24 Using LogMiner to Analyze Redo Log Files

LogMiner, which is part of Oracle Database, enables you to query online and archived redo log files through a SQL interface.

Redo log files contain information about the history of activity on a database. You can use LogMiner from a command line.

Note:

The continuous_mine option for the dbms_logmnr.start_logmnr package is desupported in Oracle Database 19c (19.1), and is no longer available.

24.1 LogMiner Benefits

All changes made to user data or to the database dictionary are recorded in the Oracle redo log files so that database recovery operations can be performed.

Because LogMiner provides a well-defined, easy-to-use, and comprehensive relational interface to redo log files, it can be used as a powerful data auditing tool, and also as a sophisticated data analysis tool. The following list describes some key capabilities of LogMiner:

  • Pinpointing when a logical corruption to a database, such as errors made at the application level, may have begun. These might include errors such as those where the wrong rows were deleted because of incorrect values in a WHERE clause, rows were updated with incorrect values, the wrong index was dropped, and so forth. For example, a user application could mistakenly update a database to give all employees 100 percent salary increases rather than 10 percent increases, or a database administrator (DBA) could accidently delete a critical system table. It is important to know exactly when an error was made so that you know when to initiate time-based or change-based recovery. This enables you to restore the database to the state it was in just before corruption. See Querying V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS Based on Column Values for details about how you can use LogMiner to accomplish this.

  • Determining what actions you would have to take to perform fine-grained recovery at the transaction level. If you fully understand and take into account existing dependencies, then it may be possible to perform a table-specific undo operation to return the table to its original state. This is achieved by applying table-specific reconstructed SQL statements that LogMiner provides in the reverse order from which they were originally issued. See Scenario 1: Using LogMiner to Track Changes Made by a Specific User for an example.

    Normally you would have to restore the table to its previous state, and then apply an archived redo log file to roll it forward.

  • Performance tuning and capacity planning through trend analysis. You can determine which tables get the most updates and inserts. That information provides a historical perspective on disk access statistics, which can be used for tuning purposes. See Scenario 2: Using LogMiner to Calculate Table Access Statistics for an example.

  • Performing postauditing. LogMiner can be used to track any data manipulation language (DML) and data definition language (DDL) statements executed on the database, the order in which they were executed, and who executed them. (However, to use LogMiner for such a purpose, you need to have an idea when the event occurred so that you can specify the appropriate logs for analysis; otherwise you might have to mine a large number of redo log files, which can take a long time. Consider using LogMiner as a complementary activity to auditing database use. See the Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for information about database auditing.)

24.2 Introduction to LogMiner

As a DBA, Oracle's LogMiner tool helps you to find changed records in redo log files by using a set of PL/SQL procedures and functions.

24.2.1 LogMiner Configuration

Learn about the objects that LogMiner analyzes, and see examples of configuration files.

24.2.1.1 Objects in LogMiner Configuration Files

DataMiner Configuration files have four objects: the source database, the mining database, the LogMiner dictionary, and the redo log files containing the data of interest.

  • The source database is the database that produces all the redo log files that you want LogMiner to analyze.

  • The mining database is the database that LogMiner uses when it performs the analysis.

  • The LogMiner dictionary enables LogMiner to provide table and column names, instead of internal object IDs, when it presents the redo log data that you request.

    LogMiner uses the dictionary to translate internal object identifiers and data types to object names and external data formats. Without a dictionary, LogMiner returns internal object IDs, and presents data as binary data.

    For example, consider the following SQL statement:

     INSERT INTO HR.JOBS(JOB_ID, JOB_TITLE, MIN_SALARY, MAX_SALARY) VALUES('IT_WT','Technical Writer', 4000, 11000); 

    When LogMiner delivers results without the LogMiner dictionary, LogMiner displays the following output:

    insert into "UNKNOWN"."OBJ# 45522"("COL 1","COL 2","COL 3","COL 4") values
    (HEXTORAW('45465f4748'),HEXTORAW('546563686e6963616c20577269746572'),
    HEXTORAW('c229'),HEXTORAW('c3020b'));
    
  • The redo log files contain the changes made to the database, or to the database dictionary.

24.2.1.2 LogMiner Configuration Example

This example shows how you can generate redo logs on one Oracle Database release in one location, and send them to another Oracle Database of a different release in another location.

In the following figure, you can see an example of a LogMiner configuration, in which the Source database is in Boston, and the Target database is in San Francisco.

The Source database in Boston generates redo log files that are archived and shipped to the database in San Francisco. A LogMiner dictionary has been extracted to these redo log files. The mining database, where LogMiner actually analyzes the redo log files, is in San Francisco. The Boston database is running Oracle Database 12g and the San Francisco database is running Oracle Database 19c.

Figure 24-1 Example LogMiner Database Configuration

Description of Figure 24-1 follows
Description of "Figure 24-1 Example LogMiner Database Configuration"

This example shows just one valid LogMiner configuration. Other valid configurations are those that use the same database for both the source and mining database, or use another method for providing the data dictionary.

24.2.1.3 LogMiner Requirements

Learn about the requirements for the source and mining database, the data dictionary, the redo log files, and table and column name limits for databases that you want LogMiner to mine.

LogMiner requires the following objects:

  • A Source database and a Mining database, with the following characteristics:
    • Both the Source database and the Mining database must be running on the same hardware platform.
    • The Mining database can be the same as, or completely separate from, the Source database.
    • The Mining database must run using either the same release or a later release of the Oracle Database software as the Source database.
    • The Mining database must use the same character set (or a superset of the character set) that is used by the source database.
  • LogMiner dictionary

    • The dictionary must be produced by the same Source database that generates the redo log files that you want LogMiner to analyze.
  • All redo log files, with the following characteristics:
    • The redo log files must be produced by the same source database.
    • The redo log files must be associated with the same database RESETLOGS SCN.
    • The redo log files must be from a release 8.0 or later Oracle Database. However, several of the LogMiner features introduced as of release 9.0.1 work only with redo log files produced on an Oracle9i or later database.
    • The tables or column names selected for mining must not exceed 30 characters.

Note:

Datatypes and features added after Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2) that use extended column formats greater than 30 characters, including JSON-formatted extended varchar2 columns and extended varchar column names, are only supported from the DBMS_ROLLING PL/SQL package, Oracle GoldenGate, and XStream. Virtual column names that exceed 30 characters are UNSUPPORTED in v$logmnr_contents (dba_logstdby_unsupported and dba_rolling_unsupported views).

LogMiner does not allow you to mix redo log files from different databases, or to use a dictionary from a different database than the one that generated the redo log files that you want to analyze. LogMiner requires table or column names that are 30 characters or less.

Note:

You must enable supplemental logging before generating log files that will be analyzed by LogMiner.

When you enable supplemental logging, additional information is recorded in the redo stream that is needed to make the information in the redo log files useful to you. Therefore, at the very least, you must enable minimal supplemental logging, as the following SQL statement shows:

ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA;

To determine whether supplemental logging is enabled, query the V$DATABASE view, as the following SQL statement shows:

SELECT SUPPLEMENTAL_LOG_DATA_MIN FROM V$DATABASE;

If the query returns a value of YES or IMPLICIT, then minimal supplemental logging is enabled.

Be aware that the LogMiner utility (DBMS_LOGMNR) does not support long table or column names when supplemental logging is enabled. When using an online dictionary, and without any supplement logging enabled, v$logmnr_contents shows all names, and sql_undo or sql_redo for the relevant objects. However, using the LogMiner utility requires that you enable at least minimal supplemental logging. When mining tables with table names or column names exceeding 30 characters, entries in v$logmnr_contents such as the following appear:

select sql_redo , operation, seg_name, info
         from v$logmnr_contents  where seg_name =
        upper('my_table_with_a_very_very_long_name_for_test') or    seg_name =
        upper('table_with_long_col_name') ;  
SQL_REDO --- OPERATION -- SEG_NAME ----------------------- INFO  -------------------------- 
Unsupported  UNSUPPORTED  MY_TABLE_W_A_VERY_VERY_LONG_NAME Object or Data type Unsupported  
Unsupported  UNSUPPORTED  TABLE_WITH_LONG_COL_NAME         Object or Data type Unsupported 

Accordingly, use LogMiner with tables and columns with names that are 30 characters or less.

24.2.2 Directing LogMiner Operations and Retrieving Data of Interest

You direct LogMiner operations using the DBMS_LOGMNR and DBMS_LOGMNR_D PL/SQL packages, and retrieve data of interest using the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

For example:

  1. Specify a LogMiner dictionary.

    Use the DBMS_LOGMNR_D.BUILD procedure or specify the dictionary when you start LogMiner (in Step 3), or both, depending on the type of dictionary you plan to use.

  2. Specify a list of redo log files for analysis.

    Use the DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE procedure, or direct LogMiner to create a list of log files for analysis automatically when you start LogMiner (in Step 3).

  3. Start LogMiner.

    Use the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure.

  4. Request the redo data of interest.

    Query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

  5. End the LogMiner session.

    Use the DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR procedure.

You must have the EXECUTE_CATALOG_ROLE role and the LOGMINING privilege to query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view and to use the LogMiner PL/SQL packages.

Note:

When mining a specified time or SCN range of interest within archived logs generated by an Oracle RAC database, you must ensure that you have specified all archived logs from all redo threads that were active during that time or SCN range. If you fail to do this, then any queries of V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS return only partial results (based on the archived logs specified to LogMiner through the DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE procedure).

The CONTINUOUS_MINE option for the dbms_logmnr.start_logmnr package is desupported in Oracle Database 19c (19.1), and is no longer available.

See Also:

Steps in a Typical LogMiner Session for an example of using LogMiner

24.3 Using LogMiner in a CDB

Learn about the views you use to review LogMiner sessions, and about the syntax you use for mining logs.

LogMiner supports CDBs that have PDBs of different character sets provided the root container has a character set that is a superset of all the PDBs.

To administer a multitenant environment you must have the CDB_DBA role.

Note:

Starting with Oracle Database 21c, installation of non-CDB Oracle Database architecture is no longer supported.

The non-CDB architecture was deprecated in Oracle Database 12c. It is desupported in Oracle Database 21c. Oracle Universal Installer can no longer be used to create non-CDB Oracle Database instances.

24.3.1 LogMiner V$ Views and DBA Views in a CDB

In a CDB, views used by LogMiner to show information about LogMiner sessions running in the system contain an additional column named CON_ID.

The CON_ID column identifies the container ID associated with the session for which information is being displayed. When you query the view from a pluggable database (PDB), only information associated with the database is displayed. The following views are affected by this new behavior:

  • V$LOGMNR_DICTIONARY_LOAD

  • V$LOGMNR_LATCH

  • V$LOGMNR_PROCESS

  • V$LOGMNR_SESSION

  • V$LOGMNR_STATS

Note:

To support CDBs, the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view has several other new columns in addition to CON_ID.

The following DBA views have analogous CDB views whose names begin with CDB.

Type of Log View DBA View CDB View
LogMiner Log Views

DBA_LOGMNR_LOG

CDB_LOGMNR_LOG

LogMiner Purged Log Views

DBA_LOGMNR_PURGED_LOG

CDB_LOGMNR_PURGED_LOG

LogMiner Session Log Views

DBA_LOGMNR_SESSION

CDB_LOGMNR_SESSION

The DBA views show only information related to sessions defined in the container in which they are queried.

The CDB views contain an additional CON_ID column, which identifies the container whose data a given row represents. When CDB views are queried from the root, they can be used to see information about all containers.

24.3.2 The V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS View in a CDB

When viewing CDBs, you can use V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS to view the CDB, or individual PDBs. When this view is queried from a PDB, it returns only redo generated by that PDB.

When you query redo logs on a CDB, the SELECT statement is run on CDB$ROOT against the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view, and the archive redo log files are read sequentially. Translated records from the redo log files are returned as rows in the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view. This read continues until either the filter criteria specified at startup (endTime or endScn) are met, or until the end of the archive log file is reached.

When you query logs for an individual PDB, the mining you perform is an upstream (local) mining of PDB redo. To query logs, you specify a time range or SCN range for the redo logs. To do this, you query DBA_LOGMNR_DICTIONARY_BUILDLOG, and identify a START_SCN or a time value. You then start LogMiner with DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, specifying the SCN value or time value of the log that you want to query. LogMiner automatically determines the correct set of log files for the PDB, and adds the redo logs to the LogMiner session for you to analyze.

  • CON_ID — contains the ID associated with the container from which the query is executed. Because V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS is restricted to the root database, this column returns a value of 1 when a query is done on a CDB.

  • SRC_CON_NAME — the PDB name. This information is available only when mining is performed with a LogMiner dictionary.

  • SRC_CON_ID — the container ID of the PDB that generated the redo record. This information is available only when mining is performed with a LogMiner dictionary.

  • SRC_CON_DBID — the PDB identifier. This information is available only when mining is performed with a current LogMiner dictionary.

  • SRC_CON_GUID — contains the GUID associated with the PDB. This information is available only when mining is performed with a current LogMiner dictionary.

Related Topics

24.3.3 Enabling Supplemental Logging in a CDB

In a CDB, the syntax for enabling and disabling database-wide supplemental logging is the ALTER DATABASE command.

For example, when you want to add or drop supplemental log data, use the following syntax:

ALTER DATABASE [ADD|DROP] SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA ...

Supplemental logging operations started with CREATE TABLE and ALTER TABLE statements can be run either from the CDB root, or from a PDB. These supplemental logging operations affect only the table to which they are applied.

Starting with Oracle Database 23ai, CDB supplemental logging behavior is different, depending on whether the undo mode is shared, or local.

In shared undo mode, CDB supplemental logging behavior is same as in previous releases:

  • If at least minimal supplemental logging is enabled in CDB$ROOT, then you can enable additional supplemental logging levels at the PDB level.
  • If you drop all supplemental logging from CDB$ROOT, then this disables all supplemental logging across the CDB, regardless of previous PDB level settings.

In local undo mode, perPDB (logging for each PDB) supplemental logging is enabled. You are no longer required to set minimal supplemental logging (ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA) at CDB$ROOT to be able to obtain supplemental logging at the level of individual PDBs:

  • You can enable supplemental logging levels for a PDB without having minimal supplemental logging enabled at CDB$ROOT.
  • If you drop all supplemental logging from CDB$ROOT, then this does not disable supplemental logging enabled at PDB level.

Regardless of the supplemental logging mode, the following rules apply:

  • In a CDB, supplemental logging levels that are enabled from CDB$ROOT are enabled across the CDB.
  • Supplemental logging levels enabled at the CDB level from CDB$ROOT cannot be disabled at the PDB level.

When undo mode is changed from shared undo mode to local undo mode, if minimal supplemental logging is disabled at CDB$ROOT, then before the undo mode change, supplemental logging is disabled across the CDB. After the undo mode change, supplemental logging will be enabled for PDBs with PDB-level supplemental logging.

Changing undo mode from local undo to shared undo will be disallowed if minimal supplemental logging is disabled at CDB$ROOT, and supplemental logging is enabled at some PDBs. The result of attempting a change in this case is an error: "ORA-60526: cannot switch to shared undo mode when perPDB supplemental logging is enabled." This error is returned to prevent losing PDB-level supplemental logging data after the undo mode change. To resolve this error, you can either enable supplemental logging at CDB$ROOT, or you can drop supplemental logging data at all PDBs, and then switch undo.

24.4 How to Configure Supplemental Logging for Oracle GoldenGate

Starting with Oracle Database 21c, Oracle Database provides support to enable logical replication and supplemental logging of individual tables.

Logical replication of JSON Relational Duality Views is also supported in the database. To use duality-view replication, you must have supplemental logging enabled.

24.4.1 Oracle GoldenGate Integration with Oracle Database for Fine-Grained Supplemental Logging

You can enable or disable logical replication at the table level by using fine-grained supplemental logging.

Table Level Replication Setting Integration in ADD TRANDATA and DELETE TRANDATA

The table level replication setting (enable or disable table level supplemental logging) is integrated to ADD TRANDATA, DELETE TRANDATA, and INFO TRANDATA commands. You issue these commands either through the Oracle GoldenGate Software Command Interface (GGSCI, or Admin Client). The syntax of these commands remains the same, but the underlying behavior is slightly changed:

  • ADD TRANDATA: This command enables logical replication for the table.

  • DELETE TRANDATA: This command deletes supplemental logging of the key columns. It also disables logical replication for the table.

  • INFO TRANDATA command shows if logical replication is disabled or enabled for the table.

Logical Replication and the Fine-Grained Supplemental Log Setting

The fine-grained table supplemental log setting is dependent on whether logical replication is enabled. There are three options for the setting:

  1. If logical replication is enabled, then the table supplemental log setting is determined by database level, schema level, and the table level supplemental log data.

  2. If logical replication is disabled for a table, then the table supplemental log setting is only determined by database level supplemental log data. Schema level supplemental log data is ignored.

  3. If a table is created without enabling or disabling the logical replication clause, then by default, logical replication is enabled for the table.

24.4.2 Logical Replication of Tables with LogMiner and Oracle GoldenGate

You can obtain logical replication (autocapture) at table level when you use LogMiner and enable Oracle GoldenGate RDBMS services

Starting with Oracle Database 21c, you can configure tables for automatic capture (autocapture) using Oracle GoldenGate.

Note:

To use this feature, you must have Oracle GoldenGate enabled, and you must configure Table level replication setting (enable or disable table level supplemental logging) using the ADD TRANDATA or ADD SCHEMATRANDATA in the Oracle GoldenGate logging property commands.

Logical Replication (Autocapture) with Oracle GoldenGate

When you enable supplemental logging in Oracle Database, you can enable it at the table, schema, or database level. If you enable logical replication for tables, then supplemental logging of all levels is performed for the table.

If you disable logical replication for a table, then only the database supplemental logging is honored for the table. That means that schema or table-level supplemental logging is ignored.

Tables and Oracle GoldenGate Logical Replication

Supplemental logging capabilities for tables depends on how the Oracle GoldenGate LOGICAL_REPLICATION clause is configured:

  • When a table is created without setting the LOGICAL_REPLICATION clause, or when a table is created or altered with ENABLE LOGICAL REPLICATION clause: Logical replication is not disabled, and supplemental logging of all levels is performed. There is no additional supplemental logging data implicitly added for the table.

  • When a table is created or altered with ENABLE LOGICAL REPLICATION ALL KEYS clause: Supplemental logging for logical replication is enabled for Oracle GoldenGate automatic capture, using the (ENABLE_AUTO_CAPTURE) parameter. Supplemental logging (primary key, unique index, foreign key and allkeys) is added implicitly for the table.

  • When a table is created or altered with ENABLE LOGICAL REPLICATION ALLOW NOVALIDATE KEYS clause: Supplemental logging for logical replication is enabled for Oracle GoldenGate automatic capture, using the (ENABLE-AUTO_CAPTURE) parameter, and non-validated primary keys can be used as a unique identifier. Supplemental logging (primary key, unique index, foreign key and allkeys with non-validated primary key) is added implicitly for the table.
  • When a table is created or altered with the DISABLE LOGICAL REPLICATION clause, Logical replication is disabled for the table. Table and schema-level supplemental logging is not performed.

24.4.3 Views that Show Tables Enabled for Oracle GoldenGate Automatic Capture

To find out which tables are enabled for automatic capture (ENABLE_AUTO_CAPTURE), use the views SYS.DBA_OGG_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES and SYS.USER_OGG_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES.

Oracle GoldenGate manages logical replication with the ENABLE_AUTO_CAPTURE parameter. You can use views to determine which tables are enabled for Oracle GoldenGate to capture automatically.

The user account that you use to query the DBA_OGG_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES view must have the SELECT_CATALOG_ROLE privilege.

Example 24-1 SYS.DBA_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES

To describe the view for all of the tables designated for logical replication, enter DESCRIBE SYS.DBA_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES. You can see the owner name, table name, and table logical replication status for all the tables that are enabled for Oracle GoldenGate automatic capture (ENABLE_AUTO_CAPTURE).

SQL> DESCRIBE SYS.DBA_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES

Name					  Null?     Type
 --------------------------------------  --------  ----------------------------
 OWNER					NOT NULL  VARCHAR2(128)
 NAME					 NOT NULL  VARCHAR2(128)
 ALLOW_NOVALIDATE_PK	 		         VARCHAR2(3)

In the view:

  • OWNER: Owner of the table enabled for Oracle GoldenGate ENABLE_AUTO_CAPTURE
  • NAME: Name of the table enabled for Oracle GoldenGate ENABLE_AUTO_CAPTURE
  • ALLOW_NOVALIDATE_PK[YES|NO]: A non-validated primary key is allowed for key supplemental logging, where YES equals yes, and NO equals no. If the result is NO, then only unique or primary keys that are validated are used.

The Oracle GoldenGate view DBA_OGG_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES is a synonym for the SYS.DBA_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES view.

Example 24-2 SYS.USER_OGG_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES

To describe the view for all tables of the user that are enabled for Oracle GoldenGate automatic capture, enter DESCRIBE SYS.USER_OGG_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES:

SQL> DESCRIBE SYS.USER_OGG_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES

Name					Null?     Type
 ------------------------------------- --------  ----------------------------
 NAME                                  NOT NULL  VARCHAR2(128)
 ALLOW_NOVALIDATE_PK                             VARCHAR2(3)

The Oracle GoldenGate view USER_OGG_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES is a synonym for the SYS.USER_OGG_AUTO_CAPTURED_TABLES view.

24.5 LogMiner Dictionary Files and Redo Log Files

To obtain accurate log mining results, learn how LogMiner works with the LogMiner dictionary.

Before you begin using LogMiner, you should understand how LogMiner works with the LogMiner dictionary file (or files) and Oracle Database redo log files. Knowing this helps you to obtain accurate results, and to plan the use of your system resources.

24.5.1 LogMiner Dictionary Options

LogMiner requires a dictionary to translate object IDs into object names when it returns redo data to you.

LogMiner gives you three options for supplying the dictionary:

  • Using the online catalog

    Oracle recommends that you use this option when you will have access to the source database from which the redo log files were created and when no changes to the column definitions in the tables of interest are anticipated. This is the most efficient and easy-to-use option.

  • Extracting a LogMiner dictionary to the redo log files

    Oracle recommends that you use this option when you do not expect to have access to the source database from which the redo log files were created, or if you anticipate that changes will be made to the column definitions in the tables of interest.

  • Extracting the LogMiner Dictionary to a Flat File

    This option is maintained for backward compatibility with previous releases. This option does not guarantee transactional consistency. Oracle recommends that you use either the online catalog or extract the dictionary to redo log files instead.

    Note:

    The ability to create flat file dictionary dumps of pluggable databases (PDBs) is desupported in Oracle Database 21c.

    In previous releases, using a flat file dictionary was one means of mining the redo logs for the changes associated with a specific PDB whose data dictionary was contained within the flat file. This feature is now desupported. Starting with Oracle Database 21c, Oracle recommends that you call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, and supply the system change number (SCN) or time range that you want to mine. The SCN or time range options of START_LOGMNR are enhanced to support mining of individual PDBs.

The following figure is a decision tree to help you select a LogMiner dictionary, depending on your situation.

Figure 24-2 Decision Tree for Choosing a LogMiner Dictionary

Description of Figure 24-2 follows
Description of "Figure 24-2 Decision Tree for Choosing a LogMiner Dictionary"

To specify your available dictionary option, review the instructions for the procedure that you choose.

24.5.1.1 Using the Online Catalog

To direct LogMiner to use the dictionary currently in use for the database, specify the online catalog as your dictionary source when you start LogMiner.

For example:

EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR(-
   OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.DICT_FROM_ONLINE_CATALOG);

In addition to using the online catalog to analyze online redo log files, you can use it to analyze archived redo log files, if you are on the same system that generated the archived redo log files.

The online catalog contains the latest information about the database and may be the fastest way to start your analysis. Because DDL operations that change important tables are somewhat rare, the online catalog generally contains the information you need for your analysis.

Remember, however, that the online catalog can only reconstruct SQL statements that are executed on the latest version of a table. As soon as a table is altered, the online catalog no longer reflects the previous version of the table. This means that LogMiner will not be able to reconstruct any SQL statements that were executed on the previous version of the table. Instead, LogMiner generates nonexecutable SQL (including hexadecimal-to-raw formatting of binary values) in the SQL_REDO column of the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view similar to the following example:

insert into HR.EMPLOYEES(col#1, col#2) values (hextoraw('4a6f686e20446f65'),
hextoraw('c306'));"

The online catalog option requires that the database be open.

The online catalog option is not valid with the DDL_DICT_TRACKING option of DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR.

24.5.1.2 Extracting a LogMiner Dictionary to the Redo Log Files

To extract a LogMiner dictionary to the redo log files, the database must be open and in ARCHIVELOG mode and archiving must be enabled.

While the dictionary is being extracted to the redo log stream, no DDL statements can be executed. Therefore, the dictionary extracted to the redo log files is guaranteed to be consistent (whereas the dictionary extracted to a flat file is not).

To extract dictionary information to the redo log files, execute the PL/SQL DBMS_LOGMNR_D.BUILD procedure with the STORE_IN_REDO_LOGS option. Do not specify a file name or location.

EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR_D.BUILD( -
   OPTIONS=> DBMS_LOGMNR_D.STORE_IN_REDO_LOGS);

The process of extracting the dictionary to the redo log files does consume database resources, but if you limit the extraction to off-peak hours, then this should not be a problem, and it is faster than extracting to a flat file. Depending on the size of the dictionary, it may be contained in multiple redo log files. If the relevant redo log files have been archived, then you can find out which redo log files contain the start and end of an extracted dictionary. To do so, query the V$ARCHIVED_LOG view, as follows:

SELECT NAME FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG WHERE DICTIONARY_BEGIN='YES';
SELECT NAME FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG WHERE DICTIONARY_END='YES';

Specify the names of the start and end redo log files, and other redo logs in between them, with the ADD_LOGFILE procedure when you are preparing to begin a LogMiner session.

Oracle recommends that you periodically back up the redo log files so that the information is saved and available at a later date. Ideally, this will not involve any extra steps because if your database is being properly managed, then there should already be a process in place for backing up and restoring archived redo log files. Again, because of the time required, it is good practice to do this during off-peak hours.

24.5.1.3 Extracting the LogMiner Dictionary to a Flat File

When the LogMiner dictionary is in a flat file, fewer system resources are used than when it is contained in the redo log files.

Note:

The ability to create flat file dictionary dumps of pluggable databases (PDBs) is desupported in Oracle Database 21c.

In previous releases, using a flat file dictionary was one means of mining the redo logs for the changes associated with a specific PDB whose data dictionary was contained within the flat file. This feature is now desupported. Starting with Oracle Database 21c, Oracle recommends that you call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, and supply the system change number (SCN) or time range that you want to mine. The SCN or time range options of START_LOGMNR are enhanced to support mining of individual PDBs.

To extract database dictionary information to a flat file, use the DBMS_LOGMNR_D.BUILD procedure with the STORE_IN_FLAT_FILE option. Oracle recommends that you regularly back up the dictionary extract to ensure correct analysis of older redo log files.

The following steps describe how to extract a dictionary to a flat file. Steps 1 and 2 are preparation steps. You only need to do them once, and then you can extract a dictionary to a flat file as many times as you want to.

  1. The DBMS_LOGMNR_D.BUILD procedure requires access to a directory where it can place the dictionary file. Because PL/SQL procedures do not normally access user directories, you must specify a directory location, or the procedure will fail. The directory location must be a directory object. The following is an example of using the SQL CREATE DIRECTORY statement to create a directory object named my_dictionary_dir for the path /oracle/database.
    SQL> CREATE DIRECTORY "my_dictionary_dir" AS '/oracle/database';
    

    Note:

    Prior to Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2), you used the UTL_FILE_DIR initialization parameter to specify a directory location. However, as of Oracle Database 18c, the UTL_FILE_DIR initialization parameter is desupported. It is still supported for backward compatibility, but Oracle strongly recommends that you instead use directory objects.
  2. If the database is closed, then use SQL*Plus to mount and open the database whose redo log files you want to analyze. For example, entering the SQL STARTUP command mounts and opens the database:
    SQL> STARTUP
    
  3. Execute the PL/SQL procedure DBMS_LOGMNR_D.BUILD. The following example extracts the LogMiner dictionary file to a flat file named dictionary.ora in the directory object my_dictionary_dir that was created in step 1.
    SQL> EXECUTE dbms_logmnr_d.build(dictionary_location=>'my_dictionary_dir', - 
                                     dictionary_filename=>'dictionary.ora', -
                                     options => dbms_logmnr_d.store_in_flat_file);

    You could also specify a file name and location without specifying the STORE_IN_FLAT_FILE option. The result would be the same.

24.5.2 Specifying Redo Log Files for Data Mining

To mine data in the redo log files, LogMiner needs information about which redo log files to mine.

Changes made to the database that are found in these redo log files are delivered to you through the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

You must explicitly specify a list of redo log files for LogMiner to analyze, as follows:

Use the DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE procedure to create a list of redo log files manually before you start LogMiner. After the first redo log file is added to the list, each subsequently added redo log file must be from the same database, and associated with the same database RESETLOGS SCN. When using this method, LogMiner need not be connected to the source database.

For example, to start a new list of redo log files, specify the NEW option of the DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE PL/SQL procedure to signal that this is the beginning of a new list. For example, enter the following to specify /oracle/logs/log1.f:

EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE( -
   LOGFILENAME => '/oracle/logs/log1.f', -
   OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.NEW);

If desired, you can add more redo log files by specifying the ADDFILE option of the PL/SQL DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE procedure. For example, enter the following to add /oracle/logs/log2.f:

EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE( -
   LOGFILENAME => '/oracle/logs/log2.f', -
   OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.ADDFILE);

To determine which redo log files are being analyzed in the current LogMiner session, you can query the V$LOGMNR_LOGS view, which contains one row for each redo log file.

Note:

The continuous_mine option for the dbms_logmnr.start_logmnr package is desupported starting with Oracle Database 19c (19.1), and is no longer available.

24.6 Starting LogMiner

Call the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure to start LogMiner.

Because the options available with the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure allow you to control output to the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view, you must call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR before querying the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

When you start LogMiner, you can:

  • Specify how LogMiner should filter data it returns (for example, by starting and ending time or SCN value)

  • Specify options for formatting the data returned by LogMiner

  • Specify the LogMiner dictionary to use

The following list is a summary of LogMiner settings that you can specify with the OPTIONS parameter to DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR and where to find more information about them.

  • DICT_FROM_ONLINE_CATALOG

  • DICT_FROM_REDO_LOGS

  • COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY

  • SKIP_CORRUPTION

  • NO_SQL_DELIMITER

  • PRINT_PRETTY_SQL

  • NO_ROWID_IN_STMT

  • DDL_DICT_TRACKING

When you execute the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure, LogMiner checks to ensure that the combination of options and parameters that you have specified is valid and that the dictionary and redo log files that you have specified are available. However, the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view is not populated until you query the view.

Note that parameters and options are not persistent across calls to DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR. You must specify all desired parameters and options (including SCN and time ranges) each time you call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR.

24.7 Querying V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS for Redo Data of Interest

You access the redo data of interest by querying the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

24.7.1 How to Use V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS to Find Redo Data

You use V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS to find historical information about changes made to Oracle Database.

To query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view, you must have either the SYSDBA or LOGMINING privilege. Historical information that you can find with V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS includes (but is not limited to) the following:

  • The type of change made to the database: INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or DDL (OPERATION column).

  • The SCN at which a change was made (SCN column).

  • The SCN at which a change was committed (COMMIT_SCN column).

  • The transaction to which a change belongs (XIDUSN, XIDSLT, and XIDSQN columns).

  • The table and schema name of the modified object (SEG_NAME and SEG_OWNER columns).

  • The name of the user who issued the Data Definition Language (DDL) or Data Manipulation Language (DML) statement to make the change (USERNAME column).

  • If the change was due to a SQL DML statement, the reconstructed SQL statements showing SQL DML that is equivalent (but not necessarily identical) to the SQL DML used to generate the redo records (SQL_REDO column).

  • If a password is part of the statement in a SQL_REDO column, then the password is encrypted. SQL_REDO column values that correspond to DDL statements are always identical to the SQL DDL used to generate the redo records.

  • If the change was due to a SQL DML change, the reconstructed SQL statements showing the SQL DML statements needed to undo the change (SQL_UNDO column).

    SQL_UNDO columns that correspond to DDL statements are always NULL. The SQL_UNDO column may be NULL also for some data types and for rolled back operations.

Note:

LogMiner supports Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), in that V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS shows DML operations performed on tables with encrypted columns (including the encrypted columns being updated), provided the LogMiner data dictionary contains the metadata for the object in question and provided the appropriate access key is in the Oracle wallet. The wallet must be open or V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS cannot interpret the associated redo records. TDE support is not available if the database is not open (either read-only or read-write).

Example of Querying V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS

To find any delete operations that a user named Ron performed on the oe.orders table, issue a SQL query similar to the following:

SELECT OPERATION, SQL_REDO, SQL_UNDO
   FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS
   WHERE SEG_OWNER = 'OE' AND SEG_NAME = 'ORDERS' AND
   OPERATION = 'DELETE' AND USERNAME = 'RON';

The following output is produced by the query. The formatting can be different on your display than that shown here.

OPERATION   SQL_REDO                        SQL_UNDO

DELETE      delete from "OE"."ORDERS"       insert into "OE"."ORDERS"        
            where "ORDER_ID" = '2413'       ("ORDER_ID","ORDER_MODE",
            and "ORDER_MODE" = 'direct'      "CUSTOMER_ID","ORDER_STATUS",
            and "CUSTOMER_ID" = '101'        "ORDER_TOTAL","SALES_REP_ID",
            and "ORDER_STATUS" = '5'         "PROMOTION_ID")
            and "ORDER_TOTAL" = '48552'      values ('2413','direct','101',
            and "SALES_REP_ID" = '161'       '5','48552','161',NULL);     
            and "PROMOTION_ID" IS NULL  
            and ROWID = 'AAAHTCAABAAAZAPAAN';

DELETE      delete from "OE"."ORDERS"        insert into "OE"."ORDERS"
            where "ORDER_ID" = '2430'        ("ORDER_ID","ORDER_MODE",
            and "ORDER_MODE" = 'direct'       "CUSTOMER_ID","ORDER_STATUS",
            and "CUSTOMER_ID" = '101'         "ORDER_TOTAL","SALES_REP_ID",
            and "ORDER_STATUS" = '8'          "PROMOTION_ID")
            and "ORDER_TOTAL" = '29669.9'     values('2430','direct','101',
            and "SALES_REP_ID" = '159'        '8','29669.9','159',NULL);
            and "PROMOTION_ID" IS NULL 
            and ROWID = 'AAAHTCAABAAAZAPAAe';

This output shows that user Ron deleted two rows from the oe.orders table. The reconstructed SQL statements are equivalent, but not necessarily identical, to the actual statement that Ron issued. The reason for this difference is that the original WHERE clause is not logged in the redo log files, so LogMiner can only show deleted (or updated or inserted) rows individually.

Therefore, even though a single DELETE statement may be responsible for the deletion of both rows, the output in V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS does not reflect that fact. The actual DELETE statement may have been DELETE FROM OE.ORDERS WHERE CUSTOMER_ID ='101' or it may have been DELETE FROM OE.ORDERS WHERE PROMOTION_ID = NULL.

24.7.2 How the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS View Is Populated

The V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS fixed view is unlike other views in that it is not a selective presentation of data stored in a table. Instead, it is a relational presentation of the data that you request from the redo log files.

LogMiner populates the view only in response to a query against it. You must successfully start LogMiner before you can query V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS.

When a SQL select operation is executed against the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view, the redo log files are read sequentially. Translated information from the redo log files is returned as rows in the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view. This continues until either the filter criteria specified at startup are met or the end of the redo log file is reached.

In some cases, certain columns in V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS may not be populated. For example:

  • The TABLE_SPACE column is not populated for rows where the value of the OPERATION column is DDL. This is because a DDL may operate on more than one tablespace. For example, a table can be created with multiple partitions spanning multiple table spaces; hence it would not be accurate to populate the column.

  • LogMiner does not generate SQL redo or SQL undo for temporary tables. The SQL_REDO column will contain the string "/* No SQL_REDO for temporary tables */" and the SQL_UNDO column will contain the string "/* No SQL_UNDO for temporary tables */".

LogMiner returns all the rows in SCN order unless you have used the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option to specify that only committed transactions should be retrieved. SCN order is the order normally applied in media recovery.

Note:

Because LogMiner populates the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view only in response to a query and does not store the requested data in the database, the following is true:

  • Every time you query V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS, LogMiner analyzes the redo log files for the data you request.
  • The amount of memory consumed by the query is not dependent on the number of rows that must be returned to satisfy a query.
  • The time it takes to return the requested data is dependent on the amount and type of redo log data that must be mined to find that data.

For the reasons stated in the previous note, Oracle recommends that you create a table to temporarily hold the results from a query of V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS if you need to maintain the data for further analysis, particularly if the amount of data returned by a query is small in comparison to the amount of redo data that LogMiner must analyze to provide that data.

24.7.3 Querying V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS Based on Column Values

You can query column values by using the Oracle Database LogMiner view V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS.

24.7.3.1 Example of Querying V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS Column Values

Learn about ways you can perform column value-based data mining with the LOGMINER_CONTENTS view.

There are a variety of column-based queries you could perform to mine data from your Oracle Database redo log files. For example, you can perform a query to show all updates to the hr.employees table that increase salary more than a certain amount. You can use data such as this to analyze system behavior, and to perform auditing tasks.

LogMiner data extraction from redo log files is performed by using two mine functions: DBMS_LOGMNR.MINE_VALUE, and DBMS_LOGMNR.COLUMN_PRESENT. Support for these mine functions is provided by the REDO_VALUE and UNDO_VALUE columns in the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

The following is an example of how you could use the MINE_VALUE function to select all updates to hr.employees that increased the salary column to more than twice its original value:

SELECT SQL_REDO FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS
   WHERE
   SEG_NAME = 'EMPLOYEES' AND
   SEG_OWNER = 'HR' AND
   OPERATION = 'UPDATE' AND
   DBMS_LOGMNR.MINE_VALUE(REDO_VALUE, 'HR.EMPLOYEES.SALARY') >
   2*DBMS_LOGMNR.MINE_VALUE(UNDO_VALUE, 'HR.EMPLOYEES.SALARY');

As shown in this example, the MINE_VALUE function takes two arguments:

  • The first argument specifies whether to mine the redo (REDO_VALUE) or undo (UNDO_VALUE) portion of the data. The redo portion of the data is the data that is in the column after an insert, update, or delete operation. The undo portion of the data is the data that was in the column before an insert, update, or delete operation. Another way of seeing this is to think of the REDO_VALUE as the new value, and the UNDO_VALUE as the old value.

  • The second argument is a string that specifies the fully qualified name of the column that you want to mine (in this case, hr.employees.salary). The MINE_VALUE function always returns a string that can be converted back to the original data type.

24.7.3.2 The Meaning of NULL Values Returned by the MINE_VALUE Function

Describes the meaning of NULL values returned by the MINE_VALUE function.

If the MINE_VALUE function returns a NULL value, then it can mean either:

  • The specified column is not present in the redo or undo portion of the data.

  • The specified column is present and has a null value.

To distinguish between these two cases, use the DBMS_LOGMNR.COLUMN_PRESENT function which returns a 1 if the column is present in the redo or undo portion of the data. Otherwise, it returns a 0. For example, suppose you wanted to find out the increment by which the values in the salary column were modified and the corresponding transaction identifier. You could issue the following SQL query:

SELECT 
  (XIDUSN || '.' || XIDSLT || '.' || XIDSQN) AS XID,
  (DBMS_LOGMNR.MINE_VALUE(REDO_VALUE, 'HR.EMPLOYEES.SALARY') -
   DBMS_LOGMNR.MINE_VALUE(UNDO_VALUE, 'HR.EMPLOYEES.SALARY')) AS INCR_SAL
   FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS
   WHERE
   OPERATION = 'UPDATE' AND
   DBMS_LOGMNR.COLUMN_PRESENT(REDO_VALUE, 'HR.EMPLOYEES.SALARY') = 1 AND
   DBMS_LOGMNR.COLUMN_PRESENT(UNDO_VALUE, 'HR.EMPLOYEES.SALARY') = 1;
24.7.3.3 Usage Rules for the MINE_VALUE and COLUMN_PRESENT Functions

Describes the usage rules that apply to the MINE_VALUE and COLUMN_PRESENT functions.

Specifically:

  • They can only be used within a LogMiner session.

  • They must be started in the context of a select operation from the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

  • They do not support LONG, LONG RAW, CLOB, BLOB, NCLOB, ADT, or COLLECTION data types.

24.7.3.4 Restrictions When Using the MINE_VALUE Function To Get an NCHAR Value

Describes restrictions when using the MINE_VALUE function.

If the DBMS_LOGMNR.MINE_VALUE function is used to get an NCHAR value that includes characters not found in the database character set, then those characters are returned as the replacement character (for example, an inverted question mark) of the database character set.

24.7.4 Querying V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS Based on XMLType Columns and Tables

LogMiner supports redo generated for XMLType columns. XMLType data stored as CLOB is supported when redo is generated at a compatibility setting of 11.0.0.0 or higher.

24.7.4.1 How V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS Based on XMLType Columns and Tables are Queried

Depending on what XMLType storage you use, LogMiner presents the SQL_REDO in V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS in different ways.

XMLType data stored as object-relational and binary XML is supported for redo generated at a compatibility setting of 11.2.0.3 and higher.

LogMiner presents the SQL_REDO in V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS in different ways depending on the XMLType storage. In all cases, the contents of the SQL_REDO column, in combination with the STATUS column, require careful scrutiny, and usually require reassembly before a SQL or PL/SQL statement can be generated to redo the change. There can be cases when it is not possible to use the SQL_REDO data to construct such a change. The examples in the following subsections are based on XMLType stored as CLOB which is generally the simplest to use for reconstruction of the complete row change.

Note:

XMLType data stored as CLOB was deprecated in Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1), and can be desupported. For any existing applications that you plan to use on ADB, be aware that many XML schema-related features are not supported

Querying V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS For Changes to Tables With XMLType Columns

The example in this section is for a table named XML_CLOB_COL_TAB that has the following columns:

  • f1 NUMBER
  • f2 VARCHAR2(100)
  • f3 XMLTYPE
  • f4 XMLTYPE
  • f5 VARCHAR2(10)

Assume that a LogMiner session has been started with the logs and with the COMMITED_DATA_ONLY option. The following query is executed against V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS for changes to the XML_CLOB_COL_TAB table.

SELECT OPERATION, STATUS, SQL_REDO FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS 
  WHERE SEG_OWNER = 'SCOTT' AND TABLE_NAME = 'XML_CLOB_COL_TAB';

The query output looks similar to the following:

OPERATION         STATUS  SQL_REDO

INSERT            0       insert into "SCOTT"."XML_CLOB_COL_TAB"("F1","F2","F5") values
                             ('5010','Aho40431','PETER')
         
XML DOC BEGIN     5       update "SCOTT"."XML_CLOB_COL_TAB" a set a."F3" = XMLType(:1)
                             where a."F1" = '5010' and a."F2" = 'Aho40431' and a."F5" = 'PETER'

XML DOC WRITE     5       XML Data

XML DOC WRITE     5       XML Data

XML DOC WRITE     5       XML Data

XML DOC END       5
                                                                  

In the SQL_REDO columns for the XML DOC WRITE operations there will be actual data for the XML document. It will not be the string 'XML Data'.

This output shows that the general model for an insert into a table with an XMLType column is the following:

  1. An initial insert with all of the scalar columns.
  2. An XML DOC BEGIN operation with an update statement that sets the value for one XMLType column using a bind variable.
  3. One or more XML DOC WRITE operations with the data for the XML document.
  4. An XML DOC END operation to indicate that all of the data for that XML document has been seen.
  5. If there is more than one XMLType column in the table, then steps 2 through 4 will be repeated for each XMLType column that is modified by the original DML.

If the XML document is not stored as an out-of-line column, then there will be no XML DOC BEGIN, XML DOC WRITE, or XML DOC END operations for that column. The document will be included in an update statement similar to the following:

OPERATION   STATUS         SQL_REDO

UPDATE      0              update "SCOTT"."XML_CLOB_COL_TAB" a
                           set a."F3" = XMLType('<?xml version="1.0"?>
                           <PO pono="1">
                           <PNAME>Po_99</PNAME> 
                           <CUSTNAME>Dave Davids</CUSTNAME> 
                           </PO>') 
                           where a."F1" = '5006' and a."F2" = 'Janosik' and a."F5" = 'MMM' 

Querying V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS For Changes to XMLType Tables

DMLs to XMLType tables are slightly different from DMLs to XMLType columns. The XML document represents the value for the row in the XMLType table. Unlike the XMLType column case, an initial insert cannot be done which is then followed by an update containing the XML document. Rather, the whole document must be assembled before anything can be inserted into the table.

Another difference for XMLType tables is the presence of the OBJECT_ID column. An object identifier is used to uniquely identify every object in an object table. For XMLType tables, this value is generated by Oracle Database when the row is inserted into the table. The OBJECT_ID value cannot be directly inserted into the table using SQL. Therefore, LogMiner cannot generate SQL_REDO which is executable that includes this value.

The V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view has a new OBJECT_ID column which is populated for changes to XMLType tables. This value is the object identifier from the original table. However, even if this same XML document is inserted into the same XMLType table, a new object identifier will be generated. The SQL_REDO for subsequent DMLs, such as updates and deletes, on the XMLType table will include the object identifier in the WHERE clause to uniquely identify the row from the original table.

24.7.4.2 Restrictions When Using LogMiner With XMLType Data

Describes restrictions when using LogMiner with XMLType data.

Mining XMLType data should only be done when using the DBMS_LOGMNR.COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option. Otherwise, incomplete changes could be displayed or changes which should be displayed as XML might be displayed as CLOB changes due to missing parts of the row change. This can lead to incomplete and invalid SQL_REDO for these SQL DML statements.

The SQL_UNDO column is not populated for changes to XMLType data.

24.7.4.3 Example of a PL/SQL Procedure for Assembling XMLType Data

Example showing a procedure that can be used to mine and assemble XML redo for tables that contain out of line XML data.

This shows how to assemble the XML data using a temporary LOB. Once the XML document is assembled, it can be used in a meaningful way. This example queries the assembled document for the EmployeeName element and then stores the returned name, the XML document and the SQL_REDO for the original DML in the EMPLOYEE_XML_DOCS table.

Note:

This procedure is an example only and is simplified. It is only intended to illustrate that DMLs to tables with XMLType data can be mined and assembled using LogMiner.

Before calling this procedure, all of the relevant logs must be added to a LogMiner session and DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR() must be called with the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option. The MINE_AND_ASSEMBLE() procedure can then be called with the schema and table name of the table that has XML data to be mined.

-- table to store assembled XML documents
create table employee_xml_docs  (
  employee_name         varchar2(100),
  sql_stmt                     varchar2(4000),
  xml_doc                     SYS.XMLType);
	
-- procedure to assemble the XML documents
create or replace procedure mine_and_assemble(
  schemaname        in varchar2,
  tablename         in varchar2)
AS
  loc_c      CLOB; 
  row_op     VARCHAR2(100); 
  row_status NUMBER; 
  stmt       VARCHAR2(4000);
  row_redo   VARCHAR2(4000);
  xml_data   VARCHAR2(32767 CHAR); 
  data_len   NUMBER; 
  xml_lob    clob;
  xml_doc    XMLType;
BEGIN 
 
-- Look for the rows in V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS that are for the appropriate schema 
-- and table name but limit it to those that are valid sql or that need assembly
-- because they are XML documents.
 
 For item in ( SELECT operation, status, sql_redo  FROM v$logmnr_contents
 where seg_owner = schemaname and table_name = tablename
 and status IN (DBMS_LOGMNR.VALID_SQL, DBMS_LOGMNR.ASSEMBLY_REQUIRED_SQL))
 LOOP
    row_op := item.operation;
    row_status := item.status;
    row_redo := item.sql_redo;
 
     CASE row_op 
 
          WHEN 'XML DOC BEGIN' THEN 
             BEGIN 
               -- save statement and begin assembling XML data 
               stmt := row_redo; 
               xml_data := ''; 
               data_len := 0; 
               DBMS_LOB.CreateTemporary(xml_lob, TRUE);
             END; 
 
          WHEN 'XML DOC WRITE' THEN 
             BEGIN 
               -- Continue to assemble XML data
               xml_data := xml_data || row_redo; 
               data_len := data_len + length(row_redo); 
               DBMS_LOB.WriteAppend(xml_lob, length(row_redo), row_redo);
             END; 
 
          WHEN 'XML DOC END' THEN 
             BEGIN 
               -- Now that assembly is complete, we can use the XML document 
              xml_doc := XMLType.createXML(xml_lob);
              insert into employee_xml_docs values
                        (extractvalue(xml_doc, '/EMPLOYEE/NAME'), stmt, xml_doc);
              commit;
 
              -- reset
              xml_data := ''; 
              data_len := 0; 
              xml_lob := NULL;
             END; 
 
          WHEN 'INSERT' THEN 
             BEGIN 
                stmt := row_redo;
             END; 
 
          WHEN 'UPDATE' THEN 
             BEGIN 
                stmt := row_redo;
             END; 
 
          WHEN 'INTERNAL' THEN 
             DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Skip rows marked INTERNAL'); 
 
          ELSE 
             BEGIN 
                stmt := row_redo;
                DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Other - ' || stmt); 
                IF row_status != DBMS_LOGMNR.VALID_SQL then 
                   DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Skip rows marked non-executable'); 
                ELSE 
                   dbms_output.put_line('Status : ' || row_status);
                END IF; 
             END; 
 
     END CASE;
 
 End LOOP; 
 
End;
/
 
show errors;

This procedure can then be called to mine the changes to the SCOTT.XML_DATA_TAB and apply the DMLs.

EXECUTE MINE_AND_ASSEMBLE ('SCOTT', 'XML_DATA_TAB');

As a result of this procedure, the EMPLOYEE_XML_DOCS table will have a row for each out-of-line XML column that was changed. The EMPLOYEE_NAME column will have the value extracted from the XML document and the SQL_STMT column and the XML_DOC column reflect the original row change.

The following is an example query to the resulting table that displays only the employee name and SQL statement:

SELECT EMPLOYEE_NAME, SQL_STMT FROM EMPLOYEE_XML_DOCS;
		
EMPLOYEE_NAME          SQL_STMT                                                                                           
 
Scott Davis          update "SCOTT"."XML_DATA_TAB" a set a."F3" = XMLType(:1) 
                         where a."F1" = '5000' and a."F2" = 'Chen' and a."F5" = 'JJJ'
	
Richard Harry        update "SCOTT"."XML_DATA_TAB" a set a."F4" = XMLType(:1)  
                         where a."F1" = '5000' and a."F2" = 'Chen' and a."F5" = 'JJJ'
	
Margaret Sally       update "SCOTT"."XML_DATA_TAB" a set a."F4" = XMLType(:1)  
                         where a."F1" = '5006' and a."F2" = 'Janosik' and a."F5" = 'MMM'

24.8 Filtering and Formatting Data Returned to V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS

Learn how to use V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view filtering and formatting features to manage what data appears, how it is displayed, and control the speed at which it is returned.

When you extract data from Oracle Database redo logs, LogMiner can potentially deal with large amounts of information. Learning how to filter and format that data is helpful to assist with your data mining project. You request each of these filtering and formatting features by using parameters or options to the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure.

24.8.1 Showing Only Committed Transactions

When using the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option to DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, only rows belonging to committed transactions are shown in the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

Using this option enables you to filter out rolled back transactions, transactions that are in progress, and internal operations.

To enable the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option, specify it when you start LogMiner:

EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR(OPTIONS => -
  DBMS_LOGMNR.COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY);

When you specify the option COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY, LogMiner groups together all DML operations that belong to the same transaction. Transactions are returned in the order in which they were committed.

Note:

If the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option is specified and you issue a query, then LogMiner stages all redo records within a single transaction in memory until LogMiner finds the commit record for that transaction. Therefore, it is possible to exhaust memory, in which case an "Out of Memory" error will be returned. If this occurs, then you must restart LogMiner without the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option specified and reissue the query.

The default is for LogMiner to show rows corresponding to all transactions and to return them in the order in which they are encountered in the redo log files.

For example, suppose you start LogMiner without specifying the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option and you run the following query:

SELECT (XIDUSN || '.' || XIDSLT || '.' || XIDSQN) AS XID, 
   USERNAME, SQL_REDO FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS WHERE USERNAME != 'SYS' 
   AND SEG_OWNER IS NULL OR SEG_OWNER NOT IN ('SYS', 'SYSTEM');

The output is as follows. Both committed and uncommitted transactions are returned and rows from different transactions are interwoven.

XID         USERNAME  SQL_REDO

1.15.3045   RON       set transaction read write;
1.15.3045   RON       insert into "HR"."JOBS"("JOB_ID","JOB_TITLE",
                      "MIN_SALARY","MAX_SALARY") values ('9782',
                      'HR_ENTRY',NULL,NULL);
1.18.3046   JANE      set transaction read write;
1.18.3046   JANE      insert into "OE"."CUSTOMERS"("CUSTOMER_ID",
                      "CUST_FIRST_NAME","CUST_LAST_NAME",
                      "CUST_ADDRESS","PHONE_NUMBERS","NLS_LANGUAGE",
                      "NLS_TERRITORY","CREDIT_LIMIT","CUST_EMAIL",
                      "ACCOUNT_MGR_ID") values ('9839','Edgar',
                      'Cummings',NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,
                       NULL,NULL,NULL);
1.9.3041    RAJIV      set transaction read write;
1.9.3041    RAJIV      insert into "OE"."CUSTOMERS"("CUSTOMER_ID",
                       "CUST_FIRST_NAME","CUST_LAST_NAME","CUST_ADDRESS",
                       "PHONE_NUMBERS","NLS_LANGUAGE","NLS_TERRITORY",
                       "CREDIT_LIMIT","CUST_EMAIL","ACCOUNT_MGR_ID") 
                       values ('9499','Rodney','Emerson',NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,
                       NULL,NULL,NULL);
1.15.3045    RON       commit;
1.8.3054     RON       set transaction read write;
1.8.3054     RON       insert into "HR"."JOBS"("JOB_ID","JOB_TITLE",
                       "MIN_SALARY","MAX_SALARY") values ('9566',
                       'FI_ENTRY',NULL,NULL);
1.18.3046    JANE      commit;
1.11.3047    JANE      set transaction read write;
1.11.3047    JANE      insert into "OE"."CUSTOMERS"("CUSTOMER_ID",
                       "CUST_FIRST_NAME","CUST_LAST_NAME",
                       "CUST_ADDRESS","PHONE_NUMBERS","NLS_LANGUAGE",
                       "NLS_TERRITORY","CREDIT_LIMIT","CUST_EMAIL",
                       "ACCOUNT_MGR_ID") values ('8933','Ronald',
                       'Frost',NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL);
1.11.3047    JANE      commit;
1.8.3054     RON       commit;

Now suppose you start LogMiner, but this time you specify the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option. If you execute the previous query again, then the output is as follows:

1.15.3045   RON       set transaction read write;
1.15.3045   RON       insert into "HR"."JOBS"("JOB_ID","JOB_TITLE",
                      "MIN_SALARY","MAX_SALARY") values ('9782',
                      'HR_ENTRY',NULL,NULL);
1.15.3045    RON       commit;
1.18.3046   JANE      set transaction read write;
1.18.3046   JANE      insert into "OE"."CUSTOMERS"("CUSTOMER_ID",
                      "CUST_FIRST_NAME","CUST_LAST_NAME",
                      "CUST_ADDRESS","PHONE_NUMBERS","NLS_LANGUAGE",
                      "NLS_TERRITORY","CREDIT_LIMIT","CUST_EMAIL",
                      "ACCOUNT_MGR_ID") values ('9839','Edgar',
                      'Cummings',NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,
                       NULL,NULL,NULL);
1.18.3046    JANE      commit;
1.11.3047    JANE      set transaction read write;
1.11.3047    JANE      insert into "OE"."CUSTOMERS"("CUSTOMER_ID",
                       "CUST_FIRST_NAME","CUST_LAST_NAME",
                       "CUST_ADDRESS","PHONE_NUMBERS","NLS_LANGUAGE",
                       "NLS_TERRITORY","CREDIT_LIMIT","CUST_EMAIL",
                       "ACCOUNT_MGR_ID") values ('8933','Ronald',
                       'Frost',NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL);
1.11.3047    JANE      commit;
1.8.3054     RON       set transaction read write;
1.8.3054     RON       insert into "HR"."JOBS"("JOB_ID","JOB_TITLE",
                       "MIN_SALARY","MAX_SALARY") values ('9566',
                       'FI_ENTRY',NULL,NULL);
1.8.3054     RON       commit;

Because the COMMIT statement for the 1.15.3045 transaction was issued before the COMMIT statement for the 1.18.3046 transaction, the entire 1.15.3045 transaction is returned first. This is true even though the 1.18.3046 transaction started before the 1.15.3045 transaction. None of the 1.9.3041 transaction is returned because a COMMIT statement was never issued for it.

Related Topics

See Also:

See "Examples Using LogMiner" for a complete example that uses the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option

24.8.2 Skipping Redo Corruptions

When you use the SKIP_CORRUPTION option to DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, any corruptions in the redo log files are skipped during select operations from the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

For every corrupt redo record encountered, a row is returned that contains the value CORRUPTED_BLOCKS in the OPERATION column, 1343 in the STATUS column, and the number of blocks skipped in the INFO column.

Be aware that the skipped records may include changes to ongoing transactions in the corrupted blocks; such changes will not be reflected in the data returned from the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

The default is for the select operation to terminate at the first corruption it encounters in the redo log file.

The following SQL example shows how this option works:

-- Add redo log files of interest.
--
EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE(-
   logfilename => '/usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_16_482701534.log' -
   options => DBMS_LOGMNR.NEW);

-- Start LogMiner
--
EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR();

-- Select from the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view. This example shows corruptions are -- in the redo log files.
-- 
SELECT rbasqn, rbablk, rbabyte, operation, status, info 
   FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS;

ERROR at line 3:
ORA-00368: checksum error in redo log block 
ORA-00353: log corruption near block 6 change 73528 time 11/06/2011 11:30:23 
ORA-00334: archived log: /usr/oracle/data/dbarch1_16_482701534.log

-- Restart LogMiner. This time, specify the SKIP_CORRUPTION option.
-- 
EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR(-
   options => DBMS_LOGMNR.SKIP_CORRUPTION);

-- Select from the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view again. The output indicates that 
-- corrupted blocks were skipped: CORRUPTED_BLOCKS is in the OPERATION 
-- column, 1343 is in the STATUS column, and the number of corrupt blocks 
-- skipped is in the INFO column.
--
SELECT rbasqn, rbablk, rbabyte, operation, status, info 
   FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS;

RBASQN  RBABLK RBABYTE  OPERATION        STATUS  INFO
13      2        76     START              0
13      2        76     DELETE             0
13      3       100     INTERNAL           0
13      3       380     DELETE             0
13      0         0     CORRUPTED_BLOCKS   1343  corrupt blocks 4 to 19 skipped
13      20      116     UPDATE             0

24.8.3 Filtering Data by Time

To filter data by time, set the STARTTIME and ENDTIME parameters in the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure.

To avoid the need to specify the date format in the call to the PL/SQL DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure, you can use the SQL ALTER SESSION SET NLS_DATE_FORMAT statement first, as shown in the following example.

ALTER SESSION SET NLS_DATE_FORMAT = 'DD-MON-YYYY HH24:MI:SS';
EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR( -
   DICTFILENAME => '/oracle/database/dictionary.ora', -
   STARTTIME => '01-Jan-2019 08:30:00', -
   ENDTIME => '01-Jan-2019 08:45:00'-
   ); 

The timestamps should not be used to infer ordering of redo records. You can infer the order of redo records by using the SCN.

Note:

You must add log files before filtering. Continuous logging is no longer supported. If logfiles have not been added that match the time or the SCN that you provide, then DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR fails with the error 1291 ORA-01291: missing logfile.

24.8.4 Filtering Data by SCN

To filter data by SCN (system change number), use the STARTSCN and ENDSCN parameters to the PL/SQL DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure.

For example:

 EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR(-
    STARTSCN => 621047, -
    ENDSCN   => 625695, -
    OPTIONS  => DBMS_LOGMNR.DICT_FROM_ONLINE_CATALOG + -
                );

The STARTSCN and ENDSCN parameters override the STARTTIME and ENDTIME parameters in situations where all are specified.

Note:

In previous releases, using a flat file dictionary was one means of mining the redo logs for the changes associated with a specific PDB whose data dictionary was contained within the flat file. This feature is now desupported. Starting with Oracle Database 21c, Oracle recommends that you call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, and supply the system change number (SCN) or time range that you want to mine. The SCN or time range options of START_LOGMNR are enhanced to support mining of individual PDBs.

You must add log files before filtering. Continuous logging is no longer supported. If log files have not been added that match the time or the SCN that you provide, then DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR fails with the error 1291 ORA-01291: missing logfile.

24.8.5 Formatting Reconstructed SQL Statements for Reprocessing

When LogMiner reprocesses reconstructed SQL statements, you can use LogMiner options to modify the default structure of those statements.

By default, a ROWID clause is included in the reconstructed SQL_REDO and SQL_UNDO statements and the statements are ended with a semicolon. However, you can override the default settings, as follows:

  • Specify the NO_ROWID_IN_STMT option when you start LogMiner.

    The NO_ROWID_IN_STMT option excludes the ROWID clause from the reconstructed statements. Because row IDs are not consistent between databases, if you intend to reprocess the SQL_REDO or SQL_UNDO statements against a different database than the one against which they were originally run, then you can specify the NO_ROWID_IN_STMT option when you start LogMiner to address that problem.

  • Specify the NO_SQL_DELIMITER option when you start LogMiner.

    The NO_SQL_DELIMITER option suppresses the semicolon from the reconstructed statements. Suppressing the semicolon can be helpful for applications that open a cursor, and then run the reconstructed statements.

Note that if the STATUS field of the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view contains the value 2 (invalid sql), then the associated SQL statement cannot be processed.

24.8.6 Formatting the Appearance of Returned Data for Readability

LogMiner provides the PRINT_PRETTY_SQL option that formats the appearance of returned data for readability.

Sometimes a query can result in a large number of columns containing reconstructed SQL statements, which can be visually busy and hard to read. LogMiner provides the PRINT_PRETTY_SQL option to address this problem. The PRINT_PRETTY_SQL option to the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure formats the reconstructed SQL statements as follows, which makes them easier to read:

insert into "HR"."JOBS"
 values
    "JOB_ID" = '9782',
    "JOB_TITLE" = 'HR_ENTRY',
    "MIN_SALARY" IS NULL,
    "MAX_SALARY" IS NULL;
  update "HR"."JOBS"
  set
    "JOB_TITLE" = 'FI_ENTRY'
  where
    "JOB_TITLE" = 'HR_ENTRY' and
    ROWID = 'AAAHSeAABAAAY+CAAX';

update "HR"."JOBS"
  set
    "JOB_TITLE" = 'FI_ENTRY'
  where
    "JOB_TITLE" = 'HR_ENTRY' and
    ROWID = 'AAAHSeAABAAAY+CAAX';

delete from "HR"."JOBS"
 where
    "JOB_ID" = '9782' and
    "JOB_TITLE" = 'FI_ENTRY' and
    "MIN_SALARY" IS NULL and
    "MAX_SALARY" IS NULL and
    ROWID = 'AAAHSeAABAAAY+CAAX';

SQL statements that are reconstructed when the PRINT_PRETTY_SQL option is enabled are not executable, because they do not use standard SQL syntax.

Related Topics

24.9 Reapplying DDL Statements Returned to V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS

If you use LogMiner to run one or more DDL statements, then query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS INFO column and only run SQL DDL marked as USER_DDL.

Caution:

If you run DDL statements that were run internally by Oracle Database, then you can corrupt your database.

When you reapply SQL DDL from the SQL_REDO or SQL_UNDO columns of the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view as it was originally applied to the database, do not run any statements that were run internally by Oracle Database.

To differentiate between DDL statements that were issued by a user from those that were issued internally by Oracle Database, query the INFO column of V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS. The value of the INFO column indicates if the DDL was run by a user, or the DDL was run by Oracle Database.

To reapply SQL DDL as it was originally applied, only run the DDL SQL contained in the SQL_REDO or SQL_UNDO column of V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS if the INFO column contains the value USER_DDL.

24.10 Calling DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR Multiple Times

Even after you have successfully called DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR and selected from the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view, you can call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR again without ending the current LogMiner session and specify different options and time or SCN ranges.

The following list presents reasons why you might want to do this:

  • You want to limit the amount of redo data that LogMiner has to analyze.

  • You want to specify different options. For example, you might decide to specify the PRINT_PRETTY_SQL option or that you only want to see committed transactions (so you specify the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option).

  • You want to change the time or SCN range to be analyzed.

Examples: Calling DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR Multiple Times

The following are some examples of when it could be useful to call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR multiple times.

Example 1: Mining Only a Subset of the Data in the Redo Log Files

Suppose the list of redo log files that LogMiner has to mine include those generated for an entire week. However, you want to analyze only what happened from 12:00 to 1:00 each day. You could do this most efficiently by:

  1. Calling DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR with this time range for Monday.

  2. Selecting changes from the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

  3. Repeating Steps 1 and 2 for each day of the week.

If the total amount of redo data is large for the week, then this method would make the whole analysis much faster, because only a small subset of each redo log file in the list would be read by LogMiner.

Example 2: Adjusting the Time Range or SCN Range

Suppose you specify a redo log file list and specify a time (or SCN) range when you start LogMiner. When you query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view, you find that only part of the data of interest is included in the time range you specified. You can call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR again to expand the time range by an hour (or adjust the SCN range).

Example 3: Analyzing Redo Log Files As They Arrive at a Remote Database

Suppose you have written an application to analyze changes or to replicate changes from one database to another database. The source database sends its redo log files to the mining database and drops them into an operating system directory. Your application:

  1. Adds all redo log files currently in the directory to the redo log file list

  2. Calls DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR with appropriate settings and selects from the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view

  3. Adds additional redo log files that have newly arrived in the directory

  4. Repeats Steps 2 and 3, indefinitely

24.11 LogMiner and Supplemental Logging

Learn about using the supplemental logging features of LogMiner

24.11.1 Understanding Supplemental Logging and LogMiner

Supplemental logging is the process of adding additional columns in redo log files to facilitate data mining.

Oracle Database redo log files are generally used for instance recovery and media recovery. The data needed for such operations is automatically recorded in the redo log files. However, a redo-based application can require that additional columns are logged in the redo log files. The process of logging these additional columns is called supplemental logging.

By default, Oracle Database does not provide any supplemental logging, which means that by default LogMiner is not usable. Therefore, you must enable at least minimal supplemental logging before generating log files that you can analyze with LogMiner.

Use Case Examples for Supplemental Logging

The following is a list of some examples in which you can decide that you need to have additional redo log file columns available to your applications:

  • An application that applies reconstructed SQL statements to a different database must identify the update statement by a set of columns that uniquely identify the row (for example, a primary key), not by the ROWID shown in the reconstructed SQL returned by the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view, because the ROWID of one database will be different and therefore meaningless in another database.

  • An application can require that the before-image of the whole row is logged, not just the modified columns, so that tracking of row changes is more efficient.

Supplemental Log Groups

A supplemental log group is the set of additional columns that you want to be logged when supplemental logging is enabled. There are two types of supplemental log groups that determine when columns in the log group are logged:

  • Unconditional supplemental log groups: The before-images of specified columns are logged any time a row is updated, regardless of whether the update affected any of the specified columns. This is sometimes referred to as an ALWAYS log group.

  • Conditional supplemental log groups: The before-images of all specified columns are logged only if at least one of the columns in the log group is updated.

Supplemental log groups can be system-generated, or user-defined.

In addition to the two types of supplemental logging, there are two levels of supplemental logging, which you can query.

24.11.2 Database-Level Supplemental Logging

LogMiner provides different types of database-level supplemental logging: minimal supplemental logging, identification key logging, and procedural supplemental logging, as described in these sections.

Minimal supplemental logging does not impose significant overhead on the database generating the redo log files. However, enabling database-wide identification key logging can impose overhead on the database generating the redo log files. Oracle recommends that you at least enable minimal supplemental logging for LogMiner.

24.11.2.1 Minimal Supplemental Logging

Minimal supplemental logging logs the minimal amount of information needed for LogMiner to identify, group, and merge the redo operations associated with DML changes.

It ensures that LogMiner (and any product building on LogMiner technology) has sufficient information to support chained rows and various storage arrangements, such as cluster tables and index-organized tables. To enable minimal supplemental logging, execute the following SQL statement:

ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA;
24.11.2.2 Database-Level Identification Key Logging

Identification key logging is necessary when redo log files will not be mined at the source database instance, for example, when the redo log files will be mined at a logical standby database.

Using database identification key logging, you can enable database-wide before-image logging for all updates by specifying one or more of the following options to the SQL ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG statement:

  • ALL system-generated unconditional supplemental log group

    This option specifies that when a row is updated, all columns of that row (except for LOBs, LONGS, and ADTs) are placed in the redo log file.

    To enable all column logging at the database level, run the following statement:

    SQL> ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (ALL) COLUMNS;
    
  • PRIMARY KEY system-generated unconditional supplemental log group

    This option causes the database to place all columns of a row's primary key in the redo log file whenever a row containing a primary key is updated (even if no value in the primary key has changed).

    If a table does not have a primary key, but has one or more non-null unique index key constraints or index keys, then one of the unique index keys is chosen for logging as a means of uniquely identifying the row being updated.

    If the table has neither a primary key nor a non-null unique index key, then all columns except LONG and LOB are supplementally logged; this is equivalent to specifying ALL supplemental logging for that row. Therefore, Oracle recommends that when you use database-level primary key supplemental logging, all or most tables should be defined to have primary or unique index keys.

    To enable primary key logging at the database level, run the following statement:

    SQL> ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (PRIMARY KEY) COLUMNS;
    
  • UNIQUE system-generated conditional supplemental log group

    This option causes the database to place all columns of a row's composite unique key or bitmap index in the redo log file, if any column belonging to the composite unique key or bitmap index is modified. The unique key can be due either to a unique constraint, or to a unique index.

    To enable unique index key and bitmap index logging at the database level, execute the following statement:

    SQL> ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (UNIQUE) COLUMNS;
    
  • FOREIGN KEY system-generated conditional supplemental log group

    This option causes the database to place all columns of a row's foreign key in the redo log file if any column belonging to the foreign key is modified.

    To enable foreign key logging at the database level, execute the following SQL statement:

    ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (FOREIGN KEY) COLUMNS;

    Note:

    Regardless of whether identification key logging is enabled, the SQL statements returned by LogMiner always contain the ROWID clause. You can filter out the ROWID clause by using the NO_ROWID_IN_STMT option to the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure call. See Formatting Reconstructed SQL Statements for Re-execution for details.

Keep the following in mind when you use identification key logging:

  • If the database is open when you enable identification key logging, then all DML cursors in the cursor cache are invalidated. This can affect performance until the cursor cache is repopulated.

  • When you enable identification key logging at the database level, minimal supplemental logging is enabled implicitly.

  • If you specify ENABLE NOVALIDATE for the primary key, then the primary key will not be considered a valid identification key. If there are no valid unique constraints, then all scalar columns are logged. Out of line columns (for example, LOBs, XML, 32k varchar, and so on) are never supplementally logged.
  • Supplemental logging statements are cumulative. If you issue the following SQL statements, then both primary key and unique key supplemental logging is enabled:

    ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (PRIMARY KEY) COLUMNS;
    ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (UNIQUE) COLUMNS;
24.11.2.3 Procedural Supplemental Logging

Procedural supplemental logging causes LogMiner to log certain procedural invocations to redo, so that they can be replicated by rolling upgrades or Oracle GoldenGate.

Procedural supplemental logging must be enabled for rolling upgrades and Oracle GoldenGate to support replication of AQ queue tables, hierarchy-enabled tables, and tables with SDO_TOPO_GEOMETRY or SDO_GEORASTER columns. Use the following SQL statement to enable procedural supplemental logging:

ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA FOR PROCEDURAL REPLICATION END SUBHEADING

If procedural supplemental logging is enabled, then minimal supplemental logging cannot be dropped unless procedural supplemental logging is dropped first.

24.11.3 Disabling Database-Level Supplemental Logging

Disable database-level supplemental logging using the SQL ALTER DATABASE statement with the DROP SUPPLEMENTAL LOGGING clause.

You can drop supplemental logging attributes incrementally. For example, suppose you issued the following SQL statements, in the following order:

ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (PRIMARY KEY) COLUMNS;
ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (UNIQUE) COLUMNS;
ALTER DATABASE DROP SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (PRIMARY KEY) COLUMNS;
ALTER DATABASE DROP SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA;

The statements would have the following effects:

  • After the first statement, primary key supplemental logging is enabled.

  • After the second statement, primary key and unique key supplemental logging are enabled.

  • After the third statement, only unique key supplemental logging is enabled.

  • After the fourth statement, all supplemental logging is not disabled. The following error is returned: ORA-32589: unable to drop minimal supplemental logging.

To disable all database supplemental logging, you must first disable any identification key logging that has been enabled, then disable minimal supplemental logging. The following example shows the correct order:

ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (PRIMARY KEY) COLUMNS;
ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (UNIQUE) COLUMNS;
ALTER DATABASE DROP SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (PRIMARY KEY) COLUMNS;
ALTER DATABASE DROP SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (UNIQUE) COLUMNS;
ALTER DATABASE DROP SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA;

Dropping minimal supplemental log data is allowed only if no other variant of database-level supplemental logging is enabled.

24.11.4 Table-Level Supplemental Logging

Table-level supplemental logging specifies, at the table level, which columns are to be supplementally logged.

You can use identification key logging or user-defined conditional and unconditional supplemental log groups to log supplemental information, as described in the following sections.

24.11.4.1 Table-Level Identification Key Logging

Identification key logging at the table level offers the same options as those provided at the database level: all, primary key, foreign key, and unique key.

However, when you specify identification key logging at the table level, only the specified table is affected. For example, if you enter the following SQL statement (specifying database-level supplemental logging), then whenever a column in any database table is changed, the entire row containing that column (except columns for LOBs, LONGs, and ADTs) will be placed in the redo log file:

ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (ALL) COLUMNS;

However, if you enter the following SQL statement (specifying table-level supplemental logging) instead, then only when a column in the employees table is changed will the entire row (except for LOB, LONGs, and ADTs) of the table be placed in the redo log file. If a column changes in the departments table, then only the changed column will be placed in the redo log file.

ALTER TABLE HR.EMPLOYEES ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (ALL) COLUMNS;

Keep the following in mind when you use table-level identification key logging:

  • If the database is open when you enable identification key logging on a table, then all DML cursors for that table in the cursor cache are invalidated. This can affect performance until the cursor cache is repopulated.

  • Supplemental logging statements are cumulative. If you issue the following SQL statements, then both primary key and unique index key table-level supplemental logging is enabled:

    ALTER TABLE HR.EMPLOYEES 
      ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (PRIMARY KEY) COLUMNS;
    ALTER TABLE HR.EMPLOYEES 
      ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA (UNIQUE) COLUMNS;
    

Note:

All forms of LONG data types (LONG, LONG RAW, LONG VARCHAR, LONG VARRAW) were deprecated in Oracle8i Release 8.1.6. For succeeding releases, the LONG data type was provided for backward compatibility with existing applications. In new applications developed with later releases, Oracle strongly recommends that you use CLOB and NCLOB data types for large amounts of character data.

See Database-Level Identification Key Logging for a description of each of the identification key logging options.

24.11.4.2 Table-Level User-Defined Supplemental Log Groups

In addition to table-level identification key logging, Oracle supports user-defined supplemental log groups.

With user-defined supplemental log groups, you can specify which columns are supplementally logged. You can specify conditional or unconditional log groups, as follows:

  • User-defined unconditional log groups

    To enable supplemental logging that uses user-defined unconditional log groups, use the ALWAYS clause as shown in the following example:

    ALTER TABLE HR.EMPLOYEES
       ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG GROUP emp_parttime (EMPLOYEE_ID, LAST_NAME, 
       DEPARTMENT_ID) ALWAYS;
    

    This creates a log group named emp_parttime on the hr.employees table that consists of the columns employee_id, last_name, and department_id. These columns are logged every time an UPDATE statement is executed on the hr.employees table, regardless of whether the update affected these columns. (To have the entire row image logged any time an update is made, use table-level ALL identification key logging, as described previously).

    Note:

    LOB, LONG, and ADT columns cannot be supplementally logged.

  • User-defined conditional supplemental log groups

    To enable supplemental logging that uses user-defined conditional log groups, omit the ALWAYS clause from the SQL ALTER TABLE statement, as shown in the following example:

    ALTER TABLE HR.EMPLOYEES
       ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG GROUP emp_fulltime (EMPLOYEE_ID, LAST_NAME, 
       DEPARTMENT_ID);
    

    This creates a log group named emp_fulltime on table hr.employees. As in the previous example, it consists of the columns employee_id, last_name, and department_id. But because the ALWAYS clause was omitted, before-images of the columns are logged only if at least one of the columns is updated.

For both unconditional and conditional user-defined supplemental log groups, you can explicitly specify that a column in the log group be excluded from supplemental logging by specifying the NO LOG option. When you specify a log group and use the NO LOG option, you must specify at least one column in the log group without the NO LOG option, as shown in the following example:

ALTER TABLE HR.EMPLOYEES
   ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG GROUP emp_parttime(
   DEPARTMENT_ID NO LOG, EMPLOYEE_ID);

This enables you to associate this column with other columns in the named supplemental log group such that any modification to the NO LOG column causes the other columns in the supplemental log group to be placed in the redo log file. This might be useful, for example, for logging certain columns in a group if a LONG column changes. You cannot supplementally log the LONG column itself; however, you can use changes to that column to trigger supplemental logging of other columns in the same row.

24.11.4.3 Usage Notes for User-Defined Supplemental Log Groups

Hints for using user-defined supplemental log groups.

Keep the following in mind when you specify user-defined supplemental log groups:

  • A column can belong to more than one supplemental log group. However, the before-image of the columns gets logged only once.

  • If you specify the same columns to be logged both conditionally and unconditionally, then the columns are logged unconditionally.

24.11.5 Tracking DDL Statements in the LogMiner Dictionary

LogMiner automatically builds its own internal dictionary from the LogMiner dictionary that you specify when you start LogMiner (either an online catalog, a dictionary in the redo log files, or a flat file).

This dictionary provides a snapshot of the database objects and their definitions.

If your LogMiner dictionary is in the redo log files or is a flat file, then you can use the DDL_DICT_TRACKING option to the PL/SQL DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure to direct LogMiner to track data definition language (DDL) statements. DDL tracking enables LogMiner to successfully track structural changes made to a database object, such as adding or dropping columns from a table. For example:

EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR(OPTIONS => -
   DBMS_LOGMNR.DDL_DICT_TRACKING + DBMS_LOGMNR.DICT_FROM_REDO_LOGS);

See Example 5: Tracking DDL Statements in the Internal Dictionary for a complete example.

With this option set, LogMiner applies any DDL statements seen in the redo log files to its internal dictionary.

Note:

In general, it is a good idea to keep supplemental logging and the DDL tracking feature enabled, because if they are not enabled and a DDL event occurs, then LogMiner returns some of the redo data as binary data. Also, a metadata version mismatch could occur.

When you enable DDL_DICT_TRACKING, data manipulation language (DML) operations performed on tables created after the LogMiner dictionary was extracted can be shown correctly.

For example, if a table employees is updated through two successive DDL operations such that column gender is added in one operation, and column commission_pct is dropped in the next, then LogMiner will keep versioned information for employees for each of these changes. This means that LogMiner can successfully mine redo log files that are from before and after these DDL changes, and no binary data will be presented for the SQL_REDO or SQL_UNDO columns.

Because LogMiner automatically assigns versions to the database metadata, it will detect and notify you of any mismatch between its internal dictionary and the dictionary in the redo log files. If LogMiner detects a mismatch, then it generates binary data in the SQL_REDO column of the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view, the INFO column contains the string "Dictionary Version Mismatch", and the STATUS column will contain the value 2.

Note:

It is important to understand that the LogMiner internal dictionary is not the same as the LogMiner dictionary contained in a flat file, in redo log files, or in the online catalog. LogMiner does update its internal dictionary, but it does not update the dictionary that is contained in a flat file, in redo log files, or in the online catalog.

The following list describes the requirements for specifying the DDL_DICT_TRACKING option with the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure.

  • The DDL_DICT_TRACKING option is not valid with the DICT_FROM_ONLINE_CATALOG option.

  • The DDL_DICT_TRACKING option requires that the database be open.

  • Supplemental logging must be enabled database-wide, or log groups must have been created for the tables of interest.

24.11.6 DDL_DICT_TRACKING and Supplemental Logging Settings

Describes interactions that occur when various settings of dictionary tracking and supplemental logging are combined.

Note the following:

  • If DDL_DICT_TRACKING is enabled, but supplemental logging is not enabled and:

    • A DDL transaction is encountered in the redo log file, then a query of V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS will terminate with the ORA-01347 error.

    • A DML transaction is encountered in the redo log file, then LogMiner will not assume that the current version of the table (underlying the DML) in its dictionary is correct, and columns in V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS will be set as follows:

      • The SQL_REDO column will contain binary data.

      • The STATUS column will contain a value of 2 (which indicates that the SQL is not valid).

      • The INFO column will contain the string 'Dictionary Mismatch'.

  • If DDL_DICT_TRACKING is not enabled and supplemental logging is not enabled, and the columns referenced in a DML operation match the columns in the LogMiner dictionary, then LogMiner assumes that the latest version in its dictionary is correct, and columns in V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS will be set as follows:

    • LogMiner will use the definition of the object in its dictionary to generate values for the SQL_REDO and SQL_UNDO columns.

    • The status column will contain a value of 3 (which indicates that the SQL is not guaranteed to be accurate).

    • The INFO column will contain the string 'no supplemental log data found'.

  • If DDL_DICT_TRACKING is not enabled and supplemental logging is not enabled and there are more modified columns in the redo log file for a table than the LogMiner dictionary definition for the table defines, then:

    • The SQL_REDO and SQL_UNDO columns will contain the string 'Dictionary Version Mismatch'.

    • The STATUS column will contain a value of 2 (which indicates that the SQL is not valid).

    • The INFO column will contain the string 'Dictionary Mismatch'.

    Also be aware that it is possible to get unpredictable behavior if the dictionary definition of a column indicates one type but the column is really another type.

24.11.7 DDL_DICT_TRACKING and Specified Time or SCN Ranges

Because LogMiner must not miss a DDL statement if it is to ensure the consistency of its dictionary, LogMiner may start reading redo log files before your requested starting time or SCN (as specified with DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR) when the DDL_DICT_TRACKING option is enabled.

The actual time or SCN at which LogMiner starts reading redo log files is referred to as the required starting time or the required starting SCN.

No missing redo log files (based on sequence numbers) are allowed from the required starting time or the required starting SCN.

LogMiner determines where it will start reading redo log data as follows:

  • After the dictionary is loaded, the first time that you call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, LogMiner begins reading as determined by one of the following, whichever causes it to begin earlier:

    • Your requested starting time or SCN value

    • The commit SCN of the dictionary dump

  • On subsequent calls to DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, LogMiner begins reading as determined for one of the following, whichever causes it to begin earliest:

    • Your requested starting time or SCN value

    • The start of the earliest DDL transaction where the COMMIT statement has not yet been read by LogMiner

    • The highest SCN read by LogMiner

The following scenario helps illustrate this:

Suppose you create a redo log file list containing five redo log files. Assume that a dictionary is contained in the first redo file, and the changes that you have indicated you want to see (using DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR) are recorded in the third redo log file. You then do the following:

  1. Call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR. LogMiner will read:

    1. The first log file to load the dictionary

    2. The second redo log file to pick up any possible DDLs contained within it

    3. The third log file to retrieve the data of interest

  2. Call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR again with the same requested range.

    LogMiner will begin with redo log file 3; it no longer needs to read redo log file 2, because it has already processed any DDL statements contained within it.

  3. Call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR again, this time specifying parameters that require data to be read from redo log file 5.

    LogMiner will start reading from redo log file 4 to pick up any DDL statements that may be contained within it.

Query the REQUIRED_START_DATE or the REQUIRED_START_SCN columns of the V$LOGMNR_PARAMETERS view to see where LogMiner will actually start reading. Regardless of where LogMiner starts reading, only rows in your requested range will be returned from the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

24.12 Accessing LogMiner Operational Information in Views

LogMiner operational information (as opposed to redo data) is contained in views.

24.12.1 Options for Viewing LogMiner Operational Information

To check LogMiner operations, you can use SQL to query the LogMiner views, as you would any other view.

In addition to V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS, the following is a list of other views and what they show.

  • V$LOGMNR_DICTIONARY

    Shows information about a LogMiner dictionary file that was created using the STORE_IN_FLAT_FILE option to DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR. The information shown includes information about the database from which the LogMiner dictionary was created.

  • V$LOGMNR_LOGS

    Shows information about specified redo log files.

  • V$LOGMNR_PARAMETERS

    Shows information about optional LogMiner parameters, including starting and ending system change numbers (SCNs) and starting and ending times.

  • V$DATABASE, DBA_LOG_GROUPS, ALL_LOG_GROUPS, USER_LOG_GROUPS, DBA_LOG_GROUP_COLUMNS, ALL_LOG_GROUP_COLUMNS, USER_LOG_GROUP_COLUMN

    Shows information about the current settings for supplemental logging.

  • SYS.DBA_LOGMNR_DICTIONARY_BUILDLOG

    Locates a dictionary build, either by time or by SCN. This view is available in Oracle Database 19c (Release Update 10 and later) both to the CDB$ROOT log miner, and to the per-pdb log miner. For example, when you want to obtain per-PDB log mining, you may need to specify the time or the SCN when you run START_LOGMNR,

24.12.2 Querying V$LOGMNR_LOGS

To determine which redo log files have been manually or automatically added to the list of redo log files for LogMiner to analyze, you can query the V$LOGMNR_LOGS view.

V$LOGMNR_LOGS contains one row for each redo log file. This view provides valuable information about each of the redo log files, including file name, SCN and time ranges, and whether it contains all or part of the LogMiner dictionary.

After a successful call to DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, the STATUS column of the V$LOGMNR_LOGS view contains one of the following values:

  • 0

    Indicates that the redo log file will be processed during a query of the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

  • 1

    Indicates that this will be the first redo log file to be processed by LogMiner during a select operation against the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

  • 2

    Indicates that the redo log file has been pruned, and therefore will not be processed by LogMiner during a query of the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view. The redo log file has been pruned because it is not needed to satisfy your requested time or SCN range.

  • 4

    Indicates that a redo log file (based on sequence number) is missing from the LogMiner redo log file list.

The V$LOGMNR_LOGS view contains a row for each redo log file that is missing from the list, as follows:

  • The FILENAME column will contain the consecutive range of sequence numbers and total SCN range gap.

    For example: Missing log file(s) for thread number 1, sequence number(s) 100 to 102.

  • The INFO column will contain the string MISSING_LOGFILE.

Information about files missing from the redo log file list can be useful for the following reasons:

  • The DDL_DICT_TRACKING option that can be specified when you call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR will not allow redo log files to be missing from the LogMiner redo log file list for the requested time or SCN range. If a call to DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR fails, then you can query the STATUS column in the V$LOGMNR_LOGS view to determine which redo log files are missing from the list. You can then find and manually add these redo log files and attempt to call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR again.

    Note:

    The continuous_mine option for the dbms_logmnr.start_logmnr package is desupported in Oracle Database 19c (19.1), and is no longer available.
  • Although all other options that can be specified when you call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR allow files to be missing from the LogMiner redo log file list, you may not want to have missing files. You can query the V$LOGMNR_LOGS view before querying the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view to ensure that all required files are in the list. If the list is left with missing files and you query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view, then a row is returned in V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS with the following column values:

    • In the OPERATION column, a value of 'MISSING_SCN'

    • In the STATUS column, a value of 1291

    • In the INFO column, a string indicating the missing SCN range. For example: Missing SCN 100 - 200

24.12.3 Querying Views for Supplemental Logging Settings

To determine the current settings for supplemental logging, you can query several different views.

You can use one of several views, depending on the information you require:

  • V$DATABASE view

    • SUPPLEMENTAL_LOG_DATA_FK column

      This column contains one of the following values:

      • NO - if database-level identification key logging with the FOREIGN KEY option is not enabled

      • YES - if database-level identification key logging with the FOREIGN KEY option is enabled

    • SUPPLEMENTAL_LOG_DATA_ALL column

      This column contains one of the following values:

      • NO - if database-level identification key logging with the ALL option is not enabled

      • YES - if database-level identification key logging with the ALL option is enabled

    • SUPPLEMENTAL_LOG_DATA_UI column

      • NO - if database-level identification key logging with the UNIQUE option is not enabled

      • YES - if database-level identification key logging with the UNIQUE option is enabled

    • SUPPLEMENTAL_LOG_DATA_MIN column

      This column contains one of the following values:

      • NO - if no database-level supplemental logging is enabled

      • IMPLICIT - if minimal supplemental logging is enabled because database-level identification key logging options is enabled

      • YES - if minimal supplemental logging is enabled because the SQL ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA statement was issued

  • DBA_LOG_GROUPS, ALL_LOG_GROUPS, and USER_LOG_GROUPS views

    • ALWAYS column

      This column contains one of the following values:

      • ALWAYS - indicates that the columns in this log group will be supplementally logged if any column in the associated row is updated

      • CONDITIONAL - indicates that the columns in this group will be supplementally logged only if a column in the log group is updated

    • GENERATED column

      This column contains one of the following values:

      • GENERATED NAME - if the LOG_GROUP name was system-generated

      • USER NAME - if the LOG_GROUP name was user-defined

    • LOG_GROUP_TYPE column

      This column contains one of the following values to indicate the type of logging defined for this log group. USER LOG GROUP indicates that the log group was user-defined (as opposed to system-generated).

      • ALL COLUMN LOGGING

      • FOREIGN KEY LOGGING

      • PRIMARY KEY LOGGING

      • UNIQUE KEY LOGGING

      • USER LOG GROUP

  • DBA_LOG_GROUP_COLUMNS, ALL_LOG_GROUP_COLUMNS, and USER_LOG_GROUP_COLUMNS views

    • The LOGGING_PROPERTY column

      This column contains one of the following values:

      • LOG - indicates that this column in the log group will be supplementally logged

      • NO LOG - indicates that this column in the log group will not be supplementally logged

24.12.4 Querying Individual PDBs Using LogMiner

To locate a dictionary build, by time or by SCN (for example, when starting per-PDB mining), you can use the SYS.DBA_LOGMNR_DICTIONARY_BUILDLOG view on the source database.

Starting with Oracle Database 19c (Release Update 10 and later), you can chose to connect either to the CDB$ROOT, or to an individual PDB.

In a traditional On Premises log mining session, you connect to CDB$ROOT, and your query is performed for the entire multitenant architecture, including CDB$ROOT and the PDBs. With Per-PDB log mining sessions, when you connect to a specific PDB, LogMiner returns rows only for the PDB to which you have connected. This method is required when you want to query redo log files for Oracle Autonomous Database on Oracle Autonomous Cloud Platform Services.

To view log history information for a PDB, you continue to use the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view. However, to start LogMiner for a PDB, you no longer add log files. Instead, you call DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, and supply a system change number (SCN) for the PDB log history that you want to view. You can use any START_SCN value that you find in the DBA_LOGMNR_DICTIONARY_BUILDLOG view for the PDB.

Note:

When starting LogMiner, if you know the ENDSCN or ENDTIME value for the log history that you want to view, then you can specify one of those end values.

Example 24-3 Querying SYS.DBA_LOGMNR_DICTIONARY

In the following example, after you connect to the PDB, you query DBA_LOGMNR_DICTIONARY_BUILDLOG, identify a START_SCN value, and then start LogMiner with DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, specifying the SCN value of the log that you want to query.

SQL> execute dbms_logmnr_d.build(options => dbms_logmnr_d.store_in_redo_logs);

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

SQL> select date_of_build, start_scn from dba_logmnr_dictionary_buildlog;

DATE_OF_BUILD  START_SCN
-------------------- --------------------
09/02/2020 15:58:42 2104064
09/02/2020 19:35:36 3943026
09/02/2020 19:35:54 3943543
09/02/2020 19:35:57 3944009
09/02/2020 19:36:00 3944473
09/10/2020 20:13:22 5902422
09/15/2020 10:03:16 7196131

7 rows selected.

SQL> execute dbms_logmnr.start_logmnr(Options => dbms_logmnr.DDL_DICT_TRACKING + dbms_logmnr.DICT_FROM_REDO_LOGS, startscn=>5902422);

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

SQL> select count(sql_redo) from v$logmnr_contents;

     COUNT(SQL_REDO)
--------------------
            619958

SQL> 

24.13 Steps in a Typical LogMiner Session

Learn about the typical ways you can use LogMiner to extract and mine data.

24.13.1 Understanding How to Run LogMiner Sessions

On Premises and Oracle Autonomous Cloud Platform Services LogMiner Sessions are similar, but require different users.

In a traditional LogMiner session, and when you run LogMiner on CDB$ROOT, you run LogMiner by using a PL/SQL package that is owned by SYS. To use LogMiner, there are requirements for the user account that you use with LogMiner.

When you run LogMiner in an On-Premise Oracle Database, you can create one CDB$ROOT capture extract to capture data from multiple PDBs at the same time, or mine multiple individual PDB logs using Oracle GoldenGate, each capturing data from just one PDB. However for Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud Platform Services, where you do not have access to CDB$ROOT, you must use the per-PDB capture method. In this mode, you provision a local user with a predefined set of privileges to the source PDB whose logs you want to review. All LogMiner processing is restricted to this PDB only.

With On-Premise PDBs, you can start as many sessions as resources allow. But for Cloud configurations, while you can still start many concurrent sessions in CDB$ROOT, you can start only one session for each PDB using the LogMiner PL/SQL package.

To run LogMiner on CDB$ROOT, you use the PL/SQL package DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE and add log files explicitly. Additionally, if you choose to extract a LogMiner dictionary rather than use the online catalog, then you can also use the DBMS_LOGMNR_D package.

To run LogMiner on individual PDBs, the procedures are slightly different. instead of using DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE. you specify a period in which you want to review log files for the PDB. Specify the SCN value of the log that you want to query, with either startScn and, if you choose, endScn, or startTime, and if you choose, endTime. You then start LogMiner with DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR. DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR automatically adds the redo logs for you to analyze.

The DBMS_LOGMNR package contains the procedures used to initialize and run LogMiner, including interfaces to specify names of redo log files, filter criteria, and session characteristics. The DBMS_LOGMNR_D package queries the database dictionary tables of the current database to create a LogMiner dictionary file.

Requirements for Running LogMiner for Individual PDB

To run LogMiner to query individual PDBs, you must provision a local user with the necessary privilege, using the procedure call DBMS_GOLDENGATE_AUTH.GRANT_ADMIN_PRIVILEGE. Also, users with the GGADMIN privilege can run Per-PDB capture Extracts.

Again, with individual PDBs, you do not specify the archive logs that you want to mine. Instead, connect to the PDB that you want to mine, and then run dbms_logmnr_d.STORE_IN_REDO_LOGS. For example:

SQL> execute dbms_logmnr_d.build(option=>dbms_logmnr_d.STORE_IN_REDO_LOGS);

You can then connect to the PDB, identify SCNs, then run dbms_logmnr.start_logmnr to query the log files for the starting point system change number (SCN) for the PDB log history that you want to view, and if you choose, an end point SCN. Mining proceeds at that point just as with traditional LogMiner queries to the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view. However, only redo generated for the PDB to which you are connected is available

Note:

If you shut down a PDB while Extract and any LogMiner processes are running, then these processes are terminated, as with other active sessions. When the PDB is reopened, restart of Extract mining should continue as normal. When you unplug the PDB, there are no special actions required. However, when you plug in a PDB after unplugging it, all LogMiner and Capture sessions that previously existed in the PDB are removed.

Requirements for Running Traditional LogMiner Sessions When Not Connected As SYS

With On Premises log mining, the LogMiner PL/SQL packages are owned by the SYS schema. Therefore, if you are not connected as user SYS, then:

  • You must include SYS in your call. For example:

    EXECUTE SYS.DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR;
    
  • You must have been granted the EXECUTE_CATALOG_ROLE role.

24.13.2 Typical LogMiner Session Task 1: Enable Supplemental Logging

To be able to use LogMiner with redo log files, you must enable supplemental logging.

Redo-based applications can require that additional columns are logged in the redo log files. The process of logging these additional columns is called supplemental logging. By default, Oracle Database does not have supplemental logging enabled. At the very least, to use LogMiner, you must enable minimal supplemental logging.

Example 24-4 Enabling Minimal Supplemental Logging

To enable supplemental logging, enter the following statement:

ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA;

24.13.3 Typical LogMiner Session Task 2: Extract a LogMiner Dictionary

To use LogMiner, you must select an option to supply LogMiner with a database dictionary.

Choose one of the following options:

  • Specify use of the online catalog by using the DICT_FROM_ONLINE_CATALOG option when you start LogMiner.

  • Extract the database dictionary information to the redo log files.

  • Extract database dictionary information to a flat file.

24.13.4 Typical LogMiner Session Task 3: Specify Redo Log Files for Analysis

You must specify the redo log files that you want to analyze with DBMS_LOGMNR_ADD_LOGFILE before starting LogMiner.

To query logs on CDB$ROOT for On Premises, before you can start LogMiner, you must specify the redo log files that you want to analyze. To specify log files, run the DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE procedure, as demonstrated in the following steps. You can add and remove redo log files in any order.

Note:

To query logs for an individual PDB, you use a slightly different procedure. After you connect to the PDB, you query DBA_LOGMNR_DICTIONARY_BUILDLOG, identify a START_SCN value, and then start LogMiner with DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, specifying the SCN value of the log that you want to review. DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR automatically adds the redo logs for you to analyze. Refer to "Querying Individual PDBs Using LogMiner" for an example.
  1. Use SQL*Plus to start an Oracle Database instance, with the database either mounted or unmounted. For example, enter the STARTUP statement at the SQL prompt:
    STARTUP
    
  2. Create a list of redo log files. Specify the NEW option of the DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE PL/SQL procedure to signal that this is the beginning of a new list. For example, enter the following to specify the /oracle/logs/log1.f redo log file:
    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE( -
       LOGFILENAME => '/oracle/logs/log1.f', -
       OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.NEW);
    
  3. If desired, add more redo log files by specifying the ADDFILE option of the DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE PL/SQL procedure. For example, enter the following to add the /oracle/logs/log2.f redo log file:
    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE( -
       LOGFILENAME => '/oracle/logs/log2.f', -
       OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.ADDFILE);
    

    The OPTIONS parameter is optional when you are adding additional redo log files. For example, you can simply enter the following:

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE( -
       LOGFILENAME=>'/oracle/logs/log2.f');
    
  4. If desired, remove redo log files by using the DBMS_LOGMNR.REMOVE_LOGFILE PL/SQL procedure. For example, enter the following to remove the /oracle/logs/log2.f redo log file:
    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.REMOVE_LOGFILE( -
       LOGFILENAME => '/oracle/logs/log2.f');

24.13.5 Start LogMiner

See how to start LogMiner, and what options you can use to analyze redo log files, filter criteria, and other session characteristics.

After you have created a LogMiner dictionary file and specified which redo log files to analyze, you can start LogMiner and analyze your Oracle Database transactions.
  1. To start LogMiner, execute the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure.

    Oracle recommends that you specify a LogMiner dictionary option. If you do not specify a dictionary option, then LogMiner cannot translate internal object identifiers and data types to object names and external data formats. As a result, LogMiner returns internal object IDs and present data as binary data. Additionally, you cannot use the MINE_VALUE and COLUMN_PRESENT functions without a dictionary.

    If you are specifying the name of a flat file LogMiner dictionary, then you must supply a fully qualified file name for the dictionary file. For example, to start LogMiner using /oracle/database/dictionary.ora, issue the following statement:

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR( -
       DICTFILENAME =>'/oracle/database/dictionary.ora');
    

    If you are not specifying a flat file dictionary name, then use the OPTIONS parameter to specify either the DICT_FROM_REDO_LOGS or DICT_FROM_ONLINE_CATALOG option.

    If you specify DICT_FROM_REDO_LOGS, then LogMiner expects to find a dictionary in the redo log files that you specified with the DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE procedure. To determine which redo log files contain a dictionary, look at the V$ARCHIVED_LOG view. To see an example of this task, refer to "Extracting a LogMiner Dictionary to the Redo Log Files."

    Note:

    If you add additional redo log files after LogMiner has been started, then you must restart LogMiner. LogMiner does not retain options included in the previous call to DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR; you must respecify the options that you want to use. However, if you do not specify a dictionary in the current call to DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR, then LogMiner does retain the dictionary specification from the previous call.

  2. Optionally, you can filter or format your query, or use the OPTIONS parameter to specify additional characteristics of your LogMiner session. For example, you might decide to use the online catalog as your LogMiner dictionary and to have only committed transactions shown in the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view, as follows:
    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR(OPTIONS => -
       DBMS_LOGMNR.DICT_FROM_ONLINE_CATALOG + -
       DBMS_LOGMNR.COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY);
    

    You can execute the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure multiple times, specifying different options each time. For example, if you did not obtain the desired results from a query of V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS, you can restart LogMiner with different options. Unless you need to respecify the LogMiner dictionary, you do not need to add redo log files if they were already added with a previous call to DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR.

24.13.6 Query V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS

After you start LogMiner, you can query the Oracle Database V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

For example:

SELECT (XIDUSN || '.' || XIDSLT || '.' || XIDSQN) AS XID, 
   USERNAME, SQL_REDO FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS WHERE USERNAME != 'SYS' 
   AND SEG_OWNER IS NULL OR SEG_OWNER NOT IN ('SYS', 'SYSTEM');


XID         USERNAME  SQL_REDO

1.15.3045   RON       set transaction read write;
1.15.3045   RON       insert into "HR"."JOBS"("JOB_ID","JOB_TITLE",
                      "MIN_SALARY","MAX_SALARY") values ('9782',
                      'HR_ENTRY',NULL,NULL);
1.18.3046   JANE      set transaction read write;
1.18.3046   JANE      insert into "OE"."CUSTOMERS"("CUSTOMER_ID",
                      "CUST_FIRST_NAME","CUST_LAST_NAME",
                      "CUST_ADDRESS","PHONE_NUMBERS","NLS_LANGUAGE",
                      "NLS_TERRITORY","CREDIT_LIMIT","CUST_EMAIL",
                      "ACCOUNT_MGR_ID") values ('9839','Edgar',
                      'Cummings',NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,
                       NULL,NULL,NULL);
1.9.3041    RAJIV      set transaction read write;
1.9.3041    RAJIV      insert into "OE"."CUSTOMERS"("CUSTOMER_ID",
                       "CUST_FIRST_NAME","CUST_LAST_NAME","CUST_ADDRESS",
                       "PHONE_NUMBERS","NLS_LANGUAGE","NLS_TERRITORY",
                       "CREDIT_LIMIT","CUST_EMAIL","ACCOUNT_MGR_ID") 
                       values ('9499','Rodney','Emerson',NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,
                       NULL,NULL,NULL);
1.15.3045    RON       commit;
1.8.3054     RON       set transaction read write;
1.8.3054     RON       insert into "HR"."JOBS"("JOB_ID","JOB_TITLE",
                       "MIN_SALARY","MAX_SALARY") values ('9566',
                       'FI_ENTRY',NULL,NULL);
1.18.3046    JANE      commit;
1.11.3047    JANE      set transaction read write;
1.11.3047    JANE      insert into "OE"."CUSTOMERS"("CUSTOMER_ID",
                       "CUST_FIRST_NAME","CUST_LAST_NAME",
                       "CUST_ADDRESS","PHONE_NUMBERS","NLS_LANGUAGE",
                       "NLS_TERRITORY","CREDIT_LIMIT","CUST_EMAIL",
                       "ACCOUNT_MGR_ID") values ('8933','Ronald',
                       'Frost',NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL);
1.11.3047    JANE      commit;
1.8.3054     RON       commit;

To see more examples, refer to "Filtering an Formatting Data Returned to V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS.

24.13.7 Typical LogMiner Session Task 6: End the LogMiner Session

Ending the LogMiner session.

To properly end a LogMiner session, use the DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR PL/SQL procedure, as follows:

EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR;

This procedure closes all the redo log files and allows all the database and system resources allocated by LogMiner to be released.

If this procedure is not executed, then LogMiner retains all its allocated resources until the end of the Oracle session in which it was called. It is particularly important to use this procedure to end the LogMiner session if either the DDL_DICT_TRACKING option or the DICT_FROM_REDO_LOGS option was used.

24.14 Examples Using LogMiner

To see how you can use LogMiner for data mining, review the provided examples.

Note:

All examples in this section assume that minimal supplemental logging has been enabled:

SQL> ALTER DATABASE ADD SUPPLEMENTAL LOG DATA;

All examples, except the LogMiner Use Case Scenario examples, assume that the NLS_DATE_FORMAT parameter has been set as follows:

SQL>  ALTER SESSION SET NLS_DATE_FORMAT = 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss';

Because LogMiner displays date data using the setting for the NLS_DATE_FORMAT parameter that is active for the user session, this step is optional. However, setting the parameter explicitly lets you predict the date format.

24.14.1 Examples of Mining by Explicitly Specifying the Redo Log Files of Interest

Use examples to see how to specify redo log files.

These examples demonstrate how to use LogMiner when you know which redo log files contain the data of interest. These examples are best read sequentially, because each example builds on the example or examples that precede it.

The SQL output formatting can be different on your display than that shown in these examples.

Note:

The continuous_mine option for the dbms_logmnr.start_logmnr package is desupported in Oracle Database 19c (19.1), and is no longer available. You must specify log files manually
24.14.1.1 Example 1: Finding All Modifications in the Last Archived Redo Log File

LogMiner displays all modifications it finds in the redo log files that it analyzes by default, regardless of whether the transaction has been committed or not.

The easiest way to examine the modification history of a database is to mine at the source database and use the online catalog to translate the redo log files. This example shows how to do the simplest analysis using LogMiner.

This example assumes that you know you want to mine the redo log file that was most recently archived. It finds all modifications that are contained in the last archived redo log generated by the database (assuming that the database is not an Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) database).

  1. Determine which redo log file was most recently archived.

    SELECT NAME FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
       WHERE FIRST_TIME = (SELECT MAX(FIRST_TIME) FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG);
    
    NAME                            
    -------------------------------------------
    /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_16_482701534.dbf
  2. Specify the list of redo log files to be analyzed. In this case, it is the redo log file that was returned by the query in Step 1.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE( -
      LOGFILENAME => '/usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_16_482701534.dbf', -
      OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.NEW);
    
  3. Start LogMiner and specify the dictionary to use.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR( -
       OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.DICT_FROM_ONLINE_CATALOG);
  4. Query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

    Note that there are four transactions (two of them were committed within the redo log file being analyzed, and two were not). The output shows the DML statements in the order in which they were executed; thus transactions interleave among themselves.

    SELECT username AS USR, (XIDUSN || '.' || XIDSLT || '.' ||  XIDSQN) AS XID, 
       SQL_REDO, SQL_UNDO FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS WHERE username IN ('HR', 'OE');
    
    USR    XID          SQL_REDO                        SQL_UNDO
    ----   ---------  ----------------------------------------------------
    HR     1.11.1476  set transaction read write;
    
    HR     1.11.1476  insert into "HR"."EMPLOYEES"(     delete from "HR"."EMPLOYEES" 
                      "EMPLOYEE_ID","FIRST_NAME",       where "EMPLOYEE_ID" = '306'
                      "LAST_NAME","EMAIL",              and "FIRST_NAME" = 'Nandini'
                      "PHONE_NUMBER","HIRE_DATE",       and "LAST_NAME" = 'Shastry'
                      "JOB_ID","SALARY",                and "EMAIL" = 'NSHASTRY'
                      "COMMISSION_PCT","MANAGER_ID",    and "PHONE_NUMBER" = '1234567890'
                      "DEPARTMENT_ID") values           and "HIRE_DATE" = TO_DATE('10-JAN-2012
                      ('306','Nandini','Shastry',       13:34:43', 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss') 
                      'NSHASTRY', '1234567890',         and "JOB_ID" = 'HR_REP' and 
                      TO_DATE('10-jan-2012 13:34:43',   "SALARY" = '120000' and 
                      'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),         "COMMISSION_PCT" = '.05' and
                      'HR_REP','120000', '.05',         "DEPARTMENT_ID" = '10' and
                      '105','10');                      ROWID = 'AAAHSkAABAAAY6rAAO';
         
    OE     1.1.1484   set transaction read write;
    
    OE     1.1.1484   update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"  update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION" 
                      set "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =            set "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = 
                      TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') where      TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') where
                      "PRODUCT_ID" = '1799' and          "PRODUCT_ID" = '1799' and
                      "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =                "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = 
                      TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') and        TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') and
                      ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAB';      ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAB'; 
                                                                                    
    OE     1.1.1484   update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"  update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"
                      set "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =            set "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =
                      TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') where      TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') where
                      "PRODUCT_ID" = '1801' and          "PRODUCT_ID" = '1801' and
                      "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =                "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = 
                      TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') and        TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') and
                      ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAC';      ROWID ='AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAC';
    
    HR     1.11.1476  insert into "HR"."EMPLOYEES"(     delete from "HR"."EMPLOYEES"
                      "EMPLOYEE_ID","FIRST_NAME",       "EMPLOYEE_ID" = '307' and 
                      "LAST_NAME","EMAIL",              "FIRST_NAME" = 'John' and
                      "PHONE_NUMBER","HIRE_DATE",       "LAST_NAME" = 'Silver' and
                      "JOB_ID","SALARY",                "EMAIL" = 'JSILVER' and 
                      "COMMISSION_PCT","MANAGER_ID",    "PHONE_NUMBER" = '5551112222'
                      "DEPARTMENT_ID") values           and "HIRE_DATE" = TO_DATE('10-jan-2012
                      ('307','John','Silver',           13:41:03', 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss') 
                       'JSILVER', '5551112222',         and "JOB_ID" ='105' and "DEPARTMENT_ID" 
                      TO_DATE('10-jan-2012 13:41:03',   = '50' and ROWID = 'AAAHSkAABAAAY6rAAP'; 
                      'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
                      'SH_CLERK','110000', '.05',
                      '105','50');                
    
    OE     1.1.1484   commit;
    
    HR     1.15.1481   set transaction read write;
    
    HR     1.15.1481  delete from "HR"."EMPLOYEES"      insert into "HR"."EMPLOYEES"(
                      where "EMPLOYEE_ID" = '205' and   "EMPLOYEE_ID","FIRST_NAME",
                      "FIRST_NAME" = 'Shelley' and      "LAST_NAME","EMAIL","PHONE_NUMBER",
                      "LAST_NAME" = 'Higgins' and       "HIRE_DATE", "JOB_ID","SALARY",
                      "EMAIL" = 'SHIGGINS' and          "COMMISSION_PCT","MANAGER_ID",
                      "PHONE_NUMBER" = '515.123.8080'   "DEPARTMENT_ID") values
                      and "HIRE_DATE" = TO_DATE(        ('205','Shelley','Higgins',
                      '07-jun-1994 10:05:01',           and     'SHIGGINS','515.123.8080',
                      'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss')         TO_DATE('07-jun-1994 10:05:01',
                      and "JOB_ID" = 'AC_MGR'           'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
                      and "SALARY"= '12000'            'AC_MGR','12000',NULL,'101','110'); 
                      and "COMMISSION_PCT" IS NULL 
                      and "MANAGER_ID" 
                      = '101' and "DEPARTMENT_ID" = 
                      '110' and ROWID = 
                      'AAAHSkAABAAAY6rAAM';
    
    
    OE     1.8.1484   set transaction read write;
    
    OE     1.8.1484   update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"  update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"
                      set "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =            set "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = 
                      TO_YMINTERVAL('+12-06') where      TO_YMINTERVAL('+20-00') where
                      "PRODUCT_ID" = '2350' and          "PRODUCT_ID" = '2350' and
                      "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =                "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =
                      TO_YMINTERVAL('+20-00') and        TO_YMINTERVAL('+20-00') and
                      ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9tAAD';       ROWID ='AAAHTKAABAAAY9tAAD'; 
    
    HR     1.11.1476  commit;
    
  5. End the LogMiner session.

    SQL> EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR();
24.14.1.2 Example 2: Grouping DML Statements into Committed Transactions

Learn how to use LogMiner to group redo log transactions.

As shown in Example 1, LogMiner displays all modifications it finds in the redo log files that it analyzes by default, regardless of whether the transaction has been committed or not. In addition, LogMiner shows modifications in the same order in which they were executed. Because DML statements that belong to the same transaction are not grouped together, visual inspection of the output can be difficult. Although you can use SQL to group transactions, LogMiner provides an easier way. In this example, the latest archived redo log file will again be analyzed, but it will return only committed transactions.

  1. Determine which redo log file was most recently archived by the database.

    SELECT NAME FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
       WHERE FIRST_TIME = (SELECT MAX(FIRST_TIME) FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG);
    
    NAME                            
    -------------------------------------------
    /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_16_482701534.dbf
  2. Specify the redo log file that was returned by the query in Step 1. The list will consist of one redo log file.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE( -
       LOGFILENAME => '/usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_16_482701534.dbf', -
       OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.NEW);
  3. Start LogMiner by specifying the dictionary to use and the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR( -
       OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.DICT_FROM_ONLINE_CATALOG + -
       DBMS_LOGMNR.COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY); 
  4. Query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

    Although transaction 1.11.1476 was started before transaction 1.1.1484 (as revealed in Step 1), it committed after transaction 1.1.1484 committed. In this example, therefore, transaction 1.1.1484 is shown in its entirety before transaction 1.11.1476. The two transactions that did not commit within the redo log file being analyzed are not returned.

    SELECT username AS USR, (XIDUSN || '.' || XIDSLT || '.' ||  XIDSQN) AS XID, SQL_REDO, 
    SQL_UNDO FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS WHERE username IN ('HR', 'OE');
    ;
    USR    XID          SQL_REDO                        SQL_UNDO
    ----   ---------    ------------------------------- ---------------------------------
         
    OE     1.1.1484   set transaction read write;
    
    OE     1.1.1484   update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"  update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION" 
                      set "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =            set "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = 
                      TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') where      TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') where
                      "PRODUCT_ID" = '1799' and          "PRODUCT_ID" = '1799' and
                      "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =                "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = 
                      TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') and        TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') and
                      ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAB';      ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAB'; 
                                                                                    
    OE     1.1.1484   update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"  update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"
                      set "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =            set "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =
                      TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') where      TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') where
                      "PRODUCT_ID" = '1801' and          "PRODUCT_ID" = '1801' and
                      "WARRANTY_PERIOD" =                "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = 
                      TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') and        TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') and
                      ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAC';      ROWID ='AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAC';
    
    OE     1.1.1484   commit;
                                
    HR     1.11.1476  set transaction read write;
    
    HR     1.11.1476  insert into "HR"."EMPLOYEES"(     delete from "HR"."EMPLOYEES" 
                      "EMPLOYEE_ID","FIRST_NAME",       where "EMPLOYEE_ID" = '306'
                      "LAST_NAME","EMAIL",              and "FIRST_NAME" = 'Nandini'
                      "PHONE_NUMBER","HIRE_DATE",       and "LAST_NAME" = 'Shastry'
                      "JOB_ID","SALARY",                and "EMAIL" = 'NSHASTRY'
                      "COMMISSION_PCT","MANAGER_ID",    and "PHONE_NUMBER" = '1234567890'
                      "DEPARTMENT_ID") values           and "HIRE_DATE" = TO_DATE('10-JAN-2012
                      ('306','Nandini','Shastry',       13:34:43', 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss') 
                      'NSHASTRY', '1234567890',         and "JOB_ID" = 'HR_REP' and 
                      TO_DATE('10-jan-2012 13:34:43',   "SALARY" = '120000' and 
                      'dd-mon-yyy hh24:mi:ss'),         "COMMISSION_PCT" = '.05' and
                      'HR_REP','120000', '.05',         "DEPARTMENT_ID" = '10' and
                      '105','10');                      ROWID = 'AAAHSkAABAAAY6rAAO';
    
    HR     1.11.1476  insert into "HR"."EMPLOYEES"(     delete from "HR"."EMPLOYEES"
                      "EMPLOYEE_ID","FIRST_NAME",       "EMPLOYEE_ID" = '307' and 
                      "LAST_NAME","EMAIL",              "FIRST_NAME" = 'John' and
                      "PHONE_NUMBER","HIRE_DATE",       "LAST_NAME" = 'Silver' and
                      "JOB_ID","SALARY",                "EMAIL" = 'JSILVER' and 
                      "COMMISSION_PCT","MANAGER_ID",    "PHONE_NUMBER" = '5551112222'
                      "DEPARTMENT_ID") values           and "HIRE_DATE" = TO_DATE('10-jan-2012
                      ('307','John','Silver',           13:41:03', 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss') 
                       'JSILVER', '5551112222',         and "JOB_ID" ='105' and "DEPARTMENT_ID" 
                      TO_DATE('10-jan-2012 13:41:03',   = '50' and ROWID = 'AAAHSkAABAAAY6rAAP'; 
                      'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
                      'SH_CLERK','110000', '.05',
                      '105','50');                
    
    HR     1.11.1476  commit;
    
  5. End the LogMiner session.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR();
24.14.1.3 Example 3: Formatting the Reconstructed SQL

To make visual inspection easy, you can run LogMiner with the PRINT_PRETTY_SQL option.

As shown in Example 2, using the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY option with the dictionary in the online redo log file is an easy way to focus on committed transactions. However, one aspect remains that makes visual inspection difficult: the association between the column names and their respective values in an INSERT statement are not apparent. This can be addressed by specifying the PRINT_PRETTY_SQL option. Note that specifying this option will make some of the reconstructed SQL statements nonexecutable.

  1. Determine which redo log file was most recently archived.

    SELECT NAME FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
       WHERE FIRST_TIME = (SELECT MAX(FIRST_TIME) FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG);
    
    NAME                            
    -------------------------------------------
    /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_16_482701534.dbf
  2. Specify the redo log file that was returned by the query in Step 1.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE( -
       LOGFILENAME => '/usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_16_482701534.dbf', -
       OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.NEW);
  3. Start LogMiner by specifying the dictionary to use and the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY and PRINT_PRETTY_SQL options.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR(-
       OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.DICT_FROM_ONLINE_CATALOG + -
                  DBMS_LOGMNR.COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY + -
                  DBMS_LOGMNR.PRINT_PRETTY_SQL);
    

    The DBMS_LOGMNR.PRINT_PRETTY_SQL option changes only the format of the reconstructed SQL, and therefore is useful for generating reports for visual inspection.

  4. Query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view for SQL_REDO statements.

    SELECT username AS USR, (XIDUSN || '.' || XIDSLT || '.' ||  XIDSQN) AS XID, SQL_REDO 
       FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS;
    
    USR    XID          SQL_REDO                     
    ----   ---------  -----------------------------------------------------
    
    OE     1.1.1484   set transaction read write;
    
    OE     1.1.1484   update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"  
                        set 
                          "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') 
                        where
                          "PRODUCT_ID" = '1799' and          
                          "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') and        
                          ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAB';  
                                                                                    
    OE     1.1.1484   update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"
                        set 
                          "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') 
                        where
                          "PRODUCT_ID" = '1801' and
                          "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') and   
                          ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAC'; 
    
    OE     1.1.1484   commit;
                                
    HR     1.11.1476  set transaction read write;
    
    HR     1.11.1476  insert into "HR"."EMPLOYEES"
                       values
                         "EMPLOYEE_ID" = 306,
                         "FIRST_NAME" = 'Nandini',
                         "LAST_NAME" = 'Shastry',
                         "EMAIL" = 'NSHASTRY',
                         "PHONE_NUMBER" = '1234567890',
                         "HIRE_DATE" = TO_DATE('10-jan-2012 13:34:43', 
                         'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss',
                         "JOB_ID" = 'HR_REP',
                         "SALARY" = 120000,
                         "COMMISSION_PCT" = .05,
                         "MANAGER_ID" = 105,
                         "DEPARTMENT_ID" = 10;
    
    HR     1.11.1476   insert into "HR"."EMPLOYEES"
                        values
                           "EMPLOYEE_ID" = 307,
                           "FIRST_NAME" = 'John',
                           "LAST_NAME" = 'Silver',
                           "EMAIL" = 'JSILVER',
                           "PHONE_NUMBER" = '5551112222',
                           "HIRE_DATE" = TO_DATE('10-jan-2012 13:41:03',
                           'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
                           "JOB_ID" = 'SH_CLERK',
                           "SALARY" = 110000,
                           "COMMISSION_PCT" = .05,
                           "MANAGER_ID" = 105,
                           "DEPARTMENT_ID" = 50;
    HR     1.11.1476    commit;
    
  5. Query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view for reconstructed SQL_UNDO statements.

    SELECT username AS USR, (XIDUSN || '.' || XIDSLT || '.' ||  XIDSQN) AS XID, SQL_UNDO 
       FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS;
    
    USR   XID        SQL_UNDO                     
    ----   ---------  -----------------------------------------------------
    
         
    OE     1.1.1484   set transaction read write;
    
    OE     1.1.1484   update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"  
                        set 
                          "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') 
                        where
                          "PRODUCT_ID" = '1799' and          
                          "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') and        
                          ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAB';  
                                                                                    
    OE     1.1.1484   update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"
                        set 
                          "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+01-00') 
                        where
                          "PRODUCT_ID" = '1801' and
                          "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') and   
                          ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9mAAC'; 
    
    OE     1.1.1484   commit;
                                
    HR     1.11.1476  set transaction read write;
    
    HR     1.11.1476  delete from "HR"."EMPLOYEES"
                      where
                         "EMPLOYEE_ID" = 306 and
                         "FIRST_NAME" = 'Nandini' and
                         "LAST_NAME" = 'Shastry' and
                         "EMAIL" = 'NSHASTRY' and
                         "PHONE_NUMBER" = '1234567890' and
                         "HIRE_DATE" = TO_DATE('10-jan-2012 13:34:43',
                         'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss') and
                         "JOB_ID" = 'HR_REP' and 
                         "SALARY" = 120000 and
                         "COMMISSION_PCT" = .05 and
                         "MANAGER_ID" = 105 and
                         "DEPARTMENT_ID" = 10 and
                         ROWID = 'AAAHSkAABAAAY6rAAO';
    
    HR     1.11.1476   delete from "HR"."EMPLOYEES"
                       where
                           "EMPLOYEE_ID" = 307 and
                           "FIRST_NAME" = 'John' and
                           "LAST_NAME" = 'Silver' and
                           "EMAIL" = 'JSILVER' and
                           "PHONE_NUMBER" = '555122122' and
                           "HIRE_DATE" = TO_DATE('10-jan-2012 13:41:03',
                           'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss') and
                           "JOB_ID" = 'SH_CLERK' and
                           "SALARY" = 110000 and
                           "COMMISSION_PCT" = .05 and
                           "MANAGER_ID" = 105 and
                           "DEPARTMENT_ID" = 50 and
                           ROWID = 'AAAHSkAABAAAY6rAAP'; 
    HR     1.11.1476    commit;
  6. End the LogMiner session.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR();
24.14.1.4 Example 4: Using the LogMiner Dictionary in the Redo Log Files

Learn how to use the dictionary that has been extracted to the redo log files.

When you use the dictionary in the online catalog, you must mine the redo log files in the same database that generated them. Using the dictionary contained in the redo log files enables you to mine redo log files in a different database.

When you use the dictionary in the online catalog, you must mine the redo log files in the same database that generated them. Using the dictionary contained in the redo log files enables you to mine redo log files in a different database.

  1. Determine which redo log file was most recently archived by the database.

    SELECT NAME, SEQUENCE# FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
       WHERE FIRST_TIME = (SELECT MAX(FIRST_TIME) FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG);
    
    NAME                                           SEQUENCE#
    --------------------------------------------   --------------
    /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_210_482701534.dbf   210
  2. The dictionary may be contained in more than one redo log file. Therefore, you need to determine which redo log files contain the start and end of the dictionary. Query the V$ARCHIVED_LOG view, as follows:

    1. Find a redo log file that contains the end of the dictionary extract. This redo log file must have been created before the redo log file that you want to analyze, but should be as recent as possible.

      SELECT NAME, SEQUENCE#, DICTIONARY_BEGIN d_beg, DICTIONARY_END d_end
         FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
         WHERE SEQUENCE# = (SELECT MAX (SEQUENCE#) FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
         WHERE DICTIONARY_END = 'YES' and SEQUENCE# <= 210);
      
      NAME                                           SEQUENCE#    D_BEG  D_END
      --------------------------------------------   ----------   -----  ------
      /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_208_482701534.dbf   208          NO     YES
      
    2. Find the redo log file that contains the start of the data dictionary extract that matches the end of the dictionary found in the previous step:

      SELECT NAME, SEQUENCE#, DICTIONARY_BEGIN d_beg, DICTIONARY_END d_end
         FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
         WHERE SEQUENCE# = (SELECT MAX (SEQUENCE#) FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
         WHERE DICTIONARY_BEGIN = 'YES' and SEQUENCE# <= 208);
      
      NAME                                           SEQUENCE#    D_BEG  D_END
      --------------------------------------------   ----------   -----  ------
      /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_207_482701534.dbf   207          YES     NO
      
    3. Specify the list of the redo log files of interest. Add the redo log files that contain the start and end of the dictionary and the redo log file that you want to analyze. You can add the redo log files in any order.

      EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE(-
         LOGFILENAME => '/usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_210_482701534.dbf', -
             OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.NEW);
      EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE(-
         LOGFILENAME => '/usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_208_482701534.dbf');
      EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE(-
         LOGFILENAME => '/usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_207_482701534.dbf');
      
    4. Query the V$LOGMNR_LOGS view to display the list of redo log files to be analyzed, including their timestamps.

      In the output, LogMiner flags a missing redo log file. LogMiner lets you proceed with mining, provided that you do not specify an option that requires the missing redo log file for proper functioning.

  3. Start LogMiner by specifying the dictionary to use and the COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY and PRINT_PRETTY_SQL options.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR(-
       OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.DICT_FROM_REDO_LOGS + -
                  DBMS_LOGMNR.COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY + -
                  DBMS_LOGMNR.PRINT_PRETTY_SQL);
  4. Query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

    To reduce the number of rows returned by the query, exclude from the query all DML statements done in the SYS or SYSTEM schemas. (This query specifies a timestamp to exclude transactions that were involved in the dictionary extraction.)

    The output shows three transactions: two DDL transactions and one DML transaction. The DDL transactions, 1.2.1594 and 1.18.1602, create the table oe.product_tracking and create a trigger on table oe.product_information, respectively. In both transactions, the DML statements done to the system tables (tables owned by SYS) are filtered out because of the query predicate.

    The DML transaction, 1.9.1598, updates the oe.product_information table. The update operation in this transaction is fully translated. However, the query output also contains some untranslated reconstructed SQL statements. Most likely, these statements were done on the oe.product_tracking table that was created after the data dictionary was extracted to the redo log files.

    (The next example shows how to run LogMiner with the DDL_DICT_TRACKING option so that all SQL statements are fully translated; no binary data is returned.)

    SELECT USERNAME AS usr, SQL_REDO FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS 
       WHERE SEG_OWNER IS NULL OR SEG_OWNER NOT IN ('SYS', 'SYSTEM') AND
       TIMESTAMP > '10-jan-2012 15:59:53';
    
    USR             XID         SQL_REDO
    ---             --------    -----------------------------------
    SYS             1.2.1594    set transaction read write;
    SYS             1.2.1594    create table oe.product_tracking (product_id number not null,
                                modified_time date,
                                old_list_price number(8,2),
                                old_warranty_period interval year(2) to month);
    SYS             1.2.1594    commit;
    
    SYS             1.18.1602   set transaction read write;
    SYS             1.18.1602   create or replace trigger oe.product_tracking_trigger
                                before update on oe.product_information
                                for each row
                                when (new.list_price <> old.list_price or
                                      new.warranty_period <> old.warranty_period)
                                declare
                                begin
                                insert into oe.product_tracking values 
                                   (:old.product_id, sysdate,
                                    :old.list_price, :old.warranty_period);
                                end;
    SYS             1.18.1602   commit;
    
    OE              1.9.1598    update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"
                                  set
                                    "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+08-00'),
                                    "LIST_PRICE" = 100
                                  where
                                    "PRODUCT_ID" = 1729 and
                                    "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') and
                                    "LIST_PRICE" = 80 and
                                    ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9yAAA';
    
    OE              1.9.1598    insert into "UNKNOWN"."OBJ# 33415"
                                  values
                                    "COL 1" = HEXTORAW('c2121e'),
                                    "COL 2" = HEXTORAW('7867010d110804'),
                                    "COL 3" = HEXTORAW('c151'),
                                    "COL 4" = HEXTORAW('800000053c');
    
    OE              1.9.1598    update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"
                                  set
                                    "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+08-00'),
                                    "LIST_PRICE" = 92
                                  where
                                    "PRODUCT_ID" = 2340 and
                                    "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') and
                                    "LIST_PRICE" = 72 and
                                    ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9zAAA';
    
    OE              1.9.1598    insert into "UNKNOWN"."OBJ# 33415"
                                  values
                                    "COL 1" = HEXTORAW('c21829'),
                                    "COL 2" = HEXTORAW('7867010d110808'),
                                    "COL 3" = HEXTORAW('c149'),
                                    "COL 4" = HEXTORAW('800000053c');
    
    OE              1.9.1598     commit;
  5. Issue additional queries, if desired.

    Display all the DML statements that were executed as part of the CREATE TABLE DDL statement. This includes statements executed by users and internally by Oracle.

    Note:

    If you choose to reapply statements displayed by a query such as the one shown here, then reapply DDL statements only. Do not reapply DML statements that were executed internally by Oracle, or you risk corrupting your database. In the following output, the only statement that you should use in a reapply operation is the CREATE TABLE OE.PRODUCT_TRACKING statement.

    SELECT SQL_REDO FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS
       WHERE XIDUSN  = 1 and XIDSLT = 2 and XIDSQN = 1594;
    
    SQL_REDO
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    set transaction read write;
    
    insert into "SYS"."OBJ$"
     values
        "OBJ#" = 33415,
        "DATAOBJ#" = 33415,
        "OWNER#" = 37,
        "NAME" = 'PRODUCT_TRACKING',
        "NAMESPACE" = 1,
        "SUBNAME" IS NULL,
        "TYPE#" = 2,
        "CTIME" = TO_DATE('13-jan-2012 14:01:03', 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
        "MTIME" = TO_DATE('13-jan-2012 14:01:03', 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
        "STIME" = TO_DATE('13-jan-2012 14:01:03', 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
        "STATUS" = 1,
        "REMOTEOWNER" IS NULL,
        "LINKNAME" IS NULL,
        "FLAGS" = 0,
        "OID$" IS NULL,
        "SPARE1" = 6,
        "SPARE2" = 1,
        "SPARE3" IS NULL,
        "SPARE4" IS NULL,
        "SPARE5" IS NULL,
        "SPARE6" IS NULL;
    
    insert into "SYS"."TAB$"
     values
        "OBJ#" = 33415,
        "DATAOBJ#" = 33415,
        "TS#" = 0,
        "FILE#" = 1,
        "BLOCK#" = 121034,
        "BOBJ#" IS NULL,
        "TAB#" IS NULL,
        "COLS" = 5,
        "CLUCOLS" IS NULL,
        "PCTFREE$" = 10,
        "PCTUSED$" = 40,
        "INITRANS" = 1,
        "MAXTRANS" = 255,
        "FLAGS" = 1,
        "AUDIT$" = '--------------------------------------',
        "ROWCNT" IS NULL,
        "BLKCNT" IS NULL,
        "EMPCNT" IS NULL,
        "AVGSPC" IS NULL,
        "CHNCNT" IS NULL,
        "AVGRLN" IS NULL,
        "AVGSPC_FLB" IS NULL,
        "FLBCNT" IS NULL,
        "ANALYZETIME" IS NULL,
        "SAMPLESIZE" IS NULL,
        "DEGREE" IS NULL,
        "INSTANCES" IS NULL,
        "INTCOLS" = 5,
        "KERNELCOLS" = 5,
        "PROPERTY" = 536870912,
        "TRIGFLAG" = 0,
        "SPARE1" = 178,
        "SPARE2" IS NULL,
        "SPARE3" IS NULL,
        "SPARE4" IS NULL,
        "SPARE5" IS NULL,
        "SPARE6" = TO_DATE('13-jan-2012 14:01:05', 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
    
    insert into "SYS"."COL$"
     values
        "OBJ#" = 33415,
        "COL#" = 1,
        "SEGCOL#" = 1,
        "SEGCOLLENGTH" = 22,
        "OFFSET" = 0,
        "NAME" = 'PRODUCT_ID',
        "TYPE#" = 2,
        "LENGTH" = 22,
        "FIXEDSTORAGE" = 0,
        "PRECISION#" IS NULL,
        "SCALE" IS NULL,
        "NULL$" = 1,
        "DEFLENGTH" IS NULL,
        "SPARE6" IS NULL,
        "INTCOL#" = 1,
        "PROPERTY" = 0,
        "CHARSETID" = 0,
        "CHARSETFORM" = 0,
        "SPARE1" = 0,
        "SPARE2" = 0,
        "SPARE3" = 0,
        "SPARE4" IS NULL,
        "SPARE5" IS NULL,
        "DEFAULT$" IS NULL;
    
    insert into "SYS"."COL$"
     values
        "OBJ#" = 33415,
        "COL#" = 2,
        "SEGCOL#" = 2,
        "SEGCOLLENGTH" = 7,
        "OFFSET" = 0,
        "NAME" = 'MODIFIED_TIME',
        "TYPE#" = 12,
        "LENGTH" = 7,
        "FIXEDSTORAGE" = 0,
        "PRECISION#" IS NULL,
        "SCALE" IS NULL,
        "NULL$" = 0,
        "DEFLENGTH" IS NULL,
        "SPARE6" IS NULL,
        "INTCOL#" = 2,
        "PROPERTY" = 0,
        "CHARSETID" = 0,
        "CHARSETFORM" = 0,
        "SPARE1" = 0,
        "SPARE2" = 0,
        "SPARE3" = 0,
        "SPARE4" IS NULL,
        "SPARE5" IS NULL,
        "DEFAULT$" IS NULL;
    
    insert into "SYS"."COL$"
     values
        "OBJ#" = 33415,
        "COL#" = 3,
        "SEGCOL#" = 3,
        "SEGCOLLENGTH" = 22,
        "OFFSET" = 0,
        "NAME" = 'OLD_LIST_PRICE',
        "TYPE#" = 2,
        "LENGTH" = 22,
        "FIXEDSTORAGE" = 0,
        "PRECISION#" = 8,
        "SCALE" = 2,
        "NULL$" = 0,
        "DEFLENGTH" IS NULL,
        "SPARE6" IS NULL,
        "INTCOL#" = 3,
        "PROPERTY" = 0,
        "CHARSETID" = 0,
        "CHARSETFORM" = 0,
        "SPARE1" = 0,
        "SPARE2" = 0,
        "SPARE3" = 0,
        "SPARE4" IS NULL,
        "SPARE5" IS NULL,
        "DEFAULT$" IS NULL;
    
    insert into "SYS"."COL$"
     values
        "OBJ#" = 33415,
        "COL#" = 4,
        "SEGCOL#" = 4,
        "SEGCOLLENGTH" = 5,
        "OFFSET" = 0,
        "NAME" = 'OLD_WARRANTY_PERIOD',
        "TYPE#" = 182,
        "LENGTH" = 5,
        "FIXEDSTORAGE" = 0,
        "PRECISION#" = 2,
        "SCALE" = 0,
        "NULL$" = 0,
        "DEFLENGTH" IS NULL,
        "SPARE6" IS NULL,
        "INTCOL#" = 4,
        "PROPERTY" = 0,
        "CHARSETID" = 0,
        "CHARSETFORM" = 0,
        "SPARE1" = 0,
        "SPARE2" = 2,
        "SPARE3" = 0,
        "SPARE4" IS NULL,
        "SPARE5" IS NULL,
        "DEFAULT$" IS NULL;
    
    insert into "SYS"."CCOL$"
     values
        "OBJ#" = 33415,
        "CON#" = 2090,
        "COL#" = 1,
        "POS#" IS NULL,
        "INTCOL#" = 1,
        "SPARE1" = 0,
        "SPARE2" IS NULL,
        "SPARE3" IS NULL,
        "SPARE4" IS NULL,
        "SPARE5" IS NULL,
        "SPARE6" IS NULL;
    
    insert into "SYS"."CDEF$"
     values
        "OBJ#" = 33415,
        "CON#" = 2090,
        "COLS" = 1,
        "TYPE#" = 7,
        "ROBJ#" IS NULL,
        "RCON#" IS NULL,
        "RRULES" IS NULL,
        "MATCH#" IS NULL,
        "REFACT" IS NULL,
        "ENABLED" = 1,
        "CONDLENGTH" = 24,
        "SPARE6" IS NULL,
        "INTCOLS" = 1,
        "MTIME" = TO_DATE('13-jan-2012 14:01:08', 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
        "DEFER" = 12,
        "SPARE1" = 6,
        "SPARE2" IS NULL,
        "SPARE3" IS NULL,
        "SPARE4" IS NULL,
        "SPARE5" IS NULL,
        "CONDITION" = '"PRODUCT_ID" IS NOT NULL';
    
    create table oe.product_tracking (product_id number not null,
      modified_time date,
      old_product_description varchar2(2000),
      old_list_price number(8,2),
      old_warranty_period interval year(2) to month);
    
    update "SYS"."SEG$"
      set
        "TYPE#" = 5,
        "BLOCKS" = 5,
        "EXTENTS" = 1,
        "INIEXTS" = 5,
        "MINEXTS" = 1,
        "MAXEXTS" = 121,
        "EXTSIZE" = 5,
        "EXTPCT" = 50,
        "USER#" = 37,
        "LISTS" = 0,
        "GROUPS" = 0,
        "CACHEHINT" = 0,
        "HWMINCR" = 33415,
        "SPARE1" = 1024
      where
        "TS#" = 0 and
        "FILE#" = 1 and
        "BLOCK#" = 121034 and
        "TYPE#" = 3 and
        "BLOCKS" = 5 and
        "EXTENTS" = 1 and
        "INIEXTS" = 5 and
        "MINEXTS" = 1 and
        "MAXEXTS" = 121 and
        "EXTSIZE" = 5 and
        "EXTPCT" = 50 and
        "USER#" = 37 and
        "LISTS" = 0 and
        "GROUPS" = 0 and
        "BITMAPRANGES" = 0 and
        "CACHEHINT" = 0 and
        "SCANHINT" = 0 and
        "HWMINCR" = 33415 and
        "SPARE1" = 1024 and
        "SPARE2" IS NULL and
        ROWID = 'AAAAAIAABAAAdMOAAB';
    
    insert into "SYS"."CON$"
     values
        "OWNER#" = 37,
        "NAME" = 'SYS_C002090',
        "CON#" = 2090,
        "SPARE1" IS NULL,
        "SPARE2" IS NULL,
        "SPARE3" IS NULL,
        "SPARE4" IS NULL,
        "SPARE5" IS NULL,
        "SPARE6" IS NULL;
    
    commit;
  6. End the LogMiner session.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR();
24.14.1.5 Example 5: Tracking DDL Statements in the Internal Dictionary

Learn how to use the DBMS_LOGMNR.DDL_DICT_TRACKING option to update the LogMiner internal dictionary with the DDL statements encountered in the redo log files.

  1. Determine which redo log file was most recently archived by the database.

    SELECT NAME, SEQUENCE# FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG 
       WHERE FIRST_TIME = (SELECT MAX(FIRST_TIME) FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG);
    
    NAME                                           SEQUENCE#
    --------------------------------------------   --------------
    /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_210_482701534.dbf   210
  2. Because the dictionary can be contained in more than one redo log file, determine which redo log files contain the start and end of the data dictionary. To do this, query the V$ARCHIVED_LOG view, as follows:

    1. Find a redo log that contains the end of the data dictionary extract. This redo log file must have been created before the redo log files that you want to analyze, but should be as recent as possible.

      SELECT NAME, SEQUENCE#, DICTIONARY_BEGIN d_beg, DICTIONARY_END d_end
         FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
         WHERE SEQUENCE# = (SELECT MAX (SEQUENCE#) FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
         WHERE DICTIONARY_END = 'YES' and SEQUENCE# < 210);
      
      
      NAME                                           SEQUENCE#    D_BEG  D_END
      --------------------------------------------   ----------   -----  ------
      /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_208_482701534.dbf   208          NO     YES
      
    2. Find the redo log file that contains the start of the data dictionary extract that matches the end of the dictionary found by the previous SQL statement:

      SELECT NAME, SEQUENCE#, DICTIONARY_BEGIN d_beg, DICTIONARY_END d_end
         FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
         WHERE SEQUENCE# = (SELECT MAX (SEQUENCE#) FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
         WHERE DICTIONARY_BEGIN = 'YES' and SEQUENCE# <= 208);
      
      NAME                                           SEQUENCE#    D_BEG  D_END
      --------------------------------------------   ----------   -----  ------
      /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_208_482701534.dbf   207          YES     NO
      
  3. Ensure that you have a complete list of redo log files.

    To successfully apply DDL statements encountered in the redo log files, ensure that all files are included in the list of redo log files to mine. The missing log file corresponding to sequence# 209 must be included in the list. Determine the names of the redo log files that you need to add to the list by issuing the following query:

    SELECT NAME FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
       WHERE SEQUENCE# >= 207 AND SEQUENCE# <= 210 
       ORDER BY SEQUENCE# ASC;
    
    NAME                                           
    --------------------------------------------   
    /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_207_482701534.dbf  
    /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_208_482701534.dbf  
    /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_209_482701534.dbf  
    /usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_210_482701534.dbf  
  4. Specify the list of the redo log files of interest.

    Include the redo log files that contain the beginning and end of the dictionary, the redo log file that you want to mine, and any redo log files required to create a list without gaps. You can add the redo log files in any order.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE(-
       LOGFILENAME => '/usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_210_482701534.dbf', -
           OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.NEW);
    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE(-
       LOGFILENAME => '/usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_209_482701534.dbf');
    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE(-
       LOGFILENAME => '/usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_208_482701534.dbf');
    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE(-
       LOGFILENAME => '/usr/oracle/data/db1arch_1_207_482701534.dbf');
  5. Start LogMiner by specifying the dictionary to use and the DDL_DICT_TRACKING, COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY, and PRINT_PRETTY_SQL options.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR(-
       OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.DICT_FROM_REDO_LOGS + -
                  DBMS_LOGMNR.DDL_DICT_TRACKING + -
                  DBMS_LOGMNR.COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY + -
                  DBMS_LOGMNR.PRINT_PRETTY_SQL);
  6. Query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

    To reduce the number of rows returned, exclude from the query all DML statements done in the SYS or SYSTEM schemas. (This query specifies a timestamp to exclude transactions that were involved in the dictionary extraction.)

    The query returns all the reconstructed SQL statements correctly translated and the insert operations on the oe.product_tracking table that occurred because of the trigger execution.

    SELECT USERNAME AS usr,(XIDUSN || '.' || XIDSLT || '.' || XIDSQN) as XID, SQL_REDO FROM  
       V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS 
       WHERE SEG_OWNER IS NULL OR SEG_OWNER NOT IN ('SYS', 'SYSTEM') AND
       TIMESTAMP > '10-jan-2012 15:59:53';
    
    USR             XID         SQL_REDO
    -----------     --------    -----------------------------------
    SYS             1.2.1594    set transaction read write;
    SYS             1.2.1594    create table oe.product_tracking (product_id number not null,
                                modified_time date,
                                old_list_price number(8,2),
                                old_warranty_period interval year(2) to month);
    SYS             1.2.1594    commit;
    
    SYS             1.18.1602   set transaction read write;
    SYS             1.18.1602   create or replace trigger oe.product_tracking_trigger
                                before update on oe.product_information
                                for each row
                                when (new.list_price <> old.list_price or
                                      new.warranty_period <> old.warranty_period)
                                declare
                                begin
                                insert into oe.product_tracking values 
                                   (:old.product_id, sysdate,
                                    :old.list_price, :old.warranty_period);
                                end;
    SYS             1.18.1602   commit;
    
    OE              1.9.1598    update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"
                                  set
                                    "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+08-00'),
                                    "LIST_PRICE" = 100
                                  where
                                    "PRODUCT_ID" = 1729 and
                                    "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') and
                                    "LIST_PRICE" = 80 and
                                    ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9yAAA';
    OE              1.9.1598    insert into "OE"."PRODUCT_TRACKING"
                                  values
                                    "PRODUCT_ID" = 1729,
                                    "MODIFIED_TIME" = TO_DATE('13-jan-2012 16:07:03', 
                                    'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
                                    "OLD_LIST_PRICE" = 80,
                                    "OLD_WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00');
    
    OE              1.9.1598    update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"
                                  set
                                    "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+08-00'),
                                    "LIST_PRICE" = 92
                                  where
                                    "PRODUCT_ID" = 2340 and
                                    "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00') and
                                    "LIST_PRICE" = 72 and
                                    ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9zAAA';
    
    OE              1.9.1598    insert into "OE"."PRODUCT_TRACKING"
                                  values
                                    "PRODUCT_ID" = 2340,
                                    "MODIFIED_TIME" = TO_DATE('13-jan-2012 16:07:07', 
                                    'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
                                    "OLD_LIST_PRICE" = 72,
                                    "OLD_WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00');
    
    OE              1.9.1598     commit;
  7. End the LogMiner session.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR();
24.14.1.6 Example 6: Filtering Output by Time Range

To filter a set of redo logs by time, learn about the different ways you can return log files by specifying a time range.

In Example 4 and Example 5, you saw how to filter rows by specifying a timestamp-based predicate (timestamp > '10-jan-2012 15:59:53') in the query. However, a more efficient way to filter out redo records based on timestamp values is by specifying the time range in the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure call, as shown in this example.

  1. Create a list of redo log files to mine.

    Suppose you want to mine redo log files generated since a given time. The following procedure creates a list of redo log files based on a specified time. The subsequent SQL EXECUTE statement calls the procedure and specifies the starting time as 2 P.M. on Jan-13-2012.

    --
    -- my_add_logfiles
    -- Add all archived logs generated after a specified start_time.
    --
    CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE my_add_logfiles (in_start_time  IN DATE) AS
      CURSOR  c_log IS 
        SELECT NAME FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG 
          WHERE FIRST_TIME >= in_start_time;
    
    count      pls_integer := 0;
    my_option  pls_integer := DBMS_LOGMNR.NEW;
    
    BEGIN
      FOR c_log_rec IN c_log
      LOOP
        DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE(LOGFILENAME => c_log_rec.name, 
                                OPTIONS => my_option);
        my_option := DBMS_LOGMNR.ADDFILE;
        DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Added logfile ' || c_log_rec.name);
      END LOOP;
    END;
    /
    
    EXECUTE my_add_logfiles(in_start_time => '13-jan-2012 14:00:00');
  2. To see the list of redo log files, query the V$LOGMNR_LOGS view.

    This example includes the size of the redo log files in the output.

    SELECT FILENAME name, LOW_TIME start_time, FILESIZE bytes 
        FROM V$LOGMNR_LOGS;
    
    NAME                                START_TIME            BYTES
    ----------------------------------- --------------------  ----------------
    /usr/orcl/arch1_310_482932022.dbf    13-jan-2012 14:02:35  23683584
    /usr/orcl/arch1_311_482932022.dbf    13-jan-2012 14:56:35  2564096
    /usr/orcl/arch1_312_482932022.dbf    13-jan-2012 15:10:43  23683584
    /usr/orcl/arch1_313_482932022.dbf    13-jan-2012 15:17:52  23683584
    /usr/orcl/arch1_314_482932022.dbf    13-jan-2012 15:23:10  23683584
    /usr/orcl/arch1_315_482932022.dbf    13-jan-2012 15:43:22  23683584
    /usr/orcl/arch1_316_482932022.dbf    13-jan-2012 16:03:10  23683584
    /usr/orcl/arch1_317_482932022.dbf    13-jan-2012 16:33:43  23683584
    /usr/orcl/arch1_318_482932022.dbf    13-jan-2012 17:23:10  23683584
  3. Adjust the list of redo log files.

    Suppose you realize that you want to mine just the redo log files generated between 3 P.M. and 4 P.M.

    You can use the query predicate (timestamp > '13-jan-2012 15:00:00' and timestamp < '13-jan-2012 16:00:00') to accomplish this goal. However, the query predicate is evaluated on each row returned by LogMiner, and the internal mining engine does not filter rows based on the query predicate. Thus, although you only wanted to get rows out of redo log files arch1_311_482932022.dbf to arch1_315_482932022.dbf, your query would result in mining all redo log files registered to the LogMiner session.

    Furthermore, although you could use the query predicate and manually remove the redo log files that do not fall inside the time range of interest, the simplest solution is to specify the time range of interest in the DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR procedure call.

    Although this does not change the list of redo log files, LogMiner will mine only those redo log files that fall in the time range specified.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR(-
       STARTTIME => '13-jan-2012 15:00:00', -
       ENDTIME   => '13-jan-2012 16:00:00', -
       OPTIONS   => DBMS_LOGMNR.DICT_FROM_ONLINE_CATALOG + -
                    DBMS_LOGMNR.COMMITTED_DATA_ONLY + -
                    DBMS_LOGMNR.PRINT_PRETTY_SQL);
  4. Query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

    SELECT TIMESTAMP, (XIDUSN || '.' || XIDSLT || '.' || XIDSQN) AS XID,
     SQL_REDO FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS WHERE SEG_OWNER = 'OE';
    
    TIMESTAMP              XID          SQL_REDO
    ---------------------  -----------  --------------------------------
    13-jan-2012 15:29:31   1.17.2376    update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"
                                          set
                                            "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00')
                                          where
                                            "PRODUCT_ID" = 3399 and
                                            "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+02-00') and
                                            ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9TAAE';
    13-jan-2012 15:29:34   1.17.2376      insert into "OE"."PRODUCT_TRACKING"
                                            values
                                            "PRODUCT_ID" = 3399,
                                            "MODIFIED_TIME" = TO_DATE('13-jan-2012 15:29:34', 
                                            'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
                                            "OLD_LIST_PRICE" = 815,
                                            "OLD_WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+02-00');
    
    13-jan-2012 15:52:43   1.15.1756      update "OE"."PRODUCT_INFORMATION"
                                            set
                                              "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+05-00')
                                            where
                                              "PRODUCT_ID" = 1768 and
                                              "WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+02-00') and
                                              ROWID = 'AAAHTKAABAAAY9UAAB';
    
    13-jan-2012 15:52:43   1.15.1756      insert into "OE"."PRODUCT_TRACKING"
                                            values
                                            "PRODUCT_ID" = 1768,
                                            "MODIFIED_TIME" = TO_DATE('13-jan-2012 16:52:43', 
                                            'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi:ss'),
                                            "OLD_LIST_PRICE" = 715,
                                            "OLD_WARRANTY_PERIOD" = TO_YMINTERVAL('+02-00');
    
  5. End the LogMiner session.

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR();

24.14.2 LogMiner Use Case Scenarios

See typical examples of how you can perform data mining tasks with LogMiner.

24.14.2.1 Using LogMiner to Track Changes Made by a Specific User

Learn how to use LogMiner to identify all changes made to the database in a specific time range by a single user.

Suppose you want to determine all the changes that the user joedevo has made to the database in a specific time range. To perform this task, you can use LogMiner:

  1. Connect to the database.
  2. Create the LogMiner dictionary file.

    To use LogMiner to analyze joedevo's data, you must either create a LogMiner dictionary file before any table definition changes are made to tables that joedevo uses, or use the online catalog at LogMiner startup. This example uses a LogMiner dictionary that has been extracted to the redo log files.

  3. Add redo log files.

    Assume that joedevo has made some changes to the database. You can now specify the names of the redo log files that you want to analyze, as follows:

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE( -
       LOGFILENAME => 'log1orc1.ora', -
       OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.NEW);
    

    If desired, add additional redo log files, as follows:

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.ADD_LOGFILE( -
       LOGFILENAME => 'log2orc1.ora', -
       OPTIONS => DBMS_LOGMNR.ADDFILE);
    
  4. Start LogMiner and limit the search to the specified time range:

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR( -
       DICTFILENAME => 'orcldict.ora', -
       STARTTIME => TO_DATE('01-Jan-1998 08:30:00','DD-MON-YYYY HH:MI:SS'), -
       ENDTIME => TO_DATE('01-Jan-1998 08:45:00', 'DD-MON-YYYY HH:MI:SS'));
    
  5. Query the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view.

    At this point, the V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS view is available for queries. You decide to find all of the changes made by user joedevo to the salary table. Execute the following SELECT statement:

    SELECT SQL_REDO, SQL_UNDO FROM V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS 
       WHERE USERNAME = 'joedevo' AND SEG_NAME = 'salary';
    

    For both the SQL_REDO and SQL_UNDO columns, two rows are returned (the format of the data display will be different on your screen). You discover that user joedevo requested two operations: the user deleted their old salary and then inserted a new, higher salary. You now have the data necessary to undo this operation.

    SQL_REDO                              SQL_UNDO
    --------                              --------
    delete from SALARY                    insert into SALARY(NAME, EMPNO, SAL)
    where EMPNO = 12345                    values ('JOEDEVO', 12345, 500)
    and NAME='JOEDEVO'
    and SAL=500;
    
    insert into SALARY(NAME, EMPNO, SAL)  delete from SALARY
    values('JOEDEVO',12345, 2500)         where EMPNO = 12345
                                          and NAME = 'JOEDEVO'
    2 rows selected                       and SAL = 2500;
    
  6. End the LogMiner session.

    Use the DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR procedure to finish the LogMiner session properly:

    DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR( );
24.14.2.2 Using LogMiner to Calculate Table Access Statistics

Learn how to use LogMiner to calculate table access statistics over a given time range.

In this example, assume you manage a direct marketing database, and you want to determine how productive the customer contacts have been in generating revenue for a 2-week period in January. In this case, we assume that you have already created the LogMiner dictionary, and added the redo log files that you want to search. To identify those contacts, search your logs by the time range in January, as follows:

  1. Start LogMiner and specify a range of times:

    EXECUTE DBMS_LOGMNR.START_LOGMNR( -
       STARTTIME => TO_DATE('07-Jan-2012 08:30:00','DD-MON-YYYY HH:MI:SS'), -
       ENDTIME => TO_DATE('21-Jan-2012 08:45:00','DD-MON-YYYY HH:MI:SS'), -
       DICTFILENAME => '/usr/local/dict.ora');
    
  2. Query the
    V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS
    view to determine which tables were modified in the time range you specified, as shown in the following example. (This query filters out system tables that traditionally have a
    $
    in their name.)
    SELECT SEG_OWNER, SEG_NAME, COUNT(*) AS Hits FROM
       V$LOGMNR_CONTENTS WHERE SEG_NAME NOT LIKE '%$' GROUP BY
       SEG_OWNER, SEG_NAME ORDER BY Hits DESC;
    
  3. The following data is displayed. (The format of your display can be different.)

    SEG_OWNER          SEG_NAME          Hits
    ---------          --------          ----
    CUST               ACCOUNT            384
    UNIV               EXECDONOR          325
    UNIV               DONOR              234
    UNIV               MEGADONOR           32
    HR                 EMPLOYEES           12
    SYS                DONOR               12
    
    The values in the
    Hits
    column show the number of times that the named table had an insert, delete, or update operation performed on it during the 2-week period specified in the query. In this example, the
    cust.account
    table was modified the most during the specified 2-week period, and the
    hr.employees
    and
    sys.donor
    tables were modified the least during the same time period.
  4. End the LogMiner session.

    Use the
    DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR
    procedure to finish the LogMiner session properly:
    DBMS_LOGMNR.END_LOGMNR( );

24.15 Supported Data Types, Storage Attributes, and Database and Redo Log File Versions

Describes information about data type and storage attribute support and the releases of the database and redo log files that are supported.

24.15.1 Supported Data Types and Table Storage Attributes

Describes supported data types and table storage attributes.

Database Compatibility and Data Type Release Changes

Be aware that some data types are supported only in certain releases.

In Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1) and later releases, the maximum size of the VARCHAR2, NVARCHAR2, and RAW data types was increased to 32 KB when the COMPATIBLE initialization parameter is set to 12.0 or higher, and the MAX_STRING_SIZE initialization parameter is set to EXTENDED.

For supplemental logging, LogMiner treats 32 KB columns as LOBs.

A 32 KB column cannot be part of an ALWAYS supplemental logging group.

Supported Data Types Using LogMiner

LogMiner supports the following data types:

  • BINARY_DOUBLE

  • BINARY_FLOAT

  • BLOB

  • CHAR

  • CLOB and NCLOB

  • DATE

  • INTERVAL YEAR TO MONTH

  • INTERVAL DAY TO SECOND

  • LOBs stored as SecureFiles (requires that the database be run at a compatibility of 11.2 or higher.

  • LONG

  • LONG RAW

  • NCHAR

  • NUMBER

  • NVARCHAR2

  • Objects stored as VARRAYs

  • Objects (Simple and Nested ADTs without Collections)

    Object support (including Oracle-supplied types such as SDO_GEOMETRY, ORDIMAGE, and so on) requires that the database be running Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1) or higher with a redo compatibility setting of 12.0.0.0 or higher. The contents of the SQL_REDO column for the XML data-related operations is never valid SQL or PL/SQL.

  • Oracle Text

  • RAW

  • TIMESTAMP

  • TIMESTAMP WITH TIMEZONE

  • TIMESTAMP WITH LOCAL TIMEZONE

  • VARCHAR and VARCHAR2

  • XDB

  • XMLType data for all storage models, assuming the following primary database compatibility requirements:

    • XMLType stored in CLOB format requires that you run Oracle Database with a compatibility setting of 11.0 or higher. Using XMLType stored as CLOB is deprecated as of Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1).

    • XMLType stored in object-relational format or as binary XML requires that you run Oracle Database with a compatibility setting of 11.2.0.3 or higher, and with a redo compatibility setting of 11.2.0.3 or higher. The contents of the SQL_REDO column for the XML data-related operations is never valid SQL or PL/SQL.

    • For any existing applications that you plan to use on Oracle Autonomous Database (ADB), be aware that many XML schema-related features are not supported. For example, XML storage associated with XML schemas are not available. Use Transportable Binary XML storage instead. Object-relational XML storage and Schema-based binary XML storage are also unavailable on ADB. Review Oracle XML DB Developer’s Guide for details about XMLType restrictions.

Supported Table Storage Types Using LogMiner

LogMiner supports the following table storage attributes:

  • Cluster tables (including index clusters and heap clusters).

  • Index-organized tables (IOTs) (partitioned and nonpartitioned, including overflow segments).

  • Heap-organized tables (partitioned and nonpartitioned).

  • Advanced row compression and basic table compression. Both of these options require a database compatibility setting of 11.1.0 or higher.

  • Tables containing LOB columns stored as SecureFiles, when Oracle Database compatibility is set to 11.2 or higher.

  • Tables using Hybrid Columnar Compression, when Oracle Database compatibility is set to 11.2.0.2 or higher.

24.15.2 Database Compatibility Requirements for LogMiner

LogMiner support for certain data types and table storage attributes depends on Oracle Database release compatibility requirements.

Data Types and Database Compatibility Requirements

  • Multibyte CLOB support requires the database to run at a compatibility of 10.1 or higher.

  • IOT support without LOBs and Overflows requires the database to run at a compatibility of 10.1 or higher.

  • IOT support with LOB and Overflow requires the database to run at a compatibility of 10.2 or higher.

  • TDE and TSE support require the database to run at a compatibility of 11.1 or higher.

  • Basic compression and advanced row compression require the database to run at a compatibility of 11.1 or higher.

  • Hybrid Columnar Compression support is dependent on the underlying storage system and requires the database to run at a compatibility of 11.2 or higher.

24.15.3 Unsupported Data Types and Table Storage Attributes

To avoid results where tables are left out of mining results, review the data types and table storage attributes that LogMiner does not support.

LogMiner does not support the following data types and table storage attributes. If a table contains columns having any of these unsupported data types, then the entire table is ignored by LogMiner.

  • BFILE
  • Nested tables
  • Objects with nested tables
  • Tables with identity columns
  • Temporal validity columns
  • PKREF columns
  • PKOID columns
  • Nested table attributes and stand-alone nested table columns

24.15.4 Supported Databases and Redo Log File Versions

The Oracle Database release that created a redo log file can affect the operations you are able to perform on it.

LogMiner runs only on Oracle Database 8 release 8.1 or later. You can use LogMiner to analyze redo log files as early as Oracle Database 8. However, the information that LogMiner is able to retrieve from a redo log file created with an earlier Oracle Database release depends on the release version of the log, not the release of the Oracle Database using the log. For example, you can augment redo log files for Oracle9i to capture additional information by enabling supplemental logging. Augmenting redo log files allows LogMiner functionality to be used to its fullest advantage. Redo log files created with older releases of Oracle Database can be missing information that was only enabled with later Oracle Database release redo log files. This missing information can place limitations on the operations and data types that LogMiner is able to support with an earlier Oracle Database redo log file.

24.15.5 SecureFiles LOB Considerations

SecureFiles LOBs are supported when database compatibility is set to 11.2 or later.

Only SQL_REDO columns can be filled in for SecureFiles LOB columns; SQL_UNDO columns are not filled in.

Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) and data compression can be enabled on SecureFiles LOB columns at the primary database.

Deduplication of SecureFiles LOB columns is fully supported. Fragment operations are not supported.

If LogMiner encounters redo generated by unsupported operations, then it generates rows with the OPERATION column set to UNSUPPORTED. No SQL_REDO or SQL_UNDO will be generated for these redo records.