The Why and the How

If you have heard of Oracle Configuration Manager (OCM), but haven’t installed it, I’m guessing this is for one of two reasons. Either you don’t know how it helps you or you don’t know how to install it. I’ll address both of those reasons today. First, let’s take a quick look at how My Oracle Support and the Oracle Configuration Manager work together to gain a good understanding of what their differences and roles are before we tackle the install.

 

Oracle Configuration Manger is the tool that actually performs the data collection task. You deploy this lightweight piece of software into your system to collect configuration information about the system and OCM uploads that data to Oracle’s customer configuration repository. Oracle Support Engineers then have the configuration data available when you file a service request. You can also view the data through My Oracle Support.

The real value is that the data Oracle Configuration Manager collects can help you avoid problems and get your Service Requests solved more quickly. When you view the information in My Oracle Support’s user interface to OCM, it may help you avoid situations that create problems.

The proactive tools included in Oracle Configuration Manager help you avoid issues before they occur. You also save time because you didn’t need to open a service request. For example, you can use this capability when you need to compare your system configuration at two points in time, or monitor the system health. If you make the configuration data available to Oracle Support Engineers, when you need to open a Service Request the data helps them diagnose and resolve your critical system issues more quickly, which means you get answers more quickly too.

Quick Installation Process Overview

Before we dive into the step-by-step details, let me provide a quick overview. For some of you, this will be all you need. Log in to My Oracle Support and download the data collector from Collector tab. If you don’t see the Collector tab, click the More tab gain access. On the Collector tab, you will find a drop-down list showing which platforms are available. You can also see more ways to the Collector can help you if you click through the carousel of benefits.

After you download the software for your platform, use FTP to move that file (.zip) from your PC to the server that hosts the Oracle software. Once you have that file on the server, locate the $ORACLE_HOME directory, and unzip the file within that directory. You can then use the command line tool to start the installation process. The installation process requires the

• My Oracle Support credential (Support Identifier, username, and password)
• Proxy specification (Host IP Address, Port number, username and password)

Installation Step-by-Step

1. Download the collector zip file from My Oracle Support and place it into your $Oracle_Home
2. Unzip the zip file you downloaded from My Oracle Support – this will create a directory named CCR with several subdirectories
3. Using the command line go to “$ORACLE_HOME/CCR/bin” and run the following command “setupCCR”
   
4. Provide your My Oracle Support credential: login, password, and Support Identifier
5. The installer will start deploying the collector application
6. You have installed the Collector

Post Installation

Now that you have installed successfully, the scheduler is ready to collect configuration information for the software available in your Oracle Home. By default, the first collection will take place the day after the installation.

If you want to run an instrumentation script to start the configuration collection of your Oracle Database server, E-Business Suite, or Enterprise Manager, you will find more details on that in the Installation and Administration Guide for My Oracle Support Configuration Manager.

Related documents available on My Oracle Support

• Oracle Configuration Manager Installation and Administration Guide [ID 728989.5]
• Oracle Configuration Manager Prerequisites [ID 728473.5]
• Oracle Configuration Manager Network Connectivity Test [ID 728970.5]
• Oracle Configuration Manager Collection Overview [ID 728985.5]
• Oracle Configuration Manager Security Overview [ID 728982.5]
• Oracle Software Configuration Manager: Disconnected Mode Collection [ID 453412.1]