Don't be Caught Out By Oracle DB Feature, Option, and Management Pack Usage

All might not be what You think - It's time to Check

So all's fine with your Oracle Database - it's been installed for some time now, had a few upgrades, tweaks and tune-ups, you're across your NUP and Processor entitlements, so why have any concerns from a licensing perspective? Well, what about all of those Feature, Option, and Management Packs that lurk quietly in the background - have you checked on the status of those lately?

You might think there's no need to - nothings changed, configurations haven't been updated - well, consider setting selections during those updates and upgrades - perhaps revised defaults came into play (depending on version, database options and management packs are installed and many are enabled automatically!) 

Worth checking to be certain before that next, friendly ... 'Oracle License Review'.

To facilitate this Oracle provides a script - options_packs_usage_statistics.sql - which enables you to check Oracle Database feature usage, option usage, and management pack usage. The script lists, in two distinct sections:

• Oracle Database option and Oracle management pack usage
• Features used by each option and management pack​

The script can be run manually on an individual database or you can use Oracle Enterprise Manager Job System to automatically run the script on multiple databases, giving output like the below (with formatting added):

Now with insight into the actual system settings a simple reconciliation to your licensing / entitlements will give you assurance that everything is in order, or alternatively highlight what needs to be resolved.

​A simple task well worth scheduling at least annually.

 and it's always good to keep a record for later comparison / compliance requirements (with ComplianceWare you can easily register the output as 'Verification' material alongside your licenses).