Glossary

Look up a word that you see in Scops, and follow its link to the page that tells more.

A

Acknowledge

Marks a Radar finding as seen. The finding stays open, and Scops mails it again only if it gets worse. See Findings.

Active session

A session that works at that moment: on CPU, or in a wait that is not idle. See Active sessions.

Add-on

Statistics, Compression or Archiving. See Statistics, Compression and Archiving.

Add-on trial

The first 30 days of Community: Archiving on 1 table, and Compression and Statistics together on 1 database (Compression on 1 table of it). See Editions.

Age rule

A Compression rule that moves range partitions to a compression level by their age, for example to Query High after 90 days. See Compress partitions by age.

AI assistant

The switch in Settings › AI that turns all Scops AI features on or off. While it is off, Scops sends nothing to a model. See Turn AI features on or off.

AI Knowledge

Your own library for Scops AI: runbooks, notes, past incidents and Oracle docs. See AI Knowledge.

AI profile

One connection to a model: the provider, the endpoint, the API key, the model and how it answers. See Profile settings.

AI Trace

The record of each question to Scops AI, with each tool call, its time and tokens, and the answer. See AI Trace.

Alert

What an alert rule raises when its condition occurs, for example a tablespace more than 90% used. It is Active, then Cleared, and has no severity. See Alerts and findings.

Alert Catalog

All the alerts that a policy can use, on Policies › Alerts. An alert runs only when a policy has it as a rule. See Alert policies.

Alert policy

A policy that sets the alert rules of its databases. A database without an alert policy raises no alerts. See Alert policies.

Alert rule

One alert in an alert policy, with its threshold, schedule and recipients. See Alert policies.

Alias

The code that replaces a name before a call goes to the AI model, for example DB-7Q2K for a database. See Aliases.

Archive account

The account on the archive database that owns the archive tables and the database link to the source. See Archive a database.

Archive database

The database that Archiving copies old rows into. Scops never deletes, truncates or drops anything there. See Archiving.

Archived database

The source database whose old rows Archiving copies. See Archive a database.

Ask Scops

The field for questions to Scops AI. Also the switch that lets Scops AI answer about a database. See Ask a question.

Audit Trail

The record of each change to the security settings and critical data of Scops, also changes made directly with SQL. See Audit Trail.

Automatic datafile add

An option of the Tablespace Usage alert rule: Scops adds a datafile to a tablespace on ASM, within a daily limit. See Automatic datafiles.

Automatic plan fix

An option of the SQL Plan Change alert rule: Scops sets a slower statement back to its best recent plan with a SQL profile. It starts in Dry Run and needs the Diagnostics and Tuning Pack switch. See Automatic plan fix.

B

Blocking chain

Lock waits shown as a chain on the Blocking tab of Live Activity. The root blocker holds the lock, and the sessions under it wait. See Blocking.

C

Cache

Recent data that Scops keeps in memory, so pages open at once. It is a copy of the repository data. See Cache.

Cache layer

One part of the cache, for example Active sessions, hourly. You can turn off the seven layers that keep long history. See Cache layers.

Cause grade

Radar's word for the cause of a finding: Named, Top contributor, Shared resource, Usual load, Not measured or Not found. See Causes.

Change card

A card in a Scops AI answer for a change. The change runs only when you click its button, and the card expires after 10 to 30 minutes. See Change cards.

Chunk

The part of a unit that Archiving moves in one transaction, 80 MB by default. See Archiving.

Community

The free edition: 2 databases, 15 days of data, and the add-ons only during the 30-day add-on trial. See Editions.

Compress and partition candidates

Two lists on the Compress & Partition tab of Sizing: tables to compress (Cold, READ-MOSTLY) and to partition (READ-HEAVY, Growing). See Compress & Partition.

Connection test

What Test Connection checks before you add a database: the connection, the release (12.2 or later) and the grants. See The connection test.

Credential

An account that Scops uses to sign in to a database or, over SSH, to a server. See Credentials.

Critical

The highest severity of a Radar finding: act now. A forecast is Critical when the resource runs out within 14 days (default). See Severity.

D

Database bar

The bar at the top of the pages of one database, with its tabs and the Ask field. See The database bar.

Database override

An exception on an alert rule that gives some databases their own threshold, or turns off the alert for them. See Alert policies.

Dead Weight

The Sizing mark for segments to reclaim: 0.5 GB or more, not growing, and not used for more than 30 days. See Reclaimable.

Default policies

The three policies of a new installation: Default Alerts, Default Reports and Default Retentions. You cannot rename or delete them. See Policies.

Delete after archiving

An Archiving setting that deletes the archived rows from the source, in the same transaction as the copy. It is off by default. See Add tables.

Detector

One of the 75 checks of Radar Engine. Each detector raises one kind of finding and has a key. See Detector reference.

Diagnostics and Tuning Pack switch

A switch on each database, off by default, for the features that use the Oracle Diagnostics Pack and Tuning Pack. To turn it on, you confirm the license. See Diagnostics and Tuning Pack.

Discovery

The hourly check that queues the segments that Compression must move. Discover runs it now. See Update or clear the queue.

Dry Run

The default mode of the automatic plan fix: Scops records and mails each decision, and changes nothing. See Automatic plan fix.

E

Ended

The status of a Radar finding that is no longer open, for example Ended when the condition stopped, or Ended · muted. Scops keeps the finding for 30 days from when Radar raised it. See How findings end.

Environment

Where a database runs, for example Production or Test. See Details.

ETA

The date when a forecast says that a resource runs out. The nearer the date, the higher the severity. See Forecasts.

Exclusion

A pattern in Radar Settings that hides the matching findings on all databases. * matches anything. See Exclusions.

F

False alarm

A rating for a Radar finding. Scops then does not mail that finding below Critical on that database for 30 days. See Quality.

Fills In

When a tablespace will be full, in the Health Check grid: red within 14 days, amber within 45. See Tablespaces.

Finding

One risk that Radar Engine found on one database, now or ahead. Findings come from statistics and rules, not from an AI model. See Findings and forecasts.

Force matching signature

The Oracle number for the text of a statement without its literal values. See Repeated Literals.

Forecast

A finding about something that will occur at the current rate, for example a full tablespace. The other kind of finding is Now. See Forecasts.

G

Grant tiers

The four groups of grants: Required, Packs, Features and Recommended. See The four tiers.

Group

The team or application of a database. See Details.

H

Hybrid Columnar Compression (HCC)

The compression levels Query Low, Query High, Archive Low and Archive High, on Exadata or Oracle ZFS storage. See Compression.

I

Idle in transaction

A session that does nothing in an open transaction, but holds its locks. Live Activity marks it red after 15 minutes. See The marks.

Incident

On the Incidents page, an alert or a Radar finding. In Radar, one problem that more than one detector sees. See Alerts and findings.

Info

The Dashboard name for the Watch severity. See Watch.

Issues

The button beside the title on the Databases page. Its number shows how many databases have something open. See See the issues.

Item exception

An exception on an alert rule for one item, for example a tablespace: Scops ignores it, or gives it its own threshold. See Alert policies.

J

Job

Background work that Scops does on a schedule, for example Check Database. See Jobs.

K

Key

The identifier of a Radar detector, for example capacity|tablespace|ORD_DATA. You type keys in Exclusions. See Detector reference.

L

Last Hour line

The line of active sessions over the last hour on the Databases page, against the usual load for this hour. See The Last Hour line.

License key

What a server gets when you activate a purchase code. It sets the number of databases for monitoring, for Archiving, and for Compression and Statistics together. See License key.

License page

The Tools page that shows the Oracle packs and options that your databases use. It is not about the Scops license key. See License.

Linked tables

Tables with a foreign key to an archived table, which Scops archives with it as one group. See Archive linked tables.

Live check

A Radar check that compares the last ten minutes with the hour before, without a connection to the database. See The Radar cycle.

M

Maintenance mode

A switch in Settings › About. While it is on, only users with the ADMIN role can use Scops. See Maintenance mode.

Monitoring account

The Oracle account that Scops reads a database with. See Database user privileges.

Monitoring switches

The four switches of each database: Cache, AI, Radar and OS Logs. See Monitoring.

Mute

Ends a Radar finding. The database then never raises that risk again. See Mute a finding.

N

Needs attention

The red status of a database on the Databases page, for a problem to look at now. Also the switch of an environment that lets its databases have this status. See Needs attention.

Norm

The badge on a Metrics chart: the normal value for these hours, and the difference from it. See Read a chart.

Not Monitored

The status of a database above the limit of your edition. Scops keeps it but does not collect from it. See Databases outside your edition.

O

Objects catalog

The list of objects in the application schemas of a database, which Scops takes one time a day. See Objects.

Objects list

The tables and indexes that Compression works on for one database. See Add objects.

OS credential

An operating system account, usually oracle or grid, to read the OS logs over SSH. It is optional. See OS credential.

OS log monitoring

Scops reads the alert, ASM, CRS and listener logs of a database over SSH. See Monitoring.

Owner

The person responsible for a database. See Details.

P

Pair

In Archiving, a database and its archive database. See Archive a database.

Parallel query coordinator

The session that runs a parallel query. Live Activity counts the full query as one session. See Parallel queries.

Pass

In Compression, one type of work on an object. In Archiving, one run over a database. See Add objects and Archive now.

Permission

One thing that a role allows. See Permissions.

Placeholder

What a value in SQL becomes before Scops sends it to the AI model, for example '?s:CODE'. See Placeholders.

Plan pool

The plans of each statement in the last 14 days, which the automatic plan fix keeps for each database. See Automatic plan fix.

Pluggable database (PDB)

Each pluggable database that you add is a separate database in Scops, and counts as one for your edition. See Container and pluggable databases.

Policy

A set of settings for many databases: an alert, report or retention policy. See Policies.

Predictive failure

An Exadata disk or flash card that its cell reports as near failure. See The cells.

Problems

The list of the work that fails or is late on a database. See The database panel.

Professional

The paid edition. Its key sets the number of databases for monitoring, for Archiving, and for Compression and Statistics together. See Editions and activation.

Profile

A named set of settings that many databases use. See Statistics and Compression. For Scops AI, see AI profile.

Purchase code

The code that you get by mail when you buy Scops. See License key.

R

Radar cycle

One pass of Radar over all databases in its scope, every five minutes. See The Radar cycle.

Radar Engine

The part of Scops that finds risks on all databases in its scope, now and ahead. Its tab is Radar. See How Radar works.

Recipient

An address in the address book in Settings › Email. See Recipients.

Recompress

A Compression pass that moves compressed segments again when DML left them partly uncompressed. See Force Recompress.

Recovery code

The code that opens the copy of the password key in the repository. You need it on a new server. See The recovery code.

Report

A query that you run on many databases, when you ask or on a schedule. See Reports.

Report policy

A policy that sets which scheduled reports run on its databases. See Report policies.

Repository

The database where Scops keeps its settings and data: Oracle Database 12.2 or later, PostgreSQL 17 or later, or the PostgreSQL that Setup installs. See Choose the repository database.

Re-sync

An Archiving run that copies the rows that the archive does not have yet. See Re-sync a table.

Retention policy

A policy that sets how many days Scops keeps each kind of data. The Community edition keeps 15 days. See Retention.

Role

A set of permissions. Each user has one role. See How access works.

Root blocker

The session at the head of a blocking chain. Kill Blocker ends it. See Blocking chain.

Rule (Archiving)

What an archived table calls old: rows older than some days, all but the newest values of a number column, or named partitions. See Add tables.

S

Scops AI

The assistant that answers questions about your databases, on an OpenAI or Claude model that you connect. See Set up Scops AI.

ScopsApi and ScopsWeb

The two Windows services of Scops. ScopsWeb serves the web interface, and ScopsApi does the work and answers only on the server. See What Setup installs.

Seal

The protection of the Audit Trail against changes. See Seals.

Server ID

The identity of one Scops server. A license key works only on its Server ID. See Move a key.

Session sample

One reading of the active sessions of a database, every 5 seconds by default. Scops takes it itself, without Oracle Active Session History. See Active sessions.

Set SQL Plan

Fixes a statement on a plan that you select, with a SQL plan baseline or a SQL profile. See Set SQL Plan.

Snooze

Hides a Radar finding for a time, 30 days at most. See Snooze a finding.

SQL plan baseline

The Oracle record of the plans that the optimizer can use for a statement. See Profiles and baselines.

SQL profile

An Oracle object, part of the Tuning Pack, that controls the plan of a statement. See Profiles and baselines.

SQL statistics

The cost of each statement per plan. Scops reads them every 10 minutes, so you do not need AWR. See Insights.

Starter library

The 56 Oracle docs for Scops AI that come with AI Knowledge. See Load the starter library.

Stateful and stateless alerts

Alerts from an Exadata cell. A stateful alert stays open until its condition clears, and a stateless alert is a single event. See Alerts.

Status

The mark of a database on the Databases page: Needs attention (red diamond), Warning (amber triangle), Online (green dot) or Not Monitored (empty ring). See Status.

T

Top bar

The bar at the top of the pages about all databases. The pages of one database have the database bar. See The top bar.

Trap

An alert sent as JSON to a REST endpoint of a different system. See Traps.

U

Unit

What Archiving plans for a table: a partition, or a set of rows. Scops cuts a unit into chunks. See Archiving.

Usable (ASM)

The space that files can still use in an ASM disk group, after mirroring. See Capacity.

Usual level

The normal value of a reading at a given hour, from the history of the database. Metrics calls it the normal. See Usual for this hour.

W

Warning

The middle severity of a Radar finding: act soon, or a forecast within 45 days by default. On the Databases page, also the status of a database with a problem to look at soon. See Severity and Warning on the Databases page.

Watch

The lowest severity of a Radar finding: no action yet. Scops does not mail it by default. See Severity.

Watched statement

A statement that the SQL Plan Change alert watches, with its expected plan. See Watch a statement.

Weekly performance report

A mail for each selected database, Mondays at 10:00 by default. It is off until you turn it on. See Weekly performance report.

Window

The hours when an add-on can work on a database, by the clock of the Scops server. See Statistics and Compression.

Related

Updated November 9, 2026