A feature known as Automatic Workload Repository (AWR) is built into Oracle database versions 10g/11g. AWR basically gathers all of the metrics and statistics that are utilized by the Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitor (ADDM), which in turn enables a significant amount of database management tools and self-management functions.
Clients that have employed ADDM and AWR functionalities report having experienced increased database performance. But, be alert….If your database administrators’ are making use of the AWR information (and they likely are), it’s a good bet you’ll need to be licensed for the following two Oracle database management tools: Oracle Diagnostics Pack and Oracle Tuning Pack.