Different Recovery Catalog settings based on Grid Control user

I was doing some work at a client site configuring RMAN backups through grid control.  I had already done all the needed configuration for my various backup settings and had specified the recovery catalog (or so I thought).  I did a test backup and everything looked good.  Later on I scheduled the backup to run daily.  The next morning I saw that the backup had completed successfully.  Everything seemed to be working as expected until I looked at the log and saw:
"using target database control file instead of recovery catalog"

I was sure I had configured the DB to use a recovery catalog, so I looked at the log for my prior test run.  Sure enough the test run had connected to the recovery catalog.  I realized that the main difference was that when I scheduled the job I had done so as a generic user.  We typically do this for these types of scheduled jobs, so we don't have to worry about a backup not running due to someones account being terminated.  My hypothesis was that Grid Control must keep track of recovery catalog info on a per user basis.  Sure enough when I logged in as the generic user it no longer showed that the database would use the recovery catalog.

This can be further verified with the following query:
SELECT t.target_name, t.target_type, cat.*
  FROM mgmt_targets t,
       mgmt_rcvcat_repos cat
 WHERE t.target_guid = cat.target_guid
;


Here you can see that there is in fact an em_user field, so the recovery catalog information can vary by Grid Control user.  We are currently using Grid Control 10.2.0.5, I'm not sure if the behavior is any different on other versions.

Determining which process has locked a .dll

Working in a windows environment I occasionally run into an issue with a .dll that I'm trying to delete being locked by another process. I see this frequently when trying to remove files from my target system before a clone. There are a couple of ways you can determine which process has the .dll locked. A quick command line way to do it is tasklist /m <.dll in question>.
For instance tasklist /m CORE40.dll.

If the .dll is locked I would see output such as the following:
Image Name PID Modules
========================= ======== ====================
msdtc.exe 1152 CORE40.dll

You can also check out Metalink Note 454040.1 for a script (prepatch.bat) that will identify similar information for you.

Recreating Global oraInventory

I ran into a situation recently in one of our 11i environments where the Global oraInventory was missing. A missing oraInventory can cause issues when applying patches, so I wanted to correct the issue proactively. Luckily the Local oraInventory was still intact. Looking on Metalink I found Note: 295185.1 which describes how you can recreate the Global oraInventory. The note talks about downloading a patch, but more than likely you already have OUI 2.2, so you probably won't need it.

The steps are pretty simple:
1. Source your Applications environment file.
2. Change to your $IAS_ORACLE_HOME/appsoui/setup directory.
3. Execute the perl script "perl OUIsetup.pl"

"Demo It To Oracle" (DITO)

I have been playing around with various ways to effectively collaborate with a team when the team members are in different geographic locations. Obviously one option is to use web conference software. Being able to schedule a web conference can be difficult when your team members are half a world away and in a different time zone. Another option that I have been looking at recently is screen recording software. In particualr I have been looking at Cam Studio, mainly because of it's price tag (free).

Apparently I'm not the only one who sees a use for this technology. Today I received a message that Oracle is releasing "Demo It To Oracle" (DITO) to help troubleshoot service requests. The idea is that you can use Cam Studio to create a short video walking Oracle support through your issue. You then upload your video to your service request so that your analyst can see your issue first hand. This is seen as a possible alternative to doing an OWC (Oracle Web Conference). On the surface it sounds like a great idea, but we'll see how it works in parctice.

If you want to read more you can check out Metalink Doc ID 11.1

First Post

It seems today that almost everyone has a blog, and there are certainly no shortage of great blogs regarding Oracle.

I've decided that it's time that I jump on the bandwagon and start blogging as well. Mainly I will be trying to use this blog as a tool to more easily do knowledge sharing. I'm also hoping it will prevent me from having to "reinvent the wheel" when I need to explain things to people. I mainly plan to be blogging about the Oracle database as well as Oracle Applications (the e-business suite), although that is always subject to change.

-Brian