oracle11gRAC英文文档（三）

The information in this guide is not validated by Oracle, is not supported by Oracle, and should only be used at your own risk; it is for educational purposes only.

21. Install Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster

Perform the following installation procedures from only one of the Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster (racnode1). The Oracle grid infrastructure software (Oracle Clusterware and Automatic Storage Management) will be installed to both of the Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster by the Oracle Universal Installer.

You are now ready to install the "grid" part of the environment Oracle Clusterware and Automatic Storage Management. Complete the following steps to install Oracle grid infrastructure on your cluster.

At any time during installation, if you have a question about what you are being asked to do, click the Help button on the OUI page.

Typical and Advanced Installation

Starting with 11g release 2, Oracle now provides two options for installing the Oracle grid infrastructure software:

Typical Installation

The typical installation option is a simplified installation with a minimal number of manual configuration choices. This new option provides streamlined cluster installations, especially for those customers who are new to clustering. Typical installation defaults as many options as possible to those recommended as best practices.

Advanced Installation

The advanced installation option is an advanced procedure that requires a higher degree of system knowledge. It enables you to select particular configuration choices, including additional storage and network choices, use of operating system group authentication for role-based administrative privileges, integration with IPMI, or more granularity in specifying Automatic Storage Management roles.

Given the fact that this article makes use of role-based administrative privileges and high granularity in specifying Automatic Storage Management roles, we will be using the "Advanced Installation" option.

Configuring SCAN without DNS

For the purpose of this article, although I indicated I will be manually assigning IP addresses using the DNS method for name resolution (as opposed to GNS), I will not actually be defining the SCAN in any DNS server (or GNS for that matter). Instead, I will only be defining the SCAN host name and IP address in the hosts file ( /etc/hosts) on each Oracle RAC node and any clients attempting to connect to the database cluster. Although Oracle strongly discourages this practice and highly recommends the use of GNS or DNS resolution, I felt it beyond the scope of this article to configure DNS. This section includes a workaround (Ok, a total hack) to thenslookup binary that allows the Cluster Verification Utility to finish successfully during the Oracle grid infrastructure install. Please note that the workaround documented in this section is only for the sake of brevity and should not be considered for a production implementation.

Defining the SCAN in only the hosts file and not in either Grid Naming Service (GNS) or DNS is an invalid configuration and will cause the Cluster Verification Utility to fail during the Oracle grid infrastructure installation:

Figure 17: Oracle Grid Infrastructure / CVU Error - (Configuring SCAN without DNS)

INFO: Checking Single Client Access Name (SCAN)...

INFO: Checking name resolution setup for "racnode-cluster-scan"...

INFO: ERROR:

INFO: PRVF-4657 : Name resolution setup check for "racnode-cluster-scan" (IP address: 216.24.138.153) failed

INFO: ERROR:

INFO: PRVF-4657 : Name resolution setup check for "racnode-cluster-scan" (IP address: 192.168.1.187) failed

INFO: ERROR:

INFO: PRVF-4664 : Found inconsistent name resolution entries for SCAN name "racnode-cluster-scan"

INFO: Verification of SCAN VIP and Listener setup failed

Provided this is the only error reported by the CVU, it would be safe to ignore this check and continue by clicking the [Next] button in OUI and move forward with the Oracle grid infrastructure installation. This is documented in Doc ID: 887471.1 on the My Oracle Support web site.

If on the other hand you want the CVU to complete successfully while still only defining the SCAN in the hosts file, simply modify thenslookup utility as root on both Oracle RAC nodes as follows.

First, rename the original nslookup binary to nslookup.original on both Oracle RAC nodes:

[root@racnode1 ~]#

mv /usr/bin/nslookup /usr/bin/nslookup.original

Next, create a new shell script named /usr/bin/nslookup as shown below while replacing 24.154.1.34 with your primary DNS,racnode-cluster-scan with your SCAN host name, and 192.168.1.187 with your SCAN IP address:

#!/bin/bash

HOSTNAME=${1}

if [[ $HOSTNAME = "

racnode-cluster-scan" ]]; then

echo "Server:

24.154.1.34"

echo "Address:

24.154.1.34#53"

echo "Non-authoritative answer:"

echo "Name:

racnode-cluster-scan"

echo "Address:

192.168.1.187"

else

/usr/bin/nslookup.original $HOSTNAME

Finally, change the new nslookup shell script to executable:

[root@racnode1 ~]#

chmod 755 /usr/bin/nslookup

Remember to perform these actions on both Oracle RAC nodes.

The new nslookup shell script simply echo's back your SCAN IP address whenever the CVU calls nslookup with your SCAN host name; otherwise, it calls the original nslookup binary.

The CVU will now pass during the Oracle grid infrastructure installation when it attempts to verify your SCAN:

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

cluvfy comp scan -verbose

Verifying scan

Checking Single Client Access Name (SCAN)...

SCAN VIP name Node Running? ListenerName Port Running?

---------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------

racnode-cluster-scan racnode1 true LISTENER 1521 true

Checking name resolution setup for "racnode-cluster-scan"...

SCAN Name IP Address Status Comment

------------ ------------------------ ------------------------ ----------

racnode-cluster-scan 192.168.1.187

passed

Verification of SCAN VIP and Listener setup passed

Verification of scan was successful.

===============================================================================

[grid@racnode2 ~]$

cluvfy comp scan -verbose

Verifying scan

Checking Single Client Access Name (SCAN)...

SCAN VIP name Node Running? ListenerName Port Running?

---------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------

racnode-cluster-scan racnode1 true LISTENER 1521 true

Checking name resolution setup for "racnode-cluster-scan"...

SCAN Name IP Address Status Comment

------------ ------------------------ ------------------------ ----------

racnode-cluster-scan 192.168.1.187

passed

Verification of SCAN VIP and Listener setup passed

Verification of scan was successful.

Verify Terminal Shell Environment

Before starting the Oracle Universal Installer, log in to racnode1 as the owner of the Oracle grid infrastructure software which for this article is grid. Next, if you are using a remote client to connect to the Oracle RAC node performing the installation (SSH or Telnet toracnode1 from a workstation configured with an X Server), verify your X11 display server settings which were described in the section, Logging In to a Remote System Using X Terminal.

Install Oracle Grid Infrastructure

Perform the following tasks as the grid user to install Oracle grid infrastructure:

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

uid=1100(grid) gid=1000(oinstall) groups=1000(oinstall),1200(asmadmin),1201(asmdba),1202(asmoper)

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

DISPLAY=<your local workstation>:0.0

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

export DISPLAY

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

cd /home/grid/software/oracle/grid

[grid@racnode1 grid]$

./runInstaller

Screen Name

Response

Screen Shot

Select Installation Option

Select " Install and Configure Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster"

Select Installation Type

Select " Advanced Installation"

Select Product Languages

Make the appropriate selection(s) for your environment.

Grid Plug and Play Information

Instructions on how to configure Grid Naming Service (GNS) is beyond the scope of this article. Un-check the option to "Configure GNS".

Cluster Name	SCAN Name	SCAN Port
racnode-cluster	racnode-cluster-scan	1521

After clicking [Next], the OUI will attempt to validate the SCAN information:

Cluster Node Information

Use this screen to add the node racnode2 to the cluster and to configure SSH connectivity.

Click the "Add" button to add " racnode2" and its virtual IP address "racnode2-vip" according to the table below:

Public Node Name	Virtual Host Name
racnode1	racnode1-vip
racnode2	racnode2-vip

Next, click the [SSH Connectivity] button. Enter the "OS Password" for thegrid user and click the [Setup] button. This will start the "SSH Connectivity" configuration process:

After the SSH configuration process successfully completes, acknowledge the dialog box.

Finish off this screen by clicking the [Test] button to verify passwordless SSH connectivity.

Specify Network Interface Usage

Identify the network interface to be used for the "Public" and "Private" network. Make any changes necessary to match the values in the table below:

Interface Name	Subnet	Interface Type
eth0	192.168.1.0	Public
eth1	192.168.2.0	Private

Storage Option Information

Select " Automatic Storage Management (ASM)".

Create ASM Disk Group

Create an ASM Disk Group that will be used to store the Oracle Clusterware files according to the values in the table below:

Disk Group Name	Redundancy	Disk Path
CRS	External	ORCL:CRSVOL1

Specify ASM Password

For the purpose of this article, I choose to " Use same passwords for these accounts".

Failure Isolation Support

Configuring Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) is beyond the scope of this article. Select " Do not use Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI)".

Privileged Operating System Groups

This article makes use of role-based administrative privileges and high granularity in specifying Automatic Storage Management roles using a Job Role Separation. configuration.

Make any changes necessary to match the values in the table below:

OSDBA for ASM	OSOPER for ASM	OSASM
asmdba	asmoper	asmadmin

Specify Installation Location

Set the "Oracle Base" ( $ORACLE_BASE) and "Software Location" ($ORACLE_HOME) for the Oracle grid infrastructure installation:
Oracle Base: /u01/app/grid
Software Location: /u01/app/11.2.0/grid

Create Inventory

Since this is the first install on the host, you will need to create the Oracle Inventory. Use the default values provided by the OUI:
Inventory Directory: /u01/app/oraInventory
oraInventory Group Name: oinstall

Prerequisite Checks

The installer will run through a series of checks to determine if both Oracle RAC nodes meet the minimum requirements for installing and configuring the Oracle Clusterware and Automatic Storage Management software.

Starting with Oracle Clusterware 11g release 2 (11.2), if any checks fail, the installer (OUI) will create shell script programs, called fixup scripts, to resolve many incomplete system configuration requirements. If OUI detects an incomplete task that is marked "fixable", then you can easily fix the issue by generating the fixup script by clicking the [Fix & Check Again] button.

The fixup script is generated during installation. You will be prompted to run the script as root in a separate terminal session. When you run the script, it raises kernel values to required minimums, if necessary, and completes other operating system configuration tasks.

If all prerequisite checks pass (as was the case for my install), the OUI continues to the Summary screen.

Summary

Click [Finish] to start the installation.

Setup

The installer performs the Oracle grid infrastructure setup process on both Oracle RAC nodes.

Execute Configuration scripts

After the installation completes, you will be prompted to run the/u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh and/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/root.sh scripts. Open a new console window on both Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster, (starting with the node you are performing the install from), as the root user account.

Run the orainstRoot.sh script on both nodes in the RAC cluster:

[root@racnode1 ~]#

/u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh

[root@racnode2 ~]#

/u01/app/oraInventory/orainstRoot.sh

Within the same new console window on both Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster, (starting with the node you are performing the install from), stay logged in as the root user account. Run the root.sh script on both nodes in the RAC cluster one at a time starting with the node you are performing the install from:

[root@racnode1 ~]#

/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/root.sh

[root@racnode2 ~]#

/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/root.sh

The root.sh script can take several minutes to run. When running root.shon the last node, you will receive output similar to the following which signifies a successful install:

...

The inventory pointer is located at /etc/oraInst.loc

The inventory is located at /u01/app/oraInventory

'UpdateNodeList' was successful.

Go back to OUI and acknowledge the "Execute Configuration scripts" dialog window.

Configure Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster

The installer will run configuration assistants for Oracle Net Services (NETCA), Automatic Storage Management (ASMCA), and Oracle Private Interconnect (VIPCA). The final step performed by OUI is to run the Cluster Verification Utility (CVU). If the configuration assistants and CVU run successfully, you can exit OUI by clicking [Next] and then [Close].

As described earlier in this section, if you configured SCAN "only" in your hosts file ( /etc/hosts) and not in either Grid Naming Service (GNS) or manually using DNS, this is considered an invalid configuration and will cause the Cluster Verification Utility to fail.

Provided this is the only error reported by the CVU, it would be safe to ignore this check and continue by clicking [Next] and then the [Close] button to exit the OUI. This is documented in Doc ID: 887471.1 on the My Oracle Supportweb site.

If on the other hand you want the CVU to complete successfully while still only defining the SCAN in the hosts file, do not click the [Next] button in OUI to bypass the error. Instead, follow the instructions in section Configuring SCAN without DNS to modify the nslookup utility. After completing the steps document in that section, return to the OUI and click the [Retry] button. The CVU should now finish with no errors. Click [Next] and then [Close] to exit the OUI.

Finish

At the end of the installation, click the [Close] button to exit the OUI.

Caution: After installation is complete, do not remove manually or run cron jobs that remove /tmp/.oracle or /var/tmp/.oracle or its files while Oracle Clusterware is up. If you remove these files, then Oracle Clusterware could encounter intermittent hangs, and you will encounter error CRS-0184: Cannot communicate with the CRS daemon.

22. Postinstallation Tasks for Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster

Perform the following postinstallation procedures on both Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster.

Verify Oracle Clusterware Installation

After the installation of Oracle grid infrastructure, you should run through several tests to verify the install was successful. Run the following commands on both nodes in the RAC cluster as the grid user.

Check CRS Status

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

crsctl check crs

CRS-4638: Oracle High Availability Services is online

CRS-4537: Cluster Ready Services is online

CRS-4529: Cluster Synchronization Services is online

CRS-4533: Event Manager is online

Check Clusterware Resources

Note: The crs_stat command is deprecated in Oracle Clusterware 11g release 2 (11.2).

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

crs_stat -t -v

Name Type R/RA F/FT Target State Host

----------------------------------------------------------------------

ora.CRS.dg ora....up.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....ER.lsnr ora....er.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....N1.lsnr ora....er.type 0/5 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.asm ora.asm.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.eons ora.eons.type 0/3 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.gsd ora.gsd.type 0/5 0/ OFFLINE OFFLINE

ora....network ora....rk.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.oc4j ora.oc4j.type 0/5 0/0 OFFLINE OFFLINE

ora.ons ora.ons.type 0/3 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....SM1.asm application 0/5 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....E1.lsnr application 0/5 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....de1.gsd application 0/5 0/0 OFFLINE OFFLINE

ora....de1.ons application 0/3 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....de1.vip ora....t1.type 0/0 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....SM2.asm application 0/5 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora....E2.lsnr application 0/5 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora....de2.gsd application 0/5 0/0 OFFLINE OFFLINE

ora....de2.ons application 0/3 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora....de2.vip ora....t1.type 0/0 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora....ry.acfs ora....fs.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.scan1.vip ora....ip.type 0/0 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

Check Cluster Nodes

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

olsnodes -n

racnode1 1

racnode2 2

Check Oracle TNS Listener Process on Both Nodes

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

ps -ef | grep lsnr | grep -v 'grep' | grep -v 'ocfs' | awk '{print $9}'

LISTENER_SCAN1

LISTENER

[grid@racnode2 ~]$

ps -ef | grep lsnr | grep -v 'grep' | grep -v 'ocfs' | awk '{print $9}'

LISTENER

Confirming Oracle ASM Function for Oracle Clusterware Files

If you installed the OCR and voting disk files on Oracle ASM, then use the following command syntax as the Grid Infrastructure installation owner to confirm that your Oracle ASM installation is running:

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl status asm -a

ASM is running on racnode1,racnode2

ASM is enabled.

Check Oracle Cluster Registry (OCR)

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

ocrcheck

Status of Oracle Cluster Registry is as follows :

Version : 3

Total space (kbytes) : 262120

Used space (kbytes) : 2404

Available space (kbytes) : 259716

ID : 1259866904

Device/File Name : +CRS

Device/File integrity check succeeded

Device/File not configured

Cluster registry integrity check succeeded

Logical corruption check bypassed due to non-privileged user

Check Voting Disk

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

crsctl query css votedisk

## STATE File Universal Id File Name Disk group

-- ----- ----------------- --------- ---------

1. ONLINE 4cbbd0de4c694f50bfd3857ebd8ad8c4 (ORCL:CRSVOL1) [CRS]

Located 1 voting disk(s).

Note: To manage Oracle ASM or Oracle Net 11g release 2 (11.2) or later installations, use the srvctl binary in the Oracle grid infrastructure home for a cluster (Grid home). When we install Oracle Real Application Clusters (the Oracle database software), you cannot use the srvctl binary in the database home to manage Oracle ASM or Oracle Net which reside in the Oracle grid infrastructure home.

Voting Disk Management

In prior releases, it was highly recommended to back up the voting disk using the dd command after installing the Oracle Clusterware software. With Oracle Clusterware release 11.2 and later, backing up and restoring a voting disk using the dd is not supported and may result in the loss of the voting disk.

Backing up the voting disks in Oracle Clusterware 11g release 2 is no longer required. The voting disk data is automatically backed up in OCR as part of any configuration change and is automatically restored to any voting disk added.

To learn more about managing the voting disks, Oracle Cluster Registry (OCR), and Oracle Local Registry (OLR), please refer to theOracle Clusterware Administration and Deployment Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2) .

Back Up the root.sh Script

Oracle recommends that you back up the root.sh script after you complete an installation. If you install other products in the same Oracle home directory, then the installer updates the contents of the existing root.sh script during the installation. If you require information contained in the original root.sh script, then you can recover it from the root.sh file copy.

Back up the root.sh file on both Oracle RAC nodes as root:

[root@racnode1 ~]#

cd /u01/app/11.2.0/grid

[root@racnode1 grid]#

cp root.sh root.sh.racnode1.AFTER_INSTALL_NOV-20-2009

[root@racnode2 ~]#

cd /u01/app/11.2.0/grid

[root@racnode2 grid]#

cp root.sh root.sh.racnode2.AFTER_INSTALL_NOV-20-2009

Install Cluster Health Management Software - (Optional)

To address troubleshooting issues, Oracle recommends that you install Instantaneous Problem Detection OS Tool (IPD/OS) if you are using Linux kernel 2.6.9 or higher. This article was written using Oracle Enterprise Linux 5 update 4 which uses the 2.6.18 kernel:

[root@racnode1 ~]#

uname -a

Linux racnode1 2.6.18-164.el5 #1 SMP Thu Sep 3 04:15:13 EDT 2009 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

If you are using a Linux kernel earlier than 2.6.9, then you would use OS Watcher and RACDDT which is available through the My Oracle Support website (formerly Metalink).

The IPD/OS tool is designed to detect and analyze operating system and cluster resource-related degradation and failures. The tool can provide better explanations for many issues that occur in clusters where Oracle Clusterware, Oracle ASM and Oracle RAC are running, such as node evictions. It tracks the operating system resource consumption at each node, process, and device level continuously. It collects and analyzes cluster-wide data. In real time mode, when thresholds are reached, an alert is shown to the operator. For root cause analysis, historical data can be replayed to understand what was happening at the time of failure.

Instructions for installing and configuring the IPD/OS tool is beyond the scope of this article and will not be discussed. You can download the IPD/OS tool along with a detailed installation and configuration guide at the following URL:

http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/clustering/ipd_download_homepage.html

23. Create ASM Disk Groups for Data and Fast Recovery Area

Run the ASM Configuration Assistant (asmca) as the grid user from only one node in the cluster (racnode1) to create the additional ASM disk groups which will be used to create the clustered database.

During the installation of Oracle grid infrastructure, we configured one ASM disk group named +CRS which was used to store the Oracle clusterware files (OCR and voting disk).

In this section, we will create two additional ASM disk groups using the ASM Configuration Assistant ( asmca). These new ASM disk groups will be used later in this guide when creating the clustered database.

The first ASM disk group will be named +RACDB_DATA and will be used to store all Oracle physical database files (data, online redo logs, control files, archived redo logs). A second ASM disk group will be created for the Fast Recovery Area named +FRA.

Verify Terminal Shell Environment

Before starting the ASM Configuration Assistant, log in to racnode1 as the owner of the Oracle grid infrastructure software which for this article is grid. Next, if you are using a remote client to connect to the Oracle RAC node performing the installation (SSH or Telnet to racnode1 from a workstation configured with an X Server), verify your X11 display server settings which were described in the section, Logging In to a Remote System Using X Terminal.

Create Additional ASM Disk Groups using ASMCA

Perform the following tasks as the grid user to create two additional ASM disk groups:

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

asmca &

Screen Name	Response	Screen Shot
Disk Groups	From the "Disk Groups" tab, click the " Create" button.
Create Disk Group	The "Create Disk Group" dialog should show two of the ASMLib volumes we created earlier in this guide. If the ASMLib volumes we created earlier in this article do not show up in the "Select Member Disks" window as eligible ( ORCL:DATAVOL1 and ORCL:FRAVOL1) then click on the "Change Disk Discovery Path" button and input " ORCL:". When creating the "Data" ASM disk group, use " RACDB_DATA" for the "Disk Group Name". In the "Redundancy" section, choose " External (none)". Finally, check the ASMLib volume "ORCL:DATAVOL1*" in the "Select Member Disks" section. After verifying all values in this dialog are correct, click the " [OK]" button.
Disk Groups	After creating the first ASM disk group, you will be returned to the initial dialog. Click the "Create" button again to create the second ASM disk group.
Create Disk Group	The "Create Disk Group" dialog should now show the final remaining ASMLib volume. When creating the "Fast Recovery Area" disk group, use " FRA" for the "Disk Group Name". In the "Redundancy" section, choose " External (none)". Finally, check the ASMLib volume "ORCL:FRAVOL1" in the "Select Member Disks" section. After verifying all values in this dialog are correct, click the " [OK]" button.
Disk Groups	Exit the ASM Configuration Assistant by clicking the [Exit] button.

24. Install Oracle Database 11g with Oracle Real Application Clusters

Perform the Oracle Database software installation from only one of the Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster (racnode1)! The Oracle Database software will be installed to both of Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster by the Oracle Universal Installer using SSH.

Now that the grid infrastructure software is functional, you can install the Oracle Database software on the one node in your cluster (racnode1) as the oracle user. OUI copies the binary files from this node to all the other node in the cluster during the installation process.

For the purpose of this guide, we will forgo the "Create Database" option when installing the Oracle Database software. The clustered database will be created later in this guide using the Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) after all installs have been completed.

Verify Terminal Shell Environment

Before starting the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI), log in to racnode1 as the owner of the Oracle Database software which for this article is oracle. Next, if you are using a remote client to connect to the Oracle RAC node performing the installation (SSH or Telnet toracnode1 from a workstation configured with an X Server), verify your X11 display server settings which were described in the section, Logging In to a Remote System Using X Terminal.

Install Oracle Database 11g Release 2 Software

Perform the following tasks as the oracle user to install the Oracle Database software:

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

uid=1101(oracle) gid=1000(oinstall) groups=1000(oinstall),1201(asmdba),1300(dba),1301(oper)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

DISPLAY=<your local workstation>:0.0

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

export DISPLAY

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

cd /home/oracle/software/oracle/database

[oracle@racnode1 database]$

./runInstaller

Screen Name	Response	Screen Shot
Configure Security Updates	For the purpose of this article, un-check the security updates checkbox and click the [Next] button to continue. Acknowledge the warning dialog indicating you have not provided an email address by clicking the [Yes]button.
Installation Option	Select " Install database software only".
Grid Options	Select the " Real Application Clusters database installation" radio button (default) and verify that both Oracle RAC nodes are checked in the "Node Name" window. Next, click the [SSH Connectivity] button. Enter the "OS Password" for theoracle user and click the [Setup] button. This will start the "SSH Connectivity" configuration process: After the SSH configuration process successfully completes, acknowledge the dialog box. Finish off this screen by clicking the [Test] button to verify passwordless SSH connectivity.
Product Languages	Make the appropriate selection(s) for your environment.
Database Edition	Select " Enterprise Edition".
Installation Location	Specify the Oracle base and Software location (Oracle_home) as follows: Oracle Base: /u01/app/oracle Software Location: /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1
Operating System Groups	Select the OS groups to be used for the SYSDBA and SYSOPER privileges: Database Administrator (OSDBA) Group: dba Database Operator (OSOPER) Group: oper
Prerequisite Checks	The installer will run through a series of checks to determine if both Oracle RAC nodes meet the minimum requirements for installing and configuring the Oracle Database software. Starting with 11g release 2 (11.2), if any checks fail, the installer (OUI) will create shell script programs, called fixup scripts, to resolve many incomplete system configuration requirements. If OUI detects an incomplete task that is marked "fixable", then you can easily fix the issue by generating the fixup script by clicking the [Fix & Check Again] button. The fixup script is generated during installation. You will be prompted to run the script as root in a separate terminal session. When you run the script, it raises kernel values to required minimums, if necessary, and completes other operating system configuration tasks. If all prerequisite checks pass (as was the case for my install), the OUI continues to the Summary screen.
Summary	Click [Finish] to start the installation.
Install Product	The installer performs the Oracle Database software installation process on both Oracle RAC nodes.
Execute Configuration scripts	After the installation completes, you will be prompted to run the/u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/root.sh script on both Oracle RAC nodes. Open a new console window on both Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster, (starting with the node you are performing the install from), as theroot user account. Run the root.sh script on all nodes in the RAC cluster: [root@racnode1 ~]# /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/root.sh [root@racnode2 ~]# /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/root.sh Go back to OUI and acknowledge the "Execute Configuration scripts" dialog window.
Finish	At the end of the installation, click the [Close] button to exit the OUI.

25. Install Oracle Database 11g Examples (formerly Companion)

Perform the Oracle Database 11g Examples software installation from only one of the Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster (racnode1)! The Oracle Database Examples software will be installed to both of Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster by the Oracle Universal Installer using SSH.

Now that the Oracle Database 11g software is installed, you have the option to install the Oracle Database 11g Examples. Like the Oracle Database software install, the Examples software is only installed from one node in your cluster ( racnode1) as the oracleuser. OUI copies the binary files from this node to all the other node in the cluster during the installation process.

Verify Terminal Shell Environment

Install Oracle Database 11g Release 2 Examples

Perform the following tasks as the oracle user to install the Oracle Database Examples:

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

cd /home/oracle/software/oracle/examples

[oracle@racnode1 examples]$

./runInstaller

Screen Name	Response	Screen Shot
Installation Location	Specify the Oracle base and Software location (Oracle_home) as follows: Oracle Base: /u01/app/oracle Software Location: /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1
Prerequisite Checks	The installer will run through a series of checks to determine if both Oracle RAC nodes meet the minimum requirements for installing and configuring the Oracle Database Examples software. Starting with 11g release 2 (11.2), if any checks fail, the installer (OUI) will create shell script programs, called fixup scripts, to resolve many incomplete system configuration requirements. If OUI detects an incomplete task that is marked "fixable", then you can easily fix the issue by generating the fixup script by clicking the [Fix & Check Again] button. The fixup script is generated during installation. You will be prompted to run the script as root in a separate terminal session. When you run the script, it raises kernel values to required minimums, if necessary, and completes other operating system configuration tasks. If all prerequisite checks pass (as was the case for my install), the OUI continues to the Summary screen.
Summary	Click [Finish] to start the installation.
Install Product	The installer performs the Oracle Database Examples software installation process on both Oracle RAC nodes.
Finish	At the end of the installation, click the [Close] button to exit the OUI.

26. Create the Oracle Cluster Database

The database creation process should only be performed from one of the Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster (racnode1).

Use the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) to create the clustered database.

Before executing the DBCA, make certain that the $ORACLE_HOME and $PATH are set appropriately for the$ORACLE_BASE/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1 environment. Setting environment variables in the login script for the oracle user account was covered in Section 13.

You should also verify that all services we have installed up to this point (Oracle TNS listener, Oracle Clusterware processes, etc.) are running before attempting to start the clustered database creation process:

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

su - grid -c "crs_stat -t -v"

Password:

*********

Name Type R/RA F/FT Target State Host

----------------------------------------------------------------------

ora.CRS.dg ora....up.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.FRA.dg ora....up.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....ER.lsnr ora....er.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....N1.lsnr ora....er.type 0/5 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....DATA.dg ora....up.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.asm ora.asm.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.eons ora.eons.type 0/3 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.gsd ora.gsd.type 0/5 0/ OFFLINE OFFLINE

ora....network ora....rk.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.oc4j ora.oc4j.type 0/5 0/0 OFFLINE OFFLINE

ora.ons ora.ons.type 0/3 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....SM1.asm application 0/5 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....E1.lsnr application 0/5 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....de1.gsd application 0/5 0/0 OFFLINE OFFLINE

ora....de1.ons application 0/3 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....de1.vip ora....t1.type 0/0 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora....SM2.asm application 0/5 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora....E2.lsnr application 0/5 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora....de2.gsd application 0/5 0/0 OFFLINE OFFLINE

ora....de2.ons application 0/3 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora....de2.vip ora....t1.type 0/0 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora....ry.acfs ora....fs.type 0/5 0/ ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.scan1.vip ora....ip.type 0/0 0/0 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

Verify Terminal Shell Environment

Before starting the Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA), log in to racnode1 as the owner of the Oracle Database software which for this article is oracle. Next, if you are using a remote client to connect to the Oracle RAC node performing the installation (SSH or Telnet to racnode1 from a workstation configured with an X Server), verify your X11 display server settings which were described in the section, Logging In to a Remote System Using X Terminal.

Create the Clustered Database

To start the database creation process, run the following as the oracle user:

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

dbca &

Screen Name	Response	Screen Shot
Welcome Screen	Select Oracle Real Application Clusters database.
Operations	Select Create a Database.
Database Templates	Select Custom Database.
Database Identification	Cluster database configuration. Configuration Type: Admin-Managed Database naming. Global Database Name: racdb.idevelopment.info SID Prefix: racdb Note: I used idevelopment.info for the database domain. You may use any database domain. Keep in mind that this domain does not have to be a valid DNS domain. Node Selection. Click the [Select All] button to select all servers: racnode1 andracnode2.
Management Options	Leave the default options here, which is to Configure Enterprise Manager /Configure Database Control for local management.
Database Credentials	I selected to Use the Same Administrative Password for All Accounts. Enter the password (twice) and make sure the password does not start with a digit number.
Database File Locations	Specify storage type and locations for database files. Storage Type: Automatic Storage Management (ASM) Storage Locations: Use Oracle-Managed Files Database Area: +RACDB_DATA
Specify ASMSNMP Password	Specify the ASMSNMP password for the ASM instance.
Recovery Configuration	Check the option for Specify Fast Recovery Area. For the Fast Recovery Area, click the [Browse] button and select the disk group name +FRA. My disk group has a size of about 33GB. When defining the Fast Recovery Area size, use the entire volume minus 10% for overhead (33-10%=30 GB). I used a Fast Recovery Area Size of 30 GB ( 30413 MB).
Database Content	I left all of the Database Components (and destination tablespaces) set to their default value although it is perfectly OK to select the Sample Schemas. This option is available since we installed the Oracle Database 11gExamples.
Initialization Parameters	Change any parameters for your environment. I left them all at their default settings.
Database Storage	Change any parameters for your environment. I left them all at their default settings.
Creation Options	Keep the default option Create Database selected. I also always select toGenerate Database Creation Scripts. Click Finish to start the database creation process. After acknowledging the database creation report and script generation dialog, the database creation will start. Click OK on the "Summary" screen.
End of Database Creation	At the end of the database creation, exit from the DBCA.

When the DBCA has completed, you will have a fully functional Oracle RAC cluster running!

Verify Clustered Database is Open

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

su - grid -c "crsctl status resource -w \"TYPE co 'ora'\" -t"

Password:

*********

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NAME TARGET STATE SERVER STATE_DETAILS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Local Resources

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ora.CRS.dg

ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora.FRA.dg

ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora.LISTENER.lsnr

ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora.RACDB_DATA.dg

ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora.asm

ONLINE ONLINE racnode1 Started

ONLINE ONLINE racnode2 Started

ora.eons

ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora.gsd

OFFLINE OFFLINE racnode1

OFFLINE OFFLINE racnode2

ora.net1.network

ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora.ons

ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora.registry.acfs

ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cluster Resources

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ora.LISTENER_SCAN1.lsnr

1 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.oc4j

1 OFFLINE OFFLINE

ora.racdb.db

1 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1 Open

2 ONLINE ONLINE racnode2 Open

ora.racnode1.vip

1 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

ora.racnode2.vip

1 ONLINE ONLINE racnode2

ora.scan1.vip

1 ONLINE ONLINE racnode1

Oracle Enterprise Manager

If you configured Oracle Enterprise Manager (Database Control), it can be used to view the database configuration and current status of the database.

The URL for this example is: https://racnode1:1158/em

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

emctl status dbconsole

Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Database Control Release 11.2.0.1.0

https://racnode1:1158/em/console/aboutApplication

Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g is running.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Logs are generated in directory /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/racnode1_racdb/sysman/log

Figure 18: Oracle Enterprise Manager - (Database Console)

27. Post Database Creation Tasks - (Optional)

This section offers several optional tasks that can be performed on your new Oracle 11g in order to enhance availability as well as database management.

Re-compile Invalid Objects

Run the utlrp.sql script to recompile all invalid PL/SQL packages now instead of when the packages are accessed for the first time. This step is optional but recommended.

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

sqlplus / as sysdba

SQL>

@?/rdbms/admin/utlrp.sql

Enabling Archive Logs in a RAC Environment

Whether a single instance or clustered database, Oracle tracks and logs all changes to database blocks in online redolog files. In an Oracle RAC environment, each instance will have its own set of online redolog files known as a thread. Each Oracle instance will use its group of online redologs in a circular manner. Once an online redolog fills, Oracle moves to the next one. If the database is in "Archive Log Mode", Oracle will make a copy of the online redo log before it gets reused. A thread must contain at least two online redologs (or online redolog groups). The same holds true for a single instance configuration. The single instance must contain at least two online redologs (or online redolog groups).

The size of an online redolog file is completely independent of another instance's' redolog size. Although in most configurations the size is the same, it may be different depending on the workload and backup / recovery considerations for each node. It is also worth mentioning that each instance has exclusive write access to its own online redolog files. In a correctly configured RAC environment, however, each instance can read another instance's current online redolog file to perform instance recovery if that instance was terminated abnormally. It is therefore a requirement that online redo logs be located on a shared storage device (just like the database files).

As already mentioned, Oracle writes to its online redolog files in a circular manner. When the current online redolog fills, Oracle will switch to the next one. To facilitate media recovery, Oracle allows the DBA to put the database into "Archive Log Mode" which makes a copy of the online redolog after it fills (and before it gets reused). This is a process known as archiving.

The Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) allows users to configure a new database to be in archive log mode, however most DBA's opt to bypass this option during initial database creation. In cases like this where the database is in no archive log mode, it is a simple task to put the database into archive log mode. Note however that this will require a short database outage. From one of the nodes in the Oracle RAC configuration, use the following tasks to put a RAC enabled database into archive log mode. For the purpose of this article, I will use the node racnode1 which runs the racdb1 instance:

1. Log in to one of the nodes (i.e. racnode1) as oracle and disable the cluster instance parameter by setting cluster_database toFALSE from the current instance:

2. [oracle@racnode1 ~]$

4. sqlplus / as sysdba

6. SQL>

8. alter system set cluster_database=false scope=spfile sid='racdb1';

9.
10. System altered.

11.
12. Shutdown all instances accessing the clustered database as the oracle user:
13. [oracle@racnode1 ~]$
14.
15. srvctl stop database -d racdb

16.
17. Using the local instance, MOUNT the database:
18. [oracle@racnode1 ~]$
19.
20. sqlplus / as sysdba
21.
22. SQL*Plus: Release 11.2.0.1.0 Production on Sat Nov 21 19:26:47 2009
23.
24. Copyright (c) 1982, 2009, Oracle. All rights reserved.
25.
26. Connected to an idle instance.
27.
28. SQL>
29.
30. startup mount
31. ORACLE instance started.
32.
33. Total System Global Area 1653518336 bytes
34. Fixed Size 2213896 bytes
35. Variable Size 1073743864 bytes
36. Database Buffers 570425344 bytes
37. Redo Buffers 7135232 bytes

38.
39. Enable archiving:
40. SQL>
41.
42. alter database archivelog;
43.
44. Database altered.

45.
46. Re-enable support for clustering by modifying the instance parameter cluster_database to TRUE from the current instance:
47. SQL>
48.
49. alter system set cluster_database=true scope=spfile sid='racdb1';
50.
51. System altered.

52.
53. Shutdown the local instance:
54. SQL>
55.
56. shutdown immediate
57.
58. ORA-01109: database not open
59.
60.
61. Database dismounted.
62. ORACLE instance shut down.

63.
64. Bring all instance back up as the oracle account using srvctl:
65. [oracle@racnode1 ~]$
66.
67. srvctl start database -d racdb

68.
69. Login to the local instance and verify Archive Log Mode is enabled:
70. [oracle@racnode1 ~]$
71.
72. sqlplus / as sysdba
73.
74. SQL*Plus: Release 11.2.0.1.0 Production on Sat Nov 21 19:33:38 2009
75.
76. Copyright (c) 1982, 2009, Oracle. All rights reserved.
77.
78.
79. Connected to:
80. Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition Release 11.2.0.1.0 - 64bit Production
81. With the Partitioning, Real Application Clusters, Automatic Storage Management, OLAP,
82. Data Mining and Real Application Testing options
83.
84. SQL>
85.
86. archive log list
87. Database log mode
88.
89.
90. Archive Mode
91.
92. Automatic archival
93.
94.
95. Enabled
96.
97. Archive destination USE_DB_RECOVERY_FILE_DEST
98. Oldest online log sequence 69
99. Next log sequence to archive 70
100. Current log sequence 70

After enabling Archive Log Mode, each instance in the RAC configuration can automatically archive redologs!

Download and Install Custom Oracle Database Scripts

DBA's rely on Oracle's data dictionary views and dynamic performance views in order to support and better manage their databases. Although these views provide a simple and easy mechanism to query critical information regarding the database, it helps to have a collection of accurate and readily available SQL scripts to query these views.

In this section you will download and install a collection of Oracle DBA scripts that can be used to manage many aspects of your database including space management, performance, backups, security, and session management. The Oracle DBA scripts archive can be downloaded using the following link http://www.idevelopment.info/data/Oracle/DBA_scripts/common.zip. As the oracle user account, download the common.zip archive to the $ORACLE_BASE directory of each node in the cluster. For the purpose of this example, the common.zip archive will be copied to /u01/app/oracle. Next, unzip the archive file to the $ORACLE_BASE directory.

For example, perform the following on both nodes in the Oracle RAC cluster as the oracle user account:

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

mv common.zip /u01/app/oracle

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

cd /u01/app/oracle

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

unzip common.zip

The final step is to verify (or set) the appropriate environment variable for the current UNIX shell to ensure the Oracle SQL scripts can be run from within SQL*Plus while in any directory. For UNIX, verify the following environment variable is set and included in your login shell script:

ORACLE_PATH=

$ORACLE_BASE/common/oracle/sql:.:$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin

export ORACLE_PATH

Note: The ORACLE_PATH environment variable should already be set in the .bash_profile login script that was created in the sectionCreate Login Script for the oracle User Account.

Now that the Oracle DBA scripts have been unzipped and the UNIX environment variable ( $ORACLE_PATH) has been set to the appropriate directory, you should now be able to run any of the SQL scripts in your $ORACLE_BASE/common/oracle/sql while logged into SQL*Plus. For example, to query tablespace information while logged into the Oracle database as a DBA user:

SQL>

@dba_tablespaces

Status Tablespace Name TS Type Ext. Mgt. Seg. Mgt. Tablespace Size Used (in bytes) Pct. Used

------- ----------------- ------------ ---------- --------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------

ONLINE SYSAUX PERMANENT LOCAL AUTO 629,145,600 511,967,232 81

ONLINE UNDOTBS1 UNDO LOCAL MANUAL 1,059,061,760 948,043,776 90

ONLINE USERS PERMANENT LOCAL AUTO 5,242,880 1,048,576 20

ONLINE SYSTEM PERMANENT LOCAL MANUAL 734,003,200 703,135,744 96

ONLINE EXAMPLE PERMANENT LOCAL AUTO 157,286,400 85,131,264 54

ONLINE UNDOTBS2 UNDO LOCAL MANUAL 209,715,200 20,840,448 10

ONLINE TEMP TEMPORARY LOCAL MANUAL 75,497,472 66,060,288 88

---------------- ---------------- ---------

avg 63

sum 2,869,952,512 2,336,227,328

7 rows selected.

To obtain a list of all available Oracle DBA scripts while logged into SQL*Plus, run the help.sql script:

SQL>

@help.sql

========================================

Automatic Shared Memory Management

========================================

asmm_components.sql

========================================

Automatic Storage Management

========================================

asm_alias.sql

asm_clients.sql

asm_diskgroups.sql

asm_disks.sql

asm_disks_perf.sql

asm_drop_files.sql

asm_files.sql

asm_files2.sql

asm_templates.sql

< --- SNIP --- >

perf_top_sql_by_buffer_gets.sql

perf_top_sql_by_disk_reads.sql

========================================

Workspace Manager

========================================

wm_create_workspace.sql

wm_disable_versioning.sql

wm_enable_versioning.sql

wm_freeze_workspace.sql

wm_get_workspace.sql

wm_goto_workspace.sql

wm_merge_workspace.sql

wm_refresh_workspace.sql

wm_remove_workspace.sql

wm_unfreeze_workspace.sql

wm_workspaces.sql

28. Create / Alter Tablespaces

When creating the clustered database, we left all tablespaces set to their default size. If you are using a large drive for the shared storage, you may want to make a sizable testing database.

Below are several optional SQL commands for modifying and creating all tablespaces for the test database. Please keep in mind that the database file names (OMF files) used in this example may differ from what the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) creates for your environment. When working through this section, substitute the data file names that were created in your environment where appropriate. The following query can be used to determine the file names for your environment:

SQL>

select tablespace_name, file_name

from dba_data_files

union

select tablespace_name, file_name

from dba_temp_files;

TABLESPACE_NAME FILE_NAME

--------------- --------------------------------------------------

EXAMPLE +RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/example.263.703530435

SYSAUX +RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/sysaux.260.703530411

SYSTEM +RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/system.259.703530397

TEMP +RACDB_DATA/racdb/tempfile/temp.262.703530429

UNDOTBS1 +RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/undotbs1.261.703530423

UNDOTBS2 +RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/undotbs2.264.703530441

USERS +RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/users.265.703530447

7 rows selected.

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

sqlplus "/ as sysdba"

SQL>

create user scott identified by tiger default tablespace users;

User created.

SQL>

grant dba, resource, connect to scott;

Grant succeeded.

SQL>

alter database datafile '+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/users.265.703530447' resize 1024m;

Database altered.

SQL>

alter tablespace users add datafile '+RACDB_DATA' size 1024m autoextend off;

Tablespace altered.

SQL>

create tablespace indx datafile '+RACDB_DATA' size 1024m

autoextend on next 100m maxsize unlimited

extent management local autoallocate

segment space management auto;

Tablespace created.

SQL>

alter database datafile '+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/system.259.703530397' resize 1024m;

Database altered.

SQL>

alter database datafile '+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/sysaux.260.703530411' resize 1024m;

Database altered.

SQL>

alter database datafile '+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/undotbs1.261.703530423' resize 1024m;

Database altered.

SQL>

alter database datafile '+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/undotbs2.264.703530441' resize 1024m;

Database altered.

SQL>

alter database tempfile '+RACDB_DATA/racdb/tempfile/temp.262.703530429' resize 1024m;

Database altered.

Here is a snapshot of the tablespaces I have defined for my test database environment:

Status Tablespace Name TS Type Ext. Mgt. Seg. Mgt. Tablespace Size Used (in bytes) Pct. Used

------- ----------------- ------------ ---------- --------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------

ONLINE SYSAUX PERMANENT LOCAL AUTO 1,073,741,824 512,098,304 48

ONLINE UNDOTBS1 UNDO LOCAL MANUAL 1,073,741,824 948,043,776 88

ONLINE USERS PERMANENT LOCAL AUTO 2,147,483,648 2,097,152 0

ONLINE SYSTEM PERMANENT LOCAL MANUAL 1,073,741,824 703,201,280 65

ONLINE EXAMPLE PERMANENT LOCAL AUTO 157,286,400 85,131,264 54

ONLINE INDX PERMANENT LOCAL AUTO 1,073,741,824 1,048,576 0

ONLINE UNDOTBS2 UNDO LOCAL MANUAL 1,073,741,824 20,840,448 2

ONLINE TEMP TEMPORARY LOCAL MANUAL 1,073,741,824 66,060,288 6

---------------- ---------------- ---------

avg 33

sum 8,747,220,992 2,338,521,088

8 rows selected.

29. Verify Oracle Grid Infrastructure and Database Configuration

The following Oracle Clusterware and Oracle RAC verification checks can be performed on any of the Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster. For the purpose of this article, I will only be performing checks from racnode1 as the oracle OS user.

Most of the checks described in this section use the Server Control Utility (SRVCTL) and can be run as either the oracle or grid OS user. There are five node-level tasks defined for SRVCTL:

Adding and deleting node-level applications
Setting and un-setting the environment for node-level applications
Administering node applications
Administering ASM instances
Starting and stopping a group of programs that includes virtual IP addresses, listeners, Oracle Notification Services, and Oracle Enterprise Manager agents (for maintenance purposes).

Oracle also provides the Oracle Clusterware Control (CRSCTL) utility. CRSCTL is an interface between you and Oracle Clusterware, parsing and calling Oracle Clusterware APIs for Oracle Clusterware objects.

Oracle Clusterware 11g release 2 (11.2) introduces cluster-aware commands with which you can perform check, start, and stop operations on the cluster. You can run these commands from any node in the cluster on another node in the cluster, or on all nodes in the cluster, depending on the operation.

You can use CRSCTL commands to perform several operations on Oracle Clusterware, such as:

Starting and stopping Oracle Clusterware resources
Enabling and disabling Oracle Clusterware daemons
Checking the health of the cluster
Managing resources that represent third-party applications
Integrating Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) with Oracle Clusterware to provide failure isolation support and to ensure cluster integrity
Debugging Oracle Clusterware components

For the purpose of this article (and this section), we will only make use of the "Checking the health of the cluster" operation which uses the Clusterized (Cluster Aware) Command:

crsctl check cluster

Many subprograms and commands were deprecated in Oracle Clusterware 11g release 2 (11.2):

crs_stat
crs_register
crs_unregister
crs_start
crs_stop
crs_getperm
crs_profile
crs_relocate
crs_setperm
crsctl check crsd
crsctl check cssd
crsctl check evmd
crsctl debug log
crsctl set css votedisk
crsctl start resources
crsctl stop resources

Check the Health of the Cluster - (Clusterized Command)

Run as the grid user.

[grid@racnode1 ~]$

crsctl check cluster

CRS-4537: Cluster Ready Services is online

CRS-4529: Cluster Synchronization Services is online

CRS-4533: Event Manager is online

All Oracle Instances - (Database Status)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl status database -d racdb

Instance racdb1 is running on node racnode1

Instance racdb2 is running on node racnode2

Single Oracle Instance - (Status of Specific Instance)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl status instance -d racdb -i racdb1

Instance racdb1 is running on node racnode1

Node Applications - (Status)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl status nodeapps

VIP racnode1-vip is enabled

VIP racnode1-vip is running on node: racnode1

VIP racnode2-vip is enabled

VIP racnode2-vip is running on node: racnode2

Network is enabled

Network is running on node: racnode1

Network is running on node: racnode2

GSD is disabled

GSD is not running on node: racnode1

GSD is not running on node: racnode2

ONS is enabled

ONS daemon is running on node: racnode1

ONS daemon is running on node: racnode2

eONS is enabled

eONS daemon is running on node: racnode1

eONS daemon is running on node: racnode2

Node Applications - (Configuration)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl config nodeapps

VIP exists.:racnode1

VIP exists.: /racnode1-vip/192.168.1.251/255.255.255.0/eth0

VIP exists.:racnode2

VIP exists.: /racnode2-vip/192.168.1.252/255.255.255.0/eth0

GSD exists.

ONS daemon exists. Local port 6100, remote port 6200

eONS daemon exists. Multicast port 24057, multicast IP address 234.194.43.168, listening port 2016

List all Configured Databases

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl config database

racdb

Database - (Configuration)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl config database -d racdb -a

Database unique name: racdb

Database name: racdb

Oracle home: /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1

Oracle user: oracle

Spfile: +RACDB_DATA/racdb/spfileracdb.ora

Domain: idevelopment.info

Start options: open

Stop options: immediate

Database role: PRIMARY

Management policy: AUTOMATIC

Server pools: racdb

Database instances: racdb1,racdb2

Disk Groups: RACDB_DATA,FRA

Services:

Database is enabled

Database is administrator managed

ASM - (Status)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl status asm

ASM is running on racnode1,racnode2

ASM - (Configuration)

srvctl config asm -a

ASM home: /u01/app/11.2.0/grid

ASM listener: LISTENER

ASM is enabled.

TNS listener - (Status)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl status listener

Listener LISTENER is enabled

Listener LISTENER is running on node(s): racnode1,racnode2

TNS listener - (Configuration)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl config listener -a

Name: LISTENER

Network: 1, Owner: grid

Home: <crs>

/u01/app/11.2.0/grid on node(s) racnode2,racnode1

End points: TCP:1521

SCAN - (Status)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl status scan

SCAN VIP scan1 is enabled

SCAN VIP scan1 is running on node racnode1

SCAN - (Configuration)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl config scan

SCAN name: racnode-cluster-scan, Network: 1/192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0/eth0

SCAN VIP name: scan1, IP: /racnode-cluster-scan/192.168.1.187

VIP - (Status of Specific Node)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl status vip -n racnode1

VIP racnode1-vip is enabled

VIP racnode1-vip is running on node: racnode1

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl status vip -n racnode2

VIP racnode2-vip is enabled

VIP racnode2-vip is running on node: racnode2

VIP - (Configuration of Specific Node)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl config vip -n racnode1

VIP exists.:racnode1

VIP exists.: /racnode1-vip/192.168.1.251/255.255.255.0/eth0

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl config vip -n racnode2

VIP exists.:racnode2

VIP exists.: /racnode2-vip/192.168.1.252/255.255.255.0/eth0

Configuration for Node Applications - (VIP, GSD, ONS, Listener)

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl config nodeapps -a -g -s -l

-l option has been deprecated and will be ignored.

VIP exists.:racnode1

VIP exists.: /racnode1-vip/192.168.1.251/255.255.255.0/eth0

VIP exists.:racnode2

VIP exists.: /racnode2-vip/192.168.1.252/255.255.255.0/eth0

GSD exists.

ONS daemon exists. Local port 6100, remote port 6200

Name: LISTENER

Network: 1, Owner: grid

Home: <crs>

/u01/app/11.2.0/grid on node(s) racnode2,racnode1

End points: TCP:1521

Verifying Clock Synchronization across the Cluster Nodes

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

cluvfy comp clocksync -verbose

Verifying Clock Synchronization across the cluster nodes

Checking if Clusterware is installed on all nodes...

Check of Clusterware install passed

Checking if CTSS Resource is running on all nodes...

Check: CTSS Resource running on all nodes

Node Name Status

------------------------------------ ------------------------

racnode1

passed

Result: CTSS resource check passed

Querying CTSS for time offset on all nodes...

Result: Query of CTSS for time offset passed

Check CTSS state started...

Check: CTSS state

Node Name State

------------------------------------ ------------------------

racnode1 Active

CTSS is in Active state. Proceeding with check of clock time offsets on all nodes...

Reference Time Offset Limit: 1000.0 msecs

Check: Reference Time Offset

Node Name Time Offset Status

------------ ------------------------ ------------------------

racnode1 0.0

passed

Time offset is within the specified limits on the following set of nodes:

"[racnode1]"

Result: Check of clock time offsets passed

Oracle Cluster Time Synchronization Services check passed

Verification of Clock Synchronization across the cluster nodes was successful.

All running instances in the cluster - (SQL)

SELECT

inst_id

, instance_number inst_no

, instance_name inst_name

, parallel

, status

, database_status db_status

, active_state state

, host_name host

FROM gv$instance

ORDER BY inst_id;

INST_ID INST_NO INST_NAME PAR STATUS DB_STATUS STATE HOST

-------- -------- ---------- --- ------- ------------ --------- -------

1 1 racdb1 YES OPEN ACTIVE NORMAL racnode1

2 2 racdb2 YES OPEN ACTIVE NORMAL racnode2

All database files and the ASM disk group they reside in - (SQL)

select name from v$datafile

union

select member from v$logfile

union

select name from v$controlfile

union

select name from v$tempfile;

NAME

-------------------------------------------

+FRA/racdb/controlfile/current.256.703530389

+FRA/racdb/onlinelog/group_1.257.703530391

+FRA/racdb/onlinelog/group_2.258.703530393

+FRA/racdb/onlinelog/group_3.259.703533497

+FRA/racdb/onlinelog/group_4.260.703533499

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/controlfile/current.256.703530389

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/example.263.703530435

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/indx.270.703542993

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/sysaux.260.703530411

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/system.259.703530397

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/undotbs1.261.703530423

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/undotbs2.264.703530441

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/users.265.703530447

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/datafile/users.269.703542943

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/onlinelog/group_1.257.703530391

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/onlinelog/group_2.258.703530393

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/onlinelog/group_3.266.703533497

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/onlinelog/group_4.267.703533499

+RACDB_DATA/racdb/tempfile/temp.262.703530429

19 rows selected.

ASM Disk Volumes - (SQL)

SELECT path

FROM v$asm_disk;

PATH

----------------------------------

ORCL:CRSVOL1

ORCL:DATAVOL1

ORCL:FRAVOL1

30. Starting / Stopping the Cluster

At this point, everything has been installed and configured for Oracle RAC 11g release 2. Oracle grid infrastructure was installed by the grid user while the Oracle RAC software was installed by oracle. We also have a fully functional clustered database running named racdb.

After all of that hard work, you may ask, "OK, so how do I start and stop services?". If you have followed the instructions in this guide, all services — including Oracle Clusterware, ASM , network, SCAN, VIP, the Oracle Database, and so on — should start automatically on each reboot of the Linux nodes.

There are times, however, when you might want to take down the Oracle services on a node for maintenance purposes and restart the Oracle Clusterware stack at a later time. Or you may find that Enterprise Manager is not running and need to start it. This section provides the commands necessary to stop and start the Oracle Clusterware stack on a local server ( racnode1).

The following stop/start actions need to be performed as root.

Stopping the Oracle Clusterware Stack on the Local Server

Use the " crsctl stop cluster" command on racnode1 to stop the Oracle Clusterware stack:

[root@racnode1 ~]#

/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/bin/crsctl stop cluster

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.crsd' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2790: Starting shutdown of Cluster Ready Services-managed resources on 'racnode1'

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.LISTENER.lsnr' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.CRS.dg' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.racdb.db' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.registry.acfs' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.LISTENER_SCAN1.lsnr' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.LISTENER.lsnr' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.racnode1.vip' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.LISTENER_SCAN1.lsnr' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.scan1.vip' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.scan1.vip' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2672: Attempting to start 'ora.scan1.vip' on 'racnode2'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.racnode1.vip' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2672: Attempting to start 'ora.racnode1.vip' on 'racnode2'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.registry.acfs' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2676: Start of 'ora.racnode1.vip' on 'racnode2' succeeded

<-- Notice racnode1 VIP moved to racnode2

CRS-2676: Start of 'ora.scan1.vip' on 'racnode2' succeeded

<-- Notice SCAN moved to racnode2

CRS-2672: Attempting to start 'ora.LISTENER_SCAN1.lsnr' on 'racnode2'

CRS-2676: Start of 'ora.LISTENER_SCAN1.lsnr' on 'racnode2' succeeded

<-- Notice LISTENER_SCAN1 moved to racnode2

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.CRS.dg' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.racdb.db' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.FRA.dg' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.RACDB_DATA.dg' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.RACDB_DATA.dg' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.FRA.dg' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.asm' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.asm' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.ons' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.eons' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.ons' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.net1.network' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.net1.network' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.eons' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2792: Shutdown of Cluster Ready Services-managed resources on 'racnode1' has completed

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.crsd' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.cssdmonitor' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.ctssd' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.evmd' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.asm' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.cssdmonitor' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.evmd' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.ctssd' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.asm' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.cssd' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.cssd' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2673: Attempting to stop 'ora.diskmon' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2677: Stop of 'ora.diskmon' on 'racnode1' succeeded

Note: If any resources that Oracle Clusterware manages are still running after you run the " crsctl stop cluster" command, then the entire command fails. Use the -f option to unconditionally stop all resources and stop the Oracle Clusterware stack.

Also note that you can stop the Oracle Clusterware stack on all servers in the cluster by specifying -all. The following will bring down the Oracle Clusterware stack on both racnode1 and racnode2:

[root@racnode1 ~]#

/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/bin/crsctl stop cluster -all

Starting the Oracle Clusterware Stack on the Local Server

Use the " crsctl start cluster" command on racnode1 to start the Oracle Clusterware stack:

[root@racnode1 ~]#

/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/bin/crsctl start cluster

CRS-2672: Attempting to start 'ora.cssdmonitor' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2676: Start of 'ora.cssdmonitor' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2672: Attempting to start 'ora.cssd' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2672: Attempting to start 'ora.diskmon' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2676: Start of 'ora.diskmon' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2676: Start of 'ora.cssd' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2672: Attempting to start 'ora.ctssd' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2676: Start of 'ora.ctssd' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2672: Attempting to start 'ora.evmd' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2672: Attempting to start 'ora.asm' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2676: Start of 'ora.evmd' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2676: Start of 'ora.asm' on 'racnode1' succeeded

CRS-2672: Attempting to start 'ora.crsd' on 'racnode1'

CRS-2676: Start of 'ora.crsd' on 'racnode1' succeeded

Note: You can choose to start the Oracle Clusterware stack on all servers in the cluster by specifying -all:

[root@racnode1 ~]#

/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/bin/crsctl start cluster -all

You can also start the Oracle Clusterware stack on one or more named servers in the cluster by listing the servers separated by a space:

[root@racnode1 ~]#

/u01/app/11.2.0/grid/bin/crsctl start cluster -n racnode1 racnode2

Start/Stop All Instances with SRVCTL

Finally, you can start/stop all instances and associated services using the following:

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl stop database -d racdb

[oracle@racnode1 ~]$

srvctl start database -d racdb

31. Troubleshooting

Confirm the RAC Node Name is Not Listed in Loopback Address

Ensure that the node names ( racnode1 or racnode2) are not included for the loopback address in the /etc/hosts file. If the machine name is listed in the in the loopback address entry as below:

127.0.0.1

racnode1

localhost.localdomain localhost

it will need to be removed as shown below:

127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost

If the RAC node name is listed for the loopback address, you will receive the following error during the RAC installation:

ORA-00603: ORACLE server session terminated by fatal error

ORA-29702: error occurred in Cluster Group Service operation

Openfiler - Logical Volumes Not Active on Boot

One issue that I have run into several times occurs when using a USB drive connected to the Openfiler server. When the Openfiler server is rebooted, the system is able to recognize the USB drive however, it is not able to load the logical volumes and writes the following message to /var/log/messages - (also available through dmesg):

iSCSI Enterprise Target Software - version 0.4.14

iotype_init(91) register fileio

iotype_init(91) register blockio

iotype_init(91) register nullio

open_path(120) Can't open /dev/rac1/crs -2

fileio_attach(268) -2

open_path(120) Can't open /dev/rac1/asm1 -2

fileio_attach(268) -2

open_path(120) Can't open /dev/rac1/asm2 -2

fileio_attach(268) -2

open_path(120) Can't open /dev/rac1/asm3 -2

fileio_attach(268) -2

open_path(120) Can't open /dev/rac1/asm4 -2

fileio_attach(268) -2

Please note that I am not suggesting that this only occurs with USB drives connected to the Openfiler server. It may occur with other types of drives, however I have only seen it with USB drives!

If you do receive this error, you should first check the status of all logical volumes using the lvscan command from the Openfiler server:

lvscan

inactive

'/dev/rac1/crs' [2.00 GB] inherit

inactive

'/dev/rac1/asm1' [115.94 GB] inherit

inactive

'/dev/rac1/asm2' [115.94 GB] inherit

inactive

'/dev/rac1/asm3' [115.94 GB] inherit

inactive

'/dev/rac1/asm4' [115.94 GB] inherit

Notice that the status for each of the logical volumes is set to inactive - (the status for each logical volume on a working system would be set to ACTIVE).

I currently know of two methods to get Openfiler to automatically load the logical volumes on reboot, both of which are described below.

Method 1

One of the first steps is to shutdown both of the Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster - ( racnode1 and racnode2). Then, from the Openfiler server, manually set each of the logical volumes to ACTIVE for each consecutive reboot:

lvchange -a y /dev/rac1/crs

lvchange -a y /dev/rac1/asm1

lvchange -a y /dev/rac1/asm2

lvchange -a y /dev/rac1/asm3

lvchange -a y /dev/rac1/asm4

Another method to set the status to active for all logical volumes is to use the Volume Group change command as follows:

vgscan

Reading all physical volumes. This may take a while...

Found volume group "rac1" using metadata type lvm2

vgchange -ay

5 logical volume(s) in volume group "rac1" now active

After setting each of the logical volumes to active, use the lvscan command again to verify the status:

lvscan

ACTIVE

'/dev/rac1/crs' [2.00 GB] inherit

ACTIVE

'/dev/rac1/asm1' [115.94 GB] inherit

ACTIVE

'/dev/rac1/asm2' [115.94 GB] inherit

ACTIVE

'/dev/rac1/asm3' [115.94 GB] inherit

ACTIVE

'/dev/rac1/asm4' [115.94 GB] inherit

As a final test, reboot the Openfiler server to ensure each of the logical volumes will be set to ACTIVE after the boot process. After you have verified that each of the logical volumes will be active on boot, check that the iSCSI target service is running:

service iscsi-target status

ietd (pid 2668) is running...

Finally, restart each of the Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster - ( racnode1 and racnode2).

Method 2

This method was kindly provided by Martin Jones. His workaround includes amending the /etc/rc.sysinit script to basically wait for the USB disk ( /dev/sda in my example) to be detected. After making the changes to the /etc/rc.sysinit script (described below), verify the external drives are powered on and then reboot the Openfiler server.

The following is a small portion of the /etc/rc.sysinit script on the Openfiler server with the changes (highlighted in blue) proposed by Martin:

..............................................................

# LVM2 initialization, take 2

if [ -c /dev/mapper/control ]; then

if [ -x /sbin/multipath.static ]; then

modprobe dm-multipath >/dev/null 2>&1

/sbin/multipath.static -v 0

if [ -x /sbin/kpartx ]; then

/sbin/dmsetup ls --target multipath --exec "/sbin/kpartx -a"

if [ -x /sbin/dmraid ]; then

modprobe dm-mirror > /dev/null 2>&1

/sbin/dmraid -i -a y

#-----

#----- MJONES - Customisation Start

#-----

# Check if /dev/sda is ready

while [ ! -e /dev/sda ]

echo "Device /dev/sda for first USB Drive is not yet ready."

echo "Waiting..."

sleep 5

done

echo "INFO - Device /dev/sda for first USB Drive is ready."

#-----

#----- MJONES - Customisation END

#-----

if [ -x /sbin/lvm.static ]; then

if /sbin/lvm.static vgscan > /dev/null 2>&1 ; then

action $"Setting up Logical Volume

Management:" /sbin/lvm.static vgscan --mknodes --ignorelockingfailure &&

/sbin/lvm.static vgchange -a y --ignorelockingfailure

# Clean up SELinux labels

if [ -n "$SELINUX" ]; then

for file in /etc/mtab /etc/ld.so.cache ; do

[ -r $file ] && restorecon $file >/dev/null 2>&1

done

..............................................................

Finally, restart each of the Oracle RAC nodes in the cluster - ( racnode1 and racnode2).

32. Conclusion

Oracle11g RAC allows the DBA to configure a database solution with superior fault tolerance and load balancing. For those DBA's, however, that want to become more familiar with the features and benefits of Oracle11g RAC will find the costs of configuring even a small RAC cluster costing in the range of US$15,000 to US$20,000.

This article has hopefully given you an economical solution to setting up and configuring an inexpensive Oracle 11g release 2 RAC Cluster using Oracle Enterprise Linux and iSCSI technology. The RAC solution presented in this article can be put together for around US$2,700 and will provide the DBA with a fully functional Oracle 11g release 2 RAC cluster. While the hardware used for this article should be stable enough for educational purposes, it should never be considered for a production environment.

33. Acknowledgements

An article of this magnitude and complexity is generally not the work of one person alone. Although I was able to author and successfully demonstrate the validity of the components that make up this configuration, there are several other individuals that deserve credit in making this article a success.

First, I would like to thank Bane Radulovic from the Server BDE Team at Oracle. Bane not only introduced me to Openfiler, but shared with me his experience and knowledge of the product and how to best utilize it for Oracle RAC. His research and hard work made the task of configuring Openfiler seamless. Bane was also involved with hardware recommendations and testing.

A special thanks to K Gopalakrishnan for his assistance in delivering the Oracle RAC 11g Overview section of this article. In this section, much of the content regarding the history of Oracle RAC can be found in his very popular book Oracle Database 10g Real Application Clusters Handbook . This book comes highly recommended for both DBA's and Developers wanting to successfully implement Oracle RAC and fully understand how many of the advanced services like Cache Fusion and Global Resource Directoryoperate.

Lastly, I would like to express my appreciation to the following vendors for generously supplying the hardware for this article; Seagate,Avocent Corporation, and Intel.

Jeffrey M. Hunter [ www.idevelopment.info] is an Oracle Certified Professional, Java Development Certified Professional, Author, and an Oracle ACE. Jeff currently works as a Senior Database Administrator for The DBA Zone, Inc. located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

His work includes advanced performance tuning, Java and PL/SQL programming, capacity planning, database security, and physical / logical database design in a UNIX, Linux, and Windows server environment. Jeff's other interests include mathematical encryption theory, programming language processors (compilers and interpreters) in Java and C, LDAP, writing web-based database administration tools, and of course Linux.

Jeff has been a Sr. Database Administrator and Software Engineer for over 16 years and maintains his own website site at:http://www.iDevelopment.info. Jeff graduated from Stanislaus State University in Turlock, California, with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science.