FAQ
Find short answers to the questions that DBAs and IT teams ask most.
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What do I need to run Scops?
One Windows server, a repository database, and Edge, Chrome or Firefox. The repository is Oracle, PostgreSQL, or a PostgreSQL that Setup installs. You do not install an Oracle Client or a web server. See System requirements.
Does Scops install anything on my database servers?
No. Scops connects through the listener with one Oracle account. Monitoring creates no objects.
Which Oracle databases can Scops monitor?
Oracle Database 12.2 and later, Enterprise Edition and Standard Edition 2, also RAC, pluggable databases, open standbys and Exadata. See Supported databases.
Can the repository run on Standard Edition 2?
Yes, and it does not need the Partitioning option. See Create an Oracle account.
What does the monitoring account need?
CREATE SESSION and SELECT_CATALOG_ROLE. If your site does not permit the role, Scops gives a script with one grant for each view. The other grants are optional, each for one action.
How soon do I see data after I add a database?
The status shows at once, Live Activity within a minute, and Radar Engine within about 10 minutes. See After you add the database.
Monitoring and impact
How much load does Scops put on a monitored database?
Scops reads sessions every 5 seconds, metrics every minute and SQL statistics every 10 minutes. Most pages read only the repository. Each query stops after 30 seconds by default.
Do I need the Oracle Diagnostics Pack or Tuning Pack?
Not for monitoring. Pack features, for example SQL profiles, stay off until you confirm the license.
Where is my data kept, and for how long?
In the repository, for the days that the retention policy of each database sets. Community keeps 15 days.
What happens when a database goes down?
It shows as Needs attention, the DB Access alert fires, and Scops tries again every 5 minutes. A wrong password does not change the status, but the panel shows the error under Problems. See A database cannot connect.
What is the difference between an alert and a Radar finding?
An alert comes from a rule that you set. A finding is a risk that Radar Engine finds itself, now or in the future. See Alerts, findings and incidents.
How much mail does Radar send?
None until you turn on Radar mail. Then Scops mails an open finding again at most every 24 hours, unless it gets worse.
Security and data
What leaves my network?
Only what you set up: mail, traps, LDAP, your AI model and activation. Scops masks the data that it sends to the AI model, and sends no usage data. See Connections Scops makes.
How does Scops protect the passwords it stores?
Scops encrypts them with one key, and Windows protects the key on the server. For user passwords, Scops keeps only a hash. See Passwords.
What if we lose the recovery code?
On the same server, click New Recovery Code in Settings › Passwords. On a new server without the code, you must type the stored passwords again. See Use the recovery code.
Can people sign in with Active Directory or LDAP?
Yes. Turn on Sign in with LDAP in Settings › LDAP.
Is there an audit trail of changes?
Yes. The Audit Trail records each change to the security settings and critical data, also changes made with SQL.
Editions and licenses
What does the free Community edition include?
All database pages, Radar Engine, alerts, reports and Scops AI, for 2 databases with 15 days of data. A 30-day trial includes the add-ons on 1 table or 1 database. See What each edition allows.
Does each pluggable database count as a database?
Yes. Each registration counts, also a container database, a standby and a database that you only archive into.
What happens when my license key ends?
The key works for 14 more days. Then the Community limits apply, but Scops does not cut your data to 15 days. See Renew a key.
Can I activate a server that has no internet access?
Yes, from any device that is online. See Activate a server that has no internet.
Does Scops check our Oracle licenses?
No. You confirm the pack license for each database, and Scops records who confirmed it. License shows the packs and options that your databases use.
Automation
Can Scops change my databases?
Monitoring only reads. Only these features change a database, and each needs its own permission. Scops never runs the commands that a Radar finding suggests.
| Feature | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Kill a session | Ends a session and rolls back its open transaction. |
| Set SQL Plan | Creates, changes or drops SQL plan baselines and SQL profiles. |
| SQL Tuning Advisor | Runs an advisor task. Scops applies nothing. |
| Statistics | Gathers optimizer statistics. |
| Compression | Moves tables and partitions, and rebuilds indexes. |
| Archiving | Fills the archive tables. Deletes from the source only with Delete after archiving. |
| Automatic datafiles | Adds a datafile on ASM, within a daily limit. |
| Automatic plan fix | In Apply mode, sets a statement back on its best plan. Dry Run, the default, changes nothing. |
| Multi-SQL | Runs your statement on the databases that you select. |
| Change cards | Runs the change of a Scops AI card when you press its button. |
Does Scops gather statistics or compress tables on its own?
Only on the tables and indexes that you add, at the times that you allow. A new installation starts with the Statistics job stopped.
Will Compression lock my tables?
Not by default: moves run online. A move needs space for the compressed copy. Online moves need Enterprise Edition, and Advanced Row and index compression need the Advanced Compression option. Scops checks neither. See Compression.
Can Archiving lose or duplicate rows?
No. A row leaves the source only in the transaction that puts it in the archive. A chunk that runs again never writes a row two times. See Archiving.
Scops AI
Which AI models can I use?
You connect your own model in Settings › AI. Select one that calls tools well. Scops adds no charge.
What does Scops AI send to the model?
Only what a question needs. Scops masks your names and the values in SQL, and never reads table rows or passwords. See Privacy and data masking.
Can Scops AI change a database?
Only when a user with the permission presses the button of a change card.
Can I keep some databases away from Scops AI?
Yes. Turn off the Ask Scops switch of the database in Edit Database, or its AI switch in Policies › Monitoring.
Administration
How do I reset the admin password?
On the server, as administrator, run "C:\Program Files\Scops\api\Scops.Api.exe" --reset-admin-password. See Reset the admin password.
How do I upgrade Scops?
Run the Setup of the new version on the server. Setup keeps your settings. See Upgrade.
How do I move Scops to another server?
Install Scops on the new server with the same repository, enter the recovery code and move your license key.
How do I keep people out during maintenance?
Turn on Maintenance mode in Settings › About. Then only administrators can sign in.
Where do I look when something fails?
In Settings › Logs and in the panel of the database. If a service does not start, read the log files on the server. See Find the logs.
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Updated November 10, 2026