V$ Tables for OLAP

Each Oracle database instance maintains a set of virtual tables that record current database activity and store data about the instance. These tables are called the V$ tables. They are also referred to as the dynamic performance tables, because they store information that pertains primarily to performance. Views of the V$ tables are sometimes called fixed views because they cannot be altered or removed by the database administrator.

The V$ tables collect data on internal disk structures and memory structures. They are continuously updated while the database is in use. Among them are tables that collect data on Oracle OLAP.

The SYS user owns the V$ tables. In addition, any user with the SELECT CATALOG role can access the tables. The system creates views from these tables and creates public synonyms for the views. The views are also owned by SYS, but the DBA can grant access to them to a wider range of users.

The names of the OLAP V$ tables begin with V$AW. The view names also begin with V$AW. The following sample SQL*Plus session shows the list of OLAP system tables.

% sqlplus '/ as sysdba'
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SQL> SELECT name FROM v$fixed_table WHERE name LIKE 'V$AW%';

NAME
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
V$AW_AGGREGATE_OP
V$AW_ALLOCATE_OP
V$AW_CALC
V$AW_LONGOPS
V$AW_OLAP
V$AW_SESSION_INFO