Installation and Configuration

Oracle GDS Capacities and Requirements

Capacity planning should precede deployment and be reviewed as workloads, databases, and services grow. GDS includes redundant core components such as Global Service Managers and the GDS Catalog, client integrations for intelligent routing and failover, and database-side ONS and gsmuser components. A single GSM supports up to 5,000 GDS pools, 10 regions, 5 GSMs per region, 10,000 database instances, 10,000 global services, and 1,000 mid-tier connection pools. GDS databases may be single-instance or RAC, container or non-container, deployed on commodity or engineered systems, and managed with GDSCTL or Enterprise Manager.

Planning GDS Deployment

Plan bidirectional network access among GSM listeners, ONS ports, pool-database listeners, the GDS catalog, client or application tiers, and other GSMs. Default ports are 1522 for GSM listeners, 1521 for database listeners, 6123 for local ONS, and 6234 for remote ONS; separately hosted GDSCTL installations also require access to the catalog listener. Detailed platform requirements, including memory, storage, kernel versions, and packages, should be validated against the Oracle AI Database Linux installation guidance.

GDS Software Installation

Install the Global Service Manager from separate media in its own Oracle home, distinct from other Oracle software and from any additional GSM installations on the same host. Deploy at least one GSM per region, preferably three on separate hosts for high availability, with dedicated hosts recommended for large configurations; physical or virtual systems are supported. Each GSM must be installed individually because the installer does not support multiple hosts, and installation must be performed by the GDS administrator using a non-root operating-system account.

Installing a Global Service Manager

Prepare a dedicated, separate Oracle home for each GSM and deploy at least one per region, preferably three on separate hosts for high availability. As the GDS administrator, download and extract the GSM media, run Oracle Universal Installer from its root directory, then configure ORACLE_HOME, PATH to include the GSM bin directory, and TNS_ADMIN to use the home’s network administration directory. Installation provides GSM and GDSCTL binaries, must not be run as root, and should be updated to the latest Oracle Database release afterward.

GDS Catalog Database and GDS Catalog Setup

Every GDS configuration requires a catalog database, which should be independently deployed and protected with technologies such as Oracle RAC, Oracle Data Guard, and Clusterware, particularly for high availability and disaster recovery. The catalog must use an SPFILE, RAC deployments require SCAN, and bidirectional access is needed for GSM, database, ONS, and GDSCTL connections using the standard ports. Administrators should manage the catalog through GDSCTL rather than direct database connections, designate a primary catalog repository, and provide appropriate catalog credentials when creating it.

Global Data Services Configuration

A GDS configuration applies Oracle’s database service model across a set of replicated databases. Its deployment includes installing GSMs, creating the GDS catalog, configuring regions, pools, databases, and global services, assigning administrator privileges, and enabling client connectivity. Supporting topics provide deployment procedures, a complete GDSCTL-based example, and best-practice recommendations aligned with Oracle Maximum Availability Architecture.

Oracle GDS Deployment Steps

Deploy GDS by installing GSM software on its servers, using at least one GSM per region and preferably three, and preparing the catalog database. Establish administrator accounts and privileges, create the catalog and any standby databases, configure GSMs, regions, pools, databases, and global services with GDSCTL, and finally enable client connectivity.

GDS Configuration Example

A complete GDS deployment may use administrator-managed services assigned to specific instances or policy-managed services distributed through server pools. The process creates and protects an independent catalog, establishes GSM administrator credentials, creates the catalog with appropriate connectivity and Auto VNCR settings, unlocks required accounts, adds and starts GSMs, creates regions and pools, authorizes nodes, and registers databases that meet SPFILE and RAC SCAN requirements. After resolving firewall or incorrect-interface registration issues, administrators create and start primary read-write and standby read-only global services, then verify GSM, database, and service readiness with GDSCTL status and services commands.

GDS Configuration Best Practices

For high availability and efficient routing, use Oracle-integrated connection pools such as UCP, OCI, or ODP.NET so clients receive failover and load-balancing notifications. Deploy three GSMs per region on separate hardware because they are lightweight, stateless listeners that can reload metadata from the catalog. Protect the small GDS catalog with Oracle Data Guard, preferably using a local maximum-availability standby with Fast-Start Failover and a remote physical standby; catalog standbys should use Active Data Guard and separate hardware and storage.
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