More than any other area of Oracle, teaching Oracle troubleshooting is extremely challenging. Troubleshooting is largely an on-the-job skill, and no amount of book learning can match the skill of an experienced Oracle troubleshooter.
Oracle has become the world's most sophisticated and flexible database, and the sheer complexity of Oracle makes it very difficult to troubleshoot.
So, how can you learn Oracle troubleshooting skills? First, it is important that students have a strong background in the internal machinations of Oracle and understand the underlying mechanisms of the Oracle engine. It is also important to recognize how Oracle alerts the DBA to problems. Finally, it is vital to know how to properly interpret error messages.
When an end user gets hung up with a process, the source of the problem could be system wise or it could be unique to their session. It is up to the Oracle DBA to understand the right questions to ask and know the right places to look for further information. The goals of Oracle troubleshooting include:
* Learn a troubleshooting methodology for use in analyzing any Oracle database
* Understand ratio-based and bottleneck troubleshooting analysis
* Learn techniques for monitoring and optimizing memory usage
* Know how to quickly pinpoint and resolve I/O hotspots at the database, storage and object level
* Using scripts to uncover session-related bottlenecks
* Understand techniques for locating and fixing problem SQL
There are also specific tip for Oracle troubleshooting that can guide a neophyte in the right direction:
* Always check the first error message - Oracle will frequently throw multiple errors, but it's always the first error that will lead you to the root cause of the problem.
* Root cause analysis is not always practical
* Know your OFA structure
* Don't be afraid to bounce
Click this link for detailed tips for the neophyte as well as other Oracle troubleshooting tips:
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Oracle Troubleshooting tips and secrets
