Set Up Oracle ASM on an Azure Linux Virtual Machine: Challenges I Encountered and Their Solutions

 

Setting up an Oracle ASM-based database on an Azure Linux virtual machine can come with some challenges. While Microsoft provides a comprehensive official guide (Set Up Oracle ASM on an Azure Linux Virtual Machine) covering the core steps, real-world implementations often come with unexpected challenges that aren't addressed in the documentation.

In this blog post, I won’t repeat the steps already covered in the Microsoft article. Instead, I’ll walk you through the specific issues I encountered during the setup, the errors that slowed me down, and—most importantly—the solutions that worked. Whether you're a DBA, a cloud engineer, or someone exploring Oracle on Azure, I hope these insights will help you avoid similar pitfalls and save valuable time.

Here are the key problems I faced:

1. Installing Azure CLI on Windows
2. Creating an X Server VM (asmXServer) – a Windows-based VM for running graphical tools like asmca and dbca
3. Bastion Connection Failure – caused by an outdated version of Python

In the sections that follow, I’ll explain each of these issues in detail and how I successfully resolved them.

Inside Our Managed Services Team: How DBAs Support and Troubleshoot Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, Operating Systems, and Cloud Environments

In today’s fast-paced IT landscape, managing databases isn’t just about keeping them online—it’s about ensuring performance, availability, security, and scalability across a wide range of platforms and environments. At Eclipsys, the Managed Services DBA team takes on exactly that challenge. We support a diverse set of databases including Oracle, SQL Server, and MySQL, deployed across cloud platforms like Azure, AWS, and OCI, and operating systems such as Linux, Windows, and Solaris. Our DBAs are also responsible for proactively monitoring these environments using tools like Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM), Nagios, and SolarWinds, helping us detect issues before they impact performance. Our role goes beyond traditional DBA tasks—we troubleshoot critical problems, automate routine operations, handle performance tuning, and work directly with customers to ensure their systems are running optimally. In this blog, we’ll take you inside our day-to-day responsibilities, the tools we use, and how we help keep enterprise systems running smoothly and securely. Below are some of the other activities that we perform to provide support for clients using SQL server and MySQL databases.

How to Enable, Suspend, and Resume TDE Encryption Scans in SQL Server Always On

 

Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) is a crucial security feature in SQL Server that protects data at rest by encrypting database files. In an Always On availability group, managing TDE encryption scans efficiently is essential to ensure minimal performance impact and seamless data protection. This guide will walk you through the process of enabling, suspending, and resuming TDE encryption scans in SQL Server Always On, helping you maintain security while optimizing system performance. Whether you need to temporarily pause encryption scans for maintenance or resume them after an interruption, these steps will ensure smooth database operations.

For encrypting an SQL Server database, please review Encrypt an Existing MS SQL Server 2019 Database in an Always On Environment Using TDE

How to Decrypt a TDE-Enabled Database in a SQL Server Always On Environment

 

There could be various reasons for removing an existing TDE (Transparent Data Encryption) implementation from SQL Server databases. You may be considering an alternative encryption solution, experiencing performance issues, or needing to share a copy of the database or its backup with other business units that do not support TDE. Regardless of the reason, properly decrypting a TDE-enabled database in a SQL Server Always On environment requires careful execution to ensure data integrity and minimize downtime. In this guide, we will walk through the steps to safely remove TDE encryption from a database while maintaining availability and security.

For encrypting an SQL Server database, please review Encrypt an Existing MS SQL Server 2019 Database in an Always On Environment Using TDE

Configuring a Second Listener on EXACC ASM Cluster to fix Cluster ASM monitoring Issues in Oracle OEM

1. Introducing the Issue

Recently, we encountered an issue in our OEM while trying to monitor the EXACC ASM Cluster. This is my EXACC cluster configuration in OCI.

The OEM displayed the cluster status as down, despite all configurations being correct. The error was as follows: 

"failed to connect: java.sql.sqlrecoverableexception: listener refused the connection with the following error: ora-12514, tns:listener does not currently know of service requested in connect descriptor"

DBSAT Security Series – Part 2: Identifying Sensitive Data Using DBSAT Discover

Introduction

DBSAT Discover is a standalone, Java-based component of the Database Security Assessment Tool that identifies sensitive data within your database. Unlike the Collector and Reporter, Discover works independently and focuses on scanning tables and columns for patterns that match PII, financial, or other confidential information. Building on the foundation covered in Part 1 of this series, EnhancingQuery Performance: Leveraging In-Memory Optimized Dates in Oracle 23ai, where we explored configuring and using the main DBSAT tool, Discover, helps you take the next step by revealing exactly where sensitive data resides, so you can strengthen your overall security posture.

DBSAT Security Series – Part 1: Configuration and Reporting with DBSAT

Oracle Database Security Assessment Tool (DBSAT) is a popular command-line tool that helps identify areas where your database configuration, operation, or implementation introduces risks and recommends changes and controls to mitigate those risks. This tool is essential for database administrators and security professionals who want to ensure their Oracle environments are protected against both internal and external threats.