oracle-dba_skill

Overview

This skill provides practical, ADB-focused Oracle Database administration guidance for Autonomous Database on OCI. It targets performance troubleshooting, cost optimization, HA/DR and operational gotchas across ADB versions (19c/21c/23ai/26ai). Use it to follow safe operational patterns, avoid common cost traps, and run SQL_ID-driven debugging workflows.

How this skill works

It codifies decision trees and step-by-step workflows: find slow SQL by SQL_ID, capture and analyze execution plans, run DBMS_SQLTUNE tasks, and interpret v$ views and wait events. It also summarizes exact cost formulas for ECPU/storage, auto-scaling behavior, backup retention impacts, and version-specific features. When OCI API/CLI actions are required, it points to exact CLI command references to avoid guessing syntax.

When to use it

• Troubleshooting one slow query or system-wide performance degradation
• Planning or validating ECPU scaling and auto-scaling limits
• Estimating and optimizing ADB operational costs (ECPU, storage, backups)
• Implementing HA/DR, clones, or version upgrades in ADB
• Auditing and correcting anti-patterns (ADMIN usage, SELECT *)

Best practices

• Never use ADMIN credentials in application code; create least-privilege app users
• Always identify SQL_ID for slow queries and tune specific statements, not global parameters
• Check wait events before scaling ECPUs; scale only after confirming CPU-bound waits
• Use landing zone Terraform modules for secure compartmenting and private endpoints
• Prefer automatic backups for routine retention; set retention on manual backups to avoid ongoing charges

Example use cases

• Find top slow SQL in last hour, capture plan and run a DBMS_SQLTUNE task
• Decide whether to enable auto-scaling by modeling peak ECPU costs and setting a max ECPU cap
• Stop long-idle ADBs: export data and delete instance for >60-day idle to avoid storage/backup charges
• Resolve connection errors by validating wallet, service name and NSG rules
• Upgrade ADB: test in a cloned instance to validate plan changes and new 23ai/26ai features