1.7 Running Subsets of Checks

Where necessary, you can run a subset of health checks.

These subsets can be a logical grouping determined by Oracle ORAchk and Oracle EXAchk based on what the check is about.

You can also determine the subsets at an individual check level where you want to exclude or run only specific checks.

Related Topics

1.7.1 Upgrade Readiness Mode (Oracle Clusterware and Oracle Database Upgrade Checks)

You can use Upgrade Readiness Mode to obtain an Upgrade Readiness Assessment.

Upgrade Readiness Mode helps you plan the upgrade process for Oracle Cluster and Oracle RAC Database by automating many of the manual pre-checks and post-checks listed in the upgrade documentation.

There are two Upgrade Readiness modes:

  • Pre-upgrade check: Run this check during the planning phase of the upgrade process. Running this check helps you ensure that you have enough time to correct potential issues before the upgrade.

  • Post-upgrade check: Run this check after the upgrade to help you ensure the health of Oracle Grid Infrastructure and Oracle Database upgrades.

The Upgrade Readiness report provides the following information:

  • The target Clusterware and database versions. The report can only provide information for releases later than 11.2.0.3.

  • In pre-upgrade mode, the tool automatically detects all databases that are registered with Oracle Clusterware. It displays a list of these databases on which you can perform pre-upgrade checks.

  • In post-upgrade mode, the tool detects all databases registered with Oracle Clusterware. It displays a list of databases on which you can perform post-upgrade checks. If you select any release 11.2.0.3 or earlier releases, then the tool does not perform post-upgrade checks on these databases.

  • In both the modes, the tool checks the Oracle Clusterware stack and the operating system.

After the tool completes running, you are referred to the report. The report contains the upgrade readiness report and links where you can obtain additional information.

1.7.1.1 Oracle Clusterware and Oracle Database Pre-Upgrade Checks

During your pre-upgrade planning phase, run Oracle ORAchk and Oracle EXAchk in pre-upgrade mode as the Oracle Database owner or as root.

To start pre-upgrade checking, use the –u –o pre option: 
$ ./orachk –u -o pre

$ ./exachk –u -o pre

The tool prompts you to specify the version that you are planning to upgrade to, and then runs all of the applicable checks for that specific version.

$ ./orachk -u -o pre
Enter upgrade target version (valid versions are 11.2.0.3.0, 11.2.0.4.0, 12.1.0.1.0, 12.1.0.2.0 and 12.2.0.1.0):- 12.1.0.2.0

CRS stack is running and CRS_HOME is not set. Do you want to set CRS_HOME to /scratch/app/11.2.0.4/grid?[y/n][y]

Checking ssh user equivalency settings on all nodes in cluster

Node myhost69 is configured for ssh user equivalency for oradb user
 
Node myhost71 is configured for ssh user equivalency for oradb user
 

Searching for running databases . . . . .

. . . . . . 
List of running databases registered in OCR
1. ordsdb
2. mydb
3. All of above
4. None of above

Select databases from list for checking best practices. For multiple databases, select 3 for All or comma separated number like 1,2 etc [1-4][3].

. . . . . .
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      CLUSTERWIDE CHECKS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
Detailed report (html) - /oracle/orachk/orachk_myhost70_mydb_041916_215655/orachk_myhost70_mydb_041916_215655.html


UPLOAD(if required) - /oracle/orachk/orachk_myhost70_mydb_041916_215655.zip

Output is similar to a standard HTML report output. However, the report shows checks that are relevant to upgrading Oracle Clusterware and Oracle Database to the version that you have specified.

1.7.1.2 Oracle Clusterware and Oracle Database Post-Upgrade Checks

After performing the upgrade, you can run in post-upgrade mode as the Oracle Database software owner or root to see further recommendations.

To start post-upgrade checks, use the –u –o post option: 
$ ./orachk –u -o post

$ ./exachk –u -o post

$ ./orachk -u -o post

CRS stack is running and CRS_HOME is not set. Do you want to set CRS_HOME to /u01/app/12.2.0/grid?[y/n][y]

Checking ssh user equivalency settings on all nodes in cluster

Node myhost69 is configured for ssh user equivalency for oradb user
 
Node myhost71 is configured for ssh user equivalency for oradb user
 

Searching for running databases . . . . .

. . . . . . 
List of running databases registered in OCR
1. ordsdb
2. mydb
3. All of above
4. None of above

Select databases from list for checking best practices. For multiple databases, select 3 for All or comma separated number like 1,2 etc [1-4][3].

. . . . . .

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      CLUSTERWIDE CHECKS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
Detailed report (html) - /oracle/orachk/orachk_myhost70_mydb_042316_154355/orachk_myhost70_mydb_042316_154355.html


UPLOAD(if required) - /oracle/orachk/orachk_myhost70_mydb_042316_154355.zip

Output is similar to a standard but shows only the checks that are relevant after upgrading the Clusterware and database.

Related Topics

1.7.2 Running Checks on Subsets of the Oracle Stack

Run checks on subsets of Oracle stack such as, database, cell, switch, and so on.

1.7.2.1 Running Database Checks

During Oracle ORAchk and Oracle EXAchk system checks, all Oracle database logins are performed by using local connections.

The user running the tool must have operating system authenticated system privileges in the databases where you are running the tool.

Oracle software is installed by using an Oracle software installation owner, which is commonly referred to in Oracle documentation as the Oracle user. Your system can contain multiple Oracle database homes all owned by the same Oracle user, for example, oracle. Your system can also contain multiple database homes owned by different Oracle users, for example, oracle1, oracle2, oracle3. If you have multiple Oracle database homes configured, and these homes are owned by different Oracle users, then you must either run the tool as root user, or you must log in as the Oracle user for each Oracle database that you want to check. Use that Oracle user to run the tool on the Oracle database instance on which the user is the software installation owner.

By default, Oracle ORAchk and Oracle EXAchk present a list of running databases that are registered with Oracle Grid Infrastructure. You can run the tools on one database, run the tools on all databases, or run the tool with a comma-delimited list of numbers that designate the databases listed. When you check multiple nodes running on the cluster, you do not need to stage the tool on the other nodes in the cluster to check the database instances running on those nodes.

  1. To prevent prompting for which database to run against and check all databases, use the –dball option. 
    $ ./orachk -dball

    $ ./exachk -dball
  2. To prevent prompting and skip all database checks, use the –dbnone option. 
    $ ./orachk –dbnone

    $ ./exachk –dbnone
  3. To run checks against a subset of databases, use the –dbnames database_name option.

    You can check multiple database instances by listing them in a comma-delimited list.

    $ ./orachk –dbnames db1,db2,db3

    $ ./exachk –dbnames db1,db2,db3

    By default, Oracle ORAchk and Oracle EXAchk run checks on all database nodes in the cluster.

  4. To run checks against a subset of cluster nodes, use the –clusternodes node option.

    You can check multiple cluster nodes by listing them in a comma-delimited list.

    $ ./orachk –clusternodes node1,node2,node3

    $ ./exachk –clusternodes node1,node2,node3
  5. To run checks against the local node, use the –localonly option. 
    $ ./orachk –localonly

    $ ./exachk –localonly

1.7.2.2 Running Cell Checks

Limit the scope of health checks to a subset of storage servers by using the –cell cell option.

  1. To limit the scope to one cell, use the -cell option. 
    orachk -cell

    exachk -cell
  2. To limit the check to a set of cells, use a comma-delimited list of cells. 
    $ ./orachk –cell cell1,cell2,cell3

    $ ./exachk –cell cell1,cell2,cell3

1.7.2.3 Running Switch Checks

Limit the scope of health checks to a subset of switches by using the –ibswitches switch option.

  1. To limit the scope to one switch, use the –ibswitches option. 
    $ ./orachk –ibswitches

    $ ./exachk –ibswitches
  2. To limit the check to a set of switches, use a comma-delimited list of switches. 
    $ ./orachk –ibswitches switch1,switch2

    $ ./exachk –ibswitches switch1,switch2

1.7.2.4 Running Checks on Other Elements of the Oracle Stack

Health checks are available for large parts of the Oracle software and hardware stack. Health check coverage is expanding with each new release.

Health checks are organized into logical groupings, which are called profiles. You can run subsets of checks for different areas of the Oracle stack by the applicable profile.

Refer to the Using Profiles section for a list of available profiles.

1.7.2.5 Oracle ORAchk Support for Oracle Grid Infrastructure with no Database

Oracle ORAchk now supports Oracle Grid Infrastructure stand-alone checks where no database is installed.

To run Oracle Grid Infrastructure checks in an environment with no Oracle Database has been installed, use the option: 
-nordbms
For example: 
$ ./orachk -nordbms

$ ./exachk -nordbms

1.7.3 Using Profiles with Oracle ORAchk and Oracle EXAchk

Profiles are logical groupings of related checks. These related checks are grouped by a particular role, a task, or a technology.

The following table describes the profiles that you can use:

Table 1-6 List of Available Profiles for Oracle ORAchk and Oracle EXAchk Checks

Profile Description

asm

Oracle Automatic Storage Management checks.

exatier1

Exadata only checks with a critical alert level.

These represent the top tier of problems with the most severe likely impact. You must fix the problems marked as critical as soon as possible.

patches

Oracle patch checks.

bi_middleware

Oracle Business Intelligence checks.

clusterware

Oracle Clusterware checks.

compute_node

Compute Node checks (Oracle Exalogic only).

control_VM

Checks only for Oracle Virtual Machine Control VM (ec1-vm, ovmm, db, pc1, pc2). No cross-node checks.

corroborate

Oracle Exadata checks, which you must review to determine pass or fail.

dba

Database Administrator (DBA) Checks.

ebs

Oracle E-Business Suite checks.

el_extensive

Extensive EL checks.

el_lite

Exalogic-Lite Checks(Oracle Exalogic Only).

el_rackcompare

Data Collection for Exalogic Rack Comparison Tool (Oracle Exalogic Only).

emagent

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control agent checks.

emoms

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control management server.

em

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control checks.

goldengate

Oracle GoldenGate checks.

hardware

Hardware-specific checks for Oracle Engineered systems.

maa

Maximum Availability Architecture Checks.

nimbula

Nimbula checks for Oracle Exalogic.

oam

Oracle Access Manager checks.

obiee

OBIEE Checks (Oracle Exalytics Only)

oim

Oracle Identity Manager checks.

oud

Oracle Unified Directory server checks.

ovn

Oracle Virtual Networking.

peoplesoft

Peoplesoft best practices.

platinum

Platinum certification checks.

preinstall

Preinstallation checks.

prepatch

Checks to complete before patching.

security

Security checks.

siebel

Siebel Checks.

solaris_cluster

Oracle Solaris Cluster Checks.

storage

Oracle Storage Server Checks.

switch

InfiniBand switch checks.

sysadmin

System administrator checks.

timesten

Oracle TimesTen checks (Oracle Exalytics Only).

user_defined_checks

Run user-defined checks from user_defined_checks.xml.

virtual_infra

Oracle VM Server (OVS), Control VM, network time protocol (NTP), and stale virtual network interface cards (VNICs) check (Oracle Exalogic Only).

zfs

Oracle ZFS Storage Appliances checks (Oracle Exalogic Only).

You can run the command with an inclusion list, so that it runs only the checks in particular profiles. Run the command with the option –profile profile_name. You can run multiple profiles by running the command with a comma-delimited inclusion list. The inclusion list contains only the profiles that you want to run.

$ ./orachk –profile dba,clusterware

$ ./exachk –profile dba,clusterware

The output of inclusion list profile checks is similar to the standard HTML Report Output format. However, profile inclusion check reports show only output of checks that are in the specific profiles that you specify in the check.

You can also run the command with exclusion list. Run the command with the option –excludeprofile profile_name. When you run the command with an exclusion list, all profile checks are performed except for the checks in the profile that you list. You can list multiple profiles to exclude by running the command with a comma-delimited exclusion list.

$ ./orachk –excludeprofile dba,clusterware,ebs

$ ./exachk –excludeprofile dba,clusterware,ebs

The output of exclusion list profile checks is similar to the standard HTML Report Output format. However, profile exclusion check reports show only the checks that are not in the profiles that you specify to exclude in the check.

Related Topics

1.7.4 Excluding Individual Checks

Excluding checks is recommended in situations where you have reviewed all check output and determined a particular check is not relevant for some particular business reason.

This allows the health check HTML report to be streamlined to show only the problems you need to fix.

You can exclude checks in two different ways. Both the methods require you to find the check Ids.

The first method is to use the –excludecheck check_id option. To exclude multiple check ids, use the comma-delimited list of check ids: 
$ ./orachk –excludecheck 0829D67E8B1549AFE05312C0E50AD04F,CB95A1BF5B1160ACE0431EC0E50A12EE

$ ./exachk –excludecheck 0829D67E8B1549AFE05312C0E50AD04F,CB95A1BF5B1160ACE0431EC0E50A12EE

All excluded files are shown in the Excluded Checks section of the report.

Figure 1-29 Excluding Checks - Method I

Description of Figure 1-29 follows
Description of "Figure 1-29 Excluding Checks - Method I"

The second method of excluding individual checks is as follows:

  1. List all check ids in a file, one check id per line.

  2. Save the file as excluded_check_ids.txt in the same directory where the tool is installed

    $ ls -la
total 67616
drwxr-xr-x 3 oradb oinstall     4096 Apr 28 06:27 .
drwxr-xr-x 7 oradb oinstall     4096 Apr 28 06:22 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 oradb oinstall  2077055 Feb  8 09:13 ORAchk_Health_Check_Catlog.html
drwxr--r-- 3 oradb oinstall     4096 Feb  7 21:31 .cgrep
-rw-r--r-- 1 oradb oinstall  4690680 Feb  7 21:30 CollectionManager_App.sql
-rw-r--r-- 1 oradb oinstall 44243042 Feb  7 21:31 collections.dat
-rw-r--r-- 1 oradb oinstall       66 Apr 28 06:27 excluded_check_ids.txt
-rwxr-xr-x 1 oradb oinstall  2653265 Feb  7 21:30 orachk
-rw-r--r-- 1 oradb oinstall  9860069 Apr 25 11:17 orachk.zip
-rw-r--r-- 1 oradb oinstall     3869 Feb  7 21:31 readme.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 oradb oinstall  5613338 Feb  7 21:31 rules.dat
-rw-r--r-- 1 oradb oinstall    40052 Feb  7 21:30 sample_user_defined_checks.xml
-rw-r--r-- 1 oradb oinstall     2888 Feb  7 21:30 user_defined_checks.xsd
-rw-r--r-- 1 oradb oinstall      425 Feb  7 21:31 UserGuide.txt

$ cat excluded_check_ids.txt
0829D67E8b1549AFE05312C0E50AD04F
CB95A1BF5B1160ACE0431EC0E50A12EE

The excluded_check_ids.txt file remains in this directory. Each time the tool is run, all applicable health checks are run except those specified in the file.

All excluded files are shown in the Excluded Checks section of the report.

Figure 1-30 Excluded Checks

Description of Figure 1-30 follows
Description of "Figure 1-30 Excluded Checks"

1.7.5 Running Individual Checks

There are times when you may want to run only specific checks.

Running individual check can particularly be useful in situations such as:

  • Quickly verify if a particular issue has been fixed

  • Troubleshoot performance or run specific checks

  • Develop and test user-defined checks

Find the check ids before you run individual checks.

  1. To run only specific checks use the –check check_id option.
  2. To run multiple check ids, use the comma-delimited list of check ids: 
    $ ./orachk –check 0829D67E8B1549AFE05312C0E50AD04F,CB95A1BF5B1160ACE0431EC0E50A12EE

    $ ./exachk –check 0829D67E8B1549AFE05312C0E50AD04F,CB95A1BF5B1160ACE0431EC0E50A12EE

Related Topics

1.7.6 Finding Which Checks Require Privileged Users

Use the Privileged User filter in the Health Check Catalogs to find health checks that must be run by a specific privileged user, such as root.

Refer to the Oracle ORAchk or Oracle EXAchk example to see how to locate a privileged user.

Example 1-8 Finding a Privileged User Health Check in Oracle ORAchk Health Check Catalog:

Figure 1-31 Oracle ORAchk - Privileged User

Description of Figure 1-31 follows
Description of "Figure 1-31 Oracle ORAchk - Privileged User"

Go to My Oracle Support note 1268927.2, and click the Health Check Catalog tab to open an Oracle ORAchk Health Check Catalog:

https://support.oracle.com/rs?type=doc&id=1268927.2

You must have Javascript enabled to view the form.

Example 1-9 Finding a Privileged User in Oracle EXAchk Health Check Catalog

Figure 1-32 Oracle EXAchk - Privileged User

Description of Figure 1-32 follows
Description of "Figure 1-32 Oracle EXAchk - Privileged User"

Example Oracle EXAchk Health Check Catalog:

Oracle EXAchk Health Check Catalog

1.7.7 Option to Run Only the Failed Checks

New option allows Oracle ORAchk and Oracle EXAchk to run only the checks that failed previously.

To run only the checks that failed previously:

  • Generate a health check report

  • Fix the issues identified

  • Generate another health check report verifying only the issues that failed before

Use the failed checks option by passing in the HTML report, zip, or directory. 
-failedchecks previous_result