Oracle Database 10g has simplified everything from installation to tuning and troubleshooting to backup and recovery. This has made the DBA's job easier, either by completely automating tasks or by transferring control of important functions to the server.

Database Automated Features:

Database automated features have enabled database administrators to manage large, complex environments from day to day. These automated features include

• Memory management
• Storage management
• Self-diagnosis
• Centralized configuration
• Patch management capabilities

XML handling capabilities:

Oracle has introduced significant improvements to the XML handling capabilities in Database 10g. There are huge reductions in the size of server footprints required to traverse large DOMs.

Oracle 10g Grid Management:

Oracle 10g grid is like a dynamic cluster. Application servers can be added to a cluster as needed, and the cluster resources can be rearranged to suit changing business needs. The Oracle 10g grid provides flexible use of processing power and increased fault tolerance but configuration is a complex process.

Setting Up Grid:

There must be a clustered environment in order to set up a grid. Once the cluster is built, you then define services and the machines on which the services will run. This is done by specifying a primary and secondary server for each service. You then define the level of resources (70 percent, for example) that a service can consume on any particular server.

ECM ( Enterprise Configuration Management):

• ECM (Enterprise Configuration Management) is a new feature that makes it easier to manage large numbers of database servers.
• ECM is available both in Grid Control and as a single database control.
• ECM provides a centralized repository where you can store configuration policies which define anything from Oracle patches to operating system service packs to disk configurations.
• You can specify that all of your Windows 2000 Oracle servers should be on Windows Service Pack 3 and on a certain level of Oracle security patch. ECM will poll the servers every day and report back on the ones that are in violation of policy. You can then download the patches and push the updates out to the offending servers.
• ECM also checks the Oracle site for any security updates and download them.

ASM (Automatic Storage Management):

• ASM (Automatic Storage Management) automatically balances the data load across all disks in a defined disk group.
• ASM rebalances the data to its optimum configuration when new disks are added or removed. Hence it spreads the load across the drives and improves performance.
• You can add a separate instance of Database 10g on the server that will control the production instance. Within the controlling instance, you define disk groups and assign data and log files to them, a process that takes only a few clicks. It is within these groups that ASM will completely manage your files across all the disks.
• ASM supports both mirroring and striping, helping to ease data redundancy.

Backup and Restore:

RMAN (Recovery Manager) is a significant improvement in Oracle 10g. RMAN allow DBAs to keep more backups on disk for immediate recovery by compressing them.

Bounded Backup Window:

• Bounded Backup Window is one of the most significant improvements to Oracle backups.
• A Bounded Backup Window allows DBAs to specify a window of time that a backup will take to complete. The more time you allow, the fewer I/O resources the backup process will take, and the less it will interfere with production operations.

RMAN reporting enhancement:

The RMAN reporting enhancement allows DBAs to view all backups that it would take to restore a database and archive log. DBAs can also write scripts in plain text, test them before adding them to the recovery catalog, and receive alerts when space is running low.

AWR (Automatic Workload Repository):

• AWR automatically stores operational data to the database.
• By default, AWR keeps a seven-day history, but you can capture as much data as you're willing to store.
• AWR enables you to view graphs of performance metrics.
• History and snapshot intervals are completely configurable. The storage requirements are kept to a minimum by keeping each snapshot to a delta comparison of the previous snapshot.

ADDM (Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitor):

• The ADDM taps the performance diagnostics stored in the AWR.
• ADDM provides reports that show what problems exist, and many times presenting detailed analysis into the root cause and treatment.
• If ADDM refers you to you to other Advisory components if it is unable to suggest a proper fix.

Automatic Shared Memory Tuning:

• Database 10g supports management of shared memory on the server automatically.
• This Automatic Shared Memory Tuning feature reduces poor performance brought about by memory configuration mistakes made by less experienced DBAs.

Conclusion:

Oracle Database 10g represents a major step forward for enterprise database managers. The global configuration management and backup capabilities are of utmost importance for any company.

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