Database Reference
In-Depth Information
replication on the storage level over application-level replication such as Data Guard. Unfortunately, the debate often
becomes a religious one without a lot of reasoning to the arguments. To aid you to formulate an opinion, the pros
and cons of block-level and application-level replication will be discussed in Chapter 9 which explains techniques for
setting up disaster recovery solutions for Oracle databases.
Potential operating system standards
The Operating System engineers oversee the general direction of supported operating systems for use within the
organization. Common tasks performed by the OS engineers include:
•
Creating automated standard builds for the supported platforms.
•
Maintaining a lifecycle matrix.
•
Reacting to security vulnerability reports.
•
Providing tested hot fixes.
•
Evaluating (new) hardware for mass-rollout.
•
Third-line support.
The most important aspect is certainly the building and maintenance of the standard operating system image for
use by other consumers. One could envisage a tiered set of packages and configuration provided—a bare metal, an
application server-specific set of packages and settings, or a database server package for example.
Changes to the operating system build for the Oracle database are critical to consistently deploying databases
successfully. From a standards point of view it is very important to keep in touch with the operating system engineer.
The standards defined in the operating system document touching the database installation are related to everything
listed in the Oracle installation guide in the preinstallation requirements section. In other words the Oracle-specific
package must define parameters in /etc/sysctl.conf as well as user shell limits and other relevant parameters. You can
learn more about these requirements and how to automate them in Chapter 5. Ultimately the efforts of the engineers
for creating operating system images need to be documented and then automated and regression tested for their
respective use.
Potential database standards
Finally, we will address the standards the Oracle database administrator is most concerned about. After it has been
ensured by means of open communication that the storage layer and operating system meet the requirements laid
out by Oracle to install the database software, further detail can be cast in stone. Database standards can be roughly
subdivided into two groups:
1.
Operating system related
2.
Database related
The first set of rules should be set around the operating system build, and ideally it is consistent across platforms.
Items which certainly require standardization are the mount points for the database home and Grid Infrastructure
(if applicable). Also, a generous use of space should be made for these mount points. Oracle homes grow and grow
with every release, and many upgrades cannot be installed in place. Personal experience shows that the actual path
to the Oracle binaries is not so important, as long as it is consistent. Paths such as /oracle, /u01/app/oracle etc. are all
perfectly valid paths, if you decide to use one of them consistently.
The origin of the space needed for the mount points can either be on the storage area network or alternatively
come from a set of local disk. If stateless computing as propagated for example by the Cisco UCS is used, then
placement of Oracle binaries on the storage array is a big advantage.
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