test

Sun Cluster 2.2 Software Installation Guide

5.2 Installing Sun Cluster HA for Oracle

Use the procedures in this section to prepare the Sun Cluster nodes, to install the Oracle software, to create Oracle databases, and to set up Sun Cluster HA for Oracle.

Before setting up Sun Cluster HA for Oracle, you must have configured the Sun Cluster software on each node by using the procedures described in Chapter 3, Installing and Configuring Sun Cluster Software.

5.2.1 How to Prepare the Nodes and Install the Oracle Software

These are the high-level steps to prepare Sun Cluster nodes for Oracle installation and install the Oracle software:

Caution - Caution -

Perform all steps described in this section on all Sun Cluster nodes.

Consult your Oracle documentation before performing this procedure.

These are the detailed steps to prepare Sun Cluster nodes and install the Oracle software:

  1. Prepare the environment for Oracle installation.

    Choose a location for the $ORACLE_HOME directory, on either a local or multihost disk.

    Note -

    If you choose to install the Oracle binaries on a local disk of a physical host, then mount the Oracle software distribution as a file system on its own separate disk, if possible. This will prevent Oracle binaries from being overwritten if the operating environment is reinstalled.

  2. 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 dba users. Make sure that the group IDs are the same on all nodes running Sun Cluster HA for Oracle. For example:

    dba:*:520:root,oracle

    While you can make the name service entries in a network name service (for example, NIS or NIS+) so that the information is available to Sun Cluster HA for Oracle clients, you also should make entries in the local /etc files to eliminate dependency on the network name service.

    Note -

    This information must be replicated on each node.

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

    This oracle_id is normally oracle. For example:

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

    Make sure that the user IDs are the same on all nodes running Sun Cluster HA for Oracle.

  4. Verify that the $ORACLE_HOME directory is owned by oracle_id and is included in the dba group.

    # chown oracle $ORACLE_HOME
# chgrp dba $ORACLE_HOME

    If $ORACLE_HOME is a symbolic link to the Oracle home directory, then use the following command: 

    # chown oracle $ORACLE_HOME
# chgrp dba $ORACLE_HOME
# chown -h oracle $ORACLE_HOME
# chgrp -h dba $ORACLE_HOME

  5. Note the requirements for Oracle installation.

    Oracle binaries can be installed on either the local disks of the physical hosts, or on the multihost disks. See "5.1.1 Selecting an Install Location for Sun Cluster HA for Oracle", for more information.

    If you plan to install Oracle software on the multihost disks, you first must start Sun Cluster and take ownership of the logical host. See "5.2.2 Creating an Oracle Database and Setting Up Sun Cluster HA for Oracle", for details.

    When first installing Oracle, select the Install/Upgrade/Patch Software Only option. This is necessary because database initialization and configuration files must be modified to reflect the logical hosts as the location for the database.

  6. Install the Oracle software.

    On each node, modify the /etc/system files according to standard Oracle installation procedures. Also, on each node, create a /var/opt/oracle directory for user oracle and group dba.

    Log in as oracle to ensure ownership of the entire directory before performing this step. For complete instructions on installing Oracle software, refer to the ORACLE7 Installation and Configuration Guide and the Oracle7 for Sun SPARC Solaris 2.x Installation and Configuration Guide.

  7. Create the /var/opt/oracle/oratab file.

    As root, run the script $ORACLE_HOME/orainst/oratab.sh to create the /var/opt/oracle/oratab file with the appropriate permissions.

  8. Verify the Oracle installation.

    1. Verify that the Oracle kernel, $ORACLE_HOME/bin/oracle, is owned by oracle and is included in the dba group.

    2. Verify that the $ORACLE_HOME/bin/oracle permissions are set as follows:

      -rwsr-x--x

    3. Verify that the listener binaries exist in $ORACLE_HOME/bin.

    4. Verify that the $ORACLE_HOME/orainst/RELVER file exists.

      $ORACLE_HOME/orainst/RELVER is created when Oracle Unix Installer is installed on the node. If the $ORACLE_HOME/orainst/RELVER file does not exist, then create it manually. Include the correct version number of the Oracle software installed on the node. For example: 

      # cat $ORACLE_HOME/orainst/RELVER
RELEASE_VERSION=8.0.4.0.0

5.2.2 Creating an Oracle Database and Setting Up Sun Cluster HA for Oracle

Complete both procedures in this section to create and configure the initial Oracle database in a Sun Cluster configuration. If you are creating and configuring additional databases, perform only the procedure described in "5.2.4 How to Create an Oracle Database".

5.2.3 How to Prepare Logical Hosts for Oracle Databases

  1. Make sure Sun Cluster is started and the node owns the disk groups.

    If necessary, as root, use the scadmin(1M) command. 

    # scadmin startcluster

    This command causes the node to take disk group ownership.

  2. Configure the disk devices for use by your volume manager.

    Caution - Caution -

    While Oracle supports raw I/O to both raw physical devices and raw metadevices (mirrored or nonmirrored), Sun Cluster only supports raw Oracle I/O on raw mirrored volumes or metadevices. You cannot use devices such as /dev/rdsk/c1t1d1s2 to contain Oracle data under Sun Cluster.

    1. If you are using Solstice DiskSuite, set up UFS logs or raw mirrored metadevices on all nodes that will be running Sun Cluster HA for Oracle.

      If you will be using raw mirrored metadevices to contain the databases, change the owner, group, and mode of each of the raw mirrored metadevices. If you are not using raw mirrored metadevices, skip this step. Instructions for creating mirrored metadevices are provided in Appendix B, Configuring Solstice DiskSuite.

      If you are creating raw mirrored metadevices, type the following commands for each metadevice:

      # chown oracle_id /dev/md/disk_group/rdsk/dn
# chgrp dba_id /dev/md/disk_group/rdsk/dn 
# chmod 600 /dev/md/disk_group/rdsk/dn

    2. If you are using Sun StorEdge Volume Manager, set up VxFS logs or raw devices on all nodes.

      If you will be using raw devices to contain the databases, change the owner, group, and mode of each device. If you are not using raw devices, skip this step. Refer to your Sun StorEdge Volume Manager documentation for information on setting up VxFS logs.

      If you are creating raw devices, type the following command for each raw device:

      # vxvol set owner=oracle_id group=dba_id mode=600 \
 /dev/vx/rdsk/diskgroup_name/volume_name

5.2.4 How to Create an Oracle Database

These are the high-level steps to create an Oracle database:

These are the detailed steps to create an Oracle database.

  1. Prepare database configuration files.

    Place all parameter files, data files, redolog files, and control files on the logical host, that is, the disk group's multihost disks.

    Within the init$ORACLE_SID.ora or config$ORACLE_SID.ora file, you might need to modify the assignments for control_files and background_dump_dest to specify the location of control files and alert files on the logical host.

    Note -

    If you are using Solaris authentication for database logins, the remote_os_authent variable in the init$ORACLE_SID.ora file must be set to TRUE.

    Full path names must be provided for background_dump_dest. The special character ? for specifying ORACLE_HOME should not be used.

  2. Create the database.

    During creation, ensure that all configuration and database files are placed on the logical hosts.

    1. Start the Oracle installer (orainst) and select the Create New Database Objects option.

    2. During the orainst session, place all the database files on the logical hosts.

      Override the default file locations provided by the Oracle installer.

    3. Verify that the file names of your control files match the file names in your configuration files.

      Alternatively, you can create the database using the Oracle svrmgrl command, depending on your Oracle version.

  3. Create the v$sysstat view.

    Run the catalog scripts that create the v$sysstat view. This view is used by the Sun Cluster fault monitoring scripts.

5.2.5 How to Set Up Sun Cluster HA for Oracle

These are the high-level steps to set up Sun Cluster HA for Oracle:

These are the detailed steps to set up Sun Cluster HA for Oracle.

  1. Make SID entries for the Sun Cluster HA for Oracle databases of all database instances.

    You must include the SID of the instance associated with your database in the /var/opt/oracle/oratab file on all nodes running Sun Cluster HA for Oracle. You must keep this file current on all nodes running Sun Cluster HA for Oracle for a failover to succeed. Update the file manually as are you add or remove a SID. If the oratab files do not match, an error message will be returned and the haoracle start command will fail.

    All entries in the /var/opt/oracle/oratab file should have the -:N option specified to ensure that the instance will not start automatically on Solaris reboot. For example:

    oracle_sid:/oracle:N

  2. Depending on which authentication method you choose, Oracle authentication or Solaris authentication, perform one of the following steps.

    1. Enable access for the user and password to be used for fault monitoring.

      You must complete this step if you do not enable Solaris authentication, as described in Step b.

      In the following examples, the user is scott and the password is tiger. Note that the user and password pair must agree with those used in Step 6, if you are using Oracle authentication.

      For all supported Oracle releases, enable access by typing the following script into the screen brought up by the srvmgrl(1M) command.

      # svrmgrl

 	connect internal;
 			grant connect, resource to scott identified by tiger;
 			alter user scott default tablespace system quota 1m on
 				system;
        			grant select on v_$sysstat to scott;
 			grant create session to scott;
 			grant create table to scott;
 	disconnect;

    exit;

    2. Grant permission for the database to use Solaris authentication.

      You must complete this step if you chose not to complete Step 2.

      The following sample entry enables Solaris authentication.

      # svrmgrl

 	connect internal;
 			create user ops$root identified by externally
 				default tablespace system quota 1m on system;
 			grant connect, resource to ops$root;
       			grant select on v_$sysstat to ops$root;
 			grant create session to ops$root;
 			grant create table to ops$root;
 	disconnect;

    exit;

  3. Configure SQL*Net V2 for Sun Cluster.

    Note -

    Create and update the tnsnames.ora and listener.ora files under /var/opt/oracle on all nodes.

    Sun Cluster HA for Oracle imposes no restrictions on the listener name--it can be any valid Oracle listener name.

    The following code sample identifies the lines in listener.ora that are updated.

    LISTENER =
 	(ADDRESS_LIST =
 			(ADDRESS =
 				(PROTOCOL = TCP)
 					(HOST = hostname) <- or, use logical host name
 				(PORT = 1527)
 			)
 	)
 .
 .
 SID_LIST_LISTENER =
 	.
 			.
 						(SID_NAME = SID) <- Database name, default is ORCL

    The following sample identifies the lines in tnsnames.ora that are updated.

    service_name =
 	.
 			.
 						(ADDRESS = <- listener address
 								(HOST = server_name)	<- logical host name
 								(PORT = 1527) <- must match port in LISTENER.ORA
 						)
 				)
 				(CONNECT_DATA =
 						(SID = <SID>)) <---database name, default is ORCL

    Sun Cluster HA for Oracle opens the /var/opt/tnsnames.ora file. It scans the file to service name by matching SID = instance name and server name=logical host. The service_name obtained from tnsnames.ora is used by the Sun Cluster HA for Oracle remote fault monitor to connect to the server.

    Put the logical host name in place of the host name in the listener.ora file in the "HOST = host name" line.

    The following example shows how to update the listener.ora and tnsnames.ora files given the following Oracle instances.

    Table 5-1 Example Oracle Configuration

    Instance 

    Logical Host 

    Listener 

    ora8 

    hadbms3 

    LISTENER-ora8 

    ora7 

    hadbms4 

    LISTENER-ora7 

    The corresponding listener.ora entries would be:

    LISTENER-ora7 =
 	(ADDRESS_LIST =
 			(ADDRESS =
 				(PROTOCOL = TCP)
 				(HOST = hadbms4)
 				(PORT = 1530)
 			)
 		)
 SID_LIST_LISTENER-ora7 =
 	(SID_LIST =
 			(SID_DESC =
 				(SID_NAME = ora7)
 			)
 		)
 LISTENER-ora8 =
   (ADDRESS_LIST =
     (ADDRESS= (PROTOCOL=TCP) (HOST=hadbms3)(PORT=1806))
   )
 SID_LIST_LISTENER-ora8 =
   (SID_LIST =
      (SID_DESC =
 			(SID_NAME = ora8)
 		 )	
   )

    The corresponding tnsnames.ora entries would be: 

    ora8 =
 (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS_LIST =
 			(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)
 			(HOST = hadbms3)
 			(PORT = 1806))
    	)   
 	(CONNECT_DATA = (SID = ora8))
 )
 ora7 =
 (DESCRIPTION =
   (ADDRESS_LIST =
         (ADDRESS =
 				(PROTOCOL = TCP)
 				(HOST = hadbms4)
 				(PORT = 1530))
   	)
   	(CONNECT_DATA = (
 			SID = ora7))
 )

  4. Verify that Sun Cluster and the cluster daemon are installed and running on all hosts.

    # hastat

    If they are not running already, start them by using the scadmin startnode command.

  5. Register and activate Sun Cluster HA for Oracle by using the hareg(1M) command.

    Run the hareg(1M) command on only one node.

    If the Oracle server is not yet registered, use the hareg(1M) command to register it. To register the data service only on the logical host, use the -h option and supply the logical host name:

    # hareg -s -r oracle [-h logicalhost]

    If the cluster is running already, use the hareg(1M) command to activate the Oracle data service:

    # hareg -y oracle

  6. Setup Sun Cluster HA for Oracle configuration data.

    Run the following command so that the instance will be monitored by Sun Cluster:

    # haoracle insert $ORACLE_SID logicalhost 60 10 120 300 \
 user/password /logicalhost/.../init$ORACLE_SID.ora listener

    The previous command line includes the following:

    • haoracle insert - Command and subcommand

    • $ORACLE_SID - Name of the Oracle database instance

    • logicalhost - Logical host serving $ORACLE_SID (not the physical host)

    • 60 10 120 300 - These parameters specify a probe cycle time of 60 seconds, a connectivity probe cycle count of 10, a probe time out of 120 seconds, and a restart delay of 300 seconds.

    • user/password - These are the user and password to be used for fault monitoring. They must agree with the permission levels granted in Step 2. To use Solaris authentication, enter a slash (/) instead of the user name and password.

    • /logicalhost/.../init$ORACLE_SID.ora - This indicates the pfile to use to start up the database. This must be on a logical host's disk group.

    • listener - The SQL*Net V2 listener. The listener is started and monitored using this name. The default is LISTENER. This field is optional.

    See the haoracle(1M) man page for details on all options to haoracle(1M).

  7. Bring the database instance into service.

    Bring the Sun Cluster HA for Oracle database into service by executing the haoracle(1M) command. Monitoring for that instance will start automatically.

    # haoracle start $ORACLE_SID
    Note -

    If you did not start the Oracle instance before issuing the haoracle(1M) command, Sun Cluster will start the Oracle instance for you when you issue the command.

5.2.6 Setting Up Sun Cluster HA for Oracle Clients

Clients must always refer to the database by using the logical host name and not the physical host name.

For example, in the tnsnames.ora file for SQL*Net V2, you must specify the logical host as the host on which the database instance is running. See "5.2.5 How to Set Up Sun Cluster HA for Oracle".

Note -

Oracle client-server connections will not survive a Sun Cluster HA for Oracle switchover. The client application must be prepared to handle disconnection and reconnection or recovery as appropriate. A transaction monitor might simplify the application. Further, Sun Cluster HA for Oracle node recovery time is application-dependent.

If your application uses functions from RDBMS dynamic link libraries, you must ensure that these libraries are available in the event of failover. To do so: