5 Installing Oracle RAC

5.1.1 Oracle Real Application Clusters Administrator's Guide

Oracle Real Application Clusters Administrator's Guide provides Oracle Real Application Clusters-specific administration information. Some of the topics described in this book include the use of Oracle Enterprise Manager in Oracle Real Application Clusters environments. This book describes how to administer services and storage and how to use Oracle Real Application Clusters scalability features to add and delete instances and nodes in Oracle Real Application Clusters environments. This book also discusses how to use Recovery Manager (RMAN) and how to perform backup and recovery in Oracle Real Application Clusters.

In addition, Oracle Real Application Clusters Administrator's Guide describes how to use the Server Control (SRVCTL) utility to start and stop the database and instances, manage configuration information, and to delete or move instances and services. The appendix describes how you can resolve various Oracle Real Application Clusters tools messages. A troubleshooting section describes how to interpret the content of Oracle Real Application Clusters-specific log files.

5.1.2 Oracle Real Application Clusters Deployment and Performance Guide

The Oracle Real Application Clusters Deployment and Performance Guide highlights the main deployment topics for Oracle Real Application Clusters by briefly describing Oracle Clusterware, storage, database creation, and services deployment in Oracle Real Application Clusters. Design and deployment topics in this reference book describe service topologies and workload management in Oracle Real Application Clusters. Specifically, the book describes how the Automatic Workload Repository tracks and reports service levels and how you can use service level thresholds and alerts to ensure high-availability in a Oracle Real Application Clusters environment. A services deployment example is also available in the appendix of the book, and you can use it to learn more about how to deploy and to manage services in Oracle Real Application Clusters environments.

The Oracle Real Application Clusters Deployment and Performance Guide provides a high-level description of interconnect protocols, as well as information about how to monitor and tune performance in Oracle Real Application Clusters environments using both Oracle Enterprise Manager and using information in the Automated Workload Repository and Oracle performance views. The book highlights some application-specific deployment techniques for online transaction processing (OLTP) and data warehousing environments.

5.1.3 Documentation Sources

The information in this chapter is meant to supplement the detailed information you can find in Oracle Real Application Clusters Administrator's Guide. Refer to that document as necessary when reading through this chapter.

In addition, you will find important OpenVMS-specific installation and configuration information pertaining to Oracle Real Application Clusters in Chapter 5, "Installing Oracle RAC" and Chapter 6, "Configuring Oracle RAC".

For more general information about configuring and using Oracle Real Application Clusters, refer to the Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation and Configuration Guide.

5.4.1 Preinstallation Overview

The preinstallation procedures explain how to verify user equivalence, perform network connectivity tests, as well as how to set directory and file permissions. Complete all of the preinstallation procedures and verify that the system meets all of the preinstallation requirements before proceeding to the install phase.

5.4.2 Installation Overview

Oracle Real Application Clusters installation is a two-phase installation. In phase one, use Oracle Universal Installer to install Oracle Clusterware as described in Section 5.7.1, "Oracle Clusterware". Note that the Oracle home that you use in phase one is a home for the Oracle Clusterware software. This Oracle home must be different from the Oracle home that you use in phase two for the installation of Oracle Database software with Oracle Real Application Clusters components. The Oracle Clusterware preinstallation starts the Oracle Clusterware processes in preparation for installing Oracle Database with Oracle Real Application Clusters as described in Section 5.13, "Installing Oracle Database with Oracle Real Application Clusters".

After the installation is complete, Oracle Universal Installer starts the Oracle assistants, such as Database Configuration Assistant, to configure the environment and create the Oracle Real Application Clusters database. You can later use Database Configuration Assistant Instance Management feature to add or modify services and instances as described in Section 6.6, "Creating the Oracle RAC Database".

5.4.3 Postinstallation Overview

After you create the database, download and install the most recent patch sets for Oracle Database as described in Section 5.14.2, "Downloading and Installing Patches". If you are using other Oracle products with the Oracle Real Application Clusters database, then you must also configure them.

You must perform several postinstallation configuration tasks to use certain Oracle Database products such as the Sample Schema, Oracle Net Services, or Oracle Messaging Gateway. You must also configure Oracle precompilers, and if required, configure Oracle Advanced Security.

Use the installation media to install additional Oracle Database software that may improve performance or extend database capabilities, such as Oracle JVM, Oracle interMedia or Oracle Text.

5.7.1 Oracle Clusterware

Oracle Clusterware must be installed only on one node. However, you must configure and start the Oracle Clusterware on each node where you intend to install or run the Oracle Real Application Clusters-enabled database. The home that you select for Oracle Clusterware must be different from the Oracle Real Application Clusters-enabled Oracle home.

5.7.2 Installed Oracle Real Application Clusters Components

All instances in Oracle Real Application Clusters environments share the control file, server parameter file, redo log files, and all data files. These are accessed by all the cluster database instances. Each instance also has its own set of redo log files. During failures, shared access to redo log files enables surviving instances to perform recovery.

5.9.1 Installation Setup

In addition to the public IP address of the host computer, obtain two more IP addresses for each node that is going to be part of the installation. During the installation, enter the IP addresses into the DNS. One of the IP addresses must be a public IP address for the virtual IP address of the node. Virtual IP addresses are used for client-to-database connections. Therefore, the virtual IP address must be publicly accessible. The other address must be a private IP address for internode, or instance-to-instance Cache Fusion traffic. Using public interfaces for Cache Fusion can cause performance problems. Refer to Section 2.2.2 for further Oracle Clusterware IP address requirements.

5.9.2 Installing Oracle Clusterware

This section describes the procedure for using Oracle Universal Installer to install Oracle Clusterware. Note that the Oracle Clusterware home that you identify in this phase of the installation is only for Oracle Clusterware software. This home cannot be the same home as the home that you use in phase two to install Oracle Database software with Oracle Real Application Clusters.

1. Start a new terminal session.

2. Set up display using the $ SET DISPLAY command.

3. Define logical ORA_BATCH_QUEUE_nodename to point to an existing batch queue (For more information about batch queue, refer to Appendix D).

   Note:

   Oracle recommends that you use a dedicated batch queue.

4. Create a file, CLUSTER_NODES.DAT, in the SYS$LOGIN directory with the list of nodes that are to comprise the Oracle Real Application Clusters cluster. This file displays each node on a separate line with the primary node listed first.

5. Run the following command:

   $ SET NOVERIFY
   
   

6. Run the $ SET PROCESS/PRIV=ALL command.

7. Start the RUNINSTALLER script located in the [CLUSTERWARE] directory on the installation medium.

8. If you are performing this installation in an environment where Oracle Universal Installer inventory is already set up, then Oracle Universal Installer displays the Specify File Locations screen. If the Specify File Locations screen is displayed, then proceed to Step 9.

9. The Specify File Locations screen contains predetermined information for the source of the installation files and the target destination information. Enter the Oracle Clusterware home name and its location in the target destination, click Next, and Oracle Universal Installer displays the Language Selection screen.

   Note:

   The Oracle Clusterware home that you identify in this step must be different from the Oracle home that you will use in phase two of the installation.

10. In the Language Selection screen, select the languages that you want Oracle Clusterware to use, click Next, and Oracle Universal Installer displays the Cluster Configuration screen.

11. The Cluster Configuration screen contains predefined node information if Oracle Universal Installer retrieved the nodes specified in CLUSTER_NODES.DAT. Otherwise, Oracle Universal Installer displays the Cluster Configuration screen without predefined node information.

    Enter a public node name and a private node name for each node. When you enter the public node name, use the primary host name of each node. This node name can be either the permanent or the virtual host name.

    In addition, the cluster name that you use must be globally unique throughout the enterprise and the allowable character set for the cluster name is the same as that for host names, that is, underscores (_), hyphens (-), and single-byte alphanumeric characters (a to z, A to Z, and 0 to 9). Ensure that you also enter a private node name or private IP address for each node. This is an address that is only accessible by the other nodes in this cluster. Oracle uses the private IP addresses for Cache Fusion processing. Click Next after you have entered the cluster configuration information, and Oracle Universal Installer performs validation checks such as node availability and remote Oracle home permissions verifications. These verifications may require some time to complete. When Oracle Universal Installer completes the verifications, it displays the Specify Network Interface Usage screen.

    Note:

    The IP addresses that you use for all of the nodes in the current installation process must be from the same subnet.

12. On the Specify Network Interface Usage screen Oracle Universal Installer displays a list of clusterwide interfaces. Use the lists on this screen to classify each interface as Public, Private, or Do Not Use. The default setting for each interface is Do Not Use. You must classify at least one interconnect as Public and one as Private.s

13. When you click Next on the Specify Network Interface Usage screen, Oracle Universal Installer will look for the OCR.LOC file. Oracle Universal Installer will look for the file in the logindisk:[logindir.nodename] directory . If the OCR.LOC file exists, and if the OCR.LOC file has a valid entry for the Oracle Cluster Registry (OCR) location, then the Voting Disk Location screen is displayed and you should proceed to Step 14.

    Otherwise, the Oracle Cluster Registry Location Information screen is displayed. Enter a complete path for the shared file system file for the Oracle Cluster Registry, click Next, and the Voting Disk Information screen is displayed.

14. On the Voting Disk Information screen, enter a complete path and file name for the file in which you want to store the voting disk, and then click Next.

    Note:

    The path for OCR and the voting disk location must be in Unix style.

    For example : /disk/dir/ocr.dat
    

    Note:

    The storage size for the OCR should be at least 100 MB and the storage size for the voting disk should be at least 20 MB. In addition, Oracle recommends that you use a RAID array for storing the OCR and the voting disk to ensure the continuous availability of the partitions.

15. Oracle Universal Installer displays the list of components that will be installed on the Summary screen. Review the list of components and click Install.

16. You will be prompted to run CRSSETUP.COM on each node. After you have done so, click Yes in the dialog box.

17. Oracle Universal Installer runs the Oracle Private Interconnect Configuration Assistant. This assistant runs without your intervention.

    Note:

    If one or more of the configuration assistants fails, then you can manually rerun the script created by Oracle Universal Installer to determine the cause of the failure. You can find this script in the ORA_ROOT:[CFGTOOLLOGS] directory. You may need to edit the script to replace placeholders for passwords, to remove steps that completed successfully, and so on.

18. When Oracle Universal Installer displays the End of Installation screen, click Exit to exit Oracle Universal Installer.

19. Run the ORAUSER.COM command procedure.

20. Verify the Oracle Clusterware installation by running the following OLSNODES command:

    $ OLSNODES
    
    

    The output from this command should be a listing of the nodes on which Oracle Clusterware was installed as shown in the following example:

    $ OLSNODES -N
    racserver1 1
    racserver1 2
    
    

At this point, you have completed phase one, the installation of Oracle Clusterware, and are ready to install Oracle Database 10g with Oracle Real Application Clusters as described in Section 5.10, "Installation Tasks for Oracle Real Application Clusters".

Oracle Clusterware Background Processes

The following processes must be running in the environment after the Oracle Clusterware installation for Oracle Clusterware to function:

• ORA_HAS_EVMD

  Event manager daemon that starts the racgevt process to manage callouts.

• ORA_HAS_OCSSD

  Manages cluster node membership and runs in the Oracle Database account.

• ORA_HAS_CRSDREB (ORA_HAS_CRSDRES if the Clusterware has been restarted and the node has not)

  Performs high-availability recovery and management operations such as maintaining the OCR.

• ORA_EVMLOGGabcd

  Event Logger (abcd will be hex digits)

• ORA_HAS_OCLSVMO

  Vendor Clusterware Monitor

• ORA_HAS_OCLSOMO

  Clusterware Monitor

5.11.1 Configuration Type Descriptions

The configuration type that you select, as described in Table 5-1, determines how you proceed.

5.11.2 Action of Oracle Universal Installer, Database Configuration Assistant, and Other Assistants During Installation

After installation, Oracle Universal Installer starts the Oracle Network Configuration Assistant. After the Oracle Network Configuration Assistant completes its processing, Oracle Universal Installer runs Database Configuration Assistant to create the database. This means that Database Configuration Assistant creates the database files, including the default server parameter file (SPFILE), using standard file naming and file placement practices. The primary phases of Database Configuration Assistant processing are:

• Verifying that you correctly configure the shared disks for each tablespace if you use raw storage

• Creating the database

• Configuring Oracle network services

• Starting the listeners and database instances

You can also use Database Configuration Assistant in standalone mode to create a database.

The remainder of this chapter explains how to use Oracle Universal Installer to install Oracle Database with Oracle Real Application Clusters.

5.14.1 Backing Up the Voting Disk After Installation

After the Oracle Database with Oracle Real Application Clusters installation is complete and after you are sure that the system is functioning properly, make a backup of the contents of the voting disk. Also make a backup of the voting disk contents after you complete any node additions or node deletions and after running any deinstallation procedures.

5.14.2 Downloading and Installing Patches

Refer to the OracleMetaLink Web site for required patches for the installation. To download required patches:

1. Use a Web browser to view the OracleMetaLink Web site:

   https://metalink.oracle.com

2. Log on to OracleMetaLink.

   Note:

   If you are not an OracleMetaLink registered user, then click Register for MetaLink and register.

3. On the main OracleMetaLink screen, click Patches.

4. On the Select a Patch Search Area screen, click New MetaLink Patch Search.

5. On the Simple Search screen, click Advanced.

6. On the Advanced Search screen, click the search icon next to the Product or Product Family field.

7. In the Search and Select: Product Family field, enter RDBMS Server in the For field and click Go.

8. Select RDBMS Server under the Results heading, and click Select.

   RDBMS Server is displayed in the Product or Product Family field and the current release is displayed in the Release field.

9. Select the platform from the list in the Platform field and click Go.

10. All available patches are displayed under the Results heading. Click the number of the patch that you want to download.

11. On the Patch Set screen, click View README and read the contents of the screen that is displayed. The README screen contains information about the patch set and how to apply the patches to the installation.

12. Return to the Patch Set screen, click Download, and save the file on the system.

13. Use the unzip utility provided with Oracle Database 10g to uncompress the Oracle patches that you downloaded from OracleMetaLink.

    Note:

    If you have downloaded the patch to a PC, you must copy or ftp the file from the PC to OpenVMS in BINARY mode before unzipping.

5.14.3 Configuring Oracle Products

Many Oracle products and options must be configured before you use them for the first time. Before using individual Oracle Database 10g products or options, refer to the manual in the product documentation library which is available on the documentation installation media or on the Oracle Technology Network Web site at

http://www.oracle.com/technology

5.14.4 Verifying Enterprise Manager Operations

On all systems, you must run the following command to verify the Enterprise Manager configuration in the newly installed Oracle Real Application Clusters environment:

$SRVCTL CONFIG DATABASE -D db_name

This command (SRVCTL) displays the name of the node and the instance for the node. The following example shows a node named db1-server running an instance named db1. Run the following command:

$SRVCTL CONFIG DATABASE "-d" DB

The output should be similar to:

db1-server db1 /private/system/db
db2-server db2 /private/system/db

5.14.5 Setting Up Users Accounts After Installation

Oracle recommends that you complete this task after installing Oracle Real Application Clusters.

When you complete these procedures, proceed with the initial configuration tasks described in Section 6.8, "Configuring Oracle RAC".

5.15.1 Procedure for Removing Oracle Real Application Clusters Software

This section describes the procedure to uninstall Oracle Real Application Clusters. Before you perform these steps, consider making a backup of any databases that run from the Oracle home you are about to delete. You should then stop any instances and processes on all nodes, that depend on the software being uninstalled.

1. Delete all of the databases that are dependent on the Oracle home that you are deleting by using Database Configuration Assistant Delete a database option.

2. If the listener runs from this Oracle home, then use the Oracle Network Configuration Assistant to remove the listener and its configuration.

3. If the Oracle Clusterware node applications for virtual IP address, ONS, and GSD were created in this Oracle home, then you can remove them and re-create them in another Oracle Database 10g Oracle home, or you can modify the Oracle home for these applications so that they use an alternate Oracle Database 10g Oracle home. Both of these alternative procedures are described in the following two points.

   Perform one of the following procedures:

   • You can stop and remove the Oracle Clusterware node applications on each node that is associated with the Oracle home by running the following command:

     $ srvctl stop nodeapps -n  node_name 
     
     

     Do this, for all of the nodes that are affected by the deletion of the Oracle home. Then remove the Oracle Clusterware node applications by running the following command:

     $ @ORA_ROOT:[INSTALL]ROOTDELETENODE.COM
     
     

     Respond to any operating system prompts to confirm your operations for each node. If other Oracle Real Application Clusters Oracle homes exist, then re-create the node applications in that Oracle home by running the following command:

     $srvctl create nodeapps
     
     

   • Alternatively, you can modify the Oracle Clusterware node application Oracle home by running the following command:

     $ SRVCTL MODIFY NODEAPPS "-o" oracle_home
     

   See Also:

   Oracle Database Oracle Clusterware and Oracle Real Application Clusters Administration and Deployment Guide for more information about using Oracle Real Application Clusters scalability features of adding and deleting nodes and instances from Oracle Real Application Clusters databases and for details of the SRVCTL command syntax

4. After you complete the previous steps in this procedure, run Oracle Universal Installer and on the Welcome screen, click Deinstall Products to display the list of installed products on which you can select the Oracle home to uninstall.

   Note:

   You cannot perform a Oracle Real Application Clusters installation from the same Oracle Universal Installer session in which you perform a Oracle Real Application Clusters uninstallation. In other words, if you uninstall Oracle Real Application Clusters with Oracle Universal Installer and want to perform another Oracle Real Application Clusters installation, then you must start a new Oracle Universal Installer session.

5.15.2 Uninstalling Oracle Clusterware

Uninstall each Oracle Real Application Clusters home by running the procedure in Section 5.15.1, "Procedure for Removing Oracle Real Application Clusters Software". Then complete the procedure by removing the Oracle Clusterware software.

To uninstall the Oracle Clusterware software from an OpenVMS environment:

1. To disable the Oracle Clusterware applications that are running on the cluster node, run the following command from Oracle Clusterware home:

   $ @ORA_ROOT:[INSTALL]ROOTDELETE
   
   

   The ROOTDELETE.COM procedure requires three arguments. If you are running this command on a remote node of the cluster, then use REMOTE as the first argument. Otherwise, use LOCAL as the first argument. For the second argument, if the OCR.LOC file is on a shared file system, then use SHAREDVAR, otherwise use NOSHAREDVAR as the second argument. If the Oracle Clusterware home is on a shared file system, then use SHAREDHOME, otherwise use NOSHAREDHOME as the third argument. Repeat this step on each node of the cluster from which you want to uninstall Oracle Clusterware.

2. Run the following procedure on a local node from the Oracle Clusterware home to remove the OCR:

   $ @ORA_ROOT:[INSTALL]ROOTDEINSTALL
   
   

3. Run Oracle Universal Installer and in the Welcome screen, click Deinstall Products to display the list of installed products on which you can select the Oracle Clusterware home to uninstall.