Get Started

Learn about supported platforms, prerequisites, installation and lifecycle management, and how to start using Oracle Autonomous Health Framework (AHF).

Supported Platforms

Oracle Autonomous Health Framework supports supported Oracle Database and Grid Infrastructure versions across engineered systems, including Oracle Database Appliance, Exadata, and Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance. Supported operating systems include Linux OEL, Red Hat, SUSE, zLinux, Solaris SPARC and x86-64, AIX, HP-UX, and 64-bit Microsoft Windows, with stated Java requirements and platform-specific limitations. AHF 23.9.0 and later no longer support Solaris 10, Solaris Intel, AIX 6.x, or RHEL/OEL 6; terminal releases remain available for certain legacy platforms through the applicable Oracle support bundle.

Recommended Browsers

Oracle Orachk and Oracle Exachk HTML reports are best viewed using the latest release and five preceding versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari.

Scope of Oracle Stack Supported

Oracle Autonomous Health Framework performs proactive compliance checks across Oracle hardware, databases, Grid Infrastructure, RAC, engineered systems, middleware, applications, Enterprise Manager, identity and access management, Solaris and storage systems, Siebel, PeopleSoft, GoldenGate, Application Continuity, and MAA or upgrade-readiness configurations. Its supported product scope expands with new AHF releases.

Compliance Framework Oracle Orachk and Oracle Exachk Prerequisites

Oracle Orachk and Oracle Exachk can operate with locked Exadata storage servers by using ExaCLI and a temporary access window, normally lasting 50 minutes and automatically closing or expiring after execution; permanent remote-login restrictions remain unchanged. Passwordless SSH equivalency can simplify checks against storage servers and InfiniBand switches, while ExaCLI credentials or switch passwords may be requested when equivalency is unavailable. On Exadata and Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance, cells can be explicitly unlocked or locked and the timeout adjusted. Non-English environments require the NLS_LANG globalization setting, although AHF itself supports English only.

Oracle Trace File Analyzer Prerequisites

Oracle Trace File Analyzer requires a range of standard Perl modules, including file, process, networking, JSON, threading, and Windows-specific modules. Administrators can use perldoc to verify whether a module is installed and to inspect its version; missing modules are indicated when no documentation or module is found.

Installing Oracle Autonomous Health Framework

Oracle Autonomous Health Framework can be installed on Linux, Unix, and Microsoft Windows, with full installers shipping Java 11 beginning in version 23.7.0. Cluster installations performed with the local option require identical AHF home and data-directory paths on every node, including nodes added later.

Prerequisites for Configuring Oracle Autonomous Health Framework

AHF configuration requires at least 3 GB of free space for the software directory, 5 GB for the data directory, and 2 GB for /tmp. Additional data-directory capacity is recommended for large clusters, numerous databases, or extended retention of reports and diagnostic collections.

Installing AHF on Linux

Installing AHF as root provides full capabilities, daemon operation, automated scheduling, ACL-based diagnostic access, and cluster deployment support; Perl 5.10 or later is required. Non-root installations are limited to local, non-daemon operation and cannot automate collections, gather remote diagnostics, or read protected files. The installer supports upgrades, optional standalone TFA configuration, platform-specific auto-start services, and SELinux policy loading or removal when security enforcement changes.

Installing AHF on a Single-Instance System

On a single-instance system, the first execution of tfactl, ahfctl, or orachk initiates AHF installation; administrators can monitor progress with tfactl print status and verify the completed deployment with tfactl or ahfctl status commands. Subsequent command executions use the installed binaries directly, and the status output confirms TFA operation, version, build, and inventory completion.

Installing AHF on Microsoft Windows

On Microsoft Windows, AHF installs TFA as a Windows service while Orachk and Exachk run on demand. Installation requires an administrator command prompt, a supported Perl distribution, and .NET Framework 4.0.30319 or later; paths containing spaces are prohibited. MOS upload and notification email features are unavailable, and cluster deployments require local installation on each host followed by tfactl syncnodes.

Installing AHF on Oracle Big Data Appliance

On Oracle Big Data Appliance, download the AHF archive as root to a local appliance directory and run ahf_setup with the desired installation location, optionally using extract mode. Additional installer guidance is available through the setup help option.

Installing AHF on Oracle Exadata Dom0

AHF on Exadata dom0 supports standalone extraction, typical installation with TFA and Exachk scheduling, local scheduler installation followed by certificate synchronization, or recommended multi-node deployment using the scheduler and nodes options. Cell and node synchronization can use SSH passwords or sockets, while standalone installations can be converted to typical mode; installations should account for shared data locations and dom0 resource management.

Group Permissions for Oracle Exachk Results Directories and Files

On non-Windows systems, AHF derives a default operating-system group from osdbagrp and applies group permissions to Exachk result directories and files: typically 750 for directories and 640 for uploaded JSON files. The configured group applies to the user_root, output, and upload areas and can be changed or inspected with ahfctl setosgroup and ahfctl getosgroup.

Configure MOS Upload While Installing or Upgrading AHF

MOS upload configuration during AHF installation or upgrade is controlled by the setupmos and nosetupmos options. Without either option, the installer prompts for configuration; setupmos forces collection of MOS name, credentials, and URL; and nosetupmos suppresses the prompt. Cluster-wide configurations are synchronized automatically, and ahfctl getupload verifies the resulting settings.

Upgrading Oracle Autonomous Health Framework

AHF can be upgraded with ahf_setup, which updates existing installations and uses established secure cluster communication, while monthly releases and support-tool bundles should be obtained from Oracle’s current distribution source. AutoUpgrade is available on Linux, Solaris, and AIX when OpenSSL is present, but not on HP-UX, Windows, or most standalone extract installations. Administrators can configure, inspect, disable, or remove automatic upgrades with ahfctl commands, using local, ACFS, NFS, REST, or object-storage staging locations; scheduler-based upgrades preserve saved configuration.

Patching Oracle Autonomous Health Framework

AHF metadata and framework patches can be downloaded and applied automatically or on demand by users with AHF installation privileges. The ahfctl update, setupdate, getupdate, unsetupdate, applyupdate, queryupdate, rollbackupdate, and deleteupdatebackup commands configure update sources and frequency, apply ZIP packages, inspect update status, revert selected updates, and remove obsolete backups. Updates must be applied on every cluster node, and backups should be deleted cautiously because doing so removes rollback capability.

Running AHFCTL Update Commands to Apply AHF Metadata and Framework Updates

The update-management commands apply metadata and framework ZIP updates to individual nodes, with installation-user privileges required and cluster administrators responsible for repeating operations across all nodes. ahfctl applyupdate replaces local files from a specified package, queryupdate reports applied updates by identifier or in full JSON-formatted listings, rollbackupdate restores a prior state, and deleteupdatebackup removes selected historical backups while preserving the current rollback point.

Downgrading Oracle Autonomous Health Framework

AHF supports downgrading to the previously upgraded version when that version is less than six months old, preserving configuration and event data through an export, binary replacement, and import process. Administrators can identify and validate a downgrade installer before using ahf_setup, or invoke ahf software downgrade when a saved installer is available; properties added after an upgrade may need to be reconfigured, while modified existing properties are retained.

Uninstalling Oracle Autonomous Health Framework

Running ahfctl uninstall as root or the installation user stops Orachk and TFA and removes the AHF installation directory. The deleterepo and silent options can remove the repository without confirmation, and cluster output identifies the nodes being processed before service, binary, configuration, data, and repository components are deleted.

Start Using Oracle Autonomous Health Framework

This page introduces key Oracle Autonomous Health Framework directories, including installation, binaries, component homes, configuration data, diagnostic repositories, and host logs. It explains how to configure shared or component-specific notification addresses for Trace File Analyzer, Orachk, and Exachk; use the tfactl command-line, shell, and menu interfaces; manage Trace File Analyzer with systemctl or tfactl; and control Orachk/Exachk scheduler behavior with autostart, autostop, reset, and unset options, including the changes introduced in AHF 23.9. It also documents AHF 26.1 Exachk switch-user selection on KVM Dom0, where users are evaluated in the priority order dbadmin, switchexa, root, and admin based on equivalency or wallet credentials, with interactive prompting or silent-mode fallback when complete access is unavailable.
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