Implementing Information Lifecycle Management Using the ILM Assistant

Purpose

The goal of this tutorial is to show you how to manage data during its lifetime using the Information Lifecycle Management strategy with the ILM Assistant.

Time to Complete

Approximately 30 minutes

Topics

This tutorial covers the following topics:

	Overview
	Prerequisites
	Opening the ILM Assistant
	Setting Preferences to Demonstration Mode
	Creating Logical Storage Tiers
	Defining a Lifecycle
	Assigning a Lifecycle to a Table
	Viewing a Lifecycle Event
	Analyzing Results Using Reports
	Ensuring Compliance and Security
	Summary

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Overview

Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) is a set of policies and procedures for managing data during its lifetime.

The ILM Assistant manages information by recommending the correct placement of data on logical storage tiers as specified by a lifecycle definition, where a lifecycle definition describes the stages and storage tiers that data resides on during its lifetime.

Each stage specifies a retention period during which the data resides on a logical storage tier. A logical storage tier is a collection of Oracle tablespaces in which partitions may reside.

As an example, consider using the ILM Assistant to manage the table MYSALES. MYSALES contains partitions SALES_2006, SALES_2005, SALES_2004 and SALES_2003. The logical storage tiers High Performance, Low Cost, and Online Archive are defined in the ILM Assistant and each one contains one or more Oracle tablespaces. The lifecycle definition, SALES_DATA, which is used to manage the table MYSALES contains the following three stages:

CURRYEAR: Stores the current sales data on the High Performance tier
LASTYEAR: Stores previous years' sales data on the Low Cost tier
OLDDATA: Stores all the sales data older than two years on the Online Archive tier

At the end of 2006, the SALES_2006 partition, which resides on the CURRYEAR stage, will move to the LASTYEAR stage and the SALES_2005 partition, which is on the LASTYEAR stage, will move to the OLDDATA stage. A new SALES_2007 partition will be created on the CURRYEAR stage.

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Prerequisites

Before starting this tutorial, you should first complete the following steps:

1.	Install Oracle Database 11g.
2.	Configure Oracle Application Express in the database.
3.	Download and unzip the ILM Assistant from OTN.
4.	Download and unzip the ilm.zip files for this OBE into a directory on your host machine.
5.	To install the ILM Assistant, open a terminal window and perform the following commands from the directory where you unzipped the files. sqlplus sys/<sys_password> as sysdba alter user FLOWS_020200 identified by FLOWS_020200 account unlock; @ilma_install <ilmpasswrd> <tblsp> <sid> <sys_password> is your sys password. <ilmpasswrd> is a password for which you will need to log in to the ILM Assistant. <tblsp> is the tablespace where the ILM Assistant is installed. <sid> is the SID for your Oracle Database .
6.	Execute the following script from your terminal window in SQLPlus to load the data for this tutorial: sqlplus /nolog @ilm_data*

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Opening the ILM Assistant

When you installed the ILM Assistant, a workspace and an application are created in Oracle Application Express. To open the ILM Assistant, perform the following steps:

Open a browser window and enter the following URL:

http://<your host name>:<port>/apex/f?p=737677

<your host name> is your machine name or IP address or Localhost.
<port> is what you set when you configured Oracle Application Express during the installation.
<ilm_password> is the password you entered during the installation .

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Setting Preferences to Demonstration Mode

Preferences permit customization of the behavior and information displayed in the ILM Assistant. In this topic, you change the Demonstration Mode preference value to something greater than 1 so that you can review the capabilities of the tool without the actual data. Perform the following steps:

1.	Click the Lifecycle Setup tab.
2.	Click the Preferences subtab.
5.	Click the Edit icon in front of the Demonstration Mode preference.
6.	Change the value to 100000 and click OK.
7.	The Demonstration mode preference has been updated. Now you can perform the rest of the OBE.

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Creating Logical Storage Tiers

ILM is concerned with ensuring that data is placed on the most optimal storage devices depending on how it is being used. This is achieved in the ILM Assistant by specifying logical storage tiers that represent the different types of storage tiers available in your system. In this example, you create three logical storage tiers: high performance for the very fast, high-throughput storage devices and low-cost and online archive for the placement of data that is infrequently accessed. Perform the following steps:

1.	Click the Logical Storage Tiers subtab.
2.	Click New Logical Storage Tier.
3.	Enter High Performance in the Name field, Very High Performance Discs in the Description field and 72 in the Cost per GB field. Select the + sign in front of Filter Options.
4.	Enter 20 for Rows Displayed and click Go.
5.	Select the check box Read-Write Preferred for Q4_ORDERS. Select the check box Read-Write Secondary for CC_THIS_MONTH, Q1_ORDERS, Q2_ORDERS, and Q3_ORDERS.
6.	Then click Create.
7.	Your Logical Storage Tier has been created. You need to create two more logical tiers: Low Cost and Online Archive. Click New Logical Storage Tier.
8.	Enter Low Cost in the Name field, Lower Costs ATA discs, used for older data in the Description field and 14 in the Cost per GB field. Select the check box Read-Write Preferred for 2005_ORDERS. Select the check box Read-Write Secondary for 2004_ORDERS, CC_PREV_MONTH, and CC_THIS_YEAR. Then click Create.
9.	Your Logical Storage Tier has been created. You need to create one more logical tier. Click New Logical Storage Tier.
10.	Enter Online Archive in the Name field, Used for data older than 2 years in Description and 7 in the Cost per GB field. Select the check box Read-Write Preferred for 2003_ORDERS. Select the check box Read-Write Secondary for CC_OLD_TRAN, and OLD_ORDERS. Then click Create.
11.	All the Logical Storage Tiers have been created.

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Defining a Lifecycle

Lifecycle definitions describe how data migrates across logical storage tiers during its lifetime. A lifecycle definition comprises one or more lifecycle stages that select a logical storage tier, data attributes such as compress and read only and a duration for data residing on that lifecycle stage. A lifecycle definition is valid if it contains at least one lifecycle stage and there must be a final stage, which is either user specified or automatically generated by the ILM Assistant upon completion of the lifecycle definition process. For the final stage, you must specify what happens to the data at the end of the lifecycle: gets archived offline, remains online, or gets purged. In this topic, you create a lifecycle definition that contains four lifecycle stages. Perform the following tasks:

1.	From the Lifecycle Setup tab, select the Lifecycle Definitions subtab.
2.	Click New Lifecycle Definition.
3.	Enter SOX_ORDERS in the Name field and Orders that must comply with Sarbanes Oxley and will be kept for 7 years in the Description field. A lifecycle is defined by STAGES. A Stage describes what happens to data for that period of time. Enter Current Orders in Current Stage name and This months orders as the description. Enter 1 in the Retain Data for field and choose Months from the drop-down list. Select High Performance for the Logical Storage Tier. Select Add More Stages.
4.	Enter Previous Orders in the Stage Name field and Previous 2 months' orders in the Description field. Make sure No is selected for Final Stage for Lifecycle Definition. Enter 2 in the Retain Data for field and select Months from the drop-down list. Select High Performance for the Logical Storage Tier and select Compressed for the Stage Attributes. Then click Add Preceding Stage.
5.	Enter Old Orders in Stage Name and Last 11 months' orders in Description. Enter 11 in the Retain Data for field and select Months from the drop-down list. Select Low Cost for the Logical Storage Tier. Then click Add Preceding Stage. Note: The number of months may need to change depending on when you run this tutorial.
6.	Enter Very Old Orders in the Stage Name field and 6 years or older in the Description field. Enter 6 in the Retain Data for field and select Years from the drop-down list. Select Online Archive for the Logical Storage Tier and select Compressed for the Stage Attributes. Then click Add Preceding Stage.
7.	Enter End of Life for Orders in Stage Name and Purge after 7 years in the Description field. Click Yes for Final Stage for Lifecycle Definition. Select Purge for End of Life Action. Then click Finish.
8.	Your Lifecycle definition has been created. Click the Edit icon.
9.	To see a graphical view of the lifecycle, click Graphical View.
10.	The graphical view appears. Click OK.
11.	Your Lifecycle definition has been created successfully.

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Assigning a Lifecycle to a Table

For tables having no partitioning, a simulated partitioning strategy can be generated showing how to partition the table and how data would be migrated if managed by the ILM Assistant. Perform the following steps:

1.	Under the Lifecycle Setup tab, select the Lifecycle Table subtab.
2.	To receive a list of tables to manage by the ILM Assistant, you need to refresh the list. Click Refresh Table List.
3.	Click Submit Refresh.
4.	Click OK.
5.	The Table Refresh is in progress.
6.	The list is refreshed. Because the table is not partitioned, the TL.SALES table is a candidate to be managed by the ILM Assistant. Click the Candidate link for the TL.SALES table.
7.	Select the SOX Orders Lifecycle you created.The ILM Assistant automatically identifies suitable partitioning keys (in this example TIME_ID) and quickly analyzes the date to determine the range of the data and compression that may be achieved. Click Preview Simulation.
8.	You can modify any of these values such as number of rows to view the projected costs and savings. In this case, you can see the projected savings of using tiered storage and the additional savings that are likely to result from using compression. Click Migration Script.
9.	Review the script. Click Close.
10.	Alternatively, you can place this table in simulation mode where the ILM Assistant will advise how and when data should be moved. To create the simulation, click OK.
11.	Click OK again to confirm.
12.	The SALES table is now simulating being partitioned. You also want to create a managed table. To do this, you click a candidate table that is already partitioned. Click Candidate for the TL.PART_ORDERS table.
13.	Select SOX_ORDERS for the Lifecycle Definition and click Preview.
14.	The storage cost information is displayed. Click OK.
15.	The PART_ORDERS table is now being managed. Note: If you receive an error "partition is misaligned with its stage", you need to change the months retained for the Old Orders lifecycle.

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Viewing Lifecycle Events

Lifecycle event scanning determines when it is time to move data across storage tiers, or it is ready for archiving, deletion, compression, or should be set to read-only. Perform the following steps:

1.	Click the Lifecycle Management tab.
2.	Click Scan for Events.
3.	Click OK to accept the defaults.
4.	Click OK to confirm.
5.	The ILM Assistant is scanning for events.
6.	Some events were found. To review the events, click a number link in the calendar.
7.	The events are shown. Expand Filter Options.
8.	Change the Current Tier to High Performance and click Go.
9.	A list of the simulated table events for the day you selected are shown. The ILM Assistant does not take action on any of the events. Select the ones you want to execute and then click perform selected events. A script is generated that you can save and run, although you may need to edit the locations of the tablespaces if you have multiple tablespaces on that storage tier. Once the script has been executed, the next time that the scan for events is run, it will automatically detect that appropriate action has been taken. Select all events with the High Performance Tier and click Perform Selected Events.
10.	Click OK to confirm.
11.	The events have been performed. Click the Event Scan History subtab.
12.	The list of executed events is shown.

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Analyzing Results Using Reports

There are a number of reports supplied with the ILM Assistant to provide you with valuable information about your ILM environment. Perform the following steps:

1.	Click the Reports tab.
2.	Click the By Table link.
3.	Click the Show Simulated Tables link.
4.	This report displays cost comparisons when using a multi-tier storage strategy versus a single-tier strategy for simulated tables. Click the Storage Tiers subtab.
5.	This report displays information about the tablespaces associated with each logical storage tier. Click the Partitions subtab.
6.	This report displays the partitions for the managed tables.

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Ensuring Compliance and Security

The Compliance & Security section within the ILM Assistant displays information that can be used to enforce security and help maintain compliance with the numerous regulations from around the world. Perform the following steps:

1.	Click the Compliance & Security tab.
2.	The Overview displays the current status of all security and compliance features in use. Click the Immutability subtab.
3.	Immutability proves that data hasn't changed by generating and comparing a digital signature. In this case, no signed result sets are defined. Click the Privacy & Security subtab.
4.	This table shows which tables have security policies against them. Click the Virtual Private Database Policies link.
5.	The VPD policies are shown. Click the Auditing subtab.
6.	The current audit status is displayed. Click the Fine-Grained Auditing Policies link.
7.	The FGA auditing policies are displayed. Click the Auditing Records link.
8.	Currently there are no Audit Records.

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Summary

In this tutorial, you learned how to:

	Create a logical storage tier
	Define a lifecycle
	Assign a lifecycle to a table
	View a lifecycle event
	Analyze the results using reports
	Ensure compliance and security

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