So I have mentioned before about the replication product that we use that is based on Archived Redo Logs (Golden Gate). Well sometimes the replication process abends before the RMAN backup. Since there is no communication between the two processes, RMAN happily removes archived logs that the replication process might need the next time it starts up.

Because of this we usually like to keep a few hours worth of archived logs hanging around.

Does this suck up disk space? Yes.
Is it worth it sacrifice some disk space in order to save us some DBA time? Absolutely.

I colleague turned me on to a helpful command the other night.

Where I work we have an archived log based replication system. It was way behind on processing and the replication process doesn't give any indication of what log its currently chewing on.

/sbin/fuser to the rescue!

• 1) 'cd' to a directory where you want to check the files
• 2) run '/sbin/fuser *' to discover what processes are touching files in the directory

[oracle@test /] cd /u01/app/oracle/oradata/TEST
[oracle@test TEST] ls redo*

-- Dave

I've been using TextPad for writing Perl programs forever. TextPad is a pretty lightweight editor with a lot of decent features. Its nice because you can set up a PL document class with a syntax file to enable highlighting whenever you edit a *.pl file.

But today I'm working on a more complicated script with multiple functions. My main requirement is that there be an outline view so I can quickly jump between functions.

Allrighty, this is awesome. One of my main reasons I like to work in the office instead of at home is how my environment is set up. Things are kind of slow over the VPN so its easiest to just use Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc.exe) to connect to my work PC. But the big issue was the display. I like having a lot of screen realestate. I've got 2 21" monitors at work, and I've got the same setup at home.

Well with the latest version of mstsc.exe you can create a huge desktop session that spans both monitors!

I know using Perl backticks call I can execute an OS command and easily get the output.

I know using Perl system() call I can execute an OS command and easily get the return value.

Today I found out a way to get both.

A friend of mine just turned me on to Pentaho.

From the site:

So I took my first hands-on class from Oracle this month.

I'm usually of the 'sit down with a book and computer' camp when I need to learn something new, but where I work we needed RMAN proficiency quickly. I thought it might be better to get out of the office for a few days and buckle down on the topic.

Statspack Reports can be useful for diagnosing performance problems, but they are only useful if they are generated and available!

I found an interesting article by Scott W. Ambler on Doctor Dobbs Journal today called "Questioning Traditional Data Management".

http://www.drdobbs.com/architecture-and-design/questioning-traditional-d...

Scott points out 6 assumptions data management professionals often make and points out why he believes they are not valid assumptions. Assumptions like: It's expensive to evolve a database schema and Review and inspections are an effective way to ensure quality.

At this point in my career I have worked as a DBA about as long as I was a Software Developer so I can see both sides of this issue.