Oracle7 Server Tuning
Monitoring Facilities for Production Systems
There are several facilities available for monitoring production systems and determining performance problems. This manual uses the V$ views that Oracle provides to illustrate performance problems. There are also graphic monitors provided by Server Manager that contain the same information. Oracle also supports the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) through two MIBs (management information base) of database information.
Because the V$ views are available to all database users, this book uses only V$ views in the examples of gathering statistics.
V$ Dynamic Performance Views
This manual demonstrates the use of V$ dynamic performance views that Oracle provides to monitor your system. The database user SYS owns these views, and administrators can grant access to these views to any database user. Only some of these views are relevant to tuning your system. For a complete description of all V$ dynamic performance views, see the Oracle7 Server Reference.
Server Manager Monitor Screens
Oracle Server Manager has several monitor screens that you can use to monitor database activity. All of these monitors are based on the V$ dynamic performance views. See the Oracle Server Manager User's Guide for a description of all the monitors and how they relate to the V$ views.
Oracle and SNMP Support
SNMP is acknowledged as the standard, open protocol for heterogeneous management applications. Oracle SNMP support enables Oracle databases to be discovered on the network, identified, and monitored by any SNMP-based management application. Oracle supports two database MIBs: the proposed standard MIB for RDBMSs (independent of vendor), and an Oracle-specific MIB, which contains Oracle-specific information.
Some statistics mentioned in this manual are supported by these two MIBs, and others are not. If a statistic can be obtained through SNMP, it will be noted when that statistic is mentioned in this manual. For more information about Oracle's SNMP support, see the Oracle SNMP Support Reference Guide.