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Sun Cluster Data Service for Oracle RAC Guide for Solaris OS

Chapter 1 Installing Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC

This chapter explains how to install Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC on your Sun Cluster nodes.

Overview of the Installation Process for Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC

The following table summarizes the installation tasks and provides cross-references to detailed instructions for performing the tasks.

Perform these tasks in the order in which they are listed in the table.

Table 1–1 Tasks for Installing Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC

Task 

Instructions 

Plan your installation 

Preinstallation Considerations

Prepare the Sun Cluster nodes 

Preparing the Sun Cluster Nodes

Install data service packages 

Installing the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC Packages

SPARC: Install the UNIX Distributed Lock Manager 

SPARC: Installing the Oracle UDLM

Preinstallation Considerations

Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) is an application that can run on more than one node concurrently. Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC enables you to run Oracle RAC on Sun Cluster nodes and to manage Oracle RAC 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 RAC also apply to Oracle Parallel Server unless this book explicitly states otherwise.

Configuring this data service involves configuring resources for the following components of an Oracle RAC installation with Sun Cluster software:

Note –

If you are using the Solaris 10 OS, install and configure this data service to run only in the global zone. At publication of this document, this data service is not supported in non-global zones. For updated information about supported configurations of this data service, contact your Sun service representative.

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 RAC 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 the vxlicrep command.

Supported Topology Requirements

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

Patch Installation Requirements

Ensure that you have installed all 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 RAC patches, you must apply these patches after you install the data service packages.

Storage Management Requirements for Oracle Files

Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC 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.

The meaning of each symbol in the table is as follows:

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

- 

- 

- 

+ 

+ 

- 

+ 

+ 

CRS binary files

- 

- 

- 

+ 

+ 

- 

+ 

+ 

Configuration files

- 

- 

- 

+ 

+ 

- 

+ 

+ 

System parameter file (SPFILE)

- 

- 

- 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

- 

Alert files

- 

- 

- 

+ 

+ 

- 

+ 

+ 

Trace files

- 

- 

- 

+ 

+ 

- 

+ 

+ 

Data files

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

- 

- 

Control files

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

- 

- 

Online redo log files

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

- 

- 

Archived redo log files

- 

- 

- 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

- 

Flashback log files

- 

- 

- 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

- 

Recovery files

- 

- 

- 

+ 

+ 

+ 

- 

- 

OCR files

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

- 

+ 

- 

CRS voting disk

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

- 

+ 

- 

Note –

Some types of files are not included in all releases of Oracle RAC. 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 RAC Database

You can use the following storage management schemes for the Oracle RAC 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.

Note –

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.

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: Processor Architecture Requirements for Oracle Components

Before you decide which architecture to use for the Oracle UDLM and the Oracle relational database management system (RDBMS), note the following points.

Using Oracle Data Guard With Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC

You can use Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC with Oracle Data Guard. To configure Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC with Oracle Data Guard, perform the tasks in this guide. The tasks for clusters that are to be used in an Oracle Data Guard configuration are identical to the tasks for a standalone cluster.

For information about the installation, administration, and operation of Oracle Data Guard, see your Oracle documentation.

Using the Oracle Real Application Clusters Guard Option With Sun Cluster 3.2

For information about the installation, administration, and operation of the Oracle Real Application Clusters Guard option, see your Oracle documentation. If you plan to use this product option with Sun Cluster 3.2, note the points in the subsections that follow before you install Sun Cluster 3.2.

Hostname Restrictions

If you use the Oracle Real Application Clusters Guard option with Sun Cluster 3.2, the following restrictions apply to hostnames that you use in your cluster:

For more information about these restrictions and any other requirements, see the Oracle documentation.

Sun Cluster Command Usage Restrictions

If you use the Oracle Real Application Clusters Guard option with Sun Cluster 3.2, do not use Sun Cluster commands to perform the following operations:

Preparing the Sun Cluster Nodes

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

Caution – Caution –

Perform these tasks on all nodes where Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC 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 RAC to fail during startup.

Before You Begin

Before you prepare the Sun Cluster nodes, ensure that all preinstallation tasks for Oracle RAC are completed. For more information, see your Oracle RAC documentation.

ProcedureHow to Bypass the NIS Name Service

Bypassing the NIS name service protects the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC 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 RAC refers to the NIS name service, unavailability of the name service might cause the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC data service to fail.

Bypassing the NIS name service ensures that the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC 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 RAC 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 RAC 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.

Next Steps

Go to How to Create the DBA Group and the DBA User Accounts.

ProcedureHow to Create the DBA Group and the DBA User Accounts

In installations of Oracle RAC with Sun Cluster, the DBA group is normally named dba. This group normally contains the root user and the oracle user.

Note –

This configuration of users and groups differs from the configuration that is described in the Oracle documentation for a standalone installation of Oracle RAC. A standalone installation of Oracle RAC uses a primary DBA group that is named oinstall and a secondary group that is named dba. Some applications also require a secondary group that is named oper. For more information, see your Oracle documentation.

Perform this task on each cluster node.

  1. On the node where you are performing this task, become superuser.

  2. Add an entry for the DBA group and potential users in the group to the /etc/group file.


    # echo 'group-name:*:group-id:user-list' >> /etc/group
    group-name

    Specifies the name of the group for which you are adding an entry. This group is normally named dba.

    group-id

    Specifies the group's unique numerical ID (GID) within the system.

    user-list

    Specifies a comma-separated list of the user names that are allowed in the group. Ensure that the list contains the names of all DBA users that are required. This group normally contains the root user and the oracle user.

    Ensure that the entry is identical on each node that can run Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC.

    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.

  3. Create the home directory of each potential user in the DBA group that you defined in Step 2.

    You are not required to create a home directory for the root user.

    For each potential user whose home directory you are creating, type the following command:


    # mkdir -p user-home
    user-home

    Specifies the full path of the home directory that you are creating.

  4. Add each potential user in the DBA group that you defined in Step 2 to the system.

    You are not required to add the root user.

    Use the useradd(1M) command to add each user. Adding a user to the system adds an entry for the user to the following files:

    • /etc/passwd

    • /etc/shadow 


    # useradd -u user-id -g group-name -d user-home[ -s user-shell] user-name
    -u user-id

    Specifies the user's unique numerical ID (UID) within the system.

    -g group-name

    Specifies the name of the user group of which the user is a member. You must specify the DBA group that you defined in Step 2.

    -d user-home

    Specifies the full path of the user's home directory. You must specify the home directory that you created for the user in Step 3.

    -s user-shell

    Optionally specifies the full path name of the program that is to be used as the user's shell when the user logs in. If you omit the -s option, the system uses the /bin/sh program by default. If you specify the -s option, user-shell must specify a valid executable file.

    user-name

    Specifies the user name of the user that you are adding. You must specify the name of a potential user in the DBA group that you defined in Step 2.

    Ensure that each user is identical on each node that can run Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC.

  5. Set the password of each user that you added in Step 4.

    Use the passwd(1) command to set the password of each user.

    1. Type the following command:


      # password user-name
      user-name

      Specifies the user name of the user whose password you are setting. You must specify the name of a user in the DBA group that you added in Step 4.

      The passwd command prompts you for the password.

    2. In response to the prompt, type the password and press Return.

      The passwd command prompts you to retype the password.

    3. In response to the prompt, retype the password and press Return.

  6. Change the ownership of each home directory that you created in Step 3 as follows:

    • Owner: the user for which you created the home directory

    • Group: the DBA group that you defined in Step 2

    For each home directory for which you are changing ownership, type the following command:


    # chown user-name:group-name user-home
    user-name

    Specifies the user name of the user for whose home directory you are changing ownership. You must specify the name of a user in the DBA group that you added in Step 4.

    group-name

    Specifies the name of the user group of which the user is a member. You must specify the DBA group that you defined in Step 2.

    user-home

    Specifies the full path of the user's home directory. You must specify the home directory that you created for the user in Step 3.

  7. Create a subdirectory of the /var/opt directory for each user in the DBA group that you added in Step 4.

    For each subdirectory that you are creating, type the following command:


    # mkdir /var/opt/user-name
    user-name

    Specifies the user name of the user whose subdirectory of the /var/opt directory you are creating. You must specify the name of a user in the DBA group that you added in Step 4.

  8. Change the ownership of each directory that you created in Step 7 as follows:

    • Owner: the user for which you created the directory

    • Group: the DBA group that you defined in Step 2

    For each directory for which you are changing ownership, type the following command:


    # chown user-name:group-name /var/opt/user-name
    user-name

    Specifies the user name of the user for whose home directory you are changing ownership. You must specify the name of a user in the DBA group that you added in Step 4.

    group-name

    Specifies the name of the user group of which the user is a member. You must specify the DBA group that you defined in Step 2.

Example 1–1 Creating the DBA Group and the DBA User Accounts

This example shows the sequence of commands for creating the DBA group dba, which is to contain the users root and oracle.

The dba group and the oracle user are created as follows:


# echo 'dba:*:520:root,oracle' >> /etc/group
# mkdir /Oracle-home
# useradd -u 120 -g dba -d /Oracle-home -s /bin/ksh oracle
# passwd oracle
New Password:oracle
Re-enter new Password:oracle
passwd: password successfully changed for oracle
# chown oracle:dba /Oracle-home
# mkdir /var/opt/oracle
# chown oracle:dba /var/opt/oracle
See Also

The following man pages:

Next Steps

Go to How to Configure Shared Memory for the Oracle RAC Software.

ProcedureHow to Configure Shared Memory for the Oracle RAC Software

Note –

Perform this task only if you are using the Solaris 10 OS. If you are using the Solaris 9 OS, perform the task for configuring kernel parameters in your Oracle RAC documentation.

To enable the Oracle RAC software to run correctly, you must ensure that sufficient shared memory is available on all the cluster nodes. Perform this task on each cluster node.

  1. Become superuser on a cluster node.

  2. Update the /etc/system file with the shared memory configuration information.

    You must configure these parameters on the basis of the resources that are available in the cluster. However, the value of each parameter must be sufficient to enable the Oracle RAC software to create a shared memory segment that conforms to its configuration requirements. For the minimum required value of each parameter, see your Oracle documentation.

    The following example shows entries to configure in the /etc/system file.


    *SHARED MEMORY/ORACLE
set shmsys:shminfo_shmmax=4294967295

  3. Shut down and reboot each node whose /etc/system file you updated in Step 2.

    Caution – Caution –

    Before you reboot, you must ensure that any volume manager software that is already installed is completely installed. An incomplete installation of volume manager software causes a panic. If you use VxVM, also ensure that you have installed the software and that the license for the VxVM cluster feature is valid. Otherwise, a panic occurs when you reboot. For information about how to recover from a node panic during installation, see Node Panic During Initialization of Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC.

    For detailed instructions, see Shutting Down and Booting a Single Cluster Node in Sun Cluster System Administration Guide for Solaris OS.

Next Steps

Go to Installing the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC Packages.

Installing the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC Packages

If you did not install the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC packages during your initial Sun Cluster installation, perform this procedure to install the packages. To install the packages, use the Sun JavaTM Enterprise System Installation Wizard.

ProcedureHow to Install the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC Packages

Perform this procedure on each cluster node where you are installing the Sun Cluster Support for Oracle RAC packages.

You can run the Sun Java Enterprise System Installation Wizard with a command-line interface (CLI) or with a graphical user interface (GUI). The content and sequence of instructions in the CLI and the GUI are similar.

Note –

Install the packages for this data service in the global zone.

Before You Begin

Ensure that you have the Sun Java Availability Suite DVD-ROM.

If you intend to run the Sun Java Enterprise System Installation Wizard with a GUI, ensure that your DISPLAY environment variable is set.

  1. On the cluster node where you are installing the data service packages, become superuser.

  2. Load the Sun Java Availability Suite DVD-ROM into the DVD-ROM drive.

    If the Volume Management daemon vold(1M) is running and configured to manage DVD-ROM devices, the daemon automatically mounts the DVD-ROM on the /cdrom directory.

  3. Change to the Sun Java Enterprise System Installation Wizard directory of the DVD-ROM.

    • If you are installing the data service packages on the SPARC® platform, type the following command:


      # cd /cdrom/cdrom0/Solaris_sparc

    • If you are installing the data service packages on the x86 platform, type the following command:


      # cd /cdrom/cdrom0/Solaris_x86

  4. Start the Sun Java Enterprise System Installation Wizard.


    # ./installer

  5. When you are prompted, accept the license agreement.

    If any Sun Java Enterprise System components are installed, you are prompted to select whether to upgrade the components or install new software.

  6. From the list of Sun Cluster agents under Availability Services, select the data service for Oracle RAC.

  7. If you require support for languages other than English, select the option to install multilingual packages.

    English language support is always installed.

  8. When prompted whether to configure the data service now or later, choose Configure Later.

    Choose Configure Later to perform the configuration after the installation.

  9. Follow the instructions on the screen to install the data service packages on the node.

    The Sun Java Enterprise System Installation Wizard displays the status of the installation. When the installation is complete, the wizard displays an installation summary and the installation logs.

  10. (GUI only) If you do not want to register the product and receive product updates, deselect the Product Registration option.

    The Product Registration option is not available with the CLI. If you are running the Sun Java Enterprise System Installation Wizard with the CLI, omit this step

  11. Exit the Sun Java Enterprise System Installation Wizard.

  12. Unload the Sun Java Availability Suite DVD-ROM from the DVD-ROM drive.

    1. To ensure that the DVD-ROM is not being used, change to a directory that does not reside on the DVD-ROM.

    2. Eject the DVD-ROM.


      # eject cdrom
Next Steps

The next step depends on the platform that you are using, as shown in the following table.

Platform 

Next Step 

SPARC 

SPARC: Installing the Oracle UDLM

x86 

Chapter 2, Configuring Storage for Oracle Files

SPARC: Installing the Oracle UDLM

For detailed instructions for installing the Oracle UDLM, see the Oracle RAC documentation.

Caution – Caution –

Before you install the Oracle UDLM, ensure that you have created the DBA group and DBA user accounts. For more information, see How to Create the DBA Group and the DBA User Accounts.

ProcedureSPARC: How to Install the Oracle UDLM

Note –

You must install the Oracle UDLM software on the local disk of each node.

  1. Become superuser on a cluster node.

  2. Install the Oracle UDLM software.

    See the appropriate Oracle RAC installation documentation for instructions.

    Note –

    Ensure that you did not receive any error messages when you installed the Oracle UDLM packages. If an error occurred during package installation, correct the problem before you install the Oracle UDLM software.

Next Steps

Go to Chapter 2, Configuring Storage for Oracle Files.