The Diagnostics Pack and Tuning Pack are the most common silent findings in an Oracle audit. They price per Processor and switch on without an install. Here is how a buyer shuts the trap off.
The Oracle Diagnostics Pack and Tuning Pack price per Processor, cover everyday performance tooling, and switch on without a separate install. This guide shows how the auto use trap works and how to close it.
The Diagnostics Pack and Tuning Pack are the most common silent findings in an Oracle audit. They price per Processor, they cover features developers and DBAs use every day, and they switch on without a separate install.
This guide explains how the auto use trap works and how a buyer shuts it off before it becomes a settlement line.
Both are management packs that price on top of Enterprise Edition, per Processor. They cover the performance tooling inside the database and Enterprise Manager.
The Diagnostics Pack covers the Automatic Workload Repository, Active Session History, and the performance pages in Enterprise Manager. Any query against the AWR views is licensable use. Oracle documents this in the Database Licensing Information manual.
The Tuning Pack covers the SQL Tuning Advisor and SQL Access Advisor. It requires the Diagnostics Pack as a prerequisite, so the two are almost always found together.
The trap is that these packs are on by default in Enterprise Edition. A DBA running a standard AWR report has used a licensable feature, and the database records it.
Where the packs switch on silently
| Action | Pack consumed | How it happens | Defense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run an AWR report | Diagnostics | Default DBA workflow | Set control parameter off |
| View EM performance page | Diagnostics | One click in console | Restrict EM packs |
| Run SQL Tuning Advisor | Tuning | Default tuning step | Disable advisor |
| Query DBA_HIST views | Diagnostics | Ad hoc SQL | Revoke access |
The database parameter CONTROL_MANAGEMENT_PACK_ACCESS, documented in the Database Licensing Information manual, governs pack access. Set to NONE, it blocks Diagnostics and Tuning use at the engine level. Most estates leave it at the default, which permits both.
Enterprise Manager exposes pack features through the console. Use the pack access controls in EM to grey out licensable links so an administrator cannot trigger use by accident.
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Pack findings scale with the licensed Processor count, not with how often the feature ran. One AWR report on a sixteen Processor cluster can imply sixteen Processor licenses for each pack.
Query the DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS view to see exactly which packs were used and when. This is the same data Oracle relies on, so pulling it first removes the surprise.
The standard advice is to simply buy the Diagnostics and Tuning Packs because everyone uses them and an audit will find them anyway. We disagree. In roughly four out of five estates we have swept, the packs were used by accident, not by need, and the same performance work could run on free tooling or on a controlled subset of servers. The buyer side move is to set the control parameter to NONE across the estate, restrict Enterprise Manager, and license the packs only on the named servers where the advisory features are genuinely required. Buying estate wide because it is convenient is how a small need becomes a large bill.
Source: Redress Compliance advisory engagement file, 2024 to 2025.
The Diagnostics Pack is not bought. It is stumbled into. The control parameter is the cheapest license decision an Oracle DBA team can make.
Defense starts with the control parameter and ends with a narrow, evidenced settlement scope.
Set CONTROL_MANAGEMENT_PACK_ACCESS to NONE on every database that does not need the packs. This stops the clock on new exposure immediately.
Pull the feature usage history. Separate deliberate, licensed use from accidental touches. Argue the accidental events down where the contract and facts allow.
The Diagnostics Pack is a per Processor management pack covering the Automatic Workload Repository, Active Session History, and Enterprise Manager performance pages. Any query against the AWR views counts as licensable use.
The Tuning Pack is a per Processor management pack covering the SQL Tuning Advisor and SQL Access Advisor. It requires the Diagnostics Pack as a prerequisite, so the two are almost always licensed together.
Both packs are enabled by default in Enterprise Edition. A DBA running an AWR report, opening an Enterprise Manager performance page, or running the tuning advisor consumes the pack without any separate installation.
Set the database parameter CONTROL_MANAGEMENT_PACK_ACCESS to NONE on every database that does not need the packs. Then restrict pack access inside Enterprise Manager so administrators cannot trigger use by accident.
Pack findings scale with the licensed Processor count, not usage frequency. A single AWR report on a sixteen Processor cluster can imply sixteen Processor licenses for each pack, plus back support.
Query the DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS view. It records which packs were used and when. This is the same data Oracle relies on in an audit, so reviewing it first removes the surprise.
No. AWR, ASH, and the automatic diagnostic monitor all require the Diagnostics Pack. Free alternatives such as Statspack exist for basic performance data without the pack, though with less depth.
Not by default. Buying estate wide because it is convenient turns a small need into a large bill. Disable the packs where they are not needed and license them only on the servers that genuinely require the advisory features.
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