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Knowledge Base for Oracle Administration by Quest SoftwareTopics19 June 2001Author: Sumathy Thankam Panicker |
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SummaryA must have online reference/companion for any Oracle DBA. It enhances the productivity of the DBA by 90 percent, as he/she no longer has to spend hours searching books for syntax, troubleshooting and research. With just a few clicks even a junior DBA would be able to provide answers to complex technical questions. Also useful for Developers, especially to lookup Oracle Messages! This is a very useful product which is why so many leading companies like Quest and BMC integrate it and resell it.
HistoryQuest Software, Inc., based in Maryland/Virginia, has developed the Knowledge Base for Oracle Administration. It was introduced in 1995 at the IOUG-A conference in Philadelphia, PA. The Knowledge Base gets updated twice a year based on the progress of Oracle technology and is written by renowned industry experts. The product can be accessed from Quest Software’s TOAD (see ORAFAQ review), SQL Navigator, CA's SQL Station, Embarcadero’s DBArtisan and Rapid SQL (see ORAFAQ review) and BMC Software's SQL*Programmer (see ORAFAQ review).The review is based on the latest Spring 2001 release version 2001.1.
What is great about this productThe Knowledge Base offers detailed technical insights on Oracle Database Administration at your fingertips. It has over 2,600+ topics that deliver clear information, methods, syntax diagrams, and reusable code examples. The Instant Messages tool gives you access to Oracle error messages and within seconds of encountering an error message, you'll have the full description with recommended actions. You can add your own notes to these messages and share it with your co-workers if you have a LAN enabled version. The Instant Scripts module includes over two hundred instant scripts on various DBA topics. You can also interact, share your knowledge and get expert advice from Quest Software's Pipelines.Supported Operating Systems and VersionsThe Knowledge Base runs on Microsoft Windows platforms 98/2000/NT. It supports Oracle versions 7.x through 8.1.7. Quest Software say they will add support for Version 9 in the fall release ( October ).
InstallationInstallation is very simple and straightforward. The licensed version of the program must be downloaded from Quest Software's web site. A short form has to be completed and email will be sent to you with the download URL. The installer runs without problems and you will be asked for a license key the first time you run the software. Approximately 50MB of free disk space is required. A minimum of 16MB of memory is required, 64MB or higher is preferred. The complete installation takes less than 10 minutes.You can download a free 30 day trial version here The Knowledge Base version 2001.1.1 was tested on an NT 4 SP5 workstation. This system also had SQL* Programmer version 2001.0.2 installed
What it doesQuest Software's Knowledge Base for Oracle Administration is a tool that helps DBAs find answers they need. It allows instant access to high quality technical material comprising over 2600 topics involving database administration, tuning and network administration. Staff members can start using this product with little or no training and can get answers to 70-80 percent of their technical questions. You also get a powerful suite of supporting tools like Instant Messages, Instant Scripts and DB*ACE. Instant Messages gives you instant access to over 25,000 Oracle messages. Instant Scripts gives you over 200 scripts from installation to backup and recovery; plus you can add your own scripts. DB*ACE is a comprehensive study guide for Oracle7, 8, & 8i OCP exams.
Who should use it?All levels of DBA's from beginners to experts can use this product on a daily basis. Most Oracle PL/SQL developers, all levels of experience, will find the error message section useful.
Competitive productsCurrently there are no competitive products for the Knowledge Base. The product complements Oracle manuals and supplies content to solve specific problems and can be customized. You can add your own topic notes, documents, spreadsheets and programs to any Knowledge Base topic or error message.
Detailed reviewThe Knowledge base comprises mainly of two modules:
Apart from these it also has a section on
Object Management
Administration and Tuning
 expand picture The great thing about this section it provides platform specific tuning recommendations. It also provides a DBA Checklist which is especially useful for new DBA's. It also provides detailed procedures with examples for several recovery scenarios. I remember the days when I had to consult a dozen books and manuals for setting my initialization parameters while creating a database. Now I just have to do a few clicks on my Knowledge Base and I can get insights on how to set up the parameters for different environments like datawarehousing, parallel server etc.  Network Management 
expand picture This section helps a DBA to troubleshoot connectivity parameters and to configure Oracle clients. Instant Messages 
expand picture This section gives you access to 25,000 Oracle messages including Oracle 8i messages. You just type in the message number and you have the description and recommendations. It caters to multiple versions i.e. 7.3,8.0,8i. You can add your own comments to these messages and share it with co workers if you have a LAN version. You can keep it minimized on your desktop, it takes up just 10MB of memory. You can do partial message search and search by message types. Instant Scripts This section gives you access to over 200 scripts divided into 6 categories (so there is no need for you to reinvent the wheel) of Oracle administration:
You can also modify and create your own custom scripts. Instant Scripts allows you to store the user scripts with the Quest Software scripts sorted into appropriate categories. DB*ACE DB*ACE is tool to help you prepare for Oracle DBA Certification from Oracle Corporation or Chauncey Corporation. Two Study Guides are supplied with DB*Ace. One set is aligned to the specific areas of expertise that are tested with the OCP test and the other to the Chauncey tests. DB*Ace also contains a sample OCP practice test as well as a self-paced DBA exam. The self-paced exam is useful as a general DBA skills assessment. The questions are grouped into categories and include a ranking based on their difficulty, a valid answer as well as links to supporting Quest Software topics. The OCP sample test is designed to mimic the type of questions you will encounter on the actual OCP exam. Third party Integration The Knowledge Base can be accessed from Quest Software’s TOAD (see ORAFAQ review), SQL Navigator, CA's SQL Station, Embarcadero’s DBArtisan and Rapid SQL (see ORAFAQ review) and BMC Software's SQL*Programmer (see ORAFAQ review). I did test it with SQL*Programmer and it worked great.
ShortcomingsThere is no web based version of this product. It would be nice to access the product through a web browser. An online version would also allow more frequent updates.
Cost and where to buyQuest Software Knowledge Bases are licensed at $395 plus shipping fees of $10 to $40 for an individual, named-user basis. License fees includes all software enhancements, upgrades and technical support for a one-year license term. Each named-user licensee may install the licensed software on his/her workstation, at home and on notebook PCs. For ordering you need to fill an HardCopy Order Form and fax it to Quest Software's office 301.947.9610. For multi user network licenses call Quest Software sales at 800.738.3254.Download a 30 day free trial here. Limitations on the free trial version are i) The Print/Copy/Paste facilities are disabled ii) With InstantScripts, you can view a tree of 218 script titles, but the actual scriptsw aren't available until you license the software. iii) The DB*ACE Study Guide for OCP Certification works fine, but the sample tests (700 questions) are not available in the trial version. [No licence/registration keys are needed for the 30-day trial.]
SupportThe price of the Knoweledge Base includes 1 year of maintenance and support. After the first year support and updates costs $295 per year.I encountered some problems while accessing the Knowledge Base from SQL*Programmer and Quest Software's Support Team troubleshooted and solved it very efficiently and promptly via email. The Support page on Quest Software's website offers a FAQ, Version Specific Patches and an Email Support Form. Phone support is available at 540.373.7703 Monday through Friday between 8AM and 5PM EST.
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