Help Center/ Migration Center/ Best Practices/ Collecting Details of Self-built Oracle Databases

Updated on 2025-08-20 GMT+08:00

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Collecting Details of Self-built Oracle Databases

Scenarios

MgC enables you to discover self-built Oracle databases and collect their details. The operation procedure also applies to service-based Oracle databases.

Collection Process

You install the MgC Agent (formerly Edge) on a Windows or Linux server that can communicate with your self-built Oracle databases.
The MgC Agent accesses your Oracle databases using the connection credentials you provided. The provided account must have the SELECT ANY DICTIONARY permission. Otherwise, not all details can be collected.
MgC delivers a collection command to the MgC Agent through IoTDA. After receiving the commands, the MgC Agent creates an Oracle database collection task.
The MgC Agent invokes the Oracle database collector through RPC. Then the collector queries data by invoking database commands and concatenating SQL statements.
The collector reports the collected data to the MgC Agent through RPC. The MgC Agent processes RPC messages and reports the collected data to MgC through IoTDA.
MgC processes and stores the collected data.
Figure 1 Collection flowchart

Required Inputs

Parameter	Mandatory	Description
ip	Yes	The IP address of the database instance.
port	Yes	The port used by the Oracle database instance.
user	Yes	The username for accessing the Oracle database instance. The account must have the SELECT ANY DICTIONARY permission.
password	Yes	The password of the Oracle database instance account.
sid	No	The unique identifier of the Oracle database instance. You only need to provide the ID or the service name of the database instance.
serviceName	No	The service name of the Oracle database instance. You only need to provide the ID or the service name of the database instance.

Collected Data

For details, see Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, and Table 4.

**Table 1** Description of collected data
Field	Description
name	The database instance name.
connectAddress	The access IP address.
useSsl	Whether SSL is enabled.
instanceId	The instance ID.
vpcId	vpcId
subnetId	The subnet ID.
privateAddress	The private access address.
publicAddress	The public access address.
type	The cluster type.
dbType	The database type.
nodes	The cluster nodes. For details, see Collected node data.
dbVersion	The database engine version.
oracleDatabases	The database list. For details, see Description of the oracleDatabases field.
serverCharset	The server character set.
fileStorageMode	The file storage mode.
backupMode	The backup mode.
deployMode	The deployment mode.
racNodesNum	The number of RAC nodes.
redundancyType	Whether DR is configured.
dbRelational	Whether the database instance is connected with other instances.
oracleInstances	The details of database nodes. For details, see Description of the oracleInstances field.

**Table 2** Description of the **nodes** field
Field	Description
name	The cluster node name.
host	The cluster node host.
role	The cluster node role.
status	The cluster node status.
flavor	The cluster node flavor.
cpuSize	CPU
memorySize	The memory size.
diskType	The disk type.
diskSize	The disk size.

**Table 3** Description of the **oracleDatabases** field
Field	Description
databaseName	The database name.
databaseSize	The size of data stored in the database.

**Table 4** Description of the **oracleInstances** field
Field	Description
instanceName	The database instance name.
archive	Whether archive is enabled
patches	The database patches.
controlFiles	The control file location.
redologFiles	The location of the redo files.
archiveFreq	The archive frequency.
dataBaseRole	The database role.

Constraints

Only username/password pairs are supported.
The provided Oracle account must have the SELECT ANY DICTIONARY permission.
Due to network restrictions, the collection may fail. In this case, you can restart the collector to solve the problem.

SELECT ANY DICTIONARY is a system permission that allows users to query all data dictionaries of a database. A data dictionary is a central repository for storing database structure information, including tables, columns, data types, and constraints.
Only online collection is supported.

Preparations

You have obtained the IP address, port, service name or SID, username, and password of the source Oracle database. in Oracle databases, the default service name is often set to ORCL. You need to specify the service name of the Oracle database to be collected.
You can log in to the Oracle database instance and run the following command to view the names of all registered services:
```
SELECT instance_name from v$instance
```

Prepare a Windows server that can communicate with the Oracle database instance. Perform the following operations:
1. Install the MgC Agent and log in. For details, see Installing the MgC Agent.
2. Connect the MgC Agent to MgC.

Collecting Details of Oracle Databases

Sign in to the MgC console. In the navigation pane, under Project, select an application migration project from the drop-down list.
In the navigation pane, choose Source Resources.
Click the Databases tab.
Click Add above the list.

Figure 2 Adding a database

Set the parameters listed in Table 5.

**Table 5** Parameters for adding a database
Parameter	Description
Name	User-defined
MgC Agent	Select the MgC Agent connected to MgC.
Type	Select Oracle.
IP Address	Enter the IP address for connecting to the source Oracle database server.
Port	Enter the listening port of the source Oracle database. The default value is 1521.
Service Name/SID	Enter the service name of the source database. The default value is ORCL. You can log in to the Oracle database server and run the following command to view the service name of the database you want to add to MgC: SELECT instance_name FROM v$instance;
Credential	Select the database credential. If the credential is not displayed in the drop-down list, go to the MgC Agent console, add the credential, and synchronize it to MgC. When you add the credential to the MgC Agent, set Resource Type to Database and Authentication to Username/Password.

Click Confirm. The system automatically starts collecting details about the database. When Collected shows up in the Deep Collection column, the collection is complete. Click the database name. On the displayed database details page, you can view the collected information.

Generating Target Recommendations

In the navigation pane, choose Migration Path.
On the Target Recommendations tab, click Generate Target Recommendations.
Enter a report name, set Scope to Select Resource, and select the Oracle databases to be assessed.

Configure an assessment policy based on Table 6.

**Table 6** Settings used for computing target recommendations
Parameter	Description
Target Region	Select the region where you want to purchase resources on Huawei Cloud. You are advised to select a region close to your target users for lower network latency and quick access.
Assessment Policy	Match source configuration MgC recommends the right Huawei Cloud resources based on source resource specifications. Match business scenario MgC recommends the right Huawei Cloud resources based on the business scenario of source resources and Huawei Cloud best practices. Cross-AZ migration This policy only applies to migration of ECSs between AZs on Huawei Cloud, and MgC only assesses servers in the application. You need to select the target AZ you want to migrate to.
Priority	High performance MgC recommends target resources designed for optimal performance. Low cost MgC recommends the most cost-effective target resources that meet your demands.
Billing Mode	Yearly/Monthly is a prepaid billing mode. If you expect to use resources for a longer period, you can save money by selecting the yearly/monthly billing mode. Pay-per-use billing is a postpaid mode in which you pay for what you use. This billing mode requires no upfront or long-term commitments.
(Optional) Preferences	Here you can configure your preferences for servers. Do not configure them in this practice.

Click Create Assessment. After the assessment task is complete, you can view target recommendations which include the recommended configurations of target resources.

Viewing Target Recommendations

On the Target Recommendations page, click the corresponding assessment report to view the assessment details.

In the Target Configurations area, you can view recommendations for each type of resources. The Target Configuration column displays the recommended specifications of Huawei Cloud resources based on the source resource specifications and assessment settings. The Assessment Priority column shows how you balance performance and costs and the migration strategy. The Billing Mode column shows the billing mode you selected for target resources. The Cost Estimation column provides the estimated costs of the recommended Huawei Cloud resources.

Figure 3 Viewing target recommendations