2 Configuring Host Systems

Configure host operating systems for Oracle Hierarchical Storage Manager and StorageTek QFS Software before proceeding further with installation and configuration. The chapter outlines the following topics:

• Configuring Oracle Solaris for Oracle HSM

• Configuring Linux for Oracle HSM Clients

Configuring Oracle Solaris for Oracle HSM

To configure Solaris hosts for use with Oracle HSM software and QFS file systems, carry out the following tasks:

• Install the Latest Operating System Updates

• Tune Solaris System and Driver Parameters for Anticipated File System I/O

Install the Latest Operating System Updates

If possible, always install the latest patches and updates for the Solaris operating system. If you need to use the latest features available in Oracle Hierarchical Storage Manager and StorageTek QFS Software Release 6.0, you must have Oracle Solaris 11 operating system software installed on all Solaris hosts. For full information on the minimum recommended operating system releases for use with software, consult the release notes and support.oracle.com.

For installation and update instructions for the chosen version of Solaris, consult the installation and administration documents in the corresponding customer documentation library, the Oracle Technical Network (OTN), and the knowledgebase on support.oracle.com. If you are new to the Image Packaging System (IPS), the following OTN articles may prove especially helpful:

• Introducing the Basics of Image Packaging System (IPS) on Oracle Solaris 11 by Glynn Foster (November 2011)

• How to Update Oracle Solaris 11 Systems From Oracle Support Repositories by Glynn Foster (March 2012)

• More Tips for Updating Your Oracle Solaris 11 System from the Oracle Support Repository by Peter Dennis (May 2012).

Tune Solaris System and Driver Parameters for Anticipated File System I/O

End-to-end input/output (I/O) performance through a system is highest when the operating system, drivers, file systems, and applications transfer data in units that do not have to be fragmented and re-cached unnecessarily. So set up Solaris for the largest data transfers that your the applications and file systems are likely to make. Proceed as follows:

1. Log in to the Oracle HSM file-system host as root.

   root@solaris:~# 
   

2. Make a backup copy of the /etc/system file, and then open /etc/system in a text editor.

   In the example, we use the vi editor.

   root@solaris:~# cp /etc/system /etc/system.backup
   root@solaris:~# vi /etc/system
   *ident  "%Z%%M% %I%     %E% SMI" /* SVR4 1.5 */
   * SYSTEM SPECIFICATION FILE
   ...
   

3. In the /etc/system file, set maxphys, the size of the largest physical I/O request that any driver can process as a single unit, equal to the largest data transfers that your applications and file systems will make. Enter a line of the form set maxphys = 0xvalue, where value is a hexadecimal number representing a number of bytes. Then save the file and close the editor.

   Drivers break up requests that exceed maxphys into maxphys-sized fragments. The default value can vary depending on the operating system release, but it is typically around 128 kilobytes. In the example, we set maxphys to 0x800000 (8,388,608 bytes or 8 megabytes):

   root@solaris:~# vi /etc/system
   *ident  "%Z%%M% %I%     %E% SMI" /* SVR4 1.5 */
   * SYSTEM SPECIFICATION FILE
   ...
   set maxphys = 0x800000
   :wq
   root@solaris:~# 
   

4. Open the /kernel/drv/sd.conf file in a text editor.

   In the example, we use the vi editor:

   root@solaris:~# vi /kernel/drv/sd.conf
   # Copyright (c) 1991, 2010, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
   name="sd" class="scsi" target=0 lun=0;
   name="sd" class="scsi" target=1 lun=0;
   ...
   # Associate the driver with devid resolution.
   ddi-devid-registrant=1;
   

5. In the /kernel/drv/sd.conf file, set sd_max_xfer_size, the size of the largest data transfer that the SCSI disk (sd) driver can process, to the value that you set for maxphys. Enter a line of the form sd_max_xfer_size=0xvalue;, where value is a hexadecimal number representing a number of bytes. Save the file, and close the editor.

   The default is 0x100000 (1048576 bytes or one megabyte). In the example, we add a comment and set sd_max_xfer_size to 0x800000 (8,388,608 bytes or 8 megabytes):

   ...
   # Associate the driver with devid resolution.
   ddi-devid-registrant=1;
   # Set SCSI disk maximum transfer size
   sd_max_xfer_size=0x800000;
   :wq
   root@solaris:~# 
   

6. Open the /kernel/drv/ssd.conf file in a text editor.

   In the example, we use the vi editor.

   root@solaris:~# vi /kernel/drv/ssd.conf
   # Copyright 2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc.  All rights reserved.
   # Use is subject to license terms.
   name="ssd" parent="sf" target=0;
   name="ssd" parent="fp" target=0;
   ...
   name="ssd" parent="ifp" target=127;
   

7. In the /kernel/drv/ssd.conf file, set ssd_max_xfer_size, the size of the largest data transfer that the Fibre Channel disk (ssd) driver can process to the value that you set for maxphys. Enter a line of the form ssd_max_xfer_size=0xvalue;, where value is a hexadecimal number representing a number of bytes. Then save the file and close the editor.

   The default is 0x100000 (1048576 bytes or one megabyte). In the example, we add a comment and set ssd_max_xfer_size to 0x800000 (8,388,608 bytes or 8 megabytes):

   ...
   name="ssd" parent="ifp" target=127;
   # Set Fibre Channel disk maximum transfer size
   ssd_max_xfer_size=0x800000;
   :wq
   root@solaris:~# 
   

8. Restart the system. Use the command init 6.

   root@solaris:~# init 6
   

9. If you are preparing a solution that includes additional Solaris hosts, repeat the tasks specified in "Configuring Oracle Solaris for Oracle HSM" until all Solaris hosts have been configured.

10. If you are preparing a solution that includes one or more Linux clients, go to "Configuring Linux for Oracle HSM Clients".

11. Otherwise, go to "Configuring Storage Hosts and Devices".

Configuring Linux for Oracle HSM Clients

Before you install the Oracle HSM client software, you must the prepare the Linux operating system as follows:

• Disable Incompatible Operating System Features

• Install Required Kernel Development and Utility Packages

Disable Incompatible Operating System Features

1. Log in to the Oracle HSM client host as root.

   [root@linux ~]# 
   

2. If SELinux (Secure Linux) is installed, disable it. Open the file /etc/selinux/config in a text editor, set the SELINUX flag to disabled, save the file, close the editor, and reboot.

   Oracle HSM does not support SELinux, which is enabled by default on Oracle Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. In the example, we open the file in the vi editor.

   [root@linux ~]# vi /etc/selinux/config
   # This file controls the state of SELinux on the system.
   ...
   #SELINUX=enforcing
   #SELINUX=permissive
   SELINUX=disabled
   SELINUXTYPE=targeted
   :wq
   [root@linux ~]# reboot
   

3. If AppArmor is installed, disable it using the procedure recommended in the documentation for your Linux distribution.

   AppArmor is sometimes used as an alternative to SELinux. Oracle HSM does not support AppArmor.

4. Next, Install Required Kernel Development and Utility Packages.

Install Required Kernel Development and Utility Packages

Prior to installation of the Oracle HSM client software, the Linux kernel development package has to be installed, along with some specified utility packages. To identify and install required packages, use the following procedure:

1. Log in to the Linux client host as root.

   In the example, the client is hosted on Oracle Linux:

   [root@linux ~]# 
   

2. Identify the kernel version installed on the client. Use the command uname -r.

   In the example, the kernel version is 2.6.9-89.0.0.0.1.EL:

   [root@linux ~]# uname -r
   2.6.9-89.0.0.0.1.EL
   [root@linux ~]# 
   

3. Install the kernel development kit, kernel-devel-kernel-version, where kernel-version is the version string that you identified in the preceding step.

   The Oracle HSM client installation requires the Module.symvers that is part of this package. In the example, we use the Oracle Linux command yum with parameters -y install (-y to insure that all prompts are automatically answered "yes"):

   [root@linux ~]# yum -y install \ kernel-devel-2.6.9-89.0.0.0.1.EL.i686.rpm
   [root@linux ~]# 
   

4. See if the Korn shell, ksh, is installed. If it is not, install it.

   In the example, we pipe the output of the Oracle Linux command rpm -qa to the grep command and search for the string ksh. The command returns no output, which shows that ksh is not installed. So we install it using the command yum install ksh:

   [root@linux ~]# rpm -qa | grep ksh
   [root@linux ~]# 
   [root@linux ~]# yum install ksh
   ...
   --> Running transaction check
   ---> Package ksh-20100621-19.e16.x86_64 set to be installed
    
   ===============================================================================
   Package            Arch          Version                  Repository      Size
   ===============================================================================
   Installing:
    ksh               i686          2.6.9-89.0.0.0.1.EL       updates        506 k
   ...
   Installed:
     ksh-2.6.9-89.0.0.0.1.EL.i686
   Complete!
   [root@linux ~]# 
   

5. See if the cpio utility is installed. If it is not, install it.

   In the example, we pipe the output of the Oracle Linux command rpm -qa to the grep command and search for the string cpio. The command returns version information, so the cpio utility is installed:

   [root@linux ~]#  rpm -qa | grep cpio
   cpio-2.10-10.e16.x86_64
   [root@linux ~]# 
   

6. See if the find utilities are installed. If they are not, install them.

   In the example, we pipe the output of the Oracle Linux command rpm -qa to the grep command and search for the string findutils. The command returns version information, so the findutils package is installed:

   [root@linux ~]#  rpm -qa | grep findutils
   findutils-4.4.2-6.e16.x86_64
   [root@linux ~]# 
   

7. See if the gcc compiler is installed. If it is not, install it.

   In the example, we pipe the output of the Oracle Linux command rpm -qa to the grep command and search for the string gcc. The command returns version information, so the gcc compiler is installed:

   [root@linux ~]#  rpm -qa | grep gcc
   gcc-4.4.7-3.e16.x86_64
   libgcc-4.4.7-3.e16.x86_64
   [root@linux ~]# 
   

8. See if the make utility is installed. If it is not, install it.

   In the example, we pipe the output of the Oracle Linux command rpm -qa to the grep command and search for the string make. The command returns version information, so the make utility is installed:

   [root@linux ~]#  rpm -qa | grep make
   make-4.4.7-3.e16.x86_64
   libmake-3.81.20.e16.x86_64
   [root@linux ~]# 
   

9. See if the binutils package is installed. If it is not, install it.

   If the Oracle HSM installation software needs to build the Linux kernel, it requires the nm utility, which is part of this package. In the example, we pipe the output of the Oracle Linux command rpm -qa to the grep command and search for the string nm. The command returns version information, so the nm utility is installed:

   [root@linux ~]#  rpm -qa | grep nm
   binutils-2.20.51.0.2-5.34.e16.x86_64
   [root@linux ~]# 
   

10. See if the rpmbuild package is installed. If it is not, install it.

    In the example, we pipe the output of the Oracle Linux command rpm -qa to the grep command and search for the string rpmbuild. The command returns version information, so the rpmbuild package is installed:

    [root@linux ~]#  rpm -qa | grep rpmbuild
    rpm-build-4.8.0-37.el6.x86_64
    [root@linux ~]# 
    

11. See if the rpm package is installed. If it is not, install it.

    If the Oracle HSM installation software needs to build the Linux kernel, it requires the rpm2cpio utility, which is part of this package. In the example, we pipe the output of the Oracle Linux command rpm -qa to the grep command and search for the string rpm. The command returns version information, so the utility is installed:

    [root@linux ~]#  rpm -qa | grep rpm
    rpm-4.8.0-27.e16.x86_64
    rpm-libs-4.8.0-27.e16.x86_64
    rpm-python-4.8.0-27.e16.x86_64
    [root@linux ~]# 
    

12. If you are preparing a solution that includes additional Linux clients, repeat the tasks specified in "Configuring Linux for Oracle HSM Clients" until all Linux clients have been configured.

13. Next, go to "Configuring Storage Hosts and Devices".