The Rarexa blog

Oracle monitoring, without the bloat

Practical guides for Oracle DBAs — written by people who run databases. Monitoring without Enterprise Manager, capacity forecasting, V$ views, RMAN, and how to spend a lot less on observability.

★ Start here · Complete guide

Oracle database monitoring: the complete guide (2026)

What to watch, the SQL behind each metric, and how to do it without Enterprise Manager or the Diagnostic Pack — with links to every deep-dive in this series.

14 min read Read the guide →
Buyer's guide · 2026

The best Oracle monitoring tools in 2026

8 tools compared by the job they solve — OEM, DPA, Foglight, Prometheus and more — including when NOT to buy each one (ours included).

12 min read Read →
Comparison

Rarexa vs SolarWinds DPA

Performance forensics vs fleet health: architecture, pricing models and which to pick for your actual problem — with full disclosure.

8 min read Read →
Comparison

Rarexa vs Quest Foglight

Enterprise platform vs focused tool: the platform tax spelled out, and when each purchase makes sense.

8 min read Read →
Enterprise Manager

Oracle Enterprise Manager alternatives in 2026 (and when you don't need OEM)

OEM is powerful — and heavy. Here's an honest look at when it's overkill, the real alternatives, and how to monitor Oracle without the Diagnostic Pack.

9 min read Read →
Licensing & cost

How much does the Oracle Diagnostic Pack really cost?

The Diagnostic Pack is the gate to AWR, ADDM and most of OEM's performance screens — and it's licensed per core. We break down the math and the cheaper paths.

7 min read Read →
How-to · SQL

How to monitor Oracle tablespaces without Enterprise Manager

The exact queries to track tablespace usage, autoextend headroom and free space — plus how to turn them into alerts before you run out of space.

8 min read Read →
How-to · Capacity

How to predict when an Oracle tablespace will fill up

Knowing a tablespace is 90% full is not enough. Here's how to compute days-to-full from real growth history so you act before the page at 3 a.m.

8 min read Read →
How-to · Security

How to create a read-only Oracle monitoring user (with the exact GRANTs)

A safe monitoring account needs SELECT on the right V$ and DBA_ views — and nothing more. Copy-paste the GRANTs, for both non-CDB and multitenant.

6 min read Read →
Comparison

Rarexa vs Oracle Enterprise Manager

Two very different tools for very different jobs. A side-by-side on scope, cost, setup time and who each one is actually for — written without the marketing fog.

7 min read Read →

See it instead of reading about it

Rarexa Oracle Health Dashboard does everything in these guides — automatically. Try it free for 15 days.