Most of the time, business owners consider maintaining their Oracle database to be a chore. However, recognizing its importance and being proactive to maintain it can help identify early warning signs and arrest problems early. Proactive maintenance and monitoring give you a healthy database performance and speed.
Consultants in the Oracle database say that if you want a healthy fine-tuned database, you should ensure that it is evaluated on a continuous basis. Businesses should deploy the best practices when it comes to maintaining the stability and performance of the Oracle database.
The Need for Real-time Proactive Monitoring
With the help of real-time proactive monitoring, businesses are able to identify potential threats and problems to the database. Often these issues are neglected or overlooked, and they give rise to big problems in the future. Here are some of the areas where you need to monitor and why it is important:
- Database waiting sessions- If there is one or more than one SQL waiting for the other SQL to complete, these sessions of waiting will reduce the performance of the Oracle database system. There are answers to some questions that you should know. For instance, what is the wait for? Is this expected for the application that is running on the database and does a session that blocks the application need to be killed?
- The average of the load- Businesses should monitor the average of the load that the server takes. This helps in determining the performance of the server. If the resources of the server face strain, the application uses more resources. This leads to the wait time increasing for the database, the database hanging and more. The above causes the load to increase and this creates pressure on the server and the database.
- Space on the disk- In case the mount point where the data files for the database are saturated, it is hard for you to write to the system.
- Listener- In case, the listener is low or down, businesses cannot create any new connections to the database system.
- Sessions- In case the number of maximum sessions is attained, the database is unable to establish new sessions.
- Archive log location or the Flash Recovery Area- If the logs in the database system are filled, the database hangs.
- Table space- If Table spaces fill up, the transactions in the system will become suspended.
6 Crucial Areas for Active Oracle Database Maintenance
Specialists in Oracle DBA Consulting state there are 6 important areas required for proactive maintenance. Businesses should note the Oracle database should be maintained regularly to avoid critical problems that adversely impact the business. Given below are a list of these 6 most important areas that businesses should actively maintain:
- The archive logs and the Flash Recovery Area should be cleaned and sized correctly. The latter does not work with the requirements of disk space as the FRA logs, the backup and the archive are generally written here. Hanging of the database can be effectively avoided when these areas are cleaned with correct retention.
- The AWR and the STATSPACK should be evaluated every week so that high impact SQLs can be identified to enhance the overall performance of the database.
- Both the Listener Log as well as the Alert Log should be rotated every week. When a problem arises, it is prudent to have smaller and manageable alert logs for analysis and search.
- The volume of log switching will influence the size of the Redo Log Files.
- All audit files should be kept outside the database if there is no production of reports in them.
- The data file should be checked along with the locations for the control file and Redo Logs. Ensure they are not located in the installation location of the home software of Oracle. In case, the Oracle home software accidentally gets deleted, the files in the database will not be deleted because of this.
Consultants in Oracle database state that in case the physical performance of the system is not as per your expectations and is slow, you should call in professionals for a comprehensive health check. It is prudent to consult specialists in Oracle database management to know what the issue is and how to increase the speed of the system. It makes sense to immediately call in experienced Oracle database consultants if the system appears sluggish.
Make Sure You Take a Back Up of Your Database Management System Regularly
Note every database system needs a complete check-up regularly. This is like an appointment with a doctor. In this way, one can boost up the speed to a large extent. The system operates smoothly and helps you to prevent grave problems in the future.
A good consultant will extensively check the system and submit a report for improvements. In this way, improvements are made to the database, and this boosts up its performance. When you are choosing a remote DBA company for the task, you must ensure the professionals have the skills and experience to analyze the system flaws correctly. Good professionals are proactive, and they take time to filter the problems from the system and offer you the customized solutions you need for its improvement.
Final Thoughts
If you are the owner of a business and have an Oracle database, never neglect routine service and maintenance. If you ignore this crucial part of the system, you will land up with a slow performance that adversely affects the revenue of your business. Do not rely on your in-house IT support team as they might not be trained in the latest developments of technologies in maintaining Oracle database systems. It is prudent for you to ensure experts with experience in the Oracle database are summoned regularly so that the issues are identified, and remedies are given immediately. In this way, you are able to avert costly mistakes and get a competitive edge in the market over your peers.
Featured image credit: Unsplash.com
Ariya Stark is a notable management consultant and digital marketing expert. She is an experienced digital marketer and has helped e-commerce businesses in all niches gain with her effective marketing strategies and guidance.
