TwoCoast >> TCSupportCenter >> TCAgent

TCAgent

TCAgent is the robust and flexible database monitoring component of TCSupportCenter. Written in Java, TCAgent runs on any server that runs Oracle. TCAgent's internal scheduler executes a wide variety of tasks that monitor your databases for conditions that may affect expected service delivery. It sends alerts to TCSupportWeb where they are logged in TCSupportCenter's job ticketing system. TCAgent tasks also transmits data dictionary information and performance statistics to TCSuportWeb; this information is recorded and analyzed to identify performance problems and growth patterns.

TCAgent Tasks

TCAgent's responsibility is to execute tasks and, when necessary, transmit information to TCSupportCenter. TCAgent tasks are organized into five categories, defined as follows:

Database Monitor Database Monitor tasks check the database for conditions that interrupt expected service delivery. The most basic task, DBCheck, makes sure that the database is up and accepting new connections. A broad range of other tasks monitor every aspect of database health and performance. Task List...
Database Report Database Report tasks collect performance, configuration, and storage information from Oracle's data dictionary. TCAgent transmits this information to TCSupportWeb where it is stored in the TCSupportCenter repository and analyzed to identify performance problems and growth patterns. Task List...
Database Utility Database Utility tasks execute general Oracle maintenance functions like exports, analyzes, and hot backups. Task List...
Server Monitor Server Monitor tasks monitor the host server for conditions that indicate a problem or potential problem with the database environment. Task List...
Server Utility Server Utility tasks execute generate operating system maintenance functions. TaskList...

Proactive Monitoring

TCAgent tasks are designed to spot problems before they cause an outage or performance degradation. TCAgent's robust alert notification system (integrated with TCSupportWeb) ensures that TwoCoast DBAs are on the case quickly to resolve any issue.

Flexible and Extendible

TCAgents tasks are highly configurable. TCAgent task configurations are stored in TCSupportCenter and managed using the TCSupportWeb interface. Task thresholds and schedules are individually configurable for each managed database. For example, the ThresholdMonitor task may be configured to send an alert when the number of Oracle processes exceeds 70% of max_processes in the production database and 90% in the development database. Because task configurations are maintained in TCSupportCenter and are accessible using TCSupportWeb, clients can easily review how their databases are being monitored.

TCAgent's plug-in architecture enables the quick addition of custom tasks. TwoCoast often implements application monitoring and maintenance tasks to meet specific client needs. TCAgent's command line interface enables the generation alerts from external scripts or applications.

Built-in Redundancy

TCAgent is highly integrated with TCSupportWeb. TCAgent interacts with TCSupportWeb in the following ways:

  • TCAgent clients notify TCSupportWeb when they are started and stopped
  • TCAgent clients download task configurations from TCSupportWeb on startup
  • TCAgent clients send all alerts and report data to TCSupportWeb

But what happens when network connectivity to TCSupportWeb is interrupted? The following TCAgent features assure continuity of coverage:

  • At startup, TCAgent uses a cached configuration, saved from the last normal startup
  • TCAgent transmits alerts directly (via SMTP) to a (configurable) list of known text pagers

TCSupportWeb even has an internal monitor that makes sure that 'heartbeats' sent from TCAgent clients are received at regular intervals.

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