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Sun Cluster Data Service for Oracle Real Application Clusters Guide for Solaris OS

Preinstallation Considerations

Oracle Real Application Clusters is an application that can run on more than one node concurrently. Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters is a set of packages that, when installed, enables Oracle Real Application Clusters to run on Sun Cluster nodes. This data service also enables Oracle Real Application Clusters to be managed by using Sun Cluster commands.

Note –

In earlier versions of Oracle, this application is referred to as Oracle Parallel Server. In this book, references to Oracle Real Application Clusters also apply to Oracle Parallel Server unless this book explicitly states otherwise.

This data service provides fault monitoring only to enable the status of Oracle Real Application Clusters resources to be monitored by Sun Cluster utilities. This data service does not provide automatic fault recovery because the Oracle Real Application Clusters software provides similar functionality.

Hardware and Software Requirements

Before you begin the installation, note the hardware and software requirements in the subsections that follow.

Sun Cluster Framework Requirements

Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters requires a functioning cluster with the initial cluster framework already installed. See Sun Cluster Software Installation Guide for Solaris OS for details about initial installation of cluster software.

Software License Requirements

Verify that you have obtained and installed the appropriate licenses for your software. If you install your licenses incorrectly or incompletely, the nodes might fail to boot correctly.

For example, if you are using VxVM with the cluster feature, verify that you have installed a valid license for the Volume Manager cluster feature by running one of the following commands:

If you are using Sun StorEdgeTM QFS shared file system version 4.2, verify that you have installed a valid license for Sun StorEdge QFS on each node. To verify that a valid license is installed on a node, run the samcmd l command on the node.

Supported Topology Requirements

Check with a Sun Enterprise Services representative for the current supported topologies for Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters, cluster interconnect, storage management scheme, and hardware configurations.

Patch Installation Requirements

Ensure that you have installed all of the applicable software patches for the Solaris Operating System, Sun Cluster, Oracle, and your volume manager. If you need to install any Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters patches, you must apply these patches after you install the data service packages.

Storage Management Requirements for Oracle Files

Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters enables you to use the storage management schemes for Oracle files that are listed in the following table. The table summarizes the types of Oracle files that each storage management scheme can store. Ensure that you choose a combination of storage management schemes that can store all types of Oracle files.

Table 1–2 Storage Management Schemes for Oracle Files

Oracle File Type 

Storage Management Scheme 

Solaris Volume Manager for Sun Cluster 

VxVM 

Hardware RAID 

Sun StorEdge QFS 

Network Appliance NAS Devices 

ASM 

Cluster File System 

Local Disks 

RDBMS binary files 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

CRS binary files 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Configuration files 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

System parameter file (SPFILE)

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Alert files 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Trace files 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Data files 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

No 

Control files 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

No 

Online redo log files 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

No 

Archived redo log files 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Flashback log files 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Recovery files 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

No 

OCR files 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

No 

CRS voting disk  

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

No 

Note –

Some types of files are not included in all releases of Oracle Real Application Clusters. For information about which types of file are included in the release that you are using, see your Oracle documentation.

Storage Management Requirements for the Oracle Real Application Clusters Database

You can use the following storage management schemes for the Oracle Real Application Clusters database:

Storage Management Requirements for Oracle Binary Files and Oracle Configuration Files

You can install the Oracle binary files and Oracle configuration files on one of the following locations.

Using Local Disks for Oracle Binary Files and Oracle Configuration Files

Placing the Oracle binary files and Oracle configuration files on the individual cluster nodes enables you to upgrade the Oracle application later without shutting down the data service.

The disadvantage is that you then have several copies of the Oracle application binary files and Oracle configuration files to maintain and administer.

Using a Shared File System for Oracle Binary Files and Oracle Configuration Files

To simplify the maintenance of your Oracle installation, you can install the Oracle binary files and Oracle configuration files on a shared file system. The following shared file systems are supported:

If you put the Oracle binary files and Oracle configuration files on a shared file system, you have only one copy to maintain and manage. However, you must shut down the data service in the entire cluster to upgrade the Oracle application. If a short period of downtime for upgrades is acceptable, place a single copy of the Oracle binary files and Oracle configuration files on a shared file system.

SPARC: Requirements for Using the Sun StorEdge QFS Shared File System

You can store all of the files that are associated with Oracle Real Application Clusters on the Sun StorEdge QFS shared file system.

For information about how to create a Sun StorEdge QFS shared file system, see the following documentation for Sun StorEdge QFS:

Distribute these files among several file systems as explained in the subsections that follow.

Sun StorEdge QFS File Systems for RDBMS Binary Files and Related Files

For RDBMS binary files and related files, create one file system in the cluster to store the files.

The RDBMS binary files and related files are as follows:

Sun StorEdge QFS File Systems for Database Files and Related Files

For database files and related files, determine whether you require one file system for each database or multiple file systems for each database.

Note –

If you are adding storage for an existing database, you must create additional file systems for the storage that you are adding. In this situation, distribute the database files and related files among the file systems that you will use for the database.

Each file system that you create for database files and related files must have its own metadata server. For information about the resources that are required for the metadata servers, see SPARC: Resources for the Sun StorEdge QFS Shared File System.

The database files and related files are as follows:

Requirements for Using the Cluster File System

You can store only these files that are associated with Oracle Real Application Clusters on the cluster file system:

Note –

You must not store data files, control files, online redo log files, or Oracle recovery files on the cluster file system.

The input/output (I/O) performance during the writing of archived redo log files is affected by the location of the device group for archived redo log files. For optimum performance, ensure that the primary of the device group for archived redo log files is located on the same node as the Oracle Real Application Clusters database instance. This device group contains the file system that holds archived redo log files of the database instance.

If you are using the cluster file system with Sun Cluster 3.1, consider increasing the desired number of secondary nodes for device groups. By increasing the desired number of secondary nodes for device groups, you can improve the availability of your cluster. To increase the desired number of secondary nodes for device groups, change the numsecondaries property. For more information, see Multiported Disk Device Groups in Sun Cluster Concepts Guide for Solaris OS.

For information about how to create cluster file systems, see the following documentation:

Configuration Planning Questions

Use the questions in the subsections that follow to plan the installation and configuration of Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters. Write the answers to these questions in the space that is provided on the data service worksheets in Configuration Worksheets in Sun Cluster Data Services Planning and Administration Guide for Solaris OS.

Resource Groups for Oracle RAC Server Resources

Note –

If you are using Oracle 10g, no Oracle RAC server resources are required. These resources are not required with Oracle 10g because Oracle CRS starts and shuts down Oracle Real Application Clusters database instances. In versions of Oracle earlier than 10g, these resources are required to enable Sun Cluster to start and shut down database instances.

Which resource groups will you use for the Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) server resources?

You require one resource group for each Oracle Real Application Clusters database instance. Each resource group contains the Oracle RAC server resource for the database instance.

Use the answer to this question when you perform the procedure in Registering and Configuring Oracle RAC Server Resources.

Resource Groups for Oracle Listener Resources

Note –

If you are using Oracle 10g, no Oracle listener resources are required. These resources are not required with Oracle 10g because Oracle CRS starts and shuts down Oracle Real Application Clusters database instances. In versions of Oracle earlier than 10g, these resources are required to enable Sun Cluster to start and shut down database instances.

Which resource groups will you use for the Oracle listener resources?

Use the answer to this question when you perform the procedure in Registering and Configuring Oracle Listener Resources.

The resource groups depend on your configuration of Oracle listeners with Real Application Clusters database instances. For general information about possible configurations of listeners for Real Application Clusters instances, see your Oracle documentation. Example configurations are described in the subsections that follow.

One Listener for One Real Application Clusters Instance

One listener serves only one Real Application Clusters instance. The listener listens on the fixed Internet Protocol (IP) address of the node. The listener cannot fail over.

In this situation, configure the listener resource as follows:

One Listener That Cannot Fail Over for Several Real Application Clusters Instances

One listener serves several Real Application Clusters instances on the same node. The listener uses Oracle's transparent application failover (TAF) and load balancing to distribute client connections across all Real Application Clusters instances. The listener cannot fail over.

In this situation, configure the listener resource as follows:

One Listener That Can Fail Over for Several Real Application Clusters Instances

One listener that can fail over serves several Real Application Clusters instances on the same node. When the listener fails over to another node, the listener serves several Real Application Clusters instances on the other node.

The listener uses Oracle's TAF and load balancing to distribute client connections across all Real Application Clusters instances. To ensure fast error detection and short failover times, the listener listens on an address that is represented by a LogicalHostname resource.

In this situation, configure the listener resource as follows:

For more information, see LogicalHostname Resources for Oracle Listener Resources.

One Listener for the Entire Cluster

One listener serves all Real Application Clusters instances on all nodes. The listener listens on an address that is represented by a LogicalHostname resource. This configuration ensures that the address is plumbed very quickly on another node after a node fails.

You can use this configuration if you configure Real Application Clusters instances to use a multithreaded server (MTS). In such a configuration, the REMOTE_LISTENERS parameter in the init.ora file specifies that each dispatcher registers with the listener on a logical IP address.

All clients connect through the one listener. The listener redirects each client connection to the least busy dispatcher. The least busy dispatcher might be on a different node from the listener.

If the listener fails, the listener's fault monitor restarts the listener. If the node where the listener is running fails, the listener is restarted on a different node. In both situations the dispatchers reregister after the listener is restarted.

If you are using one listener for the entire cluster, configure the following resources in the same resource group:

For more information, see LogicalHostname Resources for Oracle Listener Resources.

LogicalHostname Resources for Oracle Listener Resources

Note –

If you are using Oracle 10g, no LogicalHostname resources are required.

Which LogicalHostname resources will Oracle listener resources use?

Use the answer to this question when you perform the procedure in Registering and Configuring Oracle Listener Resources.

If a cluster node that is running an instance of Oracle Real Application Clusters fails, an operation that a client application attempted might be required to time out before the operation is attempted again on another instance. If the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network timeout is high, the client application might require a significant length of time to detect the failure. Typically, client applications require between three and nine minutes to detect such failures.

In such situations, client applications can connect to listener resources that are listening on an address that is represented by the Sun Cluster LogicalHostname resource. Configure the LogicalHostname resource and the listener resource in a separate resource group. Ensure that this resource group is mastered on the nodes on which Oracle Real Application Clusters is running. If a node fails, the resource group that contains the LogicalHostname resource and the listener resource fails over to another surviving node on which Oracle Real Application Clusters is running. The failover of the LogicalHostname resource enables new connections to be directed to the other instance of Oracle Real Application Clusters.

SPARC: Resources for the Sun StorEdge QFS Shared File System

If you are using the Sun StorEdge QFS shared file system, answer the following questions:

For more information, see the following documentation for Sun StorEdge QFS:

Use the answers to these questions when you perform the procedure in Registering and Configuring Oracle RAC Server Resources.

Name of the RAC Framework Resource Group

If you plan you use the scrgadm utility to create the RAC framework resource group, what name will you assign to this resource group?

If you use the scsetup utility to create the RAC framework resource group, omit this question. The scsetup utility automatically assigns a name when you create the resource group.

For more information, see Registering and Configuring the RAC Framework Resource Group.

Location of Oracle Configuration Files

Where will the Oracle configuration files reside?

For the advantages and disadvantages of using the local file system instead of the cluster file system, see Storage Management Requirements for Oracle Binary Files and Oracle Configuration Files.