The Oracle LMS Collection Tool runs across the estate and returns a fingerprint of every database. It captures option usage, named user counts, partitioning evidence, and Java traces. Read the script before submission.
The Oracle LMS Collection Tool is the data gathering script set used in Oracle audits. The output is a database by database fingerprint that drives the audit narrative. The buyer side that reads the script before submission writes a defensible cover.
This article walks through what the script captures, what each output line means, and what the buyer side does in the forty eight hours before submission.
The LMS package is several scripts run in sequence. Each script returns a different set of rows. The output bundle is a complete audit picture of the estate.
The script reads DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS. The table records every option and feature that has ever been activated. A single use within the prior twelve months returns a current usage flag.
The script reads the option pack tables and the management pack tables. Each pack returns a usage and a last used date. The output reveals which packs the database has touched.
The script reads DBA_USERS and the role assignments. The output is the full account list including disabled accounts and integration service accounts.
The script reads V$LICENSE. The view records the maximum concurrent sessions, the high water mark, and the named user count if set at the database parameter level.
Database options drive the largest audit findings. The script captures every option activation in DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS. Five options carry the most weight.
Partitioning activates on table creation with the PARTITION BY clause. The activation is permanent in the feature usage table even if the partition is later dropped. The script returns the activation date.
Advanced Compression activates with OLTP compression, basic table compression beyond direct load, or RMAN compression beyond basic. The script captures each activation type.
Diagnostics Pack covers AWR, ADDM, and ASH. AWR snapshots run by default in Enterprise Edition. The Diagnostics Pack license is required to read or use the snapshots.
Tuning Pack covers SQL Tuning Advisor, SQL Access Advisor, and the SQL Profile feature. Activation triggers from explicit advisor calls or implicit calls from Enterprise Manager.
The Lifecycle Management Pack covers patching, provisioning, and configuration management features in Enterprise Manager. Activation triggers from a single use of a managed patch or a configuration job.
The VMware partitioning audit line is the largest single exposure in many Oracle audits. The LMS script supports the position but does not resolve it.
Oracle defines VMware, KVM, Hyper V, and most server virtualization as soft partitioning. Soft partitioning requires licensing every physical core on every host in the cluster that could host an Oracle VM.
Oracle accepts a short list of technologies as hard partitioning. The accepted list includes Oracle VM Server with pinned vCPUs, Solaris zones with capped CPU resource pools, and IBM LPARs with capped resource limits.
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Oracle Cloud at Customer accept OCPU based licensing. The OCPU rate equates to two vCPUs for non Oracle Linux and one vCPU for Oracle Linux.
| Virtualization | Oracle classification | Licensing required | Buyer side counter |
|---|---|---|---|
| VMware vSphere | Soft partitioning | All physical cores on cluster | Isolate Oracle to a dedicated cluster |
| Oracle VM Server pinned vCPUs | Hard partitioning | Pinned vCPUs only | Document the affinity config |
| IBM LPAR capped | Hard partitioning | Capped LPAR cores only | Capture the LPAR profile |
| Solaris zones capped | Hard partitioning | Capped resource pool cores | Confirm the resource cap |
| OCI Compute | Sub capacity by OCPU | OCPU count | OCPU matches contract |
The script returns the full account list. The audit counts active and disabled accounts. The buyer side cleanup before submission closes most of the gap.
Service accounts used by integrations, batch jobs, and replication count as named users. A cleanup before the script run removes orphaned service accounts and reduces the count.
The named user count includes every human and machine that connects directly or indirectly to the database. Application pooling does not reduce the count. The end users behind the pool count.
Named User Plus carries a minimum of twenty five users per processor on EE and ten per processor on SE2. The audit finding floors at the minimum even if the actual count is lower.
Oracle Java SE moved to the Employee metric in January 2023. The audit detection runs through a separate script. The exposure can dwarf the database exposure.
The JavaOne Compliance Script Tool walks file paths, package managers, and installation registry entries. It returns every Oracle Java SE install on every audited host.
The Employee metric counts the global employee count plus contractors regardless of who uses Java. A single production Oracle Java SE installation triggers the metric across the entire workforce.
The buyer side counter is OpenJDK migration with documented timestamps. Eclipse Temurin, Amazon Corretto, and Azul Zulu are the common targets. The cover note ties the disable timeline to the audit window.
The forty eight hour pre submission review is the highest impact engagement window in any Oracle audit. The buyer side runs the script in a sandbox and reads the output before Oracle does.
Run the LMS scripts in a controlled environment. Capture the full output. Compare against the licensed entitlement.
Identify each option usage event. For each event capture the date, the database, and the disable status. Build the timeline of activation and disable.
Write the cover narrative before submission. The narrative names the legitimate use cases, the non material activations, and the rectification evidence. The narrative ships with the script output.
The checklist takes the customer from receipt of the Oracle audit letter to a submitted package that holds up under audit review. The earlier the work starts the wider the option set.
The Oracle License Management Services Collection Tool is the official audit data gathering script set. It includes SQL scripts that read DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS, DBA_USERS, V$LICENSE, and the option pack tables. It also includes operating system scripts that read processor data and Java install paths. The output is a fingerprint of every database covered by the audit.
Oracle contracts typically allow the LMS team to request the script output. The customer runs the script and submits the output. The customer is not required to grant Oracle direct access to the production database. Independent counsel reviews the exact wording in each order document.
Yes. The LMS script is technically available to any DBA with the right privileges. Running it in advance lets the buyer side read what Oracle will read. The pre review catches option usage that an option purge can resolve before submission.
The high impact options are Partitioning, Advanced Compression, Diagnostics Pack, Tuning Pack, and Database Lifecycle Management Pack. These options enable through a parameter or a feature use. The script captures the feature use trace in DBA_FEATURE_USAGE_STATISTICS. A single enable event creates a finding.
The script captures partitioning option usage within the database. The VMware partitioning question is separate. Oracle counts every physical core on the cluster that could host an Oracle database VM. The cluster wide count drives the partitioning audit line. The script supports the case but does not resolve it.
Oracle uses the JCST script and JavaOne data. The script walks file paths and inventory tables to find Oracle Java installations. The Employee metric applies if any production Java SE is in scope. The buyer side response is OpenJDK migration evidence or a defensible counter on the Employee count.
An independent pre submission review takes about forty eight hours for a typical estate. The review runs the script in a sandbox, reads the output, identifies the option usage to purge, and writes the cover narrative. The time is well spent against the audit cost.
Out of scope deployment becomes an audit finding. The buyer side counter cases include a clarifying statement on the script, evidence of the disable timeline, and the run rate calculation. Most findings settle through a contract revision rather than a back fee.
Redress runs this practice inside the Vendor Shield subscription, the Renewal Program, the Oracle Hub, and the Software Spend Assessment. Independent buyer side advisory means no vendor partner conflicts and no resale margin.
Related reading: the benchmarking service, the Benchmark Program, the case studies, the white paper library, the blog, and the news room.
The companion guide covers the LMS audit motion, the buyer side counter cases, and the settlement math from contract receipt to written close.
Independent. Written for CIOs, CFOs, and procurement leaders. No vendor partner affiliation.
Open the playbook in your browser. Corporate email only.
Open the Paper →The LMS script tells Oracle what is enabled. The audit team reads the script first and the contract second. The buyer side that reads the script before submission writes a different narrative than the one Oracle drafts.
Independent audit defense reviews the LMS script output before submission. Vendor Shield subscribers run the script on a forty eight hour cycle ahead of every audit submission.
Cost benchmarks, license rightsizing patterns, and the negotiation moves that worked. Written for buyer side teams running active vendor decisions.
Once a month. Audit patterns, renewal benchmarks, vendor commercial signals across Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce, IBM, Broadcom, AWS, Google Cloud, ServiceNow, Workday, Cisco, and the GenAI vendors. No follow up sales pressure.
Free providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook) cannot subscribe. Work email only. Unsubscribe in one click.
