Are there alternatives to running Oracle's scripts?
Yes, there are alternatives to running Oracle's scripts, because running them is a decision, not an obligation, and your contract rarely names a specific tool. The audit clause in your Oracle Master Agreement typically requires reasonable cooperation and accurate information about your usage. It does not, in most agreements, require that the information come from Oracle's own collection scripts. Where the contract is silent on method, the buyer can propose an equivalent way to establish the same facts, and that proposal is part of agreeing scope and method before any data moves.
This is not about withholding information. It is about controlling the form in which information is provided, so that the data Oracle works from is accurate rather than inflated. The scripts default to the higher count in ambiguous situations, reading a whole VMware cluster as licensable and reporting installed options as in use. An alternative method, built on the buyer's own records, can answer the same questions without carrying those defaults.
What evidence can replace script output?
Evidence that can replace script output includes configuration management records, deployment inventories, license management tool reports and the buyer's own database queries. Each of these establishes a piece of the picture the scripts would otherwise gather: what is deployed where, which editions and options are present, how many processors and cores run Oracle, and how many users are entitled. Assembled together, they answer the audit's factual questions from sources the buyer controls and understands.
The advantage is interpretation. The buyer's own records carry context the scripts strip away: which hosts in a cluster actually run Oracle, which options were ever operationally used rather than merely installed, and how standby systems are configured under the 10 day rule. Providing that context with the data, rather than handing over raw output and arguing about it later, keeps the factual basis of the finding accurate from the start. Targeted database queries can even reproduce the specific facts a script would report, but scoped to what the contract requires and read in context.
| Question | Script behaviour | Equivalent evidence |
|---|---|---|
| What runs where? | May read the whole cluster | Deployment inventory and host mapping |
| Which options are used? | Reports installed as in use | Usage and configuration history |
| How many cores? | Counts cluster cores | Hardware records and core factor table |
| How many users? | Raw counts | License management tool reports |
Is proposing an alternative the same as refusing?
Proposing an alternative is not the same as refusing, because your obligation is to cooperate and provide usage information, not to run a particular tool. Cooperation means giving Oracle an accurate, evidenced picture of your usage, and an equivalent method that produces the same facts does exactly that. A buyer who proposes a clear, well documented alternative is meeting the contractual duty, not avoiding it, and framing the proposal that way keeps the relationship constructive.
Whether an alternative is available at all is contract dependent, so the audit clause is read first. Some agreements are silent on method, leaving full room to propose an equivalent. Others reference specific collection requirements that narrow the options. The buyer move is to read the clause, understand what the contract actually requires, and propose a method that satisfies it while avoiding the overcounting the scripts introduce. Counsel is the right partner for that reading, because the line between cooperation and refusal is a contractual one.
When does running the scripts still make sense?
Running the scripts can still make sense when the estate is simple, fully entitled, and free of the conditions that cause overcounts. If there is no virtualization to misread, no accidentally enabled options, and no disaster recovery complexity, the scripts may report a position close to the real one, and running them can be the quickest path to a clean result. The decision is not ideological; it is a judgement about whether the scripts will help or harm in a specific estate.
Even then, the output is reviewed before submission rather than sent raw. A simple estate can still surface an installed option that was never used or a core count that needs context, and the review catches those before they become a finding. The principle holds across both paths: whatever the method, what you submit becomes the factual basis for the finding, so it is checked line by line first. The choice of method is the first decision; the review is the constant.
How do you put an alternative method in place?
You put an alternative method in place by agreeing it as part of scope, before any data moves, so that the method is settled rather than disputed. During scope negotiation, alongside which entities, products and environments are in or out, the buyer agrees how data will be gathered and in what format. Proposing the equivalent method at that point, with a clear description of the evidence to be provided, settles the question early and prevents arguments later about whether the data was valid.
Preparation makes the alternative credible. A buyer who already holds a current map of the estate, the entitlements and the architecture can produce equivalent evidence quickly and confidently, which is what makes Oracle willing to accept it. A buyer with no such map, proposing an alternative under deadline pressure, is far less persuasive. The estate map is the foundation that turns the right to propose an alternative into the practical ability to use one.
How do you make an alternative method credible to Oracle?
You make an alternative method credible by documenting it clearly, mapping each piece of evidence to the question it answers, and providing it through one controlled channel. Oracle is more likely to accept an equivalent when the buyer presents an organised, evidenced picture rather than a loose collection of files. That means showing, for each fact a script would report, the source that establishes it: the deployment inventory for what runs where, the usage history for which options were used, the hardware records and core factor table for the core count, and the host affinity configuration for the real footprint in a cluster.
Presentation through a single owner reinforces credibility. When every record passes through one point of contact, dated and version controlled, the buyer can demonstrate exactly what was provided and stand behind it. A method that looks deliberate and complete is persuasive; one that looks improvised invites Oracle to insist on its own scripts. The credibility of the alternative is therefore as much about discipline of delivery as about the evidence itself.
What are the risks of proposing an alternative?
The main risk of proposing an alternative is misreading the contract, so the audit clause is read carefully before any proposal is made. Some agreements are silent on collection method and leave full room for an equivalent; others reference specific requirements that narrow the options, and a few may effectively compel a particular approach. Proposing an alternative where the contract does not allow one can sour the relationship and waste time, which is why counsel reads the clause and frames the proposal within what the agreement genuinely permits.
A second risk is providing equivalent evidence that is incomplete, which can look like avoidance even when it is not. The remedy is preparation: a buyer who already holds a current map of the estate, the entitlements and the architecture can produce a complete equivalent quickly, while one assembling it under deadline pressure is more likely to leave gaps. Handled with a clear contractual reading and a maintained estate map, the alternative is a controlled, contract dependent choice rather than a gamble.
The next step
This article is part of our LMS Scripts and Audit Data cluster. Read the pillar, the Oracle audit defense guide, for the full picture, and these related reads: Oracle LMS scripts explained, and the data room for an Oracle audit. For a deeper resource, download the Options and Packs Detection Guide.