 |
FRM_STATUS |
Running / Exited |
Status of frmweb |
|
10 |
FRM_CPU_TIME_ON_EXIT |
256 |
CPU time on exit of frmweb |
|
11 |
FRM_PRIVATE_MEMORY_ON_EXIT |
6385 |
Memory used by the Forms process at the time of exit |
|
12 |
FRM_EXIT_CODE |
Table 15-6 FRM_TRACE Database Table
| Serial Number | Column Name | Sample Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
01 |
FRM_TRACE_ID |
2679 |
FRM_TRACE_ID is the primary key in this database table. ID assigned to the rows in the FRM_TRACE database table |
|
02 |
TRACE_FILE |
forms_1055.trc |
Name of the trace file when |
|
03 |
TRACING |
mytrace |
The name of the trace group selected by the application |
Table 15-7 FRM_TRACE_USE Database Table
| Serial Number | Column Name | Sample Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
01 |
FRM_TRACE_USE_ID |
1906 |
FRM_TRACE_USE_ID is the primary key in this database table. ID assigned to the rows in the database table |
|
02 |
FRM_RUNTIME_ID |
107 |
FRM_RUNTIME_ID is a foreign key in this database table. It refers to FRM_RUNTIME_ID in the FRM_RUNTIME database table ID that identifies the Forms process |
|
03 |
FRM_TRACE_ID |
2679 |
FRM_TRACE_ID is a foreign key in this database table. It refers to FRM_TRACE_ID in the FRM_TRACE database table ID assigned to the row in the database table |
|
04 |
REAL_TIME |
2009.07.23 at 17:11:41 |
Date and time when status is recorded and metric data collected to update the table All time entries are in UTC/GMT |
Table 15-8 FRM_USER Database Table
| Serial Number | Column Name | Sample Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
01 |
FRM_USER_ID |
1310 |
FRM_USER_ID is the primary key in this database table. ID assigned to the Forms client or client instance |
|
02 |
CLIENT_IP |
255.255.255.255 |
IP address of client machine from where the browser was launched and through which the user connected to the middle tier |
|
03 |
SSO_USERID |
fname.lname@myapp.com |
Single Sign-On ID of the user who logged in. |
Table 15-9 HISTORY Database Table
| Serial Number | Column Name | Sample Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
01 |
FRM_RUNTIME_ID |
107 |
FRM_RUNTIME_ID is a foreign key in this database table. It refers to FRM_RUNTIME_ID in the FRM_RUNTIME database table ID that identifies the Forms process |
|
02 |
REAL_TIME |
2009.07.23 at 17:11:41 |
Date and time when the snapshot is taken All time entries are in UTC/GMT |
|
03 |
SEQUENCE_ID |
205 |
ID created by the agent each time agent status is recorded. |
|
04 |
FRM_BYTES_SENT |
400 |
Number of bytes sent from the server to the client for this process so far |
|
05 |
FRM_BYTES_SENT_DELTA |
37 |
Difference in the number of bytes sent from the server to the client for this process since the previous reading of the agent was taken |
|
06 |
FRM_BYTES_RECEIVED |
200 |
Number of bytes sent from the client to the sever for this process so far |
|
07 |
FRM_BYTES_RECEIVED_DELTA |
23 |
Difference in the number of bytes sent from the client to the server for this process since the previous reading of the agent was taken |
|
08 |
FRM_NETWORK_ROUND_TRIPS |
30 |
Number of network round trips between the client and the server for this process so far |
|
09 |
FRM_NETWORK_ROUND_TRIPS_DELTA |
3 |
Difference in the number of network roundtrips between the client and the server for this process since the previous reading of the agent was taken |
|
10 |
FRM_CPU_TIME |
230 |
Total processing time taken by frmweb (in milliseconds) for this process so far |
|
11 |
FRM_CPU_TIME_DELTA |
47 |
Difference in the value of FRM_CPU_TIME since the previous reading of the agent was taken |
|
12 |
FRM_PRIVATE_MEMORY |
7998 |
Memory used by the Forms process at the time when snapshot was taken. |
|
13 |
ITERATION |
50 |
Number of times data is collected into the database table. |
Table 15-10 WLS_APP Database Table
| Serial Number | Column Name | Sample Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
01 |
WLS_APP_ID |
5005 |
WLS_APP_ID is the primary key in this database table. Determines the Forms application in the WLS_APP table |
|
02 |
SERVER_TYPE |
MANAGED |
Type of the server (For example, MANAGED or ADMIN) |
|
03 |
SERVER_NAME |
WLS_FORMS |
Name of the server |
|
04 |
DEPLOYED_APPLN_NAME |
formsapp |
Forms Application name |
|
05 |
FORMS_HOSTNAME |
host52.example.com |
Middle tier machine on which Forms runtime is running |
|
06 |
INSTANCE_HOME_NAME |
asinst_1 |
Name of the FMW instance home, where Forms runtime is deployed |
|
07 |
CLUSTER_NAME |
cluster_xyz |
Name of the cluster where the Forms application is deployed |
|
08 |
AGENT_ID |
1 |
AGENT_ID is a foreign key in this database table. It refers to AGENT_ID in the ADMIN_SERVER database table. ID of the agent application. Any integer value beginning with 1 |
Forms Diagnostics agent has certain limitations on its deployment and usage. They are as follows:
The deployment of the Forms Diagnostics Agent application is optional. In case you want to analyze performance-related information about Forms applications, you must deploy Forms Diagnostics Agent manually postinstallation.
The agent application must be deployed to the Admin Server only. The agent application collects information about all Forms sessions that are running in the WLS domain of the Admin Server.
For the agent to be able to collect information about Forms applications, opmn must be up and running on all AS instances.
For the agent to be able to access the metrics data (available in DMS), the DMS application must be up and running.
The schema is designed to be functional only on one domain at any given time. You cannot use the same schema for multiple agents (running in separate domains).
Do not set the frequency of data collection to a small value. Setting the frequency of data collection to a small value slows down the production environment and causes excessive, needless data collection.