Enterprise Manager Cloud Control... the smarter way of information
Seite 2/6 Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 1 Executive Summary Cloud Control 12c - the latest version of Oracle Enterprise Manager - has been available for over a year now. Release 2 (12.1.0.2), which includes for the most part bugfixes and performance enhancements has been available since autumn 2012. We feel it is time to report about initial project findings, and to assess the work that has been done in terms of the interface design and the new structure. Which do we see as the core features of Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c? As the name clearly implies, this is the first ever tool to allow the comprehensive management of an Oracle cloud. It includes a broad spectrum of functions for life cycle management (patch and release management). Other key features are made available via enhancement packs, which are licensed separately. Some of these we will have a closer look at right now: Cloud Management Pack Lifecycle Management Pack Diagnostics Pack (Event & Incident Management) 2 Working with Cloud Control benefits of this new structure. A lot of it feels a lot more consistent for the user - and some of the more complex and less frequently used functions have become a lot more intuitive. In addition to the global menu items, target-specific menus are provided, which categorise the functions for individual targets like hosts or databases.each administrator can customise his own desktop environment by way of an individual homepage. The Cloud Control concept also includes scalability via so-called Management Packs. Which of these packs are currently activated on which systems and which packs are licensed can easily be tracked via the console. Packs can now easily be activated or deactivated centrally for each individual system. Automated activation at the time of installation of new systems supports the roll-out of standards, and prevents any unintentional usage of unlicensed packs. The ease of installation has been much improved in comparison with Grid Control 11g. All middleware used by Cloud Control is automatically installed at the same time. Only the repository database must already exist before Cloud Control 12c is installed or upgraded. A direct upgrade from Grid Control to Cloud Control is available for Grid Control 11.1 or 10.2.0.5. That also includes the upgrade of all agents on the target systems, as the Grid Control agents cannot collaborate with Cloud Control. Cloud Control sports an entirely new user interface and is based on a new menu navigation. Users, who have experience with older versions, will have no problem finding their way and will soon learn to appreciate the
Seite 3/6 The following methods are available: 1-System-Upgrade The old system is upgraded on the machine on which it has been used to date, and will not be available for the duration of the process. 2-System-Upgrade The former repository is copied to a new machine. Cloud Control is then installed on that machine, and the repository copy is used as the new repository. The target systems are then successively integrated in the new system. Parallel operation of 11 and 12-type agents on a server does not pose any problem. Once the integration process is completed, then the monitoring data recorded during the parallel utilisation of the two systems can be transferred to the new repository. This method may be somewhat more cost-intensive, but on the other hand poses next to no down times. 2.1 The Basic System The basic system allows the construction of an extensive monitoring and event management architecture. Important here is the creation of a detailed concept for the required administrative groups and roles, which should be generated before the actual onboarding of the targets. A pre-defined assignment of the targets to specific target properties will result in a significantly easier and automated onboarding process (automatic role and metrics assignment). 2.2 Security The decisive factor for successful long-term utilisation of Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control is a well thought-out implementation concept. A key component here is the role and rights concept. The basic concept provides various user types, for which separate roles and privileges are assigned. A multitude of predefined privileges, subdivided into target and resource types, can be used out of the box. The new concept, in which credentials information for users is stored centrally and used globally, allows for a significantly easier rights administration. As a next step, credential information can now be named - resulting in so-called named credentials, which allows their use without knowledge of the relevant password. Named credentials are stored in a central repository, and can - in addition to the relevant username/password combination - contain SSH key pairs, Kerberos tickets, or PKI certificates. 2.3 Scalability: Plug-Ins, SelfUpdate Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c manages very different systems, which are subject to their own individual version cycles. In older versions of Enterprise Manager, the support for new systems or new versions of target systems was implemented by way of patch sets or even a newer version of Grid Control. In Cloud Control 12c on the other hand, many of the function areas were modularised. We are talking about so-called plug-ins here, which should not be confused with the monitoring plug-ins we were already familiar with from Grid Control 11g. Plug-ins implement the management of target systems and general function areas, e.g. the previously mentioned Cloud Services.
Seite 4/6 This method offers a number of advantages: The central console can be easily expanded for managing new versions by simply replacing or adding these plug-ins. When a new version of the Oracle database becomes available, the administrator will only have to create a new Oracle database plug-in, which is then imported in Cloud Control. This method will significantly speed up the adaptation of new versions. The modules for Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c provided by Oracle can be loaded directly from the Cloud Control console. This process is referred to as SelfUpdate. SelfUpdate is available in two modes: Online Mode OMS is connected to Oracle Support directly and can actively search or and download any available updates (software library). Offline Mode OMS is not directly connected to Oracle Support. Updates must therefore always be downloaded separately and then imported into the Cloud Control environment. The SelfUpdate functionality is included in the set of basic functionalities of Cloud Control. A Management Pack license is not required for its use. Individual modules (e.g. individual plug-ins) can, however, form part of a Management Pack. 3 Key Management Packs 3.1 Cloud Management Pack It does exactly what it says on the tin. The Cloud Management Pack is a central component for the onboarding and operation of an Oracle private cloud. It comprises self-service functions for users and modules that allow an originator-specific cost calculation for cloud resources. As of Cloud Control Release 2, Java applications can also be offered as a service in a private cloud (Java as a Service - JaaS). 3.1.1 Self-Service Users can be offered a kind of self-service. Virtual machines (OEL) and databases can be set up and used directly by the user on the basis of pre-defined parameters. As of Release 2, the management of Oracle VM (x86) 3.1.1 is now fully supported.
Seite 5/6 3.1.2 Chargeback Usage charges for resources, e.g. CPU, memory, storage, I/O and other costs (licenses, DBA, SA) can be defined within the system. Users are assigned to specific cost centres, and usage-related costs are calculated per user (including the cost for the allocated cost centre) based on the user s actual resource utilisation. The use of an RAC database can now be invoiced as a so-called shared database as well. The billing occurs on the basis of individual DB services used. All billing data is collated in a single spreadsheet and can be read out via SQL. 3.1.3 Consolidation Planner The Consolidation Planner is a tool used in support of optimised resource utilisation in the cloud. Recorded performance metrics can be compared automatically with available resources. The following configuration approaches are available: Cloud Control offers a graphical overview of the utilisation of individual systems, as well as of the consolidated complete system. Conservative: Max. values for a 24 hour period are added. Median: Each system utilises 80% of the maximum during each 24 hour period. Aggressive: Each system utilises the average value during each 24 hour period. 3.2 Lifecycle Management Pack The Lifecycle Management Pack is a new management pack requiring separate licensing and now includes Configuration Management (previously the Application Configuration Console - ACC), the Configuration Change Console (CCC), Provisioning & Patch Management, as well as Change Management functionalities. The above named management packs are no longer available for individual licensing. The pack now also allows the monitoring and recording of configuration settings in relevant files (e.g. listener.ora), graphic overviews of release versions of implemented software (incl. patch level) and the generation of trend analyses for the implemented versions. Configuration changes (configuration files) can now be logged easier and with more scope. Database Provisioning and Patch Management have been revised and the supplied deployment procedures can be used and adjusted for custom requirements. A new feature allows the clean separation of competences for the preparation and implementation of a provisioning process. Fixed parameters can now be defined centrally for standard deployments, which allows for a higher degree of standardisation long-term. According to Oracle, the Lifecycle Management Pack not only allows the roll-out of patches, but also the implementation of release upgrades. Currently, upgrades from DB10.2.0.x and DB11.1.0.x to DB11.2.0.x are supported.
Seite 6/6 3.3 Diagnostic Pack: Expansions for Event Management & Incident Management 3.3.1 Event Management The monitoring and management of events is - despite the expansion - made a whole lot easier by their grouping into incidents. Management occurs via a dedicated central console and in the relevantly associated targets. The process takes into account all the business priorities and the entire life cycle of the incidents. Incidents are based on a single event (e.g. target down ) or a combination of related events and can be generated either manually or automatically by way of incident rules. An integration with My Oracle Support can deliver support via context diagnostics and relevant links. 3.3.2 Metric Extensions User-defined metrics are now implemented via Metric Extension. These high value metrics support numerous Oracle targets, including Fusion Applications, Oracle Exadata, Siebel and Oracle Business Intelligence components, but also IBM Websphere. All metric extensions are bundled in a Metric Extension Library and can be edited and also applied as part of monitoring templates. A simple workflow functionality has been added for testing, publishing and deploying of the metric extensions. 3.3.3 Database Performance Management Data Performance Management has been enhanced and now offers a comprehensive overview of all relevant resources in Cloud Control, e.g. CPU, memory, or active sessions by wait classes. Some new functionalities have been added to the console specifically for performance and tuning. Their purpose is to improve overviews, provide optimised comparison options during performance bottlenecks and additional connection options in emergency mode. Additional features were introduced specifically for monitoring in ASH (Active Session History) and realtime ADDM environments, which were previously used only in a real application testing environment. 3.3.4 Exadata Management As already reported elsewhere, Exadata management has been integrated completely in Enterprise Manager Cloud Control. Once an Exadata database machine has been integrated, targets will no longer be monitored individually and independently; the DB machine will instead be captured as an individual target in Cloud Control. An overall view of all components (hardware and software) is provided, whereby the hardware view also includes InfiniBand switches, cells and compute nodes. The software view provides an option to monitor different resources and their performance and also offers a drill-down option for each of the individual targets. Imprint Date: March 2013 Author: Dirk Marhan Contact: marketing@avato-consulting.com www.avato-consulting.com 2013 avato consulting