5 Creating an Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized Platform

Complete these tasks to deploy a Virtualized Platform configuration on Oracle Database Appliance X7-2-HA. You must complete the deployment tasks in the order that they are listed.

About Creating an Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized Platform

Oracle Database Appliance X7-2-HA is a multi-node system with the option to reimage the system and configure the appliance as a virtualized platform.

Oracle Database Appliance ships from the factory with a bare metal ISO image installed. To enable virtualization, you must deploy the Virtualized OS ISO image on both nodes, configure your public network, and then deploy the Oracle Database Appliance Virtualization Platform. Oracle Database Appliance ships with various components, including Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) to help manage the system remotely. The Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) client must be on at least version jre-7-linux-i586.rpm to be able to launch the remote console.

Oracle Database Appliance supports Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, Standard Edition, or Standard Edition 2 RAC in ODA_BASE on a virtualized platform.

Note:

You can provision Standard Edition and Standard Edition 2 RAC databases, but you must use Oracle VM virtualization on Oracle Database Appliance X7-2-HA and follow the single socket per server licensing restriction. The single socket restriction means that you can use a maximum of 18 cores per server, in multiples of two. You can use the remaining cores for applications.

About Deploying a Virtualized Platform

Deploying a new Oracle Database Appliance requires a direct connection to the system to configure the Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) and the first network. After the first network is configured, you can perform the remaining deployment steps on the Oracle Database Appliance system or from a remote system.

The Configurator is the preferred method of deploying your virtualized platform configuration. The Configurator provides all of the fields necessary to provision Oracle Database Appliance, including configuring the system, network, database, and Oracle Auto Service Request (Oracle ASR).

At a high level, you will complete the following configuration steps to deploy a virtualized platform:

  1. Download images for a virtualized platform and reimage the appliance with the Virtualized ISO image on both nodes

  2. Configure the first network for DOM-0

  3. Install the Virtualized Platform (ODA_BASE) Template

  4. Deploy your configuration with the Configurator

Deploying Oracle Database Appliance software requires approximately 1 hour to complete.

Determining if the System is Configured with a Virtualized OS Image

Before deploying a Virtualized Platform on Oracle Database Appliance X7-2-HA, determine if the system has the Virtualized OS ISO image.

Oracle Database Appliance ships from the factory with a bare metal ISO image installed. To use the virtualization features, you must reimage the system with the Virtualized OS ISO image.

A bare metal system uses the odacli and odaadmcli commands. A virtualized system uses the oakcli commands.

Perform the following steps to determine if you need to re-image Oracle Database Appliance and install the Virtualization Platform ISO image:

  1. Log in as root with the password welcome1.
  2. To verify that a system is a bare metal system, enter the command odaadmcli show env_hw 
    # odaadmcli show env_hw 

BM ODA X7-2-HA

    The system is configured as a bare metal system when the command is valid and returns output that is prefixed with BM, for bare metal.

    If the system is configured as a virtualized platform, the command odaadmcli show env_hw is invalid.

  3. To verify that a system is a virtualized platform, enter the command oakcli show env_hw. 
    # oakcli show env_hw 

VM-ODA_BASE ODA X7-2-HA

    The system is configured as a virtualized system when the command is valid and returns output that is prefixed with the string VM-ODA_BASE. For example, the output of the following command shows that the platform is configured with a virtual machine environment (VM-ODA_BASE) and identifies the hardware platform (ODA X7-2-HA):

    # oakcli show env_hw 
VM-ODA_BASE ODA X7-2-HA

    If the system is configured as a bare metal platform, then the command oakcli show env_hw is invalid.

Installing a Virtualized OS ISO Image

Reimage Oracle Database Appliance with a virtualized operating system image on both nodes and configure the initial public network.

Oracle Database Appliance ships from the factory with a default OS image. Use the Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized OS ISO Image to reimage the Oracle Database Appliance for Virtualized Machine Restore before deploying the Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized Platform Template.

WARNING:

Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized OS image formats the local disks, which will result in loss of data that was previously stored on the Local and Shared storage. After re-install and deployment steps are completed, it might be necessary to restore data from backup.

Oracle Database Appliance ships with various components, including Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) to help manage the system remotely. This procedure describes how to use ILOM to reimage the operating system; however, you can choose to use Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) or other methods instead of ILOM.

When you reimage a new Oracle Database Appliance with the Virtualized OS ISO image, you must set up the initial network. The command oakcli configure firstnet runs an interactive script to create an initial network, which enables you to download the deployment software. Be prepared to provide IP addresses for Node0 and Node1 to configure the network interface. While not required, you also have the option to configure DHCP.

Note:

Reimaging is node-specific. You must reimage both nodes. You can reimage both nodes at the same time.

Before reimaging the system, verify that the system is not already configured with a virtual machine.

Perform the following steps to reimage Oracle Database Appliance and install the Virtualized OS ISO image on both nodes and configure the initial network:

  1. Download patch 16186163 for the Oracle Database Appliance 12.2.1.1.0 Virtualized OS ISO Image.
    1. From an external client machine, log on to My Oracle Support.
    2. Locate patch 16186163 for the Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized OS ISO Image.
    3. Select the patch version for release 12.2.1.1.0.
    4. Click Download to download the zip file onto your external client. 
      p16186163_122110_Linux-x86-64.zip
    5. Use either a Secure Copy (scp) command or a USB storage device to copy the ODA_BASE template from the external client to dom0 on Node0. Use the /OVS directory as the target location.

      Note:

      If you use a USB drive to transfer the file, then format it first as FAT32, ext3, or ext4. NTFS file formats are not supported.

    6. Extract the files. 
      # oakcli unpack -package /tmp/ p12999313_122110_Linux-x86-64.zip
  2. Open a browser and connect to Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) on Node0 as root.
    The Summary home page appears.
  3. Launch the Remote Console.
    1. Expand Remote Control in the left navigation.
    2. Click the Redirection tab.
    3. Click Launch Remote Console.
      The state of the system determines what appears on the Console page.
  4. Add the Virtualized OS ISO Image.
    1. Click the Devices tab, then select CD-ROM.
      Afile browser on the local client opens.
    2. Browse to the Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized OS ISO Image, highlight the image, then click Open.
  5. Configure the CD-ROM as the next boot device.
    1. Expand Host Management in the left menu of the ILOM Remote Console tab.
    2. Click Host Control.
    3. Select CDROM from the Next Boot Device menu, then click Save.
  6. Power cycle the system.
    1. Click Power Control in the Host Management menu.
    2. Select Power Cycle.

    When the node comes back after the power cycle, reimaging starts automatically.

    It can take a couple of hours to reimage. The Running Post-Install scripts page is a static page and might give the impression that the reimaging process is not progressing. The post-install process during reimaging will wait until the synchronization between the partitions of the two mirrored local hard disks is complete, which can take 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

    To check the progress of resynchronization, press the ALT-F2 key combination to open a second console and enter the following command:

    # cat /proc/mdstat

    When the resynchronization is complete, reimaging is completed and the machine restarts.

  7. Repeat Steps 1 through 6 for Node1.
    Reimaging is node-specific. You must reimage both nodes.
  8. Verify that the host name in the Console is oak1 for Node0 and oak2 for Node1.
    If the host name is something other than oak1 or oak2, then reboot the node. You might need to reboot more than once.
    Once the image is completed on both nodes, you will see the screen with oak1 for Node0 (sc0).
  9. Use the command oakcli configure firstnet to configure a global network using bond0.
    The global configuration sets the initial public network for both the nodes on Oracle Database Appliance, enabling you to download the deployment software onto the appliance.
    # oakcli configure firstnet
Configure the network for the node(s)(local, global) [global]:global
Select the interface to  configure network on [bond0 bond1 bond2 xbond0]:bond0
Configure DHCP on bond0?(yes/no):no
       INFO: Static configuration selected
       Enter the IP address to configure:192.0.2.18
       Enter the netmask address to configure:255.255.252.0
       Enter the gateway address to configure:192.0.2.1
Plumbing the IPs now
Restarting the network
:::::::::::::::::
When the initial public network setup is completed, download and install the Virtualized Platform Template (ODA_BASE).

Related Topics

Installing the Virtualized Platform Template and Deploying the Appliance

Use the Virtualized Platform Template to deploy the ODA_BASE domain for a virtualized platform and then deploy the appliance.

The template includes the Oracle Grid Infrastructure and Oracle Database clone files. When you install, or deploy, Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized Platform Template, the template is automatically deployed on both nodes and your system is configured with two domains on each server node: Dom0 and ODA_BASE (also known as Dom1).

As part of deploying the Virtualized Platform Template, be prepared to provide the following configuration details:

  • Number of core licenses that you need. If you enter six (6), then 6 CPU cores are licensed on each server for a total of 12 CPU cores. The maximum is 18 cores per server.

  • Amount of memory needed for the ODA_BASE. The memory is used for the database. It is important that you select a sufficient amount of memory.

  • Define virtual area networks (VLANs). You can use the command oakcli create vlan to create a VLAN network, including the VLAN name, identifier, and node location. As part of the install script, you are prompted to create additional VLANs, as needed.

After installing the Virtualized Platform Template, launch the Oracle Database Appliance Manager Configurator (Configurator) to configure and deploy the appliance.

The standalone Configurator enables you to complete your configuration details and validate your network on a client system, and then create a configuration file of your settings before you reimage and deploy the virtualization template. You can use the configuration file to pre-populate the fields in either the offline or online Configurator for future deployments. When using the configuration file, you still have the ability to edit individual fields before deploying the configuration on your appliance.

If you need to make corrections before deployment, then rerun the standalone Configurator, load your configuration file, make the changes, and save the file again.

Note:

Do not use a configuration file created for an earlier version of Oracle Database Appliance Manager Configurator. If you do not have a current configuration file, then complete a real-time configuration and deployment or download the offline Configurator and create a configuration file.

Before installing the template, confirm that the system has the Virtualized OS ISO image. Installing the template requires that the system is imaged with the Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized Platform OS ISO image on both nodes and has an initial network. After you install the Virtualized OS ISO image, you configure the initial public network on both nodes for Dom0. Then, install the Virtualized Platform Template and configure the network for ODA_BASE.

Note:

Use the command oakcli configure firstnet only during deployment to configure the initial network for Dom0 and ODA_BASE on Oracle Database Appliance. Using the command after configuring the initial network can cause unpredictable changes to your network settings.

Note:

The Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) client must be on at least version jre-7-linux-i586.rpm to be able to launch the remote console.

While not required, it is recommended that you download the standalone Configurator and create a configuration file before deploying the appliance. This procedure assumes that you created a valid configuration file as part of preparing for your Oracle Database Appliance installation and deployment.

  1. Download and copy the template files to the /OVS directory on dom0 (Node 0).
    1. From an external client machine, log on to My Oracle Support and download Patch Number 16186172 to obtain the Oracle Database Appliance Oracle Database Appliance VM Template.
    2. Select the latest version from the menu.
    3. Click Download for each of the zip files to download the current Oracle Database Appliance template onto your external client.
  2. Copy the template files to the /OVS directory on Node 0 (oak1-dom0).
    1. Use either a Secure Copy (scp) command or a USB storage device to copy the ODA_BASE template from the external client to dom0 on Node 0. Use the /OVS directory on Node 0 (oak1-dom0) as the target location.

      Note:

      If you use a USB drive to transfer the file, then format it first as FAT32, ext3, or ext4. NTFS file formats are not supported.

    2. Log into dom0 as root on Node 0 of Oracle Database Appliance. Remain logged in to dom0 while you complete the remaining steps in this task.
    3. From the /OVS directory, use the unzip command to extract the zip files. 
      unzip p16186172_12.2.1.1.0_Linux-x86-64_1of3.zip
unzip p16186172_12.2.1.1.0_Linux-x86-64_2of3.zip
unzip p16186172_12.2.1.1.0_Linux-x86-64_3of3.zip
      When extracted, you will have the following files: oda_base_12.2.1.1.0.gz01, oda_base_12.2.1.1.0.gz02, and oda_base_12.2.1.1.0.gz03.
    4. Use the cat command to concatenate the files into a single file.
      The file name is determined by the version. Ensure that you use the correct file name from the download. Do not change the file name.
      cat oda_base_12.2.1.1.0.gz01 oda_base_12.2.1.1.0.gz02 oda_base_12.2.1.1.0.gz03 oda_base_12.2.1.1.0.tar.gz
      Make note of the file name and location, you will enter the following in the next step: /OVS/oda_base_12.2.1.1.0.tar.gz
  3. Define the virtual local area network (VLAN) and deploy ODA_BASE from the /opt/oracle/oak/bin/ directory. When prompted, enter the absolute path and file name for the template file that you created in the previous step, core licensing, and the base domain memory allocation.
    The deploy oda_base option automatically deploys ODA_BASE on both nodes.
    Values, such as the number of available CPU cores and default memory, differ between Oracle Database Appliance Virtualized Platform hardware platforms. The following excerpt is an example that creates a VLAN named v1200 with a vlanID of 200 using the bond0 interface. The example defines 20 CPU cores, which means that 20 CPU cores are licensed on each node for a total of 40 CPU cores, and uses the default memory.
    # /opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli create vlan vl200 -vlanid 200 -if bond0
Created vlan vl200

# /opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli deploy oda_base
Enter the template location: /OVS/oda_base_12.2.1.1.0.tar.gz
Core Licensing Options:
  1. 2 CPU Cores
  2. 4 CPU Cores
  3. 6 CPU Cores
  4. 8 CPU Cores
  5. 10 CPU Cores
  6. 12 CPU Cores
  7. 14 CPU Cores
  8. 16 CPU Cores
   9. 18 CPU Cores
 10. 20 CPU Cores
 11. 22 CPU Cores
 12. 24 CPU Cores
 <continued ...>
   Selection[1 .. 37] (default 74 CPU Cores): 10
INFO: Using the 20 cores
    DA base domain memory in GB(min 16, max 244)[default 244]: 244
INFO: Using default memory size i.e. 244 GB
Additional vlan networks to be assigned to oda_base ? (y/n) [n]:
INFO: Deployment in non local mode
INFO: Verifying active cores on local node
INFO: Verified active cores on local node
INFO: Verifying active cores on remote node
NFO: Verified active cores on remote node
INFO: Running the command to copy the template /OVS/oda_base_12.2.1.1.0.tar.gz to remote node 1

oda_base_12.1.2.12.tar.gz    100% 7475MB 62.8MB/s   01:59
INFO: Spawned the process 17728 in the deployment node 0
INFO: Spawned the process 17729 in the node 1
INFO: Validating LSI HBA PCI Cards on node 0
INFO: Validating LSI HBA PCI Cards on node 0
INFO: Validating LSI HBA PCI Cards on node 1
INFO: Validating LSI HBA PCI Cards on node 1
INFO: Deployment in local mode
INFO: Deployment in local mode
templateBuild-2017-02-14-23-51/swap.img
templateBuild-2017-02-14-23-51/swap.img
templateBuild-2017-02-14-23-51/System.img
templateBuild-2017-02-14-23-51/System.img
templateBuild-2017-02-14-23-51/u01.img
templateBuild-2017-02-14-23-51/u01.img
INFO: Extracted the image files on node 1
INFO: The VM Configuration data is written to /OVS/Repositories/odabaseRepo/VirtualMachines/oakDom1/vm.cfg file
INFO: Running /sbin/losetup /dev/loop0 /OVS/Repositories/odabaseRepo/VirtualMachines/oakDom1/System.img command to mount the image file
INFO: Mount is successfully completed on /dev/loop0
INFO: Extracted the image files on node 0
INFO: Validated dom0 and odabase version
INFO: Making change to the /OVS/Repositories/odabaseRepo/VirtualMachines/oakDom1
/tmpmnt/boot/grub/grub.conf file
INFO: Assigning IP to the second node...
INFO: The VM Configuration data is written to /OVS/Repositories/odabaseRepo/VirtualMachines/oakDom1/vm.cfg file
INFO: Running /sbin/losetup /dev/loop0 /OVS/Repositories/odabaseRepo/VirtualMachines/oakDom1/System.img command to mount the image file
INFO: Mount is successfully completed on /dev/loop0
INFO: Created oda base pool
INFO: Validated dom0 and odabase version
INFO: Making change to the /OVS/Repositories/odabaseRepo/VirtualMachines/oakDom1
/tmpmnt/boot/grub/grub.conf file
INFO: Assigning IP to the first node...
INFO: Created oda base pool
INFO: Starting ODA Base...
INFO: Starting ODA Base...
Using config file "/OVS/Repositories/odabaseRepo/VirtualMachines/oakDom1/vm.cfg"
.
Started domain oakDom1 (id=1)
INFO: Storing the odabase configuration information
Using config file "/OVS/Repositories/odabaseRepo/VirtualMachines/oakDom1/vm.cfg"
Started domain oakDom1 (id=1)
INFO: Storing the odabase configuration information
#
    The ODA_BASE setup is complete.
  4. Verify that your deployment of ODA_BASE is valid and that ODA_BASE is configured.
    • Run the command xm list to confirm that ODA_BASE is configured. When properly deployed, oakDom1 appears in the output with your configured memory and vcpus. 
      # xm list
Name                                        ID   Mem VCPUs      State   Time(s)
Domain-0                                     0  4096    40     r----- 482672.4
oakDom1                                      2 32768     4     -b---- 132134.6
    • Run the command oakcli show oda_base 
      # /opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli show oda_base
ODA base domain
ODA base CPU cores      :2
ODA base domain memory  :32
ODA base template       :/OVS/oda_base_12.2.1.1.0.tar.gz
ODA base vlans          :[ 'priv1', 'net1']
ODA base current status :Running
  5. Validate that the cabling is connected correctly.
    # oakcli validate -c storagetopology

    The command displays errors if the cables between the two nodes and the storage shelf or shelves are not in the correct sockets.

    Caution:

    Do not ignore any errors or warnings in the output. If the cabling validation fails, connect the cables correctly and rerun the command until the command runs without any errors or warnings. Do not deploy Oracle Database Appliance until the cabling is correct.

    If the output includes a warning for jbod nickname, then run the command from the first node to correct the warning. Rerun the command again to verify that the command runs without the warning.

    SUCCESS : Overall Cable Validation on Node1
WARNING : JBOD0 Nickname is incorrectly set to : Oracle Database Appliance - E1
WARNING : JBOD1 Nickname is incorrectly set to : Oracle Database Appliance - E0
INFO    : Above details can also be found in log 
file=/tmp/StorageTopology-2015-05-13-15:03:36_29149_8856.log
  6. Connect to ODA_BASE using vncviewer or vncsession using the dom0 host name and port 5900 (oak1-dom0:5900).
  7. Use the oakcli configure firstnet to configure an initial public network on the first node (Node 0) to complete the ODA_BASE deployment.
    1. ssh to 192.168.16.27 from oak1-dom0
    2. Log in as root user, with password welcome1.
    3. Run the command oakcli configure firstnet from the /opt/oracle/oak/oakcli directory. 
      # /opt/oracle/oak/oakcli configure firstnet
    4. Enter the ODA_BASE (Node 0) network information.

      The command uses an interactive script and prompts you for the information needed to configure the network. Enter values based on your environment requirements.

      When prompted to configure the network nodes as global or local, select global. The default is global, which configures the network on both nodes. The local option only configures the network on the logged-on node.

      Configure net1 as the network interface.

    # /opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli configure firstnet
Configure the network for the node(s)(local, global) [global]: global 
The network configuration for both nodes:Domain Name:  example.com
DNS Server(s): Primary Dns Server:  <enter your primary DNS server>
                                  Secondary Dns Server:  <enter your secondary DNS server>
                                     Tertiary Dns Server:  <enter your tertiary DNS server>
Node Name       Host Name
0               host1-dom0 <- odahostname1
1               host2-dom0 <- odahostname2
Choose the network interface to configure (net1, net2) [net1]: net1
Configure DHCP on net1 (yes/no) [no]: 
You have chosen static configuration on net1
Enter the IP address for net1 on Node 0: 192.0.2.1 
Enter the IP address for net1 on Node 1: 198.51.100.1
Netmask for net1: 255.255.252.0
Gateway Address for net1 [<Gateway IP>]:   192.0.0.1
Plumbing the IPs now on Node 0 … INFO: Restarting the network now on Node 0 ...
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
dom0.xml                                         100% 860 0.8KB/s 00:00
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
    The IP address is plumbed and the network is restarted on each node.
  8. Deploy the Oracle Grid Infrastructure and Oracle Database software on the appliance.
    1. Connect to ODA_BASE (Node 0) in the vncsession.
    2. Navigate to the /opt/oracle/oak/bin directory and execute the command oakcli deploy to start the Oracle Database Appliance Manager Configurator.
    # /opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli deploy
    The Oracle Appliance Manager Welcome window opens.
  9. Click Next on the Oracle Appliance Manager Welcome window.
  10. Complete the Configuration Type.
    • If you want to use a configuration file that you created earlier with this version of the Configurator, then click Browse and locate the file on your client. Click Next.
    • If you do not have a configuration file, select the Typical configuration type and select the hardware model ODA-X7-2 HAfrom the menu. Click Next.
  11. Enter or review the configuration details for your system, network, and database information. For details, see “Running the Standalone Oracle Database Appliance Configurator”.
  12. Validate your network on the Network Validation page.
    1. Click Run Validations to perform network validation.
    2. Click Save Validation Output to save the validation output.
    3. Click Next
  13. On the Summary page, review your configuration options and deploy your configuration.
    1. (Optional) Click Save to save the configuration file.
    2. Click Install to deploy the configuration.
    The deployment can take an hour to complete. Monitor the install progress. When the deployment is complete, go to the next step.
  14. Validate the deployment by executing the oakcli show version -detail command on ODA_BASE (Node 0). 
    # /opt/oracle/oak/bin/oakcli show version -detail
    The output displays the System Version, Component Name, Installed Version, and Supported Version for each of the components.

Related Topics