Preparing the Sun Cluster Nodes

Preparing the Sun Cluster nodes modifies the configuration of the operating system to enable Oracle Real Application Clusters to run on Sun Cluster nodes. Preparing the Sun Cluster nodes and disks involves the following tasks:

• Bypassing the NIS name service

• Creating the database administrator group and the Oracle user account

Perform these tasks on all nodes where Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters can run. If you do not perform these tasks on all nodes, the Oracle installation is incomplete. An incomplete Oracle installation causes Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters to fail during startup.

How to Bypass the NIS Name Service

Bypassing the NIS name service protects the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters data service against a failure of a cluster node's public network. A failure of a cluster node's public network might cause the NIS name service to become unavailable. If Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters refers to the NIS name service, unavailability of the name service might cause the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters data service to fail.

Bypassing the NIS name service ensures that the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters data service does not refer to the NIS name service when the data service sets the user identifier (ID). The Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters data service sets the user ID when the data service starts or stops the database.

1. Become superuser on all nodes where Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters can run.

2. On each node, include the following entries in the /etc/nsswitch.conf file.

   passwd: files nis [TRYAGAIN=0] publickey: files nis [TRYAGAIN=0] project: files nis [TRYAGAIN=0] group: files

   For more information about the /etc/nsswitch.conf file, see the nsswitch.conf(4) man page.

Where to Go From Here

Go to How to Create the Database Administrator Group and the Oracle User Account.

How to Create the Database Administrator Group and the Oracle User Account

Perform the following steps as superuser on each cluster node.

1. On each node, create an entry for the database administrator group in the /etc/group file, and add potential users to the group.

   This group normally is named dba. Verify that root and oracle are members of the dba group, and add entries as necessary for other database administrator (DBA) users. Verify that the group IDs are the same on all of the nodes that run Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters. For example, add the following entry to the /etc/group file.

   dba:*:520:root,oracle

   You can create the name service entries in a network name service, such as the Network Information Service (NIS) or NIS+, so that the information is available to the data service clients. You can also create entries in the local /etc files to eliminate dependency on the network name service.

2. On each node, create an entry for the Oracle user ID (the group and password) in the /etc/passwd file, and run the pwconv(1M) command to create an entry in the /etc/shadow file.

   This Oracle user ID is normally oracle. For example, add the following entry to the /etc/passwd file.

   # useradd -u 120 -g dba -d /oracle-home oracle

   Ensure that the user IDs are the same on all of the nodes that run Sun Cluster Support for Oracle Real Application Clusters.

Where to Go From Here

After you set up the cluster environment for Oracle Real Application Clusters, go to How to Install the Oracle UDLM to install the Oracle UDLM software on each cluster node.