The following rules and restrictions apply to hardware and software modifications to SuperCluster M8 and SuperCluster M7. Violating these restrictions can result in loss of warranty and support.
These rules and restrictions apply to asymmetric configurations:
Adding a second compute server to a single compute server SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7 after the initial installation of the system requires a software reset and reinstallation process by an Oracle installer. See Single Compute Server Components for more information.
Within the entire SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7, at least two PDomains must be populated, with a minimum of one CMIOU each. For a single compute server system, which has two PDomains total, both PDomains must be populated with at least one CMIOU. For a dual compute server system, which has four PDomains total, at least two of those four PDomains must be populated with at least one CMIOU. See Understanding PDomain Configurations for more information.
You can have a different number of populated and unpopulated PDomains in each compute server. For example, you can have one compute server with two populated PDomains, and the second compute server with one populated and one unpopulated PDomain. See Understanding PDomain Configurations for more information.
For populated PDomains, you can have a different number of CMIOUs in each PDomain in each compute server. For example, you can have one PDomain with one CMIOU and the second PDomain with two CMIOUs in the same compute server. See Understanding PDomain Configurations for more information.
The following restrictions apply to SuperCluster M8 and SuperCluster M7 elastic configurations:
You can have up to eleven total storage servers in a single compute server system or up to six total storage servers in a dual compute server system.
At least three storage servers must be installed in SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7. The storage servers must all be the same type.
When adding storage servers, only these storage servers are supported within certain SuperCluster systems:
X7-2L Extreme Flash or High Capacity storage servers in SuperCluster M8
X5-2L or X6-2L Extreme Flash or High Capacity storage servers in SuperCluster M7.
Storage servers are installed in the rack in the following order:
Three storage servers are always installed in rack slots U2, U4, and U6.
Additional storage servers are installed starting at rack slot U41 and going down, ending at rack slot U37 in the dual compute server system or rack slot U27 in the single compute server system.
SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7 hardware cannot be modified or customized. There is one exception to this. The only allowed hardware modification to SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7 is to the administrative Ethernet management switch included with SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7. Customers may choose to do the following:
Replace the Ethernet management switch, at customer expense, with an equivalent Ethernet management 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 SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7. 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 Ethernet management 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 Ethernet management switch in the rack can be turned off and unconnected to the data center network.
The expansion rack can only be connected to SuperCluster M8, SuperCluster M7, or Oracle Exadata Database Machine. In SuperCluster M8 and SuperCluster M7, the expansion rack only supports databases running on the database domains.
Standalone storage servers can only be connected to SuperCluster M8, SuperCluster M7 or Oracle Exadata Database Machine. In SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7, the storage servers only support databases running on the database domains.
Earlier Oracle Database releases can be run in Oracle Solaris 10 Branded Zones in Application Domains running Oracle Solaris 11. Refer to the Supported Virtualization matrix at https://www.oracle.com/database/technologies/virtualization-matrix.html for information about Oracle Database releases supported in Oracle Solaris 10 Branded Zones.
Non-Oracle databases can be run either natively in Application Domains running Oracle Solaris 11 or in Oracle Solaris 10 Branded Zones in Application Domains running 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 storage servers.
Customers cannot update the firmware directly on the storage servers. The firmware is updated as part of a storage server patch.
Customers may load additional software on the Database Domains on the compute 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 OS 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 OS other than by applying official patches and upgrades is not supported. IB-related packages should always be maintained at the officially supported release.
SuperCluster M7 supports separate domains dedicated to applications, with high throughput/low latency access to the database domains through IB. 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 storage servers except as documented in the 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 compute servers can be used to connect to external nonstorage servers using iSCSI or NFS. However, the Fibre Channel Over Ethernet (FCoE) protocol is not supported.
Only switches specified for use in SuperCluster M8, SuperCluster M7, Oracle Exadata, Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud, and Oracle Big Data Appliance may be connected to the SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7 IB network. It is not supported to connect other IB switches, including third-party switches, to the SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7 IB network. Only the IB networking topologies specified in SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7 documentation are supported, and any other IB network topology is not supported.
You may connect external servers that are not part of Oracle Engineered Systems to the IB switches in SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7. However, it is your responsibility to upgrade and maintain the compatibility of the IB software of the external servers with the IB software release for SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7. You should maintain the same release of IB software and operating system on the external server as on SuperCluster M8 or SuperCluster M7. If an IB fabric problem is encountered and an external server is connected, then you may be asked to remove the external server and reproduce the problem.