You can install the Oracle binary files and Oracle configuration files on one of the following locations.
The local disks of each cluster node
A shared file system from the following list:
The Sun StorEdge QFS shared file system
The cluster file system
A file system on a Network Appliance NAS device
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.
Some versions of Oracle require you to shut down the data service during an upgrade. To determine whether you can upgrade the Oracle application without shutting down the data service, see your Oracle documentation.
The disadvantage is that you then have several copies of the Oracle application binary files and Oracle configuration files to maintain and administer.
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:
The Sun StorEdge QFS shared file system
The cluster file system
If you use the cluster file system, decide which volume manager to use:
Solaris Volume Manager
VxVM without the cluster feature
VxVM is supported only on the SPARC platform.
A file system on a Network Appliance NAS device
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.