The SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 is an integrated hardware and software system designed to provide a complete platform for a wide range of application types and widely varied workloads. The SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 is intended for large-scale, performance-sensitive, mission-critical application deployments. The SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 combines industry-standard hardware and clustering software, such as optional Oracle Database 11g Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) and optional Oracle Solaris Cluster software. This combination enables a high degree of isolation between concurrently deployed applications, which have varied security, reliability, and performance requirements. The SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 enables customers to develop a single environment that can support end-to-end consolidation of their entire applications portfolio.
The SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 provides an optimal solution for all database workloads, ranging from scan-intensive data warehouse applications to highly concurrent online transaction processing (OLTP) applications. With its combination of smart Oracle Exadata Storage Server Software, complete and intelligent Oracle Database software, and the latest industry-standard hardware components, the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 delivers extreme performance in a highly-available, highly-secure environment. Oracle provides unique clustering and workload management capabilities so the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 is well-suited for consolidating multiple databases into a single grid. Delivered as a complete pre-optimized, and pre-configured package of software, servers, and storage, the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 is fast to implement, and it is ready to tackle your large-scale business applications.
The SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 does not include any Oracle software licenses. Appropriate licensing of the following software is required when the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 is used as a database server:
Oracle Database Software
Oracle Exadata Storage Server Software
In addition, Oracle recommends that the following software is licensed:
Oracle Real Application Clusters
Oracle Partitioning
The SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 is designed to fully leverage an internal InfiniBand fabric that connects all of the processing, storage, memory, and external network interfaces within the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 to form a single, large computing device. Each SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 is connected to data center networks through 10-GbE (traffic) and 1-GbE (management) interfaces.
You can integrate SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 systems with Exadata or Exalogic machines by using the available InfiniBand expansion ports and optional data center switches. The InfiniBand technology used by the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 offers significantly high bandwidth, low latency, hardware-level reliability, and security. If you are using applications that follow Oracle's best practices for highly scalable, fault-tolerant systems, you do not need to make any application architecture or design changes to benefit from the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4. You can connect many SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 systems, or a combination of SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 systems and Oracle Exadata Database Machines, to develop a single, large-scale environment. You can integrate SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 systems with their current data center infrastructure using the available 10 GbE ports in each SPARC T4-4 server.
The SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 includes a spares kit that includes the following components:
1 x 600 GB 15 K RPM High Performance SAS disk or 1 x 3 TB 7.2 K RPM High Capacity SAS disk
1 x 96 GB Exadata Smart Flash Cache card
The following restrictions apply to hardware and software modifications to the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4. Violating these restrictions can result in loss of warranty and support.
SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 hardware cannot be modified or customized. There is one exception to this. The only allowed hardware modification to the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 is to the administrative 48-port Cisco 4948 Gigabit Ethernet switch included with the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4. Customers may choose to the following:
Replace the Gigabit Ethernet switch, at customer expense, with an equivalent 1U 48-port Gigabit Ethernet switch that conforms to their internal data center network standards. This replacement must be performed by the customer, at their expense and labor, after delivery of the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4. If the customer chooses to make this change, then Oracle cannot make or assist with this change given the numerous possible scenarios involved, and it is not included as part of the standard installation. The customer must supply the replacement hardware, and make or arrange for this change through other means.
Remove the CAT5 cables connected to the Cisco 4948 Ethernet switch, and connect them to the customer's network through an external switch or patch panel. The customer must perform these changes at their expense and labor. In this case, the Cisco 4948 Ethernet switch in the rack can be turned off and unconnected to the data center network.
The Oracle Exadata Storage Expansion Rack can only be connected to a SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 or an Oracle Exadata Database Machine, and only supports databases running on the Oracle Database (DB) Domains in the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 or on the database servers in the Oracle Exadata Database Machine.
Standalone Exadata Storage Servers can only be connected to a SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 or an Oracle Exadata Database Machine, and only support databases running on the Database Domains in the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 or on the database servers in the Oracle Exadata Database Machine. The standalone Exadata Storage Servers must be installed in a separate rack.
Earlier Oracle Database releases can be run in Application Domains running Oracle Solaris 10. Non-Oracle databases can be run in either Application Domains running Oracle Solaris 10 or Oracle Solaris 11, depending on the Oracle Solaris version they support.
Oracle Exadata Storage Server Software and the operating systems cannot be modified, and customers cannot install any additional software or agents on the Exadata Storage Servers.
Customers cannot update the firmware directly on the Exadata Storage Servers. The firmware is updated as part of an Exadata Storage Server patch.
Customers may load additional software on the Database Domains on the SPARC T4-4 servers. However, to ensure best performance, Oracle discourages adding software except for agents, such as backup agents and security monitoring agents, on the Database Domains. Loading non-standard kernel modules to the operating system of the Database Domains is allowed but discouraged. Oracle will not support questions or issues with the non-standard modules. If a server crashes, and Oracle suspects the crash may have been caused by a non-standard module, then Oracle support may refer the customer to the vendor of the non-standard module or ask that the issue be reproduced without the non-standard module. Modifying the Database Domain operating system other than by applying official patches and upgrades is not supported. InfiniBand-related packages should always be maintained at the officially supported release.
The SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 supports separate domains dedicated to applications, with high throughput/low latency access to the database domains through InfiniBand. Since Oracle Database is by nature a client server, applications running in the Application Domains can connect to database instances running in the Database Domain. Applications can be run in the Database Domain, although it is discouraged.
Customers cannot connect USB devices to the Exadata Storage Servers except as documented in Oracle Exadata Storage Server Software User's Guide and this guide. In those documented situations, the USB device should not draw more than 100 mA of power.
The network ports on the SPARC T4-4 servers can be used to connect to external non-Exadata Storage Servers using iSCSI or NFS. However, the Fibre Channel Over Ethernet (FCoE) protocol is not supported.
Only switches specified for use in the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4, Oracle Exadata Rack and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud may be connected to the InfiniBand network. It is not supported to connect third-party switches and other switches not used in the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4, Oracle Exadata Rack and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud.