With Oracle Enterprise Manager you are able to monitor an Oracle environment as well as a non-Oracle environment, like Microsoft’s SQL Server.

You are also able to exchange notifications between Oracle Enterprise Manager and e.g. Microsoft’s SCOM, and there’s a choice how to monitor this heterogeneous environment. One of the criteria: licensed needed of Oracle or Microsoft’s products. And.. do you need licenses when sending notifications by mail? Hold on to this thought.

In this blog 3 scenario’s are being discussed (clarifying images later on in this post):

– OEM monitors the Oracle databases as well as the SQL Server-databases and report the notifications through e-mail to a private or central e-mail address.

– OEM monitors the Oracle database, SCOM monitors the SQL Server databases, and SCOM redirect the notifications to OEM. OEM sents the notifications through e-mail.

– OEM monitors the Oracle database, SCOM the SQL Server databases, and OEM redirect the notifications to SCOM. SCOM sents the notifications through e-mail.

Before we dive in these three scenario’s, first what basic license stuff while working with OEM.

Monitoring SQL server databases needs the System Monitoring Plug-in for SQL server:

Creating standard ‘incident rules’ don’t need licenses (screenshot of OEM-page):

Sending the notifications of these rules to SCOM for example, needs a management pack license:

And…… sending notifications to an e-mail address is part of Diagnostic Pack (!):

Diagnostic Pack needed for notifications by e-mail

I guess it’s quite an unknown requirement that you need a Diagnostic Pack for notifications per target server with a Enterprise Edition database on it, and thus often forgotten.

Notifications at Standard Edition databases

O.k. You need Diagnostic Pack licenses when e-mailing the notifications of these databases. But what about monitoring a Standard Edition database as you can’t use Diagnostic Pack with Standard Edition?

According to the mentioned rules you are not allowed to sent notifications. And however you can’t use Diagnostic Pack with Standard Edition, technically you are still able to sent notifications. This is explained in note 947827.1. : “How to Explain that Notifications Are Sent Even If the Diagnostic Pack Is Disabled for the Target ? “

Monitoring Standard Edition the same way as an Enterprise Edition is becoming quite a challenge in this way….

Notifications at O.S.-level

All this is not very consistent within OEM, while notifications on events and incidents for infrastructure targets are free of charge according to the documentation :

Querying the repository

Trying to avoid the need of a Diagnostic Pack and create a possibility to monitor a Standard Edition database in a decent way by querying the repository-views has also become quite challenging.

According to the doc you are not allowed to query monitoring views like:

while this are very interesting views to query…..

But I’m very confident Oracle is also wrestling with these inconsistencies while monitoring a (non)Oracle environment, and pop up with a solution to this widely  spread problem.

Having all this information, back to the scenario’s

Scenario 1

OEM monitors the Oracle databases as well as the SQL Server-databases and report the notifications through e-mail.

What licenses you  need here:

o Diagnostic Pack for every monitored Oracle database (=Enterprise Edition database), because you are e-mailing the notifications.

o System Monitoring Plug-in for every server where the Non-Oracle Database resides. E.g. 20 servers with a quad core (Intel based) cpu: 20 x 4 cores = 80 cores * 0,5 = 40 Oracle processors.

 

Scenario 2

OEM monitors the Oracle database, SCOM the SQL Server databases, and SCOM redirect the notifications to OEM.

OEM sents the notifications through e-mail to a private or central e-mail address.

 

Needed:

o Diagnostic Pack for every monitored Oracle database (=Enterprise Edition database), because you are e-mailing the notifications.

o Microsoft license: SCOM licenses

o Microsoft license: Microsoft Oracle management pack for SCOM

 

Scenario 3

OEM monitors the Oracle database, SCOM the SQL Server databases, and OEM redirect the notifications to SCOM. SCOM report the notifications through e-mail.

 

Needed:

o Diagnostic Pack for every monitored Oracle database (=Enterprise Edition database), because you are notifying SCOM, and this needs a so-called Management Connector for SQL server’s SCOM. This is included in Diagnostic Pack.

o Microsoft SCOM licenses

Notifications through SCOM: out of scope for this article (and frankly I don’t know, suggestions/corrections are welcome).

Wrapping up this article: look before you leap, and be aware of license consequences while clicking within the enormous potential functionality within Enterprise Manager.

Regards…

 

Sources:

Base Enterprise Manager Functionality: http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/doc.121/e24474/ch10_base_functionality.htm#OEMLI337

Oracle Enterprise Manager 12.1.0.5 , online documentation

Diagnostic pack licensing:  http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24628_01/doc.121/e24474/ch2_db_mgmt.htm#OEMLI119