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Introduction to Oracle Capacity Planner

Oracle Capacity Planner is an Oracle Enterprise Manager application that allows you to collect different types of performance statistics and record that data in an historical database. You can then use Oracle Capacity Planner to analyze the historical data to plan future capacity.

Oracle Capacity Planner uses the Intelligent Agent (Agent) to collect its historical data. To collect most types of data, you must install the Agent on the system (or systems) where you want to collect data. See the Oracle Intelligent Agent User's Guide for information on managing the Agent.

If you are using Oracle Capacity Planner to collect concurrent manager data, the Agent can be installed on another system.

The types of performance data that Oracle Capacity Planner can collect on a system depend on the products that are installed. Table 4-1 shows the types of data that Oracle Capacity Planner can collect when various Oracle products are installed. The number of targets that appear in the Capacity Planner navigator tree will also vary, depending on the number of applications you have installed.

Table 4-1 Data That Capacity Planner Can Collect When Various Oracle Products are Installed  

Oracle Product	Oracle Concurrent Manager Data	Oracle Database Data	Node (Operating System) Data	SAP R/3 System Data	Microsoft SQL Server Data
Diagnostics Pack	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Management Pack for Oracle Applications	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Management Pack for SAP R/3	No	No	Yes	Yes	No

If additional products from Oracle are installed, Oracle Capacity Planner may be able to collect additional types of data not shown in Table 4-1.

How Capacity Planner Collects and Stores Performance Data

The following list identifies how Capacity Planner uses the Agent to collect performance data:

• The Agent collects the data at an interval you specify from within Capacity Planner.

  The Agent stores the data in an efficient binary form.

• At a specified loader interval, the data is read from this binary file and stored in a readable form in the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database.

  The Agent also aggregates the data by time, creating summary statistics for the data that is collected at different time intervals (hour, day, week, and so on).

• Over time, the Agent purges the data in the historical database, keeping only as much data as you specify.

  Purging the historical data allows you to have access to a current view of recent performance data for your environment and to manage the amount of stored data to avoid wasting disk space.

Accessing Historical Data Through an Intermediate Host

Oracle Performance Manager relies on the Agent to monitor a target (such as a node, a database, or a concurrent manager). Usually, the collection of the data is done on the system where the target is located. However, for some types of targets Oracle Performance Manager can also monitor data on a system by using the Agent on another system (an intermediate host).

This intermediate host could be the client system where the Oracle Performance Manager is running, or any other system on the network on which the Agent is available.

There are three ways to set the location of the Agent. The method you use depends on how you connect to the target. Consider the following scenarios:

• You connect to a database that has been discovered using the Enterprise Manager console and you are running Oracle Capacity Planner while connected to the Oracle Management Server.

  Capacity Planner attempts to connect to the Agent on the host where the target is located. If this connection fails or cannot be attempted because no preferred credentials have been set for the database, you will be prompted with a dialog box containing logon credentials for the database. You can use the Connection Details dialog box to specify the location of the Agent that will be used to collect performance data.

  
  
• You click the Add Service button in the toolbar panel and manually add the target to the navigator.

  Capacity Planner displays a Logon dialog box. This dialog box also contains a field to specify the location of the Agent that will be used to collect performance data.

• You select a target in the Capacity Planner navigator tree and choose Set Connection Details from the File menu.

  Capacity Planner displays the Database Logon dialog box for the selected target. This dialog box also contains a field to specify the location of the Agent that will be used to collect performance data.

Usage Scenarios for Oracle Capacity Planner

Oracle Capacity Planner can perform tasks such as the following:

• Track the increase in the amount of used space on a disk over time and estimate when 95 percent of the space on the disk will be consumed
• Track the increase in the total I/O rate for a host over time, then estimate what the total I/O rate for the host will be at some future point in time
• Determine thresholds to set in Performance Manager by evaluating historical data gathered in Capacity Planner
• Provide a predefined set of data that measures performance (Oracle Recommended Collection)
• Publish historical data to a website where administrators and system administrators can view data that is periodically updated
• Display a chart that shows the number of forms sessions per user and per application; estimate how the numbers will change over a designated period of time.

Starting Oracle Capacity Planner

You can start Oracle Capacity Planner in any of the following ways:

• On the Oracle Enterprise Manager console, click the Application Management drawer, then click the Capacity Planner icon.
• On the Oracle Enterprise Manager console, select a Concurrent Manager target, click the right mouse button, point at Related Tools in the context menu, then click Capacity Planner.
• On the Tools menu of the Oracle Enterprise Manager console, point to Application Management, then click Oracle Capacity Planner.
• From the UNIX command line, change directory to the ORACLE_HOME/bin directory (where ORACLE_HOME represents the home directory in which the Management Pack for Oracle Applications is installed), then type the following command:

  ./oemapp cp
  
  

• From the Start menu, point to Programs, then to the Oracle Home where Oracle Enterprise Manager is installed, then to Oracle Applications, then click Capacity Planner, which displays the Capacity Planner Login dialog box.

  Enter the appropriate connect information for your Oracle Enterprise Manager repository, then click OK.

Using Help

When you are using Oracle Capacity Planner, you can display context-sensitive help topics. You can also display conceptual topics and task topics.

To obtain context-sensitive help for an Oracle Capacity Planner panel, window, dialog box, or property page, select an item in the panel, window, dialog box, or property page, then on the Help menu, choose Window.

To obtain context-sensitive help for a class, chart, or data item on a property page, select the class, chart, or data item on the property page, then take one of the following actions:

• Press F1.
• Click the Help icon on the toolbar.
• On the Help menu, choose Selected Item.

If a help topic is not available for a class, chart, or data item, a No Help Available message is displayed when you request help.

To view the Contents page for the Oracle Capacity Planner help, on the Help menu, choose Contents. On the Contents page, you can:

• View a list of the conceptual help topics by double-clicking the Conceptual Topics book on the help system's Contents page.

  Conceptual topics provide conceptual or overview information of which you should be aware before performing a particular Oracle Capacity Planner task. Conceptual topics do not contain step-by-step information for performing a task.

• View a list of the task help topics by double-clicking the Task Topics book on the help system's Contents page.

  Task topics provide step-by-step instructions for accomplishing an Oracle Capacity Planner task. They do not provide conceptual information that you should be aware of before performing the task.

You can access a glossary of Oracle Capacity Planner terms by double-clicking the Oracle Capacity Planner Glossary book on the Contents page.

Using Oracle Capacity Planner

You may find it helpful to think of using Oracle Capacity Planner as a two-step process:

1. Setting up the collection of historical data

   See "Setting Up a Collection" for a detailed description of how to collect historical data.

2. Analyzing the collected data

   See "Analyzing Collected Data" for a detailed description of how to analyze collected data.

Setting Up a Collection

To set up a historical data collection with Oracle Capacity Planner, you:

1. Select (and connect to) the targets for which you want to collect historical data.
2. Define the frequency of collection samples.
3. Define the location of the historical database and the frequency at which collected data should be loaded in the historical database.
4. Define the amount of data to be kept in the Oracle Capacity Planner database at each time interval.
5. Select the classes of data to collect, based on what is available in the Oracle Capacity Planner navigator.

Figure 4-1 shows the steps to follow when setting up a collection. For more information on each step, see the following sections.

Figure 4-1 Steps for Setting Up a Collection

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Selecting Targets

You can select one or more targets from which you want to collect historical performance statistics. For example, when you have the Management Pack for Oracle Applications installed, the target types are typically Nodes and Concurrent Managers.

The procedure for selecting a target depends upon whether or not the server resides on a node that is known to the Enterprise Manager main console. A node is known to the console when it has been discovered with the Enterprise Manager console Discover Nodes command.

Selecting Targets on Discovered Nodes

To select a target on a node that has been discovered by the Enterprise Manager console:

1. Click the Collection tab of the Oracle Capacity Planner navigator panel, which displays the Oracle Capacity Planner collection view.
2. Double-click one of the target type folders.

   The Oracle Capacity Planner navigator tree displays the targets of the selected type that are known to the Oracle Enterprise Manager main console.

   
   
3. Select the target from which you want to collect performance data and click the Connect button in the Capacity Planner toolbar, or click the plus sign (+) next to the target in the navigator.

   When you connect to a target in the Oracle Capacity Planner navigator panel, you may be prompted for credentials if they are required to connect to that target. If a logon dialog box appears, click Help for information on the individual fields on the dialog box.

   After you connect to a target, the available collection classes for that target appear in the navigator and Oracle Capacity Planner displays the Target property sheet for the selected target. For example, Figure 4-2 shows the classes that appear when you connect to a Windows NT node target.

Figure 4-2 Selecting a Target in the Oracle Capacity Planner Window

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Selecting Targets on Undiscovered Nodes

If you double-click a target type and the target you are looking for does not appear in the target type folder, you can do one of the following:

• Use the Enterprise Manager console to discover the node where the target resides.

  This is the preferred method for adding a target to the Capacity Planner navigator panel. When you discover a node with the Enterprise Manager console, Capacity Planner saves key information about the target, such as the preferred credentials, location of the Agent, and historical database information.

• Add the target manually to the Capacity Planner navigator panel.

  When you add a target manually, the target is added for the current session of Capacity Planner only. You can start gathering data for the target, but the next time you start Capacity Planner, the target will not appear in the navigator panel. To modify collection settings or analyze data collected for the target, you will have to add the target again the next time you start Capacity Planner.

To add a target manually:

1. Select the target type for the target you want to add.

   
   

2. Click the Add Service button in the Capacity Planner toolbar.

   Capacity Planner displays a message to remind you that targets you add manually will be available for the current session of Capacity Planner only.

3. Click Yes.

   Capacity Planner displays a logon dialog box for the target. Click Help if you need information about any of the specific fields on the dialog box.

4. After you fill in the logon credentials, click OK to connect to the target.

   After you connect to a target, the available collection classes for that target appear in the navigator and Oracle Capacity Planner displays the Target property sheet for the selected target (Figure 4-2).

About the Target Property Sheet

When you connect to a target, Oracle Capacity Planner displays the Target property sheet, which contains the following property pages:

• Collection Options page
• Storage Options page
• Purge Options page

The collection, load, and purge settings you select on these pages apply to all the classes in the selected target. You cannot change these settings for a selected class; you can change them only for a selected target.

Defining the Frequency of Collection Samples

When you first connect to a target, Capacity Planner displays the Collection Options property page. The values you select on this page determine how often the Agent will collect information about the selected target and save it to disk. On the Collection Options property page, you can set the frequency of collection samples using either of these two methods:

• By selecting the number of data samples to collect for a specified time interval

  For example, to collect information 3 times every hour, select Samples per Time Interval, enter 3 in the text field, and choose Hours from the drop-down list.

  
  
  Text description of the illustration cp_smpl_interval.gif
• By specifying the length of time between collection samples

  For example, to collect information every 20 minutes, select Time Between Samples, enter 20 in the text field, and choose Minutes from the drop-down list.

  
  
  Text description of the illustration cp_time_betwn.gif

  Note: To configure the settings for collecting data, the Agent that will collect data for a target must be running. Normally, the Agent is located on the host where the target is located.

Defining the Location of the Historical Database

After you set the frequency of collection samples, use the Storage Options tab to specify the location of the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database. This setting defines where Capacity Planner will save information collected for the selected target. When data is saved in the historical database, you can later analyze the data or use it to generate trend analyses.

By default, collected data is saved in your Oracle Enterprise Manager repository. However, you can specify an alternate database for the historical data if you do not want to store historical data for the selected target in the repository.

To save the data collected for a target in a location other than the Oracle Enterprise Manager repository:

1. From the Storage Options tab, select Store historical data in alternate location.
2. Enter the credentials for the database that will store the collection data for the target.

   Enter the appropriate user name, password, and target for the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database. This connection information is used by the Agent when it loads the collected data at the specified loader interval. Therefore, the target specified for the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database must be known and accessible from the host where the Agent is running.

   For example, if you specify MY_DB.WORLD as the historical database and your Agent is running on host MYNODE, then database MY_DB.WORLD must be reachable via Net8 or SQL*Net from host MYNODE (MY_DB.WORLD must exist in the TNSNAMES.ORA file for host MYNODE, for example).

Defining the Frequency of Loading Collection Data

After you define how often data will be collected and where the data will be stored, you can define how often the data will be loaded into the historical database.

You can determine how frequently the Oracle Capacity Planner loader program loads collection data for the target using either of these two methods:

• Using the Per Time Interval field to specify the number of loader passes for a specified time interval
• Using the Time Between field to specify the length of time between loader passes

  Note: Although data can be collected at short time intervals (such as 5, 10, or 15 minutes), collected data is not available to you for analysis until it has been loaded into the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database. Therefore, the load interval you specify controls when the most recently collected data will be visible to you.

The collection frequency you set determines the lowest time interval for which Oracle Capacity Planner can analyze data. For example, if you want to be able to analyze data from hourly intervals, you need to set a collection frequency of at least once an hour.

After you define the frequency of loading collection data, you can set a time for the next loader pass by using the Next Transfer Occurs at field:

1. Click the value that you want to change in the date and time box.
2. Click the up or down arrow to select a higher or lower value.

   
   
   Text description of the illustration cp_next_transfer_field.gif

   If the current time is later than the time displayed for the Next Transfer Occurs at setting, click Refresh View to update the display to show the actual time of the next loader pass.

Note that the values that you select on the Storage Options property page apply to all classes of data collected on the selected target.

Understanding When the Loader Runs

The loader runs at the regular time interval specified on the Storage Options property page. The time specified in the Next Transfer Occurs at field controls when the loader runs. For example, if you want the loader to run once a day at 2:00 a.m., then set the transfer interval to once per day, and set the next transfer time to the next day at 2:00 a.m. The loader will run for the first time at 2:00 a.m. the next day, and then will run once a day, each day at 2:00 a.m.

You can use the Next Transfer Occurs at field to force the loader to run immediately--or as soon as possible. Simply set the next transfer time to a time earlier than the current time.

Understanding How Data Aggregation Works

As it loads data into the database, Oracle Capacity Planner automatically aggregates the data. During aggregation, Oracle Capacity Planner examines the collection samples for a given time interval, calculates an average value for that interval, then uses that average value for calculations at the next larger time interval.

On each loader pass, Oracle Capacity Planner examines the time stamps of all collected data to determine whether or not the threshold for a set interval (hour, day, week, month, or year) has been crossed since the previous loader pass. If so, Oracle Capacity Planner performs an aggregation of collected data from the next smaller interval to the interval threshold just passed. Table 4-2 shows the larger time interval to which data at each time interval is aggregated.

Table 4-2 Aggregation of Data from Smaller to Larger Time Intervals  

Data at This Interval	Aggregates to This Interval
Minutes	Hours
Hours	Days
Days	Weeks
Weeks	Months
Months	Years

An example may help clarify how Oracle Capacity Planner aggregates collection data. Suppose Oracle Capacity Planner is collecting a data sample every 10 minutes to capture the percentage of used space on a particular disk, and the loader runs once an hour. When the Oracle Capacity Planner loader runs and transfers data into the Oracle Capacity Planner database every hour, it examines the values for the percentage of used disk space in the samples collected during the previous hour, then it computes an average percentage for the samples. That average percentage is then used as the average value for the hour.

At the first loader pass after midnight, Oracle Capacity Planner uses the hourly averages since midnight the previous day to compute the day's percentage of used disk space.

At the first loader pass after midnight on Saturday, Oracle Capacity Planner examines the daily averages of used disk space since midnight the previous Saturday and computes an average percentage for the week.

At the first loader pass after midnight on the last calendar day of the month, Oracle Capacity Planner examines the weekly averages since midnight on the last calendar day of the previous month and computes an average percentage for the month.

Finally, at the first loader pass after midnight on December 31, Oracle Capacity Planner examines the last 12 monthly averages to compute a yearly average.

Defining the Amount of Data to Keep

The final step in setting up a target for historical data collection is defining the amount of data to keep.

When you select a target, you can click the Purge Options tab to display the Purge Options property page. On this page, you specify the amount of data you want to store in the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database for each type of data (for example, hour data, day data, and week data). You can accept the default Purge Options property page values or choose different values.

The values set on the Purge Options property page apply to all classes of data collected on the selected target.

The values you specify in the data retention table (the Enter the amount of data you want to keep table on the Purge Options page) determine how far back in time you can go to analyze data for the different types of data.

Suppose, for example, you always want to be able to view hour data for the previous six weeks. In this case, for the Hours Data Type row in the data retention table, you would enter 6 in the Timespan column and Weeks in the To Keep column. This tells Oracle Capacity Planner that you want to keep hour data for a 6-week period. Oracle Capacity Planner calculates 6 weeks from the current time, and the Purge Data Older Than column shows the time span for which hour data is available. Table 4-3 shows the Hours row in the data retention table with this data entered.

Table 4-3 Specifying How Much Data to Keep for a Data Type

Data Type	Timespan	To Keep	Purge Data Older Than
Hours	6	Weeks	(current date minus 6 weeks)

For each row in the data retention table, you can choose the time span to keep data samples for that type of data by entering the desired value in the Timespan to Keep column.

Applying and Reverting the Collection Settings for a Target

When you finish setting all the options on the Target property sheet, do the following to apply your collection settings:

1. Click Apply.

   If you changed the location of the historical database on the Storage Options page, Capacity Planner displays a message box reminding you that any information stored in the previous location will not be available for analysis.

   If you don't want to be reminded about this implication the next time you change the database location, select Don't show this message again.

2. Click OK.

   Capacity Planner displays a message stating that the options were set successfully.

3. Click Continue to close the message box and return to the Capacity Planner main window.

When you apply your collection settings, Capacity Planner sends the settings to the Agent for the selected target. Note that you cannot select data to be collected until these settings have been applied.

At any time during the process of modifying the settings on the Target property sheet, you may revert the settings to their last saved (applied) state by clicking Revert. However, after you apply the settings, they cannot be reverted to their previous settings using the Revert button; they must be modified manually.

Selecting the Classes of Data to Collect

After you set the collection and loading options for a target, you can then select the classes of performance data that you want to collect for that target:

1. In collection view, select and connect to the target.

   For more information, see "Selecting Targets" .

2. Click the plus sign (+) next to the target to show the classes of data you can collect.
3. Select one of the classes for the target.

Figure 4-3 shows a typical collection class for a node target on Windows NT and the data sources and data items available for the class.

Figure 4-3 Selecting Data Sources and Data Items for a Collection Class

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The following list explains classes, data items, and data sources in more detail:

• Classes

  A class is a container for a particular category of data. For example, a node (or operating system) target might include the following classes:

  • System
  • Processor
  • Memory

  When you select a target in the navigator, Capacity Planner displays the names of the classes below the target in the tree view.

  You can collect data from none, some, or all displayed classes for a target. A class may also be a container for other classes, to provide logical groupings of the performance data at higher levels. For example, an I/O class may be a container for other more specific I/O classes.

• Data items

  In a class, each of the related statistics is referred to as a data item. For example, a LogicalDisk class might include the following data items:

  • Percent Free Space
  • Free Megabytes
  • Current Disk Queue Length
  • Disk Writes per Second

  A class can contain one or more data items. When you select a class in the navigator, the names of the data items and data sources associated with the data items are displayed on the Collection Details property page. Select the data items that you are interested in collecting.

  
  

  A green check mark appears next to the name of each data item that is selected for collection. You can toggle the state of all data items between collected and not collected by clicking the Data Items column header that contains the check mark.

• Data sources

  A data source is a description of where Oracle Capacity Planner can collect the data items for a class. A class can contain one or more data sources. When you select a class in the navigator, the names of the data items and data sources associated with the class are displayed on the Collection Details property page.

  The type of data in the class determines the data sources for the class. For example, in a LogicalDisk class, the data sources might be the individual disks for the operating system (for example, disk1, disk2, and so on). In a CPU Utilization class, the sources are the individual CPUs for the host (for example, cpu1, cpu2, and so on). You can collect data items from one or more data sources.

  
  

  When you select a data source, a green check mark appears next to the name of the data source on the Collection Details property page. You can toggle the state of all data sources between collected and not collected by clicking the Data Sources column header that contains the check mark.

Starting Data Collection

After you select the data items that you want to collect from the available data sources on the Collection Details property page, click Apply to confirm your selections, or click Revert to cancel the selections.

When you click Apply for a class of data, Capacity Planner marks the icon for the selected class and the selected target with a green dot in the Collection view of the navigator panel. A green dot on a collection class icon indicates that one or more data sources are selected for the class. A green dot on a target icon indicates that Capacity Planner is collecting data for one or more classes in the target.

For example, in Figure 4-4, Capacity Planner is actively collecting data for the Processor, Memory, and Cache classes for node ANG-PC. Capacity Planner is not collecting data for the System collection class.

Figure 4-4 Green Dots on a Target or Class Indicate Capacity Planner is Collecting Data

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Stopping Data Collection

To stop collecting data for one or more data items or data sources for a collection class, follow these steps:

1. Select the collection class in the navigator.
2. On the Collection Details page, click on the green check marks for those data items or data sources from which you no longer want data collected, which causes the check marks to disappear.
3. Click Apply.

To stop collecting data for all data items and data sources for a collection class, follow these steps:

1. Select the collection class in the navigator.

   
   

2. On the Collection Details page, click Stop Collection.

   Capacity Planner displays a message box stating that collections for the class have stopped.

3. Click OK to close the message box and return to the Capacity Planner main window.

   When no data sources are selected for collection for a class of data, the icon for that class in the navigator does not display a green dot.

To stop collecting data for all classes in a target:

1. In collection view, select and connect to the target.

   For more information, see "Selecting Targets" .

   
   
2. Click Stop Collection on the Target property sheet.

   Capacity Planner displays a confirmation box.

3. Click Yes to stop collecting data for all classes in the target; click No to cancel the operation.

Generating a Collection Report

A collection report provides a summary of the collection settings for one or more targets. Capacity Planner displays the collection settings in your Web browser. In the browser, you can easily review the settings currently applied to the target or targets you selected.

To display a collection report for one or more targets:

1. In collection view, on the File menu, choose Collection Report.

   Capacity Planner displays the first screen of the Collection Report Wizard.

2. Use the Collection Report Wizard to specify the target or targets whose collection settings you want to include in the report and to generate and view the report.

   At any time while using the wizard, click Help for more information.

When you click Finish on the last screen of the Collection Report Wizard, Capacity Planner saves the report to an HTML file and displays the report in your Web browser.

Copying Collection Settings

After you set up collection settings for one service, you can quickly copy those settings to another similar target.

To copy the collections settings from one target to another:

1. In collection view, select a target whose collection settings you want to copy.
2. On the File menu, choose Copy Collection Settings or right mouse click on the Collection Settings from the context menu.

   Capacity Planner displays the first screen of the Copy Collections Wizard.

3. Use the Copy Collection Settings Wizard to specify the destination targets to which you would like to copy the collection settings for the selected target.

   From the wizard, you can also view the progress of the copy operation. At any time while you are using the Copy Collection Settings Wizard, click Help for more information.

   Note: Any destination target you select must be running an Agent of the same type and version as the target from which you are copying your settings.

Troubleshooting Collection and Load Problems

During the collection and load processes, errors may be encountered by the Agent. You can determine if data is not being collected or loaded by using either of these methods:

• Browsing the analysis data in the Oracle Capacity Planner navigator. See "Browsing the Collected Data" for more information.
• Accessing the historical database using SQL. See "Understanding the Oracle Capacity Planner Historical Database" for more information.

If data is not being collected or loaded, you should check the status of the Agent on the host from which data is being collected. If the Agent is running, check the log file ($ORACLE_HOME/network/log/dbsnmp.log) for errors related to the collection or loading of data. See the Oracle Intelligent Agent User's Guide for additional details on the configuration of the Agent.

Analyzing Collected Data

After collected data is loaded into the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database, you can perform a variety of analyses on it. To access the analysis features of Oracle Capacity Planner, click the Analysis tab (Figure 4-5) at the bottom of the Oracle Capacity Planner navigator tree view. This displays the Oracle Capacity Planner analysis view.

Figure 4-5 Clicking the Analysis Tab

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Connecting to an Oracle Capacity Planner Historical Database

When you expand the Historical Database folder at the root of the navigator tree in analysis view, you are prompted for the logon credentials for an Oracle Capacity Planner historical database.

Text description of the illustration cp_root_analysis.gif

After you connect to a historical database, the folder expands to show the targets for which data is available in that historical database.

Text description of the illustration cp_apps_analysis.gif

If you store data in multiple historical databases, you must disconnect from one historical database before you can connect to a different historical database.

To disconnect from the current historical database,

1. Click the Historical Database folder at the root of the navigator tree.

   
   

2. Click the Disconnect button in the Capacity Planner toolbar panel.

To connect to a different historical database, expand the Historical Database folder again and enter the credentials for the new historical database in the resulting logon dialog box.

Organization of Data in the Navigator

When you expand a target in the navigator under the Historical Database folder, two forms of data are displayed below the target:

• Classes of data

  The classes displayed for the target are the collection classes for which data is available in the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database. You can select and view data from these classes by selecting a class in the navigator, specifying the selection criteria, and then clicking Show New Chart. These operations are the first step in creating an analysis.

• Analyses

  Below each target in the navigator is an Analyses folder, which contains predefined and user-defined analyses. Predefined analyses are provided for some targets. You can create user-defined analyses by selecting a class of data, displaying an analysis of the data, and then saving the analysis. You can also create a user-defined analysis by using an existing analysis as a template, making modifications to the analysis, and then saving the analysis under a new name.

Browsing the Collected Data

To browse the collected data for a particular target:

1. In analysis view, expand the Historical Database folder.

   You are prompted for the credentials for the historical database that contains the collected data that you want to analyze.

2. Enter your logon credentials and connect to the historical database.
3. On the navigator panel, expand the folder for the target whose collected data you want to analyze.

   The navigator displays the:

   • Names of the classes for which collected data exists in the historical database for the target
   • An Analyses folder, which contains predefined and user-defined analyses you created for the target

Viewing an Analysis for a Class of Data

To view an analysis chart for a selected class of data:

1. On the navigator panel, click the name of a class whose collected data you want to analyze.

   Capacity Planner displays the property page for the class (Figure 4-6).

2. To specify the selection criteria for the class of data you want to analyze, see "Specifying Selection Criteria for a Class of Data" for instructions.

   
   

3. Click Show New Chart.

   Capacity Planner displays the Analysis window, which contains two or more pages. The Chart page displays the chart. The remaining pages are Details pages. A separate Details page exists for each class from which one or more data items are included in the analysis.

   For information about the Analysis window, choose Window from the Analysis window Help menu. For information about modifying the analysis or changing the way the data is displayed, see "Working with Analyses" .

Saving a Class Analysis as a User-Defined Analysis

After you view an analysis for a class of data, you can save it as a user-defined analysis to view later.

To save the analysis:

1. While viewing the analysis chart, click Save Chart on the analysis window toolbar.
2. Click Yes in the message box.

   Performance Manager places the new user-defined analysis in the Analyses folder of the navigator panel.

Figure 4-6 Oracle Capacity Planner Analysis View

Text description of the illustration cp_analysis_view.gif

Specifying Selection Criteria for a Class of Data

When you select a class in the navigator panel in analysis view, Capacity Planner displays a property sheet that contains options available for selecting data from the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database for that class.

Before you display a chart of the collected data you must:

1. Select the time aggregation level from the Time Aggregation drop-down list.

   For example, select Hours if you want to analyze hourly data, Days if you want to analyze daily data, and so on.

2. In the Data Sources section, select one or more data sources whose data items you want to analyze.
3. In the Data Items section, select one or more data items you want to analyze.

   
   

   A check mark appears next to each data item that is selected for analysis.

After you specify the selection criteria, there are two ways to display the data in an analysis chart:

• To add the selected data to a new analysis chart, click Show New Chart, which displays the new chart.

  
  

• To add the selected data to an analysis chart that is already displayed in the Analysis window, click Add to Chart, then in the Add Data to Analysis dialog box, select the name of the previously-displayed analysis chart. Note that only charts that are currently opened are displayed in the Add Data to Analysis dialog box.

Viewing and Modifying User-Defined and Predefined Analyses

You can view and modify both user-defined and predefined analyses. However, once modifications are made to a predefined analysis, the only way to save those changes is to save the analysis to a new name. This creates a new user-defined analysis and preserves the original predefined analysis.

To view an existing analysis, which makes it available for modification, follow these steps:

1. Expand the Analysis folder for the target, which displays the existing predefined and user-defined analyses for the target.

   
   

   A bar chart icon identifies a predefined analysis. Not all targets provide predefined analyses.

   
   

   A bar chart and person icon identifies a user-defined analysis. You create a user-defined analysis by displaying an analysis for a class of data or displaying a predefined analysis, and then saving the analysis.

   Note: You can limit the list of displayed analyses to only user-defined analyses by removing the check mark from the View Predefined Analyses option on the Analysis menu. When you choose the View Predefined Analyses option on the Analysis menu again, the check mark preceding the menu option is replaced, and predefined analyses are displayed again.

2. Select a predefined analysis or user-defined analysis in the navigator panel.

   The Analysis Summary property page for the selected analysis is displayed in the detail panel. This property page displays the names of the targets and classes whose data is used in the analysis.

3. To view the data sources and data items in the analysis, click the plus sign (+) next to the target icons in the Service/Source column.
4. To view the chart for the analysis, click Show.

   Note that if you are opening a predefined analysis, Capacity Planner displays the Select Data Sources for Analysis dialog box. Predefined analyses are provided for some targets. Predefined analyses require you to specify the available data sources for your installation. Select the data sources you want to include in the predefined analysis and click OK.

After you have opened an analysis, you can modify the contents and how they are presented. See "Working with Analyses" for more information.

You can also create a copy of an analysis, rename an analysis, or delete an analysis, as explained in the next three sections.

Creating a Copy of an Analysis

You can create an analysis that is an exact copy of an existing analysis, but the copy has a different name. To do this:

1. In analysis view, locate and expand the target that contains the analysis you want to copy.
2. Expand the Analyses folder.
3. Select the analysis you want to copy.
4. On the Analysis menu, choose Create Like.
5. In the Create Analysis Like dialog box, enter a unique name for the new analysis that you are creating and click OK.

   Capacity Planner creates the new copy of the analysis in the Analyses folder for the target.

Renaming a User-Defined Analysis

To rename a user-defined chart:

1. In analysis view, locate and expand the target that contains the analysis you want to rename.
2. Expand the Analyses folder.
3. Select the user-defined analysis you want to rename.

   
   

   A bar-chart-and-person icon identifies user-defined analyses.

4. On the Analysis menu, choose Rename.
5. In the Rename Analysis dialog box, enter a unique name for the analysis you are renaming and click OK.

Deleting a User-Defined Analysis

To delete a user-defined analysis:

1. In analysis view, locate and expand the target that contains the analysis you want to delete.
2. Expand the Analyses folder.

   
   

   A bar-chart-and-person icon identifies the user-defined analyses in the folder.

3. Select the user-defined analysis that you want to delete.
4. On the Analysis menu, choose Delete.
5. In the message dialog box that prompts you to confirm the deletion, click OK.

Working with Analyses

After you have opened an analysis chart, either by selecting and showing an existing analysis or by browsing collected data to create a new analysis, the data included in that analysis is shown in the Oracle Capacity Planner Analysis window.

The Analysis window contains two or more pages. The first page is called the Chart page and it displays the analysis chart. The remaining page or pages are Details pages. A separate Details page exists for each class from which one or more data items are included in the analysis. Each Details page shows the:

• Data sources for the data items plotted in the chart
• Time aggregation level of the plotted data items
• Value of each plotted data item each time the data item was collected during the time range for the analysis

The time range for the collected data appears along the bottom of each chart, with the beginning of the time range at the left and the end of the time range at the right.

Two types of lines can appear on a chart. Each solid line plots the values of a selected data item during the specified time range. Each dashed line plots the result of a trend analysis to time or trend analysis to value. See "What Is a Trend Analysis?" for more information about performing a trend analysis.

The rest of this section describes other features of the Analysis window.

Viewing the Value of a Data Point

To view the value for a data point (that is, one plotted point of a data item) on a line in an analysis chart, position the cursor over the data point. If there is a point beneath the cursor, Capacity Planner displays the date, time, and value for that data point displays in a box above the point (see Figure 4-7).

Figure 4-7 Viewing the Value of a Data Point

Text description of the illustration cp_cursor_over_data_point.gif

Selecting a Line

When you view an analysis chart, you can perform certain operations after selecting a line in the chart. Most of the available operations are started by clicking a toolbar button on the analysis window after a chart line is selected.

To select a line, click a data point on the line. When a line is selected, the description of the line is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the window, and the appropriate toolbar buttons are enabled.

Operations available from the toolbar are also available on a context menu. To display the context menu, click the right mouse button on a data point in a line in the analysis chart.

To be sure which line is currently selected (before clicking a toolbar button), read the description of the line in the status bar.

Adding a Class of Data to an Analysis

After you open an analysis, you may want to add data from other classes to the analysis. You can use this feature to compare two different classes of data.

To add a class of data to an analysis that is currently displayed in the Analysis window:

1. Confirm that Capacity Planner is in analysis view.
2. Select from the navigator the class of data that you want to add.
3. Specify the selection criteria (as described in "Specifying Selection Criteria for a Class of Data") for the class.

   
   

4. Click Add to Chart.
5. In the Add Data to Analysis dialog box, select the name of the chart to which you want to add the data.

You can add data items from multiple classes to an analysis, and you can select different aggregation levels and date ranges for each class.

However, data items within a single class must share the same aggregation level and date range. If you try to add additional data items from the same class to an existing chart, you will receive a prompt, warning that the chart already contains data from this class. If you click OK, Capacity Planner will overwrite the chart with the currently selected data, aggregation levels, and date range.

Modifying Selection Criteria from the Analysis Window

From the analysis window, you can modify the selection criteria associated with any of the classes of data included in the analysis. Modify the selection criteria using one of these methods:

• Select a line in the analysis chart and click the Select Items toolbar button.
• Click the right mouse button on a data point in the line and choose Select Items from the context menu.
• Click the Data tab in the analysis window (as opposed to the Chart tab) and click the Select Items toolbar button.

These actions display the Select Items dialog box, which contains the property sheet for the class of data associated with the selected line. This property sheet contains the selection criteria for that class of data, which you can modify and apply to the current analysis. See "Specifying Selection Criteria for a Class of Data" for more information.

After you modify selection criteria, you can click either Apply or OK on the Analysis Options dialog box. If you click Apply, the changes made to the selection criteria are applied to the analysis and the updated analysis is shown. The Select Items dialog box remains displayed, and you can make other modifications to the same selection criteria, if you want. If you click OK, Capacity Planner applies the modifications to the analysis and closes the Select Items dialog box.

Removing a Line from a Chart

You can remove a line from an analysis chart by either of these methods:

• Select the line by clicking the right mouse button, then choose Remove Line from the context menu.

  
  

• Select the line, then click the Remove Line button on the analysis window toolbar.

These actions remove the data for the selected data item from the chart, but not from the historical database.

Excluding a Data Point from a Chart

You can exclude a data point (that is, one plotted point of a data item) from a chart. To exclude a data point, click the right mouse button on the data point and choose Exclude Point from the context menu.

Excluding a data point is useful if you know that the value of a particular data point is skewed. For example, if you know that a particular CPU-intensive program was not run at the usual time, you can remove the value for the % Processor Time data item for that time from the chart. The selected data point is removed from the chart, but the data for the data point is not removed from the historical database.

After you exclude one or more data points from a line, a red X appears in the status bar when you select the line.

To later redisplay excluded data points for a selected line, click View Exclusions on the Analysis window toolbar, or click the right mouse button on the line and select View Exclusions from the context menu.

These actions display the Data Point Exclusions dialog box, which displays the current list of excluded points for the selected line. You can toggle the check mark for each data point in the list. A check mark indicates that the data point is excluded from the analysis. To display an excluded data point in the analysis again, clear the check mark.

When you click OK, Capacity Planner closes the Data Point Exclusions dialog box and updates the chart to include the points removed from the list of exclusions.

Showing or Hiding the Chart Legend

You can control whether or not the legend is displayed in an analysis chart by toggling the Show/Hide Legend button on the analysis window toolbar. When the legend is not shown, you can identify a line by clicking it, which displays the description of the line in the analysis window status bar.

Zooming and Scrolling to View More or Less Chart Data

Depending on the date range and the number of data items and data sources you are analyzing, you may want to zoom in, zoom out, or scroll the contents of the chart window.

To view more detail or less detail, click the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons on the Analysis Chart window toolbar. You can also zoom in by pressing the Page Down key on your keyboard or the numeric 3 on your keypad, and you can zoom out by pressing the Page Up key or the numeric 9 on your keypad.

You can also zoom in on a very specific part of the chart by dragging a rectangle around the area you want to magnify (Figure 4-8). Release the mouse button to zoom in on the selected area. You can zoom back out by using the Zoom Out button Home or End key on your keyboard.

Figure 4-8 Zooming in on a Selected Area of the Chart

Text description of the illustration cp_zoom_rect.gif

Often, the chart data will extend beyond the width of the Analysis Chart window. You can view the data that extends beyond the edges of the window by resizing the Analysis Chart window or by scrolling to the right or left.

To scroll the Analysis chart window:

1. Press and drag the pointer on the black scroll bar below the chart (Figure 4-9).
2. When the portion of the chart you want to view is displayed in the Analysis Chart window, release the mouse button.

Optionally, you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll left and right. Press the left arrow to scroll left and the right arrow to scroll right. If you experience a conflict with the Tab function using the left and right arrow keys, you can use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll. Press the up arrow to scroll left (or the numeric 8 on your keypad), or the down arrow key to scroll right (or the numeric 2 on your keypad).

Figure 4-9 Scroll Bar in the Analysis Chart Window

Text description of the illustration cp_scroll_chart.gif

Auto-Scaling Data

If an analysis contains data from different classes where the scale of the data is significantly different, you may want to apply scaling to the data. Scaling normalizes the data so that all lines have a maximum value of no greater than 100. Very large data items are scaled down, and very small data items are scaled up.

To apply scaling, click Toggle Auto Scaling on the analysis window toolbar. When scaling is applied to a chart, data lines with very different scales may be visually correlated. When scaling is enabled, Capacity Planner displays the label Scaled Data along the Y-axis of the chart. If you select a line from the chart by clicking it, the scaling factor for that line is included in the status bar.

What Is a Trend Analysis?

A trend analysis infers or estimates future values by projecting and extending known values. Oracle Capacity Planner can perform the following types of trend analyses:

• Trend analysis to a point in time

  In a trend analysis to a point in time, you provide a goal time for a data item. Oracle Capacity Planner uses the specified values in the historical database to project the value of the data item at the goal time.

  A trend analysis to a point in time is used to answer questions such as, "How full will this disk be at the end of the year?"

• Trend analysis to a value

  In a trend analysis to a value, you provide a goal value for a data item. Oracle Capacity Planner uses the specified values in the historical database to project the time at which the data item will reach the goal value.

  A trend analysis to a value is used to answer questions such as, "When will our CPU utilization reach 95 percent?"

  As the default, the Capacity Planner Trend Analysis wizard uses the critical threshold for the metric (if one is defined) when you perform a trend to a value.

Specifying and Performing a Trend Analysis

To specify and perform a trend analysis, follow these steps:

1. In the Analysis window, either:

   
   

   • Select a line by clicking a data point in the line, then click the Trend Analysis Wizard button on the toolbar.
   • Click the right mouse button on a data point in a line, then select Trend Analysis Wizard from the context menu.

   Both of these methods display the Trend Analysis Wizard.

2. Capacity Planner displays the Trend Analysis Wizard Welcome panel that identifies the selected data on which you can conduct the trend analysis. You can click on the option box that prevents the Welcome screen from displaying in subsequent uses of the wizard. Click on Next to move to the next wizard panel.
3. In the Date Range panel, select a date range to use as a basis for the trend analysis:
   • Click Use only the visible date range (as currently zoomed in the chart) to use the range of dates currently visible in the analysis chart window (not including any data that extends beyond the edge of the chart window).

     This option is enabled only if you zoomed in to see more detail in the chart. For more information, see "Zooming and Scrolling to View More or Less Chart Data" .

   • Click Use the date range selected for the chart to use the date range currently used for all the data in the chart (even data that extends beyond the edge of the chart window).
   • Click Select a new chart range to select a different date range . You can designate either a recent period of time by choosing Use a recent period of time and then selecting the time increment and number of units of time to use, or you can specify a new start and end time by choosing Use a new start and end time.
   • Click on Next to move to the next wizard panel.
4. In the Trend Analysis Type panel of the wizard, specify which type of trend analysis you want to perform.
   • To perform a trend analysis to a value, click the Estimate when the data item will reach the following value: and enter the numeric value for which you wish to determine the date and time.
   • To perform a trend analysis to a future date and time, click Estimate what the value of the data item will be at the following date: and enter the time and date for which you wish to determine a value.
   • Click on Next to move to the next wizard panel.
5. The Summary panel displays the results of the trend analysis. Click on Finish to add the trend line to the chart.
6. Choose Customize Annotation from the View menu to display the Annotate Trend dialog box and make changes to the annotation. Optionally, you can right mouse button click on the annotation created by the Trend Analysis wizard and then choose Customize Annotation from the context menu.

   Use the Annotate Trend dialog box to specify whether Capacity Planner will annotate the trend analysis (see Figure 4-10) and the appearance of the trend analysis line in the chart window. If you need information about the fields in the Annotate Trend dialog box, click Help.

Figure 4-10 Annotation for a Trend Analysis

Text description of the illustration cp_trent_annotation.gif

• Click OK to close the Annotate Trend dialog box.

  Note: To move the annotation box in an analysis chart, click the box, hold the mouse button down, then move the mouse to a different position on the chart. Release the mouse button when you have reached the position in the chart where you want the annotation box displayed.

Saving Changes to a User-Defined or Predefined Analysis

You can save the changes you make to an analysis. Oracle Capacity Planner can determine if you are saving a user-defined analysis or a predefined analysis. The steps for saving your changes differ, depending on the type of analysis.

Saving the Results of a User-Defined Analysis

To save changes to a user-defined analysis:

1. While viewing the analysis, click Save Chart on the analysis window toolbar.
2. Click Yes in the message box.

   Your changes are saved to in the Analysis folder for the selected target using the current name of the analysis or data class. To save the analysis under a different name, choose Save As from the Analysis window File menu.

Saving the Results of a Predefined Analysis

If you modify a predefined analysis, you must provide a new name for the analysis when you save the results of the analysis. When you do this, you create a new user-defined analysis. Saving the analysis with a new name ensures that the original predefined analysis is not overwritten.

To save the results of a predefined analysis:

1. While viewing the analysis, click Save Chart on the analysis window toolbar.
2. Click Yes in the dialog box that is displayed.
3. In the Save Analysis As dialog box, type a unique name for the user-defined analysis that will be created.
4. Click OK in the Save Analysis As dialog box.

   Capacity Planner places the new user-defined chart in the Analyses folder of the navigator panel.

Printing an Analysis Chart

To print an analysis chart, click the Print Chart button in the Analysis Chart toolbar while the chart is displayed.

The size of the chart on the screen determines the size of the chart in the chart printout. For example, when you print a chart that is 5 inches high and 7 inches wide on your screen, the chart will be 5 inches high and 7 inches wide in the printout.

Generating a Report for an Analysis Chart

To generate an HTML report for an analysis chart:

1. Click the Report Chart button while the chart is displayed.

   Capacity Planner displays a dialog box that tells you the name of the HTML file used to display the report and where the file will be saved.

2. Make a note of the file name and location.
3. Click Yes to preview the chart in your Web browser, or click No if you do not want to preview the report.

You can view the report later using a Web browser, or--if you have experience with Web publishing tools and techniques--you can share the report with your co-workers by publishing the HTML file and its associated graphic files on a Web server.

Understanding the Oracle Capacity Planner Historical Database

The logical structure of the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database schema was designed to facilitate querying of capacity planning data by tools other than Oracle Capacity Planner, such as Microsoft Excel. This section contains a brief description of the design of the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database schema. It is not intended to be a comprehensive description of all tables and columns in the schema.

Understanding the Service Reference Table (vp_service_ref)

The service reference table contains a list of all targets for which data has been stored in the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database. The HOST column contains the name of the host where the Agent that loaded data for the specified target (the NAME column) is located. The SVC_ID column is a column used for lookup into the class reference table, described in the following paragraph.

Understanding the Class Reference Table (vp_class_ref)

The class reference table contains a list of all collection classes for which data has been stored in the Oracle Capacity Planner historical database, for all targets. To see the list of classes for a particular target, a query should look for the SVC_ID column equal to a SVC_ID value from the service reference table, described in the previous paragraph. Such a query would produce a list of all classes for which data exists in the database for a particular target.

Understanding the Data Tables

Each class of data in the class reference table has six data tables that contain the data for that collection class. Each table contains data for a particular time aggregate, for example, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. The base table contains the raw data as it is collected at the collection frequency. Therefore, the base table does not contain any statistical aggregations. The aggregate tables contain aggregate statistics for each data item collected for that class.

Data Table Names

Data tables are named according to the first four columns of the class reference table (in reverse order) plus the aggregate. Example 4-1 shows an entry for a collection class in the class reference table.

Example 4-1 Collection Class Entry in the Class Reference Table

CLS_ID      MOD_ID     SVC_ID     IS_UDS      CONTAINER_CLASS_LABEL
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- -------------------------------
         8          2          2          0 I/O

The collection class in Example 4-1 would have the data tables shown in Example 4-2.

Example 4-2 Data Tables for a Collection Class

VP_0_2_2_8_BASE

VP_0_2_2_8_HOUR

VP_0_2_2_8_DAY

VP_0_2_2_8_WEEK

VP_0_2_2_8_MONTH

VP_0_2_2_8_YEAR

Data Table Contents

The first two columns of each data table are always the Timestamp column and the Data Source Name column. The Data Source Name column is essentially the class name, for example, Logical Disk. In aggregate tables (tables other than BASE), the third column is an accuracy calculation, which is not supported in this version of Oracle Capacity Planner.

All subsequent columns contain the values for the data items collected for that class, as they are actually named. In aggregate tables, these columns are prefixed with a two-character abbreviation for the aggregation statistic that the column contains. Table 4-4 shows these abbreviations and their meanings.

Table 4-4 Prefixes Used for Column Names in Aggregate Tables  

Prefix	Meaning
AV	Average
SM	Sum
MN	Minimum
MX	Maximum
SD	Standard deviation
VR	Variance
CT	Count

These statistics are calculated for the set of data in that aggregate from the next lowest level. For example, a row in the DAY aggregate table contains statistics calculated for all entries in the HOUR table for that day.