Configuring Oracle Scheduler

Setting Oracle Scheduler Privileges

You must have the SCHEDULER_ADMIN role to perform all Oracle Scheduler administration tasks. Typically, database administrators already have this role with the ADMIN option as part of the DBA role. For example, users SYS and SYSTEM are granted the DBA role. You can grant this role to another administrator by issuing the following statement:

GRANT SCHEDULER_ADMIN TO username;

Because the SCHEDULER_ADMIN role is a powerful role allowing a grantee to execute code as any user, you should consider granting individual Scheduler system privileges instead. Object and system privileges are granted using regular SQL grant syntax. An example is if the database administrator issues the following statement:

GRANT CREATE JOB TO scott;

After this statement is executed, scott can create jobs, schedules, programs, file watchers, and credentials in his schema. Another example is if the database administrator issues the following statement:

GRANT MANAGE SCHEDULER TO adam;

After this statement is executed, adam can create, alter, or drop windows, job classes, or window groups. He will also be able to set and retrieve Scheduler attributes and purge Scheduler logs.

Setting Chain Privileges

Scheduler chains use underlying Oracle Streams Rules Engine objects along with their associated privileges. To create a chain in their own schema, users must have the CREATE JOB privilege in addition to the Rules Engine privileges required to create rules, rule sets, and evaluation contexts in their own schema. These can be granted by issuing the following statement:

GRANT CREATE RULE, CREATE RULE SET, CREATE EVALUATION CONTEXT TO user;

To create a chain in a different schema, users must have the CREATE ANY JOB privilege in addition to the privileges required to create rules, rule sets, and evaluation contexts in schemas other than their own. These can be granted by issuing the following statement:

GRANT CREATE ANY RULE, CREATE ANY RULE SET, 
   CREATE ANY EVALUATION CONTEXT TO user;

Altering or dropping chains in schemas other than the users's schema require corresponding system Rules Engine privileges for rules, rule sets, and evaluation contexts.

Setting Scheduler Preferences

There are several systemwide Scheduler preferences that you can set. You set these preferences by setting Scheduler attributes with the SET_SCHEDULER_ATTRIBUTE procedure. Setting these attributes requires the MANAGE SCHEDULER privilege. The attributes are:

• default_timezone

  It is very important that you set this attribute. Repeating jobs and windows that use the calendaring syntax need to know which time zone to use for their repeat intervals. See "Using the Scheduler Calendaring Syntax". They normally retrieve the time zone from start_date, but if no start_date is provided (which is not uncommon), they retrieve the time zone from the default_timezone Scheduler attribute.

  The Scheduler derives the value of default_timezone from the operating system environment. If the Scheduler can find no compatible value from the operating system, it sets default_timezone to NULL.

  It is crucial that you verify that default_timezone is set properly, and if not, that you set it. To verify it, run this query:

  SELECT DBMS_SCHEDULER.STIME FROM DUAL;
   
  STIME
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  14-OCT-04 02.56.03.206273000 PM US/PACIFIC
  

  To ensure that daylight savings adjustments are followed, it is recommended that you set default_timezone to a region name instead of an absolute time zone offset like '-8:00'. For example, if your database resides in Miami, Florida, USA, issue the following statement:

  DBMS_SCHEDULER.SET_SCHEDULER_ATTRIBUTE('default_timezone','US/Eastern');
  

  Similarly, if your database resides in Paris, you would set this attribute to 'Europe/Warsaw'. To see a list of valid region names, run this query:

  SELECT DISTINCT TZNAME FROM V$TIMEZONE_NAMES;
  

  If you do not properly set default_timezone, the default time zone for repeating jobs and windows will be the absolute offset retrieved from SYSTIMESTAMP (the time zone of the operating system environment of the database), which means that repeating jobs and windows that do not have their start_date set will not follow daylight savings adjustments.

• email_server

  This attribute specifies an SMTP server address that the Scheduler uses to send e-mail notifications for job state events. It takes the following format:

  host[:port]
  

  where:

  • host is the host name or IP address of the SMTP server.

  • port is the TCP port on which the SMTP server listens. If not specified, the default port of 25 is used.

  If this attribute is not specified, set to NULL, or set to an invalid SMTP server address, the Scheduler cannot send job state e-mail notifications.

• email_sender

  This attribute specifies the default e-mail address of the sender for job state e-mail notifications. It must be a valid e-mail address. If this attribute is not set or set to NULL, then job state e-mail notifications that do not specify a sender address do not have a FROM address in the e-mail header.

• email_server_credential

  This attribute specifies the schema and name of an existing credential object. The default is NULL.

  When an e-mail notification goes out, the Scheduler determines if the email_server_credential points to a valid credential object that SYS has execute object privileges on. If the SMTP server specified in the email_server attribute requires authentication, then the Scheduler uses the user name and password stored in the specified credential object to authenticate with the e-mail server.

  If the email_server_credential is specified, then the email_server attribute must specify an SMTP server that requires authentication.

  If the email_server_credential is not specified, then the Scheduler supports sending notification e-mails through an SMTP server for which authentication is not configured.

  Note:

  This functionality is available with Oracle Database 11g release 2 (11.2.0.2).

• email_server_encryption

  This attribute indicates whether encryption is enabled for this SMTP server connection, and if so, at what point encryption starts, and with which protocol.

  Values for email_server_encryption are:

  NONE: The default, indicates no encryption.

  SSL_TLS: Indicates that either SSL or TLS are used, from the beginning of the connection. The two sides determine which protocol is most secure. This is the most common setting for this parameter.

  STARTTLS: Indicates that the connection starts in an unencrypted state, but then the command STARTTLS directs the e-mail server to start encryption using TLS.

  Note:

  This functionality is available with Oracle Database 11g release 2 (11.2.0.2).

• event_expiry_time

  This attribute enables you to set the time in seconds before a job state event generated by the Scheduler expires (is automatically purged from the Scheduler event queue). If NULL, job state events expire after 24 hours.

• log_history

  This attribute controls the number of days that log entries for both the job log and the window log are retained. It helps prevent logs from growing indiscriminately. The range of valid values is 0 through 1000000. If set to 0, no history is kept. Default value is 30. You can override this value at the job class level by setting a value for the log_history attribute of the job class.

See Oracle Database PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference for the syntax for the SET_SCHEDULER_ATTRIBUTE procedure.

Using the Oracle Scheduler Agent to Run Remote Jobs

Using the Oracle Scheduler agent, the Scheduler can schedule and run two types of remote jobs:

• Remote database jobs: Remote database jobs must be run through an Oracle Scheduler agent. Oracle recommends that an agent be installed on the same host as the remote database.

  If you intend to run remote database jobs, the Scheduler agent must be release 11.2 or later.

• Remote external jobs: Remote external jobs run on the same host that the Scheduler agent is installed on.

  If you intend to run only remote external jobs, release 11.1 of the Scheduler agent is sufficient.

You must install Scheduler agents on all hosts that remote external jobs will run on. You should install Scheduler agents on all hosts running remote databases that remote database jobs will be run on.

Each database that runs remote jobs requires an initial setup to enable secure communications between databases and remote Scheduler agents, as described in "Setting up Databases for Remote Jobs".

Enabling remote jobs involves the following steps:

1. Enabling and Disabling Databases for Remote Jobs

2. Installing and Configuring the Scheduler Agent on a Remote Host

3. Performing Tasks with the Scheduler Agent