1 Introduction to the Recovery Appliance

This chapter describes the features and hardware components of the Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance (Recovery Appliance).

This chapter contains these sections:

• About Recovery Appliance

• Recovery Appliance Rack Components

• Compute Server Components

• Storage Server Components

• About Tape Backup Infrastructure

• Restrictions on Modifying Recovery Appliance

About Recovery Appliance

Recovery Appliance is a backup and recovery solution that is specifically engineered to protect your Oracle Database data. It offers a massively scalable repository that records all delta changes (that is, differences) across hundreds to thousands of databases.

The Database Delta Push technology enables Oracle DBAs to run one full Recovery Manager (RMAN) backup, and thereafter run only incremental backups, from each database to the Recovery Appliance. There are no recurring full backups, tape backups, or RMAN backup deletion, validation, and maintenance commands.

In the event of a disaster, DBAs can recover any database to any point in time in the recovery window or within subseconds of the current time. The Database Delta Store virtual full backup technology constructs physical backups from the resident incremental blocks, in response to RMAN database restore requests.

You can easily and quickly replicate backups on a local Recovery Appliance over a secure network to a remote Recovery Appliance for protection against server or site outage. Only the changed blocks are replicated. Virtual full backups on the remote Recovery Appliance are available for database restore operations.

Autonomous tape archives further protect against site disasters. Recovery Appliance automates the copying of virtual full or incremental backups to tape, for long-term retention and archival purposes. Recovery Appliance is preinstalled with tape backup software and support for an optional 16 Gb fiber channel card on each compute server, to connect directly to the tape hardware.

You can manage this entire infrastructure with end-to-end visibility into the status of data protection to ensure that data can be recovered successfully at any time. The primary administrative tools are Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control and the RMAN command interface.

Recovery Appliance Rack Components

The Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance consists of compute servers, storage servers, and the network components to connect to your network. Oracle offers a flexible configuration for the Recovery Appliance, so that you can acquire the resources that you need, and expand incrementally when you need more. You can configure up to 18 full racks into a single cluster.

• RA23
• RA21
• X8M

Table 1-1 lists the components of a RA23 rack that can support a total of 17 storage servers, which is a usable capacity under normal redundancy of 92 TB per storage server, or minimum (3 storage servers) 274 TB and full rack total 1.57 PB.

In high redundancy configurations, the usable capacity is 60 TB per storage server, or minimum (3 storage servers) 174 TB and full rack total 1 PB.

Table 1-1 Components of a Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance RA23 Rack

Quantity	Component
2	Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance RA23 compute servers
3 to 17	Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance RA23 storage servers
2	36-Port 100 Gb/s RoCE switches
2	Redundant 15 kVA PDUs (single phase or three phase, high voltage or low voltage)
1	48-port Management Ethernet switch for administration.

Table 1-2 lists the components of a RA21 rack that can support a total of 18 storage servers, which is a usable capacity under normal redundancy of 70 TB per storage server, or minimum (3 storage servers) 207 TB and full rack total 1.26 PB.

In high redundancy configurations, the usable capacity is 44 TB per storage server, or minimum (3 storage servers) 129 TB and full rack total 794 TB.

Table 1-2 Components of a Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance RA21 Rack

Quantity	Component
1	Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance RA21 compute servers
3 to 18	Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance RA21 storage servers
2	36-Port Cisco Nexus 9336c Ethernet Switches
2	Redundant 15 kVA PDUs (single phase or three phase, high voltage or low voltage)
1	48-port Cisco 9000 series Ethernet switch
2	32 Gbps port Oracle fiber channel adapter with 2 x 16 Gb fiber channel ports. Optional with OSB tape.

Table 1-3 lists the components of a Recovery Appliance X8M rack that can support a total of 18 storage servers.

Table 1-3 Components of a Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance X8M Rack

Quantity	Component
2	Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance X8M compute servers
3 to 18	Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance X8M storage servers
2	36-Port Cisco Nexus 9336c Ethernet Switches
2	Redundant 15 kVA PDUs (single phase or three phase, high voltage or low voltage)
1	48-port Cisco 9000 series Ethernet switch
2	32 Gbps port Oracle fiber channel adapter with 2 x 16 Gb fiber channel ports. Optional with OSB tape.

• X8
• X7
• X6
• X5
• X4

Table 1-4 lists the components of a Recovery Appliance X8-2 rack that can support a total of 18 storage servers.

Table 1-4 Components of a Recovery Appliance X8-2 Rack

Quantity	Component
2	Oracle Server X8-2 compute servers
3 to 18	Oracle Storage Server X8-2 storage servers
2	36-port Sun Datacenter InfiniBand Switch
2	Redundant 15 kVA PDUs (single phase or three phase, high voltage or low voltage)
1	48-port Cisco 9000 series Ethernet switch
2	32 Gbps port Oracle fiber channel adapter with 2 x 16 Gb fiber channel ports. Optional with OSB tape.

Table -00 lists the components of a Recovery Appliance X7 rack that can support a total of 18 storage servers.

Table 1-5 Components of a Recovery Appliance X7 Rack

Quantity	Component
2	Oracle Server X7-2 compute servers
3 to 18	Oracle Server X7-2L storage servers
2	36-port Sun Datacenter InfiniBand Switch
2	Redundant 15 kVA PDUs (single phase or three phase, high voltage or low voltage)
1	48-port Cisco 9000 series Ethernet switch
2	32 Gbps port Oracle fiber channel adapter with 2 x 16 Gb fiber channel ports. Optional with OSB tape.

Table 1-6 lists the components of a Recovery Appliance X6 rack that can support a total of 18 storage servers.

Table 1-6 Components of a Recovery Appliance X6 Rack

Quantity	Component
2	Oracle Server X6-2 compute servers
3 to 18	Oracle Server X6-2L storage servers
2	Sun Datacenter InfiniBand Switch 36
2	Redundant 15 kVA PDUs (single phase or three phase, high voltage or low voltage)
1	48-port Cisco Catalyst 4948E-F, model number WS-C4948E-F-S Ethernet switch
2	16 Gbps port Oracle fiber channel adapter with 2 x 16 Gb fiber channel ports

Table 1-7 lists the components of a Recovery Appliance X5 rack.

Table 1-7 Components of a Recovery Appliance X5 Rack

Quantity	Component
2	Oracle Server X5-2 compute servers
3 to 18	Oracle Server X5-2L storage servers
2	Sun Datacenter InfiniBand Switch 36
2	Redundant 15 kVA PDUs (single phase or three phase, high voltage or low voltage)
1	48-port Cisco Catalyst 4948E-F, model number WS-C4948E-F-S Ethernet switch
2	16 Gbps port Oracle fiber channel adapter with 2 x 16 Gb fiber channel ports

Table 1-8 lists the components of a Recovery Appliance X4 rack.

Table 1-8 Components of a Recovery Appliance X4 Rack

Quantity	Component
2	Sun Server X4-2 compute servers
3 to 14	Sun Server X4-2L storage servers
2	Sun Datacenter InfiniBand Switch 36
2	Redundant 15 kVA PDUs (single phase or three phase, high voltage or low voltage)
1	48-port Cisco Catalyst 4948E-F, model number WS-C4948E-F-S Ethernet switch
2	16 Gbps port Oracle fiber channel adapter with 2 x 16 Gb fiber channel ports

Compute Server Components

• RA23
• RA21
• X9M
• X8M

The Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance RA23 compute server is based on the Oracle Exadata Server, an enterprise-class, two rack unit (2U) server that supports multiple configurations. Each configuration uses the same server but is provisioned differently, such as for RA23.

Compute Server	Description
Storage	2x NVMe-Flash SSD (hot-swappable)
Network	2 x Dual Port 10/25 Gb Ethernet SFP28 2 x 10/25 Gb optical (ingest) 2 x 10/25 Gb optical (replication) 2 x Dual Port 100 Gb Ethernet QSFP28 2 x 100 Gb optical (ingest) 2 x 100 Gb optical (replication) 1 x Quad Port 10 Gb Ethernet RJ45 2 x 10 Gb copper (ingest) 2 x 10 Gb copper (replication) For ingest network, maximum of 2 x 10 Gb Ports, 2 x 25 Gb Ports, or 2 x 100 Gb Ports For replication network, maximum of 2 x 10 Gb Ports, 2 x 25 Gb Ports, or 2 x 100 Gb Ports Ingest and Replication can be different, for example 100Gb for ingest and 25Gb for replication. Optional Ports Sun Storage Dual 32 Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Universal HBA, QLogic for tape connectivity Standard Ports 2 x 100 Gb QSFP28 RoCE Fabric Ports 1 x 1 Gb copper Ethernet Port (mgmt) 1 x ILOM Ethernet Port

All servers include redundant hot swappable fans and power supplies.

The Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance RA21 is based on the Oracle Exadata Server, an enterprise-class, two rack unit (2U) server. Table 1-9 lists the components of an individual RA21 compute server.

Table 1-9 RA21 Compute Server Components

Compute Server	Description
Storage	2x NVMe-Flash SSD (hot-swappable)
Network	Dual Port 25 Gb Ethernet SFP28 or Quad Port 10 Gb Ethernet RJ45 (ingest or replication) 2 x 10/25 Gb optical, or 2 x 10 Gb copper (ingest) 2 x 10 Gb copper (replication) Dual Port 25 Gb Ethernet SFP28 (ingest or replication) 2 x 10/25 Gb optical For ingest network, maximum of 2 x 10 Gb Ports, or 2 x 25 Gb Ports For replication network, maximum of 2 x 10 Gb Ports, or 2 x 25 Gb Ports Optional Ports Sun Storage Dual 32 Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Universal HBA, QLogic for tape connectivity Standard Ports 2 x 100 Gb QSFP28 RoCE Fabric Ports 1 x 1 Gb Copper Ethernet Port (mgmt) 1 x ILOM Ethernet Port

The Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance X9M is based on the Oracle Exadata Server X9M, an enterprise-class, two rack unit (2U) server. Table 1-10 lists the components of an individual X9M compute server.

Table 1-10 X9M Compute Server Components

Quantity	Description
2	32-core Intel Xeon 8358 processors (2.6 GHz)
8	512 GB RAM
2	100Gb/s RDMA Network Fabric Card
1	1 GbE Base-T Ethernet port for Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) for remote management
1	1 GB copper Ethernet Port (mgmt)
2	On-board 10 Gigabit copper Base-T Ethernet ports
2	On-board 10/25 Gigabit optical Ethernet ports
2	Optional PCIe card 10/25 Gigabit optical Ethernet ports Sun Dual 10/25 Gb Ethernet SFP+/28 PCIe 2.0 Low Profile Adapter incorporating Intel 82599 10/25 Gb Ethernet controller and supporting pluggable SFP+ Transceivers. ROHS-5
2	32 Gb Fibre Channel Ports Sun Storage Dual 32 Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Universal HBA, QLogic for tape connectivity (optional)
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Power Supplies
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Fans
1	Disk Controller HBA with 2 GB cache

Table 1-11 lists the components of an individual X8M-2 compute server.

Table 1-11 Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance X8M-2 Compute Server Components

Quantity	Description
2	24-core Xeon 8160 processors (2.4 GHz)
8	384 GB RAM
2	100Gb/s RDMA Network Fabric Card
1	10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet port for Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) for remote management
1	1 GB copper Ethernet Port (mgmt)
2	On-board 10 Gigabit copper Base-T Ethernet ports
2	On-board 10/25 Gigabit optical Ethernet ports
2	Optional PCIe card 10/25 Gigabit optical Ethernet ports Sun Dual 10/25 Gb Ethernet SFP+/28 PCIe 2.0 Low Profile Adapter incorporating Intel 82599 10/25 Gb Ethernet controller and supporting pluggable SFP+ Transceivers. ROHS-5
2	32 Gb Fibre Channel Ports Sun Storage Dual 32 Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Universal HBA, QLogic for tape connectivity (optional)
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Power Supplies
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Fans
1	Disk Controller HBA with 2 GB cache

• X8
• X7
• X6
• X5
• X4

Table 1-12 lists the components of an individual Oracle X8-2 compute server.

Table 1-12 Oracle X8-2 Compute Server Components

Quantity	Description
2	24-core Xeon 8160 processors (2.4 GHz)
8	384 GB RAM
2	QDR InfiniBand (40 Gb/s) ports
1	10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet port for Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) for remote management
1	1 GB copper Ethernet Port (mgmt)
2	On-board 10 Gigabit copper Base-T Ethernet ports
2	On-board 10/25 Gigabit optical Ethernet ports
2	Optional PCIe card 10/25 Gigabit optical Ethernet ports Sun Dual 10/25 Gb Ethernet SFP+/28 PCIe 2.0 Low Profile Adapter incorporating Intel 82599 10/25 Gb Ethernet controller and supporting pluggable SFP+ Transceivers. ROHS-5
2	32 Gb Fibre Channel Ports Sun Storage Dual 32 Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Universal HBA, QLogic for tape connectivity (optional)
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Power Supplies
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Fans
1	Disk Controller HBA with 2 GB cache

Table 1-13 lists the components of an individual Oracle X7-2 compute server.

Table 1-13 Oracle X7-2 Compute Server Components

Quantity	Description
2	24-core Xeon 8160 processors (2.1 GHz)
8	384 GB RAM
2	QDR InfiniBand (40 Gb/s) ports
1	Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) for remote management. Ethernet Port
1	1 GB copper Ethernet Port (mgmt)
2	On-board 10 Gigabit copper Base-T Ethernet ports
2	On-board 10/25 Gigabit optical Ethernet ports
2	Optional PCIe card 10/25 Gigabit optical Ethernet ports Sun Dual 10/25 Gb Ethernet SFP+/28 PCIe 2.0 Low Profile Adapter incorporating Intel 82599 10/25 Gb Ethernet controller and supporting pluggable SFP+ Transceivers. ROHS-5
2	32 Gb Fibre Channel Ports Sun Storage Dual 32 Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Universal HBA, QLogic for tape connectivity (optional)
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Power Supplies
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Fans
1	Disk Controller HBA with 1 GB Supercap-backed Write Cache

Table 1-14 lists the components of an Oracle X6-2 compute server.

Table 1-14 Oracle Server X6-2 Components

Quantity	Description
2	22-core Intel Xeon E5-2699 v4 processors (2.2 GHz)
8	32 GB RAM (256 GB total)
4	600 GB 10K RPM SAS disks
1	Disk controller HBA with 1 GB supercap-backed write cache
2	InfiniBand 4X QDR (40 Gb/s) ports (1 dual-port PCIe 3.0 Host Channel Adapter (HCA))
4	1 GbE/10GbE Base-T Ethernet ports
2	10 GbE Ethernet SFP+ ports (1 dual-port 10GbE PCIe 2.0 network card based on the Intel 82599 10 GbE controller technology)
1	Ethernet port for Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) for remote management
1	16 Gb dual-port QLogic PCIe 3.0 HBA card (optional)

Table 1-15 lists the components of an Oracle X5-2 compute server.

Table 1-15 Oracle Server X5-2 Components

Quantity	Description
2	18-core Intel Xeon E5-2699 v3 processors (2.3 GHz)
8	32 GB RAM (256 GB total)
4	600 GB 10K RPM SAS disks
1	Disk controller HBA with 1 GB supercap-backed write cache
2	InfiniBand 4X QDR (40 Gb/s) ports (1 dual-port PCIe 3.0 Host Channel Adapter (HCA))
4	1 GbE/10GbE Base-T Ethernet ports
2	10 GbE Ethernet SFP+ ports (1 dual-port 10GbE PCIe 2.0 network card based on the Intel 82599 10 GbE controller technology)
1	Ethernet port for Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) for remote management
1	16 Gb dual-port QLogic PCIe 3.0 HBA card (optional)

Table 1-16 lists the components of a Sun X4-2 compute server.

Table 1-16 Sun Server X4-2 Components

Quantity	Description
2	12-Core Intel Xeon E5-2697 v2 processors (2.7 GHz)
16	16 GB RAM (256 total)
4	600 GB 10K RPM SAS disks
1	Disk controller HBA with 512 MB battery-backed write cache, and swappable battery backup unit (BBU)
2	InfiniBand 4X QDR (40 Gb/s) ports (1 dual-port PCIe 3.0 Host Channel Adapter (HCA))
4	1 GbE/10GbE Base-T Ethernet ports
2	10 GbE Ethernet SFP+ ports (1 dual-port 10 GbE PCIe 2.0 network card based on the Intel 82599 10 GbE controller technology)
1	Ethernet port for Oracle Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) for remote management
1	16 Gb dual-port QLogic PCIe 3.0 HBA card (optional)

Storage Server Components

• RA23
• RA21
• X8M
• X7
• X6
• X5
• X4

Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance Storage Server RA23 is based on Oracle Exadata, an enterprise-class, two rack unit (2U) server that supports multiple configurations.

Refer to Compute Server Components for RA23 Server details.

Storage Server	Description
Storage	12 x 22 TB 7,200 RPM disks 2 x NVMe Flash Acceleration Cards
Network	2 x 100 Gb QSFP28 RoCE Fabric ports 1 x 1 Gb copper Ethernet port (mgmt) 1 x ILOM Ethernet port

All servers include redundant hot swappable fans and power supplies.

The Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance Storage Server RA21 is an enterprise-class, two rack unit (2U) server that is available in three configurations: Extreme Flash (EF), High Capacity (HC), and Extended (XT). Each configuration uses the same server but is provisioned differently, as described in the following table.

Refer to Compute Server Components for RA21 details.

Table 1-17 lists the components of an X8-2 and X8M-2 storage server.

Table 1-17 Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance X8-2 and X8M-2 Server Storage Components

Quantity	Description
2	16-core Intel Xeon 5218 Processors (2.3GHz)
8	192 GB RAM
12	14 TB High Capacity SAS disks
4	6.4 TB flash accelerator PCIe cards
1	Disk controller HBA with 2 GB cache
2	X8M-2 only: 100Gb/s RDMA Network Fabric Card, 1 dual-port (PCIe 3.0), both ports active
2	X8-2 only: InfiniBand 4X QDR (40 Gb/s) InfiniBand ports, 1 dual-port PCIe 3.0 Host Channel Adapter (HCA), all ports active
2	Embedded Gigabit Ethernet ports
1	10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet port for Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) for remote management
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Power Supplies
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Fans

Table 1-18 lists the components of an Oracle X7–2L storage server.

Table 1-18 Oracle Server X7–2L Storage Components

Quantity	Description
2	10-core Xeon 4114 processors (2.0 GHz)
8	192 GB RAM
12	10 TB 7.2 K RPM High Capacity SAS disks
2	3.2 TB non-volatile memory express (NVMe) PCIe 3.0 flash accelerator cards
1	Disk controller HBA with 1 GB supercap-backed write cache
2	36 port QDR InfiniBand (40 Gb/s) ports
2	Embedded Gigabit Ethernet ports
1	Ethernet port for ILOM for remote management
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Power Supplies
2	Redundant Hot-Swappable Fans

Table 1-19 lists the components of an Oracle X6-2L storage server.

Table 1-19 Oracle X6-2L Storage Server Components

Quantity	Description
2	10-core Intel Xeon CPU E5-2630 v4 (2.2 GHz)
8	16 GB RAM (128 GB total RAM)
12	8 TB 7.2 K RPM High Capacity SAS disks
4	3.2 TB non-volatile memory express (NVMe) PCIe 3.0 flash accelerator cards
1	Disk controller HBA with 1 GB supercap-backed write cache
2	InfiniBand 4X QDR (40 Gb/s) ports (PCIe 3.0), both ports active
4	Embedded Gigabit Ethernet ports
1	Ethernet port for ILOM for remote management

Table 1-20 lists the components of an Oracle Server X5-2L storage server.

Table 1-20 Oracle Server X5-2L Components

Quantity	Description
2	8-core Intel Xeon CPU E5-2630 v3 (2.4 GHz)
4 4	8 GB RAM 16 GB RAM (96 GB total RAM)
12	4 TB 7.2 K RPM High Capacity SAS disks
4	1.6 TB non-volatile memory express (NVMe) PCIe 3.0 flash accelerator cards
1	Disk controller HBA with 1 GB supercap-backed write cache
2	InfiniBand 4X QDR (40 Gb/s) ports (1 dual-port PCIe 3.0 Host Channel Adapter (HCA))
4	Embedded Gigabit Ethernet ports
1	Ethernet port for ILOM for remote management

Table 1-21 lists the components of a Sun Server X4-2L storage server.

Table 1-21 Sun Server X4-2L Components

Quantity	Description
2	Six-core Intel Xeon E5-2630 v2 processors (2.6 GHz)
4 4	8 GB RAM 16 GB RAM (96 GB total RAM)
12	4 TB 7.2K RPM High Capacity SAS disks
4	800 GB Sun Flash Accelerator F80 PCIe Cards
1	Disk controller HBA with 512 MB battery-backed write cache and swappable BBU
2	InfiniBand 4 X QDR (40 Gb/s) InfiniBand ports (1 dual-port PCIe 3.0 Host Channel Adapter (HCA))
4	Embedded Gigabit Ethernet ports
1	Ethernet port for ILOM for remote management

About Tape Backup Infrastructure

Tape backup is an optional feature. You can choose between Oracle and third-party tape systems.

Oracle's Recovery Appliance supports the installation and configuration of Oracle tape systems. You can connect Recovery Appliance to the storage area network (SAN) in your data center for backups to an Oracle tape system.

• Oracle Recommended Stack

• Third-Party Tape Systems

Oracle Recommended Stack

Recovery Appliance is engineered to work with industry leading tape infrastructure components, including those described in Table 1-22.

Table 1-22 Oracle Tape System Components

Component	Models	Notes
Oracle Tape Libraries	SL150, SL3000, SL8500	ACSLS, ACSLS Logical Libraries, FC-SCSI
Oracle Tape Drives	T10000D, T10000C, LTO	All interfaces supported by the recommended Oracle libraries
Automated Cartridge System Library Software (ACSLS)	Automated Cartridge System Library Software (ACSLS) 8.x	API, Logical Libraries
Tape Encryption	Oracle Key Manager (OKM) 2.3	Recommended Key Management for enterprise key management. Operates seamlessly with Recovery Appliance

Recovery Appliance supports Oracle Secure Backup tape management software out of the box. It provides the following benefits:

• Oracle Secure Backup is deployed and configured as part of the Recovery Appliance software installation.

• Upgrades are included with Recovery Appliance software upgrades.

• Tape backups automatically protect the Recovery Appliance metadata.

• Oracle Secure Backup provides disaster recovery automation from tape.

• Oracle Secure Backup copies data from its storage location directly to tape.

• Oracle Secure Backup provides superior local tape performance by using only the InfiniBand and fiber channel networks. Tape backups do not impact your IP network.

Third-Party Tape Systems

Out of the box, Recovery Appliance supports the use of any third-party (non Oracle) media management software that is compatible with the Recovery Appliance.

Recovery Appliance allows the use of third-party media management software that offers RMAN-integrated backup module with its client software. Only the client software component of a third-party media management product for copy to tape operations may be installed on the Recovery Appliance compute servers.

Under the terms of the Recovery Appliance license, you may not install the media manager server component because only Oracle Secure Backup can back up Recovery Appliance to the tape devices directly (or via SAN) attached to the fibre channel interfaces of the compute nodes. Any non Oracle media manager software must be configured only as a network client.

Note the following:

• Recovery Appliance software upgrades might not preserve the client software or its configuration.

• Third-party media managers do not provide Recovery Appliance metadata protection support.

• If you configure third-party media managers with Recovery Appliance, carefully validate your configuration to ensure that backups and restores work as expected.

• Refer to My Oracle Support note 2014361.1 for restrictions and guidance on third party software installation.

Restrictions on Modifying Recovery Appliance

The following restrictions apply to software and hardware modifications to Recovery Appliance. Violating these restrictions can result in loss of warranty and support.

• Customers may not modify any internal software component or configuration on a Recovery Appliance compute server except as indicated in a My Oracle Support note or as explicitly directed by an Oracle support analyst. This includes actions such as modifying or adding listeners to the internal database, modifying the operating system or network configuration files, installing custom scripts, creating NFS mounts for any purpose except for polling a backup location, and creating additional database instances.

• Although Oracle discourages installation of third-party software products on the appliance, customers may install them under the conditions stated in My Oracle Support note 2014361.1.

• Customers may install the client software component of a third-party media management product in "LAN backup agent" mode on the compute servers. Customers may not install the media manager server software component, because only Oracle Secure Backup supports Recovery Appliance backups to tape over fibre channel connections.

• Customers may not load additional software or alter the installed software on a storage server.

• Customers may not install Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center agents. However, Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control Management agents can be installed on the compute servers to monitor the system, as part of the Recovery Appliance software installation process.

• Recovery Appliance hardware cannot be modified or customized. There are two exceptions. The allowed hardware modifications to Recovery Appliance are as follows:

  • Modification to the administrative 48-port Cisco Gigabit Ethernet switch included with Recovery Appliance. Customers may choose to do the following:

    • Replace the Gigabit Ethernet switch, at their own expense, with an equivalent 1U 48-port Gigabit Ethernet 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 Recovery Appliance. 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 Cisco Ethernet 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 Cisco Ethernet switch in the rack can be turned off and disconnected from the data center network.

  • Addition of client access network switches in Recovery Appliance. The following restrictions apply for the network switches:

    • A maximum of two client access network switches may be installed in the rack.

    • The switch must be 1 rack unit (RU) in height.

    • Air flow must go from the front of the rack to the back of the rack.

    • The switch must be installed in rack slot U41 or U42.

    • Power consumption must be less than 400 watts for each switch.

    • Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality, if applicable, should not be used on these switches.

• Customers can update the firmware of the other components.

  • Customers can update the IOS and firmware versions on the Cisco Gigabit Ethernet switch to meet their data center requirements.

  • Customers can update the firmware of the components of the compute servers only by applying a patch bundle provided by Oracle.

  • Customers can update the firmware of the InfiniBand switches provided they comply with the validated versions documented in My Oracle Support note 1927416.1, and its related notes.

• Customers cannot connect USB devices that draw more than 100 mA of power to the compute servers.