E Installing, Configuring, and Running Enterprise Manager Agent

This appendix describes Oracle Enterprise Manager Agent for Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2). It includes information about the following topics:

Section E.1, "Introduction to Enterprise Manager Framework"
Section E.2, "Installation Requirements"
Section E.3, "Installation and Configuration"
Section E.4, "Management and Maintenance"
Section E.5, "Supported Targets and Jobs"
Section E.6, "Known Limitations"

E.1 Introduction to Enterprise Manager Framework

This release of Enterprise Manager Agent is different from the previous releases of Oracle Intelligent Agent in terms of architecture and implementation. Enterprise Manager Agent is part of the Enterprise Manager Framework. The Database Control and Application Control components are not supported on Oracle Database 10g for HP OpenVMS. To use Enterprise Manager Agent for HP OpenVMS, it is necessary to install the Oracle Management Server (OMS) component of Grid Control Enterprise Manager on a UNIX-based or Microsoft Windows-based computer. Enterprise Manager Agent running on HP OpenVMS will register with and function in coordination with the OMS.

Starting with Release 10g Release 2 (10.2.0.2), the Enterprise Manager Agent does not ship with the Oracle Database media. It is shipped separately as a standalone Grid Control Enterprise Manager kit. The Enterprise Manager Agent in 10g Release 2 will not work with the Enterprise Manager shipped with release 9i and earlier.

Enterprise Manager Agent is implemented in C, Java, and Perl. Unlike earlier versions, TCL scripts are no longer used. These are replaced by Perl scripts. Perl version 5.8 is included in the kit along with the Enterprise Manager Agent. Oracle Universal Installer automatically installs Perl. It is not required to install a separate Perl kit. Note that this kit includes Oracle-specific DBD or DBI, and is therefore, the only supported Perl kit for use with Oracle Database. The logical name PERL_ROOT will be defined to the physical path ORA_ROOT:[PERL] as a job level logical name. To avoid potential conflict with Perl from any other kit, including any future versions supplied by Oracle, it is recommended not to convert this logical name to a GROUP or SYSTEM logical name.

The Job model supported in previous releases is still available in this release in a similar, but not identical, fashion. Jobs can be submitted, their status can be monitored, and their output checked. The Event model, as it existed in earlier versions, is no longer available. Instead, what is available is Targets. Refer to Section E.5, "Supported Targets and Jobs" for more information.

E.2 Installation Requirements

If you choose not to create a dedicated batch queue ORA_BATCH_QUEUE_hostname for Enterprise Manager Agent,then you must define a logical name ORA_BATCH_QUEUE_hostname(a Process or Job logical is sufficient) to the name of the batch queue to be used for running Enterprise Manager Agent. In addition to running in the batch queue, Enterprise Manager Agent also submits a number of other tasks, typically related to actions required on other Oracle installations on the same host.

The hostname part of the logical name should be the same as the value of the TCPIP$INET_HOST logical name. The batch queue specified should run at the same priority level as all other general purpose processes on the system, typically 4.

For example,the following qualifiers would be typical for creating the batch queue that is used for Enterprise Manager Agent.:

/BASE_PRIORITY=4 /CPUDEFAULT=INFINITE /CPUMAXIMUM=INFINITE /JOB_LIMIT=100 /OWNER=[SYSTEM] /PROTECTION=(S:M,O:RSD,G:S,W:S)

Enterprise Manager Agent internally spawns a number of subprocesses and detached processes to run a majority of its tasks. The type of actions performed in these processes ranges widely from running simple DCL commands to running Java applications. It is imperative that the account used to install and run Enterprise Manager Agent not modify the typical HP OpenVMS session environment in any way that would alter the expected output of normal DCL commands. The LOGIN.COM file of the account used to start or stop the agent should not have any such redefinitions. If the redefinitions are required for any reason, then it is recommended that they be disabled in the batch mode, because Enterprise Manager Agent runs in the batch mode.

E.3 Installation and Configuration

When you initially run Oracle Universal Installer, it instantiates certain files under the ORA_ROOT:[SYSMAN.EMD] and ORA_ROOT:[SYSMAN.CONFIG] directories. These are the Targets files and the Properties files. However, these cannot be used directly. Enterprise Manager AgentEnterprise Manager Agent is configured correctly when Database Configuration Assistant is run. The configuration files are created under a separate directory structure (ORA_ROOT:[hostname_sid.SYSMAN...]). Because the DB Console is not supported on HP OpenVMS, it is necessary to make certain manual changes to the configuration file or files before starting Enterprise Manager Agent.

Manual Changes Required Before Attempting to Start Enterprise Manager Agent

You must manually change the following properties in the ORA_ROOT:[Hostname_SID.SYSMAN.CONFIG]EMD.PROPERTIES file before starting Enterprise Manager Agent.

REPOSITORY_URL

This property is required to allow Enterprise Manager Agent to upload data to a central Grid Control Enterprise Manager Repository. When Enterprise Manager Agent starts, it registers its targets and other host configuration information with the Oracle Management Server (OMS) so that they are displayed on the Grid Control Enterprise Manager Console. It is then possible to manage the targets from the Enterprise Manager Console. A sample REPOSITORY_URL property is as follows:
```
REPOSITORY_URL=http://orclhost01.us.oracle.com:4889/em/upload
```
agentTZRegion

This property indicates the time zone in which Enterprise Manager Agent is running. To update this property in the EMD.PROPERTIES file, run the following command:
```
$ EMCTL CONFIG AGENT UPDATETZ
```
A sample agentTZRegion property for Pacific Standard Time is as follows:
```
agentTZRegion=-08:00
```

E.4 Management and Maintenance

This section describes the procedures to manage and maintain Enterprise Manager Agent.

Section E.4.1, "Startup, Shutdown, and Status"
Section E.4.2, "Troubleshooting and Maintenance"

E.4.1 Startup, Shutdown, and Status

Perform the following steps to start, shut down, or view the status of Enterprise Manager Agent:

After the manual configuration is complete, run the following command to start Enterprise Manager Agent:
```
$ EMCTL START AGENT
```
To shut down Enterprise Manager Agent, run the following command:
```
$ EMCTL STOP AGENT
```
To query the status of Enterprise Manager Agent at any time, run the following command:
```
$ EMCTL STATUS AGENT
```

Note:

Enterprise Manager Agent is the only mechanism of communication between the Oracle Management Server and targets or applications running on the host. Therefore, it is not possible to start or shut down Enterprise Manager Agent from the Enterprise Manager Console.

E.4.2 Troubleshooting and Maintenance

Perform the following tasks to manage or troubleshoot Enterprise Manager Agent:

Section E.4.2.1, "Enterprise Manager Agent Fails to Start"
Section E.4.2.2, "Extended File Specification (EFS) Characteristics"
Section E.4.2.3, "TMP Directory"
Section E.4.2.4, "Monitoring the Batch Queue"
Section E.4.2.5, "Disk Space on Enterprise Manager Agent Install Area"
Section E.4.2.6, "Resetting Enterprise Manager Agent Environment"

E.4.2.1 Enterprise Manager Agent Fails to Start

If Enterprise Manager Agent fails to start, check the following files for typical error messages:

Batch Job Log File

Enterprise Manager Agent is submitted as a batch job into the agent batch queue whenever it is started. Each time Enterprise Manager Agent starts, a fresh batch log file is created, which is available at ORA_ROOT:[SYSMAN.LOG]START_AGENT_HOST.LOG. Refer to the latest version of this log file. If it is readable (not locked by a running Enterprise Manager Agent process), look through the file to see if there are any failure messages. Typical errors would be Failure to launch the Enterprise Manager Agent because of some issues with related shared libraries.

Enterprise Manager Agent Log and Trace Files

If there are no errors in ORA_ROOT:[SYSMAN.LOG]START_AGENT_HOST.LOG, look at the Enterprise Manager Agent.trc and Enterprise Manager Agent.log files. These are located in the ORA_ROOT:[host_sid.SYSMAN.LOG] directory. A common error is Address already in use, when the port number on which Enterprise Manager Agent is listening is being used by some other application.

Note:

If you are not able to restart the Agent, make sure that there are no processes on the system that start with ORA_EM*.

You can stop all the process by entering the command $ STOP/ID=<process-id> on each one of them and then try to restart the agent.

E.4.2.2 Extended File Specification (EFS) Characteristics

Enterprise Manager Agent requires an extended file-specifications environment to handle files with multiple dots in their names, long file names, and so on. The default Oracle environment (after running ORAUSER.COM) does not provide this environment. Internally, Enterprise Manager Agent tools set up this extended environment when started, and reset the environment back to the original when completed. In a normal run, it is not necessary for an Enterprise Manager Agent administrator to require this environment for interactive use. However, in certain situations, when there are failures due to interruption in the host system, or due to lack of resources, it may be required to manually manipulate certain files, which in turn, would need the EFS environment.

There are two scripts included with Enterprise Manager Agent kit that provides the EFS environment:

ORA_ROOT:[SYSMAN.BIN]EFS.COM

Enables the EFS environment..
ORA_ROOT:[SYSMAN.BIN]NOEFS.COM

Resets the environment to non-EFS.

For convenience, two DCL symbols have been created to set and reset the EFS environment. Symbol EMDEFS sets the EFS environment, and symbol NOEMDEFS resets the EFS environment.

E.4.2.3 TMP Directory

Enterprise Manager Agent run time creates a number of temporary files during processing. All temporary files are created in a directory specified by the logical name ORA_AGENT_TMP. This logical name is automatically defined to the physical path, ORA_ROOT:[SYSMAN.host.TMP], when setting up the Oracle environment.

It is possible that certain temporary files may not be deleted due to interruptions or failures. It is recommended that this directory content be monitored on a periodic basis and files that are more than three hours old be deleted.

E.4.2.4 Monitoring the Batch Queue

As mentioned in Section E.2, "Installation Requirements", Enterprise Manager Agent runs as a batch job in a batch queue. Enterprise Manager Agent also submits a number of jobs to the batch queue for tasks such as monitoring, start and shut down of databases and listeners running in other Oracle installations. There is a possibility that broken environments in these installations could cause these submitted jobs to stop responding. It is recommended that the batch queue be periodically monitored for any long-pending jobs (any job of more than three hours is long-pending) and such jobs be deleted.

E.4.2.5 Disk Space on Enterprise Manager Agent Install Area

There are two agent parameters listed in the EMD.PROPERTIES properties file related to disk space:

UploadMaxDiskUsedPct
UploadMaxDiskUsedPctFloor

Ensure that the agent parameters are set correctly at the required level. When the percentage of space used on the disk exceeds UploadMaxDiskUsedPct ,uploads will stop, and updates from the Enterprise Manager Agent to the Oracle Management Server. When uploads are stopped, Enterprise Manager Agent status will appear as up and running, but the line reporting Last Successful Upload will show a time stamp that remains the same over periods exceeding the value of UploadInterval in the EMD.PROPERTIES file. Uploads will be enabled again when the percentage of space used on the disk falls below the value of UploadMaxDiskUsedPctFloor, which should be less than UploadMaxDiskUsedPct.

E.4.2.6 Resetting Enterprise Manager Agent Environment

You can shut down Enterprise Manager Agent that is already running, and reconfigure it to point to a different Oracle Management Server. To reset Enterprise Manager Agent environment, it is recommended to perform the following tasks:

Delete the ORA_ROOT:[host_sid.SYSMAN.EMD]LASTUPLD.XML;* file.
Delete all files in the ORA_ROOT:[host_id.SYSMAN.EMD.UPLOAD] directory.
Delete all files in the ORA_ROOT:[host_id.SYSMAN.EMD.STATE] directory.
Delete all files in the ORA_ROOT:[host_id.SYSMAN.EMD.COLLECTION] directory.
Delete all files in the ORA_ROOT:[host_sid.SYSMAN.EMD.RECV] directory.

Rename or delete Enterprise Manager Agent log and trace files:

ORA_ROOT:[host_sid.SYSMAN.LOG]Enterprise Manager Agent.LOG
ORA_ROOT:[host_sid.SYSMAN.LOG]Enterprise Manager Agent.TRC

E.5 Supported Targets and Jobs

The following targets and jobs are supported by Enterprise Manager Agent.

Targets

Enterprise Manager Agent supports the following targets:

Agent
Host
Database
Listener
Cluster Database (Oracle RAC)
Cluster

When Enterprise Manager Agent is started, Enterprise Manager Agent reads the TARGETS.XML file in the ORA_EMSTATE_EMD directory, and registers those targets with the Oracle Management Server. The status of each of the targets is reflected under the Targets tab of the Enterprise Manager Console. Enterprise Manager Agent monitors the registered targets on a periodic basis and uploads the status of the targets to the Oracle Management Server, which is reflected on the Enterprise Manager Console. In addition, a set of predefined metrics are also collected for each target and uploaded to the Oracle Management Server. Default thresholds are defined for each predefined metric on the Oracle Management Server. When a threshold is reached, an alert is generated and displayed on the console. This mechanism of automatic target monitoring replaces the Events model of earlier releases.

E.6 Known Limitations

Enterprise Manager Agent has the following known limitations:

Jobs will always indicate a successful completion status, if the agent has been able to create a detached process and run the command specified for the job. The status of job completion is not a reflection of the completion status of the job command. If the command fails for some reason, then the job itself will not be indicated as a failure, but the output of the job needs to be checked to verify if the command has succeeded or not.
The metric browser does not support all metrics. All metrics in the host metrics area are not applicable to Oracle Database. For more details, refer to the README_VMS_10GR2.TXT file shipped with the Oracle Grid Control Enterprise Manager Agent Kit.