DBA SGA Active Session History

DBA SGA Active Session History

Description:

Active session history from the SGA.

Parameter 'Blocked Sessions only' allows a blocking scenario root cause analysis, e.g. by doing a pivot in Excel (see example in the online library). The link to blocking sessions is deliberately nonunique without jointing to sample_id to increase the chance to fetch the blocking session's additional information such as module, action and client_id. In some cases, such as row lock scenarios, the blocking session is idle and does not show up in the ASH then. For scenarios where the blocking sessions are active and part of the ASH, Tanel Poder has a treewalk ash_wait_chains.sql, showing the whole chain of ASH records linked by a unique join, including the sample_id: https://blog.tanelpoder.com/2013/11/06/diagnosing-buffer-busy-waits-with-the-ash_wait_chains-sql-script-v0-2/

We recommend doing ASH performance analysis with a pivot in Excel rather than by SQL, as Excel's drag- and drop is a lot faster than typing commands manually. A typical use case is to analyze which EBS application user waited for how many seconds in which forms UI and to drill down further into the SQL or wait event root causes.

Column 'Module Name' shows either the translated EBS module display name or, e.g. for background sessions, the process name (from the program column) to enable pivoting by this column only. Oracle's background process names are listed here: https://docs.oracle.com/database/121/REFRN/GUID-86184690-5531-405F-AA05-BB935F57B76D.htm#REFRN104

To identify an object or segment of a hot block, for example causing wait events, Oracle's dba_extents view is unusable due to performance bugs in 19c+, and Franck Pachot published a workaround here: https://www.dbi-services.com/blog/efficiently-query-dba_extents-for-file_id-block_id/

Parameters

User Name, Module Type, Module contains, Show Blocking Session Info, Blocked Sessions only, Request Id, Request Id (multi session), Restrict User Name to Client_ID, From Time, To Time, Code Name starts with, Entry Procedure contains, Wait Event, Exclude Wait Event, SID - Serial#, SQL Id, Max Temp Space larger than GB, Show SQL Text, UI Sessions only, Session Type, Instance Id, Machine, Schema, Action contains, Program contains, Diagnostic Pack enabled

Used tables

gv$sqlarea, obj$, gv$active_session_history, dba_procedures, dba_users

Categories

Diagnostic Pack, Enginatics

Related reports

DBA AWR Active Session History, DBA AWR Blocking Session Summary, DBA SGA Blocking Session Summary

Dependencies

If you would like to try one of these Oracle EBS SQLs without having Blitz Report installed, note that some of the reports require functions from utility package xxen_util.

Example Report

DBA SGA Active Session History 24-Sep-2018 011658.xlsx

Report SQL

www.enginatics.com/reports/dba-sga-active-session-history/

Blitz Report™ import options

DBA_SGA_Active_Session_History.xml

Case Study & Technical Analysis

Abstract

The DBA SGA Active Session History report is the primary tool for real-time and near-real-time performance diagnostics in Oracle Database. Unlike AWR reports which provide hourly snapshots persisted to disk, this report queries GV$ACTIVE_SESSION_HISTORY directly from the System Global Area (SGA). This allows for second-by-second analysis of database activity, wait events, and resource consumption for the immediate past (typically the last few hours, depending on buffer size and activity levels).

Technical Analysis

Core Methodology

• Sampling: The database samples the state of all active sessions once per second.
• In-Memory: Data is read from the circular ASH buffer in the SGA. Once the buffer is full, older data is overwritten (and 1 in 10 samples are flushed to AWR on disk).
• Pivot Analysis: The report is designed to be exported to Excel, where users can pivot by SAMPLE_TIME, WAIT_CLASS, EVENT, SQL_ID, or MODULE to isolate performance bottlenecks.

Blocking Session Analysis

The report includes logic to link blocked sessions to their blockers.

• Limitation: If a blocking session is "Idle" (e.g., a user updated a row but hasn't committed and went to lunch), it will not appear in the ASH data as an active session, even though it is holding a lock.
• Resolution: The report attempts to provide context, but for complex lock chains, specialized scripts (like Tanel Poder's ash_wait_chains) or the DBA Blocking Sessions report (which queries V$SESSION directly) might be needed.

Key Views

• GV$ACTIVE_SESSION_HISTORY: The source of truth for recent activity.
• GV$SQLAREA: Joins to provide SQL text and execution stats.
• DBA_USERS / DBA_PROCEDURES: Resolves IDs to human-readable names.

Operational Use Cases

• "It's slow right now": Diagnosing current performance spikes.
• Root Cause Analysis: Determining who was holding the lock that caused a pile-up 10 minutes ago.
• Application Profiling: Filtering by MODULE (e.g., 'eBusiness Suite') to see where the application spends its time.

Oracle E-Business Suite Reporting Library

We provide an open source Oracle EBS SQLs as a part of operational and project implementation support toolkits for rapid Excel reports generation.

Blitz Report™ is based on Oracle EBS forms technology, and hence requires minimal training. There are no data or performance limitations since the output files are created directly from the database without going through intermediate file formats such as XML.

Blitz Report can be used as BI Publisher and Oracle Discoverer replacement tool. Standard Oracle BI Publisher and Discoverer reports can also be imported into Blitz Report for immediate output to Excel. Typically, reports can be created and version tracked within hours instead of days. The concurrent request output automatically opens upon completion without the need for re-formatting.

The Filters, Columns, Rows and Values fields are used to create and deliver the data in pivot table format with full drill down to details.

The Excel template upload functionality in Blitz Report allows users to create their own layouts by uploading an Excel template with additional sheets and charts, automatically refreshed when the report runs again. This allows to create custom dashboards and more advanced visualizations of report data.

You can download and use Blitz Report free of charge for your first 30 reports.

The installation and implementation process usually takes less than 1 hour; you can refer to our installation and user guides for specific details.

If you would like to optimize your Oracle EBS implementation and or operational reporting you can visit www.enginatics.com to review great ideas and example usage in blog. Or why not try for yourself in our demo environment.

Alert	CRM Foundation
ALR Alerts	JTF Grid Datasources
Contracts Core	Lease and Finance Management
OKC Contract Lines Summary	OKL Termination Quotes
Payments	Process Manufacturing Inventory
IBY Payment Process Request Details	GMI Cycle Count Forms
Public Sector Financials	Shipping Execution
PSA Budgetary Control Transactions	WSH Shipping/Delivery Transactions
Warehouse Management	XML Publisher
WMS Control Board Tasks	XDO Publisher Data Definitions
Capacity	Legal Entity Configurator
CRP Available Resources CRP Resource Plan	XLE Establishment and Legal Entity Associations XLE Legal Entities
Service Contracts	Applications DBA
OKS Service Contracts Billing History OKS Service Contracts Billing Schedule	AD Applied Patches AD Applied Patches 11i AD Applied Patches R12.2
Enterprise Asset Management	Installed Base
EAM Assets EAM Weekly Schedule EAM Work Orders	CSI Customer Products Summary CSI Installed Base Extended Attributes Summary CSI Installed Base Summary by Organization
Payroll	Process Manufacturing
PAY Costing Detail PAY Employee Payroll History PAY Payroll Element Details	OPM Batch Lot Cost Details OPM Batch Lot Cost Trends OPM Reconcilation
Subledger Accounting	Workflow
XLA Distribution Links Summary XLA Entity ID Mappings XLA Subledger Period Close Exceptions	WF Activity Status Summary WF Business Events and Subscriptions WF Notifications
Asia/Pacific Localizations	Enterprise Command Center
JA India - TDS Certificates JA India GSTR-1 Return JA India GSTR-2 Return JA India GSTR-3B Return	ECC Admin - Concurrent Programs ECC Admin - Data Load Tracking ECC Admin - Data Sets ECC Admin - Metadata Attributes
Advanced Pricing	Bills of Material
QP Customer Pricing Engine Request QP Modifier Details QP Price Lists QP Pricing Agreements QP Pricing Attribute Definitions	BOM Bill of Material Structure BOM Calendar Exceptions BOM Calendars BOM Item Where Used GUI BOM Routings
Property Manager	Advanced Supply Chain Planning
PN GL Reconciliation PN Generate Lease Analysis PN Generate Lease Details PN Generate Portfolio Detail PN Generate Portfolio Summary	MSC Exceptions MSC Horizontal Plan MSC Pegging Hierarchy MSC Pegging Hierarchy 11i MSC Plan Orders MSC Vertical Plan
E-Business Tax	Projects
ZX Financial Tax Register ZX Lines Summary ZX Party Tax Profiles ZX Tax Accounts ZX Tax Regimes ZX US Sales Tax	PA Capital Project Summary with Asset Detail PA Project Budget PA Revenue, Cost, Budgets by Resources PA Revenue, Cost, Budgets by Work Breakdown Structure PA Task Schedule PA Transaction Sources
Human Resources	Master Scheduling/MRP
PER Employee Assignments PER Employee Grade Changes PER Employee Salary Change PER Information Type Security PER Organization Hierarchy PER Organizations PER Security Profiles	MRP End Assembly Pegging MRP Exceptions MRP Financial Analysis MRP Horizontal Plan MRP Item Forecast MRP Pegging MRP Plan Orders MRP Sourcing Rules and Bills of Distribution
Order Management	Work in Process
ONT Cancelled Orders ONT Order Holds ONT Orders ONT Orders and Lines ONT Recurring Billing Plan ONT System Parameters ONT Transaction Types Listing ONT Transaction Types and Line WF Processes	WIP Account Distribution WIP Discrete Job Shortage WIP Entities WIP Entities Summary WIP Outside Processing WIP Required Components WIP Value WIP Value Summary
Cash Management	Cost Management
CE Bank Account Balances CE Bank Branches CE Bank Statement Import Execution CE Bank Statement and Reconciliation CE Bank Transaction Codes Listing CE Cash in Transit CE Cleared Transactions CE General Ledger Cash Account Usage CE General Ledger Reconciliation CE Transactions Available for Reconciliation	CST AP and PO Accrual Reconciliation CST COGS Revenue Matching CST Cost Groups CST Detailed Item Cost CST Inventory Value - Multi-Organization (Element Costs) 11i CST Inventory Value - Multi-Organization (Item Costs) CST Inventory Value Report - by Subinventory (Item Cost) CST Item Cost Reports CST Miscellaneous Accrual Reconciliation CST Period Close Subinventory Value CST Period Close Subinventory Value Summary CST Periodic Inventory Value CST Supply Chain Indented Bills of Material Cost CST Uninvoiced Receipts
Purchasing	Discoverer
PO Approval Assignments PO Approval Groups PO Approved Supplier List PO Cancelled Purchase Orders PO Cancelled Requisitions PO Document Types PO Headers PO Headers 11i PO Headers and Lines PO Headers and Lines 11i PO Internal Requisitions and Sales Orders PO Internal Requisitions/Deliveries Discrepancy PO Invoice Price Variance PO Purchase Price Variance PO Purchase Requisitions with PO Details	DIS Access Privileges DIS Business Areas DIS Discoverer and Blitz Report Users DIS End User Layers DIS Folders, Business Areas, Items and LOVs DIS Import Performance DIS Items, Folders and Formulas DIS Migration identify missing EulConditions DIS Users DIS Workbook Export Script DIS Workbook Import Validation DIS Workbook Owner Export Script DIS Workbooks, Folders, Items and LOVs DIS Worksheet Execution History DIS Worksheet Execution Summary DIS Worksheet SQLs
Assets	Payables
FA Additions By Source FA Asset Additions FA Asset Book Details FA Asset Book Details 11i FA Asset Cost FA Asset Impairments FA Asset Inventory FA Asset Inventory Report FA Asset Reclassification FA Asset Register FA Asset Retirements FA Asset Summary (Germany) FA CIP Cost FA Cost Adjustments FA Depreciation Projection FA Depreciation Reserve FA Journal Entry Reserve Ledger FA Revaluation Reserve FA Tax Reserve Ledger	AP 1099 Payments AP Accounted Invoice Aging AP Cash Requirement AP DPIVA Export LSNA AP Expenses AP Final Payment Register 11i AP Intercompany Invoice Details AP Invoice Approval Status AP Invoice Audit Listing AP Invoice Payments AP Invoice Payments 11i AP Invoice on Hold AP Invoice on Hold 11i AP Invoices and Lines AP Invoices and Lines 11i AP Invoices with PO, Intercompany and SLA Details AP Matched and Modified Receipts AP Negative Supplier Balance AP Open Balances Revaluation AP Open Items Revaluation AP Posted Invoice Register AP Posted Payment Register AP Preliminary Payment Register 11i AP Supplier Statement AP Suppliers AP Suppliers 11i AP Suppliers Revenue Summary AP Suppliers Revenue Summary 11i AP Trial Balance AP Trial Balance Report Definitions
Receivables	General Ledger
AR Adjustment Register AR Aging AR Aging Buckets and Interest Tiers Setup AR Applied Receipts AR Autoinvoice Interface Summary AR Customer Credit Limits AR Customer Credit Snapshot AR Customer Open Balances Period Lookback AR Customer Statement AR Customers and Sites AR Disputed Invoice AR European Sales Listing AR Incomplete Transactions AR Miscellaneous Receipts AR Miscellaneous Receipts 11i AR Open Balances Revaluation AR Open Items Revaluation AR Past Due Invoice AR Payment Terms AR Receipt Register AR Sales Journal By Customer AR Transaction Register AR Transaction Types AR Transactions and Lines AR Transactions and Lines 11i AR Transactions and Payments AR Transactions and Payments 11i AR Unaccounted Transaction Sweep AR Unapplied Receipts Register AR to GL Reconciliation	GL Account Analysis GL Account Analysis (Distributions) GL Account Analysis (Distributions) 11g GL Account Analysis (Drilldown) GL Account Analysis (Drilldown) (with inventory and WIP) GL Account Analysis 11g GL Account Analysis 11i GL Balance GL Balance (pivot) GL Balance by Account Hierarchy GL Code Combinations GL Daily Rates GL Data Access Sets GL FSG Reports GL FSG Row Orders GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG) GL Header Categories Summary GL Journals GL Journals (Drilldown) GL Journals (Drilldown) 11g GL Journals 11i GL Ledger Sets GL Ledgers and Legal Entities GL Ledgers and Organizations GL Oracle FSG Converter GL Oracle FSG Converter 11g GL Period Status GL Periods GL Summary Templates GL Trial Balance - Detail GL effective vs accounting vs period start and end date comparison
Blitz Report	Inventory
Blitz Report Application Categories Blitz Report Assignments Blitz Report Assignments and Responsibilities Blitz Report Category Assignments Blitz Report Column Number Fomat Comparison between environments Blitz Report Column Translation Comparison between environments Blitz Report Column Translations Blitz Report Comparison between environments Blitz Report Default Templates Blitz Report Deletion History Blitz Report Execution Summary Blitz Report History Blitz Report LOV Comparison between environments Blitz Report LOV SQL Validation Blitz Report LOVs Blitz Report License User History Blitz Report License Users Blitz Report Parameter Anchor Validation Blitz Report Parameter Bind Variable Validation Blitz Report Parameter Comparison between environments Blitz Report Parameter Comparison between reports Blitz Report Parameter Custom LOV Duplication Validation Blitz Report Parameter DFF Table Validation Blitz Report Parameter Default Values Blitz Report Parameter Dependencies Blitz Report Parameter Table Alias Validation Blitz Report Parameter Uniqueness Validation Blitz Report Pivot Colums Validation Blitz Report RDF Import Validation Blitz Report Record History SQL Text Creation Blitz Report SQL Validation Blitz Report Security Blitz Report Templates Blitz Report Text Search Blitz Report Translations Blitz Report User History Blitz Report VPD Policy Setup Blitz Reports Blitz Upload Data Blitz Upload Dependencies Blitz Upload History	INV ABC assignments INV Aging INV Cycle count entries and adjustments INV Cycle count hit/miss analysis INV Cycle count listing INV Cycle count open requests listing INV Cycle count schedule requests INV Cycle count unscheduled items INV Cycle counts pending approval INV Default Category Sets INV Intercompany Invoice Reconciliation INV Intercompany Invoice Reconciliation 11i INV Item Category Assignment INV Item Category Sets INV Item Default Transaction Locators INV Item Default Transaction Subinventories INV Item Demand History INV Item Import Performance INV Item Relationships INV Item Reservations INV Item Statuses INV Item Supply/Demand INV Item Templates INV Items INV Lot Transaction Register INV Material Account Distribution Detail INV Material Movements INV Material Status Change History INV Material Transactions INV Material Transactions Summary INV Onhand Quantities INV Organization Access INV Organization Parameters INV Period Close Pending Transactions INV Physical Inventory Adjustments INV Physical Inventory Tags INV Physical inventory accuracy analysis INV Print Cycle Count Entries Open Interface data INV Safety Stocks INV Stock Locators INV Subinventories INV Transaction Historical Summary INV Transaction Register INV Transaction Source Types INV Transaction Types
Application Object Library	Database Administration
FND Application Context File FND Applications FND Attached Documents FND Attachment Functions FND Audit Setup FND Audit Table Changes by Column FND Audit Table Changes by Record FND Concurrent Managers FND Concurrent Program Incompatibilities FND Concurrent Programs and Executables FND Concurrent Programs and Executables 11i FND Concurrent Request Conflicts FND Concurrent Requests FND Concurrent Requests 11i FND Concurrent Requests Summary FND Data Groups FND Descriptive Flexfield Table Columns FND Descriptive Flexfields FND Document Categories FND Document Sequence Assignments FND Document Sequences FND FNDLOAD Object Transfer FND Flex Hierarchies (Rollup Groups) FND Flex Value Hierarchy FND Flex Value Security Rules FND Flex Value Sets, Usages and Values FND Flex Values FND Form Functions FND Forms Personalizations FND Help Documents and Targets FND Histogram Columns FND Key Flexfields FND Languages FND Lobs FND Log Messages FND Lookup Search FND Lookup Values FND Lookup Values Comparison between environments FND Menu Entries FND Messages FND Nodes FND Profile Option Values FND Profile Options FND Request Groups FND Responsibilities FND Responsibility Access FND Responsibility Access 11i FND Responsibility Menu Exclusions FND Role Hierarchy FND Roles FND Rollup Groups FND SOA Runtime Error FND Tables and Columns FND User Login History FND User Login Page Favorites FND User Login Summary FND User Responsibilities FND User Roles FND User Roles 11i FND Users	DBA AWR Active Session History DBA AWR Blocking Session Summary DBA AWR CPU Load (active session history) DBA AWR CPU vs Wait Time Summary DBA AWR Interconnect Traffic DBA AWR Latch Summary DBA AWR Latch by Time DBA AWR PGA History DBA AWR SQL Execution Plan History DBA AWR SQL Performance Summary DBA AWR Settings DBA AWR System Metrics Summary DBA AWR System Time Percentages DBA AWR System Time Summary DBA AWR Tablespace Usage DBA AWR Wait Class by Time DBA AWR Wait Event Summary DBA AWR Wait Event Summary (active session history) DBA Alert Log DBA Archive / Redo Log Rate DBA Automated Maintenance Tasks DBA Blocking Sessions DBA CPU Benchmark1 DBA CPU Benchmark2 DBA CPU Benchmark3 DBA Dependencies (used by) DBA Dependencies (uses) DBA Editioned Object Summary DBA Editions DBA External Table Creation DBA Feature Usage Statistics DBA Hierarchical Profiler Data DBA Index Columns DBA Jobs DBA Log Switches DBA Objects DBA Parameters DBA Profiler Data DBA Redo Log Files DBA Registry SQL Patch DBA Result Cache Objects and Dependencies DBA Result Cache Statistics DBA SGA Active Session History DBA SGA Blocking Session Summary DBA SGA Buffer Cache Object Usage DBA SGA CPU Load (active session history) DBA SGA Memory Allocation DBA SGA SQL Execution Plan History DBA SGA SQL Performance Summary DBA SGA Target Advice DBA SGA Wait Event Summary (active session history) DBA SGA+PGA Memory Configuration DBA Scheduler Jobs DBA Segments DBA Session Longops DBA Table Columns DBA Table Modifications DBA Tablespace Usage DBA Text Search DBA Trace File Contents

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