Ignite for Oracle is the one monitoring solution that identifies, analyzes and resolves all of the performance problems affecting applications and users depending on an Oracle database.
Ignite doesn’t just show health metrics, it correlates the most important performance data to build a complete picture of Oracle database performance for the DBA, Developer and DBA manager. Response time, queries, sessions and server resources, are all analyzed by Ignite Performance Intelligence to show both historical and real-time conditions affecting database applications.
Response Time Analysis
Ignite applies Response Time analysis techniques to Oracle database performance management. Ignite measures time associated with each tiny operation – or Wait Event - and uses it to expose delays in end user service. This is the most important indicator, since it shows applications waiting on Oracle to respond.
But Ignite does not stop there. It gathers real time session data, server resource levels, and query information. It analyzes historical trends of response time over 13 different dimensions – such as wait event, program, explain plan or object. Then Ignite correlates the data to lead the DBA through the most important problems and solutions.
Ignite 8 is the biggest expansion ever for Ignite, creating a complete Oracle database performance solution. Now Ignite goes beyond response time to correlate real time session activity and server health. And now Ignite identifies the most important problems and leads the DBA or developer right to the solution.
Current and Historical Dashboards
Ignite 8 adds two new dashboards for instant viewing and analysis of each Oracle instance. The Current Dashboard highlights real time problems, updated in seconds. The Trend Dashboard identifies Top Problems found over months, weeks and days. Performance Intelligence ties it all together to correlate the symptoms and give the complete performance picture for each instance.
Top Problems
Top Problems in Ignite 8 informs the DBA of the most serious performance issues needing attention. Rather than look for clues and guess at which statistic is most important, Top Problems captures the expertise of Confio’s best DBAs to uncover urgent issues impacting performance.
The Top Problems analysis is based on Ignite Performance Intelligence. Top Problems finds trends and correlates events found hidden in the Performance Data Warehouse, then places alarms on each dashboard to make it obvious where to focus attention.
Real Time Sessions
Ignite 8 captures and displays real time session information, allowing DBAs to act instantly on critical performance issues. With session counts on the dashboard, and a detailed view of Locking and Blocking conditions, DBAs have real time information needed to respond to user calls. From the Ignite home screen, DBAs are in control, able to directly trace or kill an offending session.
Server Health Resources
New in Ignite are Server Health Resource statistics to give DBAs a complete view of server operation. From the Ignite dashboard, DBAs can see CPU, memory, disk, sessions and space and can set alarms. A customizable dashboard lets users choose from 11+ different metrics to display. Only Ignite correlates server health stats with response time, query, and problem reports.
Real Time Queries
Ignite 8 adds real time charts to show execution time, most executed, and longest running queries. Real time query charts on the dashboard give an instant view of the SQLs instantly causing application delays with data only seconds old. From there, DBAs can drill deeper into real time detail on any of the 13 response time dimensions in the Performance Data Warehouse.
Agentless Monitoring
Ignite for Oracle performance monitors Oracle databases without installing any software on the production systems. The Igniter Suite is built on a three tier architecture, with software installed only in the middle tier. DBAs, developers and managers access the solution from their browser. The Ignite PI application is installed on any server, with the Performance Data Warehouse installed in an Oracle test or development system. Ignite’s agentless probes reach across the network from PI to the monitored databases – Oracle as well as other vendors – and pull performance statistics back to the Data Warehouse.
No Load on Production Systems
Using the agentless architecture, Ignite for Oracle performance places less than 1% load on the monitored servers. For production use in the most sensitive environments, Ignite gives continuous Performance Intelligence without impacting the target system. When it is time to upgrade Ignite to access new features, all the change takes place on the Performance Data Warehouse, with nothing to change on the Client or Monitored servers. Ignite is self contained with its own captive web server, so all you need is a non-dedicated Oracle instance to house the Performance Data Warehouse.
Ignite Performance Past OEM
Confio customers know that Ignite provides deeper, faster and more effective problem resolution than using Oracle Enterprise Manager/Grid Control alone. While OEM is a great database system admin tool, Ignite is focused specifically on finding and resolving performance issues, fast.
Deeper Wait Data
Ignite analyzes more wait event data across every Oracle version – 8i through 11g – than OEM. Built from the bottom up to track response time, Ignite doesn’t just show wait event statistics, it gives performance answers. Ignite Top Problems is unmatched in OEM to perform current and statistical analysis to find the true performance problems hidden in the wait time data.
Historical Trending
Getting a true historical picture of database performance changes and trends is difficult with OEM. Ignite is built to show historical trends, ranging from months to hours and now even minutes, as a way of highlighting what the database is choking on. Where OEM gives only a snap shot of current activity, only Ignite can produce easily understood charts of changing response across SQLs, programs, objects and wait events.
Performance Focus
For routine system admin, OEM is a great tool. When the heat builds up on application performance, thousands of OEM users turn to Ignite to find the real problem. Ignite is a dedicated performance solution, not designed to provide hundreds of other routine database administrative functions. As a result, Ignite gets right to the performance point.
Communicate with Non-DBAs
Ever see a non-DBA or manager using OEM? The complex interface and setup requires special knowledge. Ignite charts are designed for communicating across groups- DBAs, managers, developers, and outside vendors. Without specialized knowledge or reading statistics, the entire team can understand a bar chart and see the trends. Reports can be delivered via email, without ever opening Ignite. Ignite makes performance problems obvious, because communicating the issue is often the biggest challenge.
Eliminate RAC Bottlenecks
As an extension of Confio Ignite for Oracle, Ignite for RAC offers DBAs unparalleled insight into overhead caused by delays in RAC cluster coordination and cache operations, which can cause critical RAC performance problems for DBAs and end-users.
Ignite for RAC performance solution identifies the impact of up to 40 different RAC-specific Wait-Events that create overhead in a RAC environment. Each SQL statement performance is analyzed for how efficiently it uses the RAC resources. Performance is measured for the entire RAC as well as individual RAC nodes at an SQL level, giving DBAs practical data on wait times between the application and database and where in the RAC cluster performance time is being wasted.
Preserve Management when Moving to Oracle SE
Budget conscious CIO’s are finding cost savings over 70% by moving applications from Oracle Enterprise Edition (EE) to Oracle Standard Edition (SE).
But what about the DBAs who must manage the transition and continue to deliver highly reliable service without the EE extras? The key performance and availability tools used as part of Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) are not available in SE.
Management Functions Not Available in Oracle Standard Edition
| Oracle EE Product Option |
Functionality removed from SE |
| Oracle Change Management Pack |
Change implementation and monitoring |
| Oracle Resource Manager |
Resource balancing |
| Oracle Tuning Pack |
SQL tuning, used from OEM/Grid Control |
| Oracle Diagnostics Pack |
Performance diagnostics and monitoring, used from OEM/Grid Control |
High Quality Performance Management with Standard Edition
Confio Ignite offers a high quality alternative to the EE management packs at a far lower cost, and is completely compatible with SE with no loss of functionality. Ignite replaces the full set of performance management and availability tools from EE with an even greater depth of response time and historical trend analysis. Without the complexity of OEM, DBAs can take a step up in service and reliability with their SE installation.
Download Ignite for Oracle free trial.
