Oracle Options and Packs summary screen| 6.3 and above
Oracle Options and Packs summary screen| 6.3 and above
The Oracle Options and Packs view presents potentially licensable Oracle database options usage in one summary screen. This screen, introduced in release 6.3, can be accessed via Oracle Inventory > Options and Packs .
This screen provide you with visibility of feature usage and to allow you to manipulate the data to see usage over specific time-frames/consecutive days in use, by specific options or by database names.
The screen shows a standard datagrid and all rows can be double-clicked for drill down to database properties where further, detailed evidence screens are still available as per the example below:
The Options and Packs datagrid has the following fields:
Field | Description |
Database | Database name |
Option | The licensable option equivalent |
Feature | Feature which triggers the option usage |
Currently Used | If this feature is currently in use or not |
Detected Usages | The number of times the feature has been used |
First Used | Date the feature was first used |
Last Used | Date the feature was last used |
Days in use | The number of days between first and last usage |
Additional Notes on Feature Usage and Results
The data is compiled from Features & Usage tables and so may have some anomalies when compared to additional evidence screens. These are listed below.
Amalgamated Usage Dates
Where the same feature on a database shows multiple usage dates, these and the total detected samples, will be amalgamated to one row in the Oracle Options & Packs summary data. For example, the following usage profile...
Database Instance | Feature | Detected Usages | First Usage | Last Usage |
ABC | Oracle Utility Pump Export | 1 | 01/01/2011 | 12/12/2011 |
ABC | Oracle Utility Pump Export | 1 | 01/01/2012 | 12/12/2012 |
ABC | Oracle Utility Pump Export | 1 | 01/01/2012 | 02/11/2017 |
...will be amalgamated into the summary screen as:
ABC | Oracle Utility Pump Export | 3 | 01/01/2011 | 02/11/2017 |
Missing Usage Dates
Where features are present without dates, this is because no usage dates have been recorded in the database Features & Usage or Feature Usage tables; however, other usage indicators have been found and so the feature is flagged as potentially licensable in the summary and evidence screens.
First Usage Date Anomalies
The Feature Usage data will sometimes include previous database usage information which pre-dates the evidence screen. This results in an anomaly where the first usage date in the summary screen is earlier than the evidence data. It can be proved by checking the database installation date, which should be later than the first usage date on the summary screen but earlier than the first usage date in the evidence screen.
Usage Flags
The Currently Used flag is set at the point the system was sampled for usage; the flag can and may change over time.
Usage in Summary Screen does not match Evidence Screens
Where usage is shown in the Options and Packs summary screen but is not present in the evidence screen, it is highly probable the feature usage is from a previous, cloned, database instance. This can be proved by examining the Database Unique ID (DBID) within the DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS table within the database and comparing this DBID with the DBID in Certero; if they are different, it is a cloned database and the usage is from a different environment.
Diagnostics Usage
Where Tuning Pack is shown in use, Diagnostics Pack will also be shown as used - Even if no Diagnostics related features are active. This is because Tuning Pack requires a licensing pre-requisite of Diagnostics Pack.