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AWR - licensing question [message #515599] Tue, 12 July 2011 05:43 Go to next message
piotrtal
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Hi,

I was supprised to read about licencing AWR in Oracle. I didn't know that it needs purchase additional licence for OracleTuningPack.

I supposed that if I use AWR on the package level (you know: executing snap procedures, select data from views, etc.) oracle don't need from me purchasing additional licence for this functionality.

we have Oracle 11g Engerprise Edition, and from the begining there was AWR installed and snapshoot was done every 30 minutes. I didn't realize that. I even did once a awrreport.

so what this means? i am uncompliant with oracle licencing now? should i disable this every 30 minutes snapshoting? should i purge some data from my AWR activity from the internall tables?

what is you experience with this topic. what have you done?

thanks.
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515601 is a reply to message #515599] Tue, 12 July 2011 05:57 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Michel Cadot
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Quote:
I supposed that if I use AWR on the package level (you know: executing snap procedures, select data from views, etc.) oracle don't need from me purchasing additional licence for this functionality.

You suppose wrong, if you use ANY feature of AWR you need to purchase the pack.

Quote:
we have Oracle 11g Engerprise Edition, and from the begining there was AWR installed and snapshoot was done every 30 minutes. I didn't realize that.

You can collect, this is free, but you cannot have a look to what you collected.

Quote:
so what this means? i am uncompliant with oracle licencing now?

Quote:
I even did once a awrreport

For this later part, yes, you were wrong.

Regards
Michel

[Updated on: Tue, 12 July 2011 05:59]

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Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515604 is a reply to message #515601] Tue, 12 July 2011 06:26 Go to previous messageGo to next message
piotrtal
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Michel Cadot wrote on Tue, 12 July 2011 05:57
Quote:
I supposed that if I use AWR on the package level (you know: executing snap procedures, select data from views, etc.) oracle don't need from me purchasing additional licence for this functionality.

You suppose wrong, if you use ANY feature of AWR you need to purchase the pack.


even one or two usages count? Smile

i hope i could explain this by pointing on my lack of knowledge about licencing this package in case of oracle licencing review.
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515605 is a reply to message #515604] Tue, 12 July 2011 06:32 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Littlefoot
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Lack of knowledge is hardly an excuse. You know, "I was over speeding? Gosh, I didn't know I'm allowed to drive only 50 km/h here!"

But, if I were them, I'd let you go. What can I say, my heart is made of pure gold. (Yes, yes ... I know, you always thought that it was made of some heavy metal).
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515610 is a reply to message #515605] Tue, 12 July 2011 06:53 Go to previous messageGo to next message
piotrtal
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thanks for you understanding Littlefoot. Smile

I can always restore production db (with AWR statistics in it) to the test environment and do the reports there.

as i know I can use every optional/not free functionality in the test environment without having lincense for this functionality? - i hope I am not wrong again.
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515611 is a reply to message #515610] Tue, 12 July 2011 06:56 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Michel Cadot
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Do you really think you are not wrong here?
Why not just call your production database "test" one?

Regards
Michel
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515618 is a reply to message #515611] Tue, 12 July 2011 07:50 Go to previous messageGo to next message
cookiemonster
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To be clear, what you are suggesting is basically fraud and if oracle find out they will penalise you for it.
If you want you use AWR you have to pay for the license.
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515626 is a reply to message #515618] Tue, 12 July 2011 08:29 Go to previous messageGo to next message
piotrtal
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cookiemonster wrote on Tue, 12 July 2011 07:50
To be clear, what you are suggesting is basically fraud and if oracle find out they will penalise you for it.
If you want you use AWR you have to pay for the license.


yes. you are right, but what in case if I want to check RAC function or Dataguard or partitioning, or AWR in the test environment - just for checking purpose (i would like to check what advantages it can give me in the production environment) - could i worry about licencing then?

i hope that Oracle won't check licencing for test enviroments like Microsoft and other vendors do.
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515628 is a reply to message #515626] Tue, 12 July 2011 08:37 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Michel Cadot
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The best way is to ask Oracle itself then you will have a sure and safe answer.

Regards
Michel
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515631 is a reply to message #515628] Tue, 12 July 2011 08:54 Go to previous messageGo to next message
piotrtal
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thanks everyone for help.

now i just have to worry not to look into awr reports tables, not use this funcionality, but the job for gathering AWR statistics can be up and running.
... and I will be licence compliant with Oracle - this is what i need to know.

thanks once again. i needed to be sure if i should switch off this AWR statistics gathering or not. now i know that this is not required.
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515657 is a reply to message #515631] Tue, 12 July 2011 13:29 Go to previous messageGo to next message
LNossov
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Hello Piotr,

- I suppose, you need a licence also for your test system. Apropos Oracle checks only calls of dbms_workload_repository. So you could select directly from awr views and tables without licence,
- you can use a statspack instead of awr as well. There are some differencies between awr and statspack (for ex. some segment statistics, the field other_xml and so on). But for the most purposes it should be enough.
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515660 is a reply to message #515657] Tue, 12 July 2011 13:40 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Michel Cadot
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Quote:
So you could select directly from awr views and tables without licence,

Not "check" but "can check".

Quote:
So you could select directly from awr views and tables without licence,

You could also buy no license, this is not because you can do it that you have the right to do it and ca do it.

Quote:
you can use a statspack instead of awr as well.

This is the only way if you don't purchase the license for awr (unless you want to develop your own new product).

Regards
Michel
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515707 is a reply to message #515660] Wed, 13 July 2011 00:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
LNossov
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You can find the check method for detecting of feature usage so:
SQL> select USG_DET_LOGIC from WRI$_DBU_FEATURE_METADATA 
where name ='Automatic Workload Repository';

USG_DET_LOGIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
select count(*), NULL, NULL from wrm$_snapshot 
where dbid = (select dbid from v$database) and status = 0 and bitand(snap_flag, 1) = 1 
and end_interval_time > (select max(last_sample_date) from wri$_dbu_usage_sample)

If awr snapshots will be created automatically, the flag is 0:
SQL>  select distinct bitand(snap_flag, 1) 
from wrm$_snapshot;

BITAND(SNAP_FLAG,1)
-------------------
                  0

Let us create a snapshot manually:

SQL> exec dbms_workload_repository.create_snapshot()

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.


Then the flag is 1 for this new snapshot and Oracle will detect the feature usage:

SQL> select distinct bitand(snap_flag, 1) from wrm$_snapshot;

BITAND(SNAP_FLAG,1)
-------------------
                  1
                  0



So Oracle "can check" and CHECKS.

[Updated on: Wed, 13 July 2011 02:33] by Moderator

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Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515734 is a reply to message #515707] Wed, 13 July 2011 02:37 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Michel Cadot
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You didn't just QUERY the table (which was the assumption: "So you could select directly from awr views and tables without licence"), you EXECUTED a package.
If you just query the tables, Oracle don't audit it (for the moment).
And this does not change the substance of what I said.

Regards
Michel
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515739 is a reply to message #515734] Wed, 13 July 2011 02:46 Go to previous messageGo to next message
LNossov
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I said, Oracle checks ONLY calls of dbms_workload_repository and showed, how it does it. Nothing more.

But it is OK, if you see any substance in your statement Smile .

Quote:
Not "check" but "can check".
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515750 is a reply to message #515739] Wed, 13 July 2011 03:12 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Michel Cadot
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Not the statement, the post: "this is not because you can do it that you have the right to do it and can do it". Smile

Regards
Michel
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515758 is a reply to message #515750] Wed, 13 July 2011 03:23 Go to previous messageGo to next message
LNossov
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Hi Michel,

nobody can forbidden to select from views. There is no legal way to request it.

Regards
Leonid
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515766 is a reply to message #515758] Wed, 13 July 2011 03:56 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Michel Cadot
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Yes, but Oracle did it! Wink
Remember in 10.1, ASH/AWR were (and are still) activated by default and Oracle said you can't use the associated tables and packages unless you buy the licence, when we requested how to then stop wasting ressources with its snapshots, Oracle realized we couldn't because to be able to stop we had to call a package that we were not allowed to execute ("dbms_workload_repository.modify_snapshot_settings(interval => 0)"). The only legal way was to break the job.

Regards
Michel
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515768 is a reply to message #515758] Wed, 13 July 2011 04:02 Go to previous messageGo to next message
John Watson
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If I understood Oracle licensing, I would be a salesman (and rich) instead of a technician (and broke). But I'll have a go at clarifying this. It is important, because customers can be committed to a lot of expense if their implementation and support consultants tell them to use facilities for which they are not licensed.

Use of the AWR requires the diagnostic and tuning pack, on top of your Enterprise Edition licence. Only then can you look at the AWR views and tables, and run the various APIs. There are also a number of V$ views that are part of these packs. Some of these views (but not all) are listed in the Licensing Information doc which everyone should read,
http://www.oracle.com/pls/db112/to_toc?pathname=license.112%2Fe10594%2Ftoc.htm&remark=portal+%28Books%29
For example, without the packs you may not query v$active_session_history - even though it will be populated.

One problem is that Oracle staff do not always understand licensing. Sometimes, the first thing an Oracle consultant will do on your Standard Edition database is run an AWR report.

To conclude, don't believe anything you hear about licensing from anyone (certainly not me) unless you have it backed up in writing from Oracle. And when in doubt, assume that you can't use it.





Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515770 is a reply to message #515758] Wed, 13 July 2011 04:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
piotrtal
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this is output from my production serwer

SQL>  select distinct bitand(snap_flag, 1) from wrm$_snapshot;

BITAND(SNAP_FLAG,1)
-------------------
                  0


so if we are talking not to use awr packages to be licence compliant - i am good.

i din't make snapshoot manually but they are done by the job internaly (every one hour)

SQL> SELECT snap_id, begin_interval_time FROM
  2  (
  3  SELECT * FROM DBA_HIST_SNAPSHOT
  4  ORDER BY snap_id DESC
  5  )
  6  WHERE ROWNUM < 10
  7  ;

   SNAP_ID BEGIN_INTERVAL_TIME
---------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
      3849 11/07/13 10:00:23,853
      3848 11/07/13 09:00:10,782
      3847 11/07/13 08:00:57,687
      3846 11/07/13 07:00:44,421
      3845 11/07/13 06:00:31,329
      3844 11/07/13 05:00:18,222
      3843 11/07/13 04:00:05,115
      3842 11/07/13 03:00:52,242
      3841 11/07/13 02:00:39,041


as i remeber i used @awrreport.sql script to generate raports from the stored awr statistics. is this also prohibited by oracle if i don't have licence for awr feature?

is this script write something to the database to know that i was use it?

Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515775 is a reply to message #515770] Wed, 13 July 2011 04:09 Go to previous messageGo to next message
cookiemonster
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As John says above, anything related to awr is licensed. If you don't have the license you can't use it. We will not tell you different.

Why don't you just use statspack instead - it's free.
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515780 is a reply to message #515770] Wed, 13 July 2011 04:13 Go to previous messageGo to next message
John Watson
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Piotr, you have to be very careful! This
Quote:
is this script write something to the database to know that i was use it?
reads as though you are more worried about being caught, than about staying licence compliant. Your clients will not thank you if commit them to a massive spend (though Oracle Corp might)
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515782 is a reply to message #515770] Wed, 13 July 2011 04:14 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Michel Cadot
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Quote:
so if we are talking not to use awr packages to be licence compliant - i am good.

So you didn't read what I said, just what you want to hear/read.
The 2 queries you just executed are illegal (as well as running AWR report which execute a procedure in dbms_workload_repository package).

What Oracle knows that you use (at feature level) is in dba_feature_usage_statistics view (you are allowed to query).

Regards
Michel

[Updated on: Wed, 13 July 2011 04:15]

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Re: AWR - licensing question [message #515791 is a reply to message #515782] Wed, 13 July 2011 04:28 Go to previous messageGo to next message
piotrtal
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ok guys. thanks for answers and for your will to prevent me from doing wrong.

i will switch to statspack if i need stats from my database.
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #631715 is a reply to message #515791] Mon, 19 January 2015 01:52 Go to previous messageGo to next message
ganesh_gvn
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Dear Sir,

Just want to know if I can disable and drop AWR/ADDM reports as .

We do not have licence to use AWR .

I have read few links , just want to know if I can do the things mentioned in below links. Please suggest me.

I am using 11.2.0.4 Oracle version
http://www.dba-oracle.com/t_tuning_pack_disable.htm


Thank You,
Ganesh

[Updated on: Mon, 19 January 2015 01:52]

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Re: AWR - licensing question [message #631717 is a reply to message #631715] Mon, 19 January 2015 02:01 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Michel Cadot
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Forget this site.
Read the Metalink note it gives or google for another site to get a proper answer.

Re: AWR - licensing question [message #631719 is a reply to message #631717] Mon, 19 January 2015 02:10 Go to previous messageGo to next message
ganesh_gvn
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Thanks Sir.

I am referring METALINK.
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #631750 is a reply to message #631719] Mon, 19 January 2015 08:21 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flyby
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From Oracle 11 on: Set the parameter CONTROL_MANAGEMENT_PACK_ACCESS = NONE to prevent using the diagnostic+tuning pack
link to documentation
Re: AWR - licensing question [message #631771 is a reply to message #631750] Mon, 19 January 2015 10:58 Go to previous message
Kevin Meade
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Like everyone else here, I am not an Attorney and I am not offering any legal advice, and I am only partially versed with Oracle licensing, so I am just talking.

I am pretty sure it is true that any use of AWR requires a license. This simply agrees with what most here have already said.

But I am also just as sure that at least in the United States, the Court System has already dealt with this question. Any vendor who turns on a restricted use product by default will have difficulty in making a case against anyone who uses the product by accident or design. It is considered a deceptive practice. In this situation, it is a practice that preys upon the confusion generated by Oracle Corp. itself which has been attested to by everyone on this post most of who have decades of Oracle experience and yet admit that even after that much time, they still have no clue how Oracle licensing works (which is entirely Oracle's fault since they make it complicated as all get out).

I also believe that if your are using Oracle products for self edification only (just you, not your company, and not for making money or helping anyone else make money), then you can get all the software Oracle will let you download and you can use all the features. Thus you can have every product on the Oracle shelf, downloaded and installed on your PC if you want in order to teach it to yourself. This is one of the things that makes Oracle so great. There is no reason not to know it if you want to.

Although one can claim that everyone is responsible, as a Developer and DBA, it is not your job to know what products you can or can't use. For most of us, someone else does the negotiating/licensing etc. on what products they are allowed to install and make available. Thus, unless you know it to be part of your direct responsibilities to know otherwise, when a product feature is available to you, you may use it. If you were not supposed to use it, it should not have been turned on by the person who purchased/installed/managed the product at the operating system level, or more correctly, Oracle should have turned it off in the first place when they sold you the licenses and provided any specialized install scripts. Hence the legal disclaimer we often see on software ads, "You system administrator may have disabled specific product features...".

Quote:
I was surprised to read about licensing AWR in Oracle.


This tells me, no one has told you that it is your job to worry about it. So unless you know otherwise, don't worry about it.

That is my advice anyway. Legal pundits may say I am treading a fine line here, but I for one am fed up with companies that do stupid stuff like activating products and features you did not buy and then trying to convince you later that even though they activated it, you should not have used it but since you did, now you must pay for it. This goes for even my beloved Oracle Corp.












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