Recently, someone asked me why there are so many AWR-like files in the directory and whether they are as useful as the well-known awrrpt.sql. I took the opportunity to explain what I knew about them and their purpose. Since I thought it could be helpful, I decided to share this insight with my readers as well.

If you’re into performance tuning in Oracle, very likey you’ve already used AWR reports. But then you open this directory: $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin …. …and boom – you’re hit with a list of cryptic scripts: awrrpt.sql, awrgdrpi.sql, awrsqrpt.sql, awrextr.sql…

What do they all do?
When should you use which one?
Why are they named like 90s DOS files 🙂 ?

Let’s keep it short and sharp. Here’s your point-to-point breakdown of the most important AWR scripts.

Before you go running any of these scripts – make sure you have the Oracle Diagnostic Pack license.
AWR stuff is not free.

I grouped them into logical chunks – reports, comparisons, SQLs, data movement, etc.

Performance Reports

These are the most common AWR reports you run to analyze performance between 2 snapshots.

Script	What it does
awrrpt.sql	Generates AWR report for the current instance (for single instance DBs)
awrrpti.sql	Same as above, but lets you select another DBID or instance (useful for RAC)
awrgrpt.sql	AWR Global Report – gives a full RAC-wide view
awrgrpti.sql	Same as above, but lets you pick another DBID/instance

Example:
You’re troubleshooting high CPU on node 2 of your RAC? Use awrrpti.sql.

Comparison Reports

These help you compare two different time ranges – maybe before and after a patch, or different load periods.

Script	What it does
awrddrpt.sql	Compares two AWR snapshots (date diff) – for a single instance
awrddrpi.sql	Same as above, for another dbid/instance
awrgdrpt.sql	Global RAC diff report (current RAC)
awrgdrpi.sql	Global RAC diff report (another dbid/instance)

Use these when you wanna say, “Hey, this new code made the DB slower… prove it!”

Want to see what a particular SQL is doing? These are your tools.

Script	What it does
awrsqrpt.sql	SQL report for a specific SQL_ID in the current instance
awrsqrpi.sql	Same thing but lets you pick another dbid/instance

You’ll be surprised how useful this is when hunting bad queries.

Sometimes, you need to take AWR data from one system and analyze it somewhere else (like test or dev).

Script	What it does
awrextr.sql	Export AWR data using datapump
awrload.sql	Import AWR data using datapump

This is actually gold when working on performance issues across environments.

Helper / Utility Scripts

These are mostly helper scripts to define input or make reports more automated or interactive.

Script	What it does
perfhubrpt.sql	Generates a fancy interactive Performance Hub report
awrinpnm.sql	Input name helper for AWR
awrinput.sql	Get inputs before running AWR reports
awrddinp.sql	Input helper for diff reports
awrgdinp.sql	Input helper for RAC diff reports

What’s with these weird script names?

Yeah, all these awrsqrpi.sql, awrgdrpt.sql, etc. – they look like random garbage at first.
But there’s actually some logic.

Here’s how to decode them:

Abbreviation	Means
awr	Automatic Workload Repository
rpt or rp	Report
i	Lets you select specific instance or DBID
g	Global report for RAC
d or dd	Diff reports (comparing two snapshots)
sq	SQL
inp	Input helper

So awrsqrpi.sql = AWR SQL Report for a different instance
And awrgdrpi.sql = AWR Global Diff Report for another DBID/instance

So Which Script Should I Use?

Here’s a quick cheat sheet:

Task	Script
Normal AWR report (single instance)	awrrpt.sql
AWR report for RAC (global view)	awrgrpt.sql
SQL performance report	awrsqrpt.sql
Compare two AWR reports	awrddrpt.sql
Export/import AWR data	awrextr.sql and awrload.sql

If you’re doing anything with RAC – prefer the ones with g in them.
If you’re automating – use the *inp*.sql files.

Final Thoughts

Yes, the names are ugly.
Yes, the syntax is old-school.
But honestly? These AWR scripts are still some of the best tools you have for DB performance analysis.

Just remember:

• Don’t use them without a valid license
• Learn the naming pattern once – and it gets way easier
• Practice running different ones on test systems

And next time someone complains, “The database is slow” … you know exactly which script to run.

Hope It Helped!
Prashant Dixit
Database Architect @RENAPS
Reach us at : https://renaps.com/