Dear DBAs,
Please take a moment to consider the following:
- Have you ever provided the wrong trace file to Oracle Support?
- Have you been asked to provide yet another trace file?
- Would you like to provide all the relevant diagnostic files to Support in one go?
Do these points resonate with you? Please read on for some exciting news...we now have the Diagnosibility Framework (DFW)!
DFW is more than just a cool new 11g feature; it is a strategic step to enable Oracle products to collect incident diagnostics at first failure. In addition to improving your engagement with Oracle Support, it aims to address a frustrating element of your role: hearing that the diagnostic information you provided Oracle Support was wrong or insufficient.
This practical new framework is aimed at helping customers, support engineers and developers. To put it simply, it provides the ability to collect all the relevant diagnostic information for a problem at the point when the incident is reported and then to upload all information captured to Support when the associated SR is logged.
In 11g, all trace files relevant to a database incident (critical error) are stored in the Automatic Diagnostic Repository (ADR). Using ADRCI or the Support Workbench, you can easily package all files specific to the incident (Incident Packaging Service - IPS) . When an incident is reported, all you need to do is run a command to package the corresponding diagnostics and upload the package through MOS with your SR. The uploaded package will include the alert log and all the relevant trace files related to the incident. The uploaded files will be visible to the Oracle Support Engineer as soon as they query the SR. The package will also be available to all other Oracle Support Engineers that assist you with your SR and to Oracle Development, if needed.
IPS ensures accuracy and avoids unnecessary roundtrips with Oracle Support Engineers. Here are some additional pointers to help with DFW:
When to create an IPS package
Not all problems in 11g will generate a package. DFW handles certain types of errors that create incidents. Anytime an incident is created, it is highly recommended to use IPS. Errors resulting in an incident can be found in the alert log or by viewing all created incidents using ADRCI.
The current implementation of DFW handles the following critical errors:
- Generic Internal error ORA-600, ORA-700
- Out of memory ORA-4030, ORA-4031
- Internal SQL error ORA-603
- Session terminated by fatal error ORA-604
- System access violation ORA-7445 (SIGSEGV, SIGBUS, ...),ORA-3113
- Deadlock on library objects ORA-4020
- Invalid rowed ORA-1410
- Data block corrupted ORA-1578
- Object no longer exists ORA-8103
- File access error ORA-376
- Error with redo log ORA-353, ORA-355, ORA-356
An 11g SR with any of the above errors is considered an incident SR and should be considered for package creation and upload via MOS.
If I have already uploaded an alert log, should I upload an IPS package?
Absolutely, especially if the root cause of the issue is still not identified. IPS collects additional diagnostics and trace files based on the execution paths and active processes at the time of the incident. This is determined by the Diagnostic Data Extractor (DDE), a component of DFW. Such diagnostic information is often overlooked; however, this information may be critical in determining the root cause. This is particularly useful if the problem results in a product defect report. The additional traces can be crucial for development, and providing an IPS package will save you time by proactively providing this information.
Is there a community for DFW?
There is a community in My Oracle Support called 'Diagnostic Repository (ADR) and Packaging'. Please use this community to ask/respond to questions and monitor for information and tips.
Where to find steps and more information?
Please refer to the following notes:
- Note 422893.1 - 11g Understanding Automatic Diagnostic Repository.
- Note 443529.1 - 11g Quick Steps to Package and Send Critical Error
- Note 1091653.1 = - 11g Quick Steps - How to create an IPS package using Support Workbench
IPS adoption is growing, make sure that your organization is not missing out!
Amin Abbas, Support Director, Oracle