9.3 Prerequisites for Exadata Snapshot Databases

Before creating Exadata snapshot databases, check that your environment meets these requirements.

• Storage servers must be Oracle Exadata Database Machine X3-2 or later

• Oracle Exadata System Software 12.1.2.1.0 or later for Oracle Exadata Storage Servers and Oracle Exadata Database Servers

  You cannot downgrade to an earlier version with sparse grid disks on a cell.

• Oracle Grid Infrastructure software release 12.1.0.2.0 BP5 or later

  The Oracle ASM disk group that contains the sparse Oracle ASM grid disks must have both COMPATIBLE.RDBMS and COMPATIBLE.ASM set to 12.1.0.2 or later.

  The parent disk group can be 11.2 compatible.

• For disk groups hosting test master files, COMPATIBLE.RDBMS must be set to 11.2.0.0.0 or later.

• Oracle Database software release 12.1.0.2.0 BP5 or later

  The parent database and the snapshot database must be 12.1.0.2 compatible.

• The data files for the snapshot database and the parent database must be on the same Oracle ASM cluster.

• The db_block_size database initialization parameter must be at least 4096 and be a multiple of 4096.

• If you are using hierarchical snapshot databases, sparse test master databases, the new --sparse option for the Oracle ASM cp command, or the new setsparseparent Oracle ASM command, then you need Oracle Database and Oracle Grid Infrastructure software release 12.2.0.1.0 and Oracle Exadata System Software release 12.2.1.1.0 or later.

• Exadata sparse griddisks and hence Oracle ASM Sparse diskgroups cannot be created on Exadata XT storage servers.

• To create a snapshot of a complete container database (CDB), you must apply Patch 32233739 to the Oracle home directory that supports the Exadata Snapshot database.