8i | 9i | 10g | 11g | 12c | 13c | 18c | 19c | 21c | 23c | Misc | PL/SQL | SQL | RAC | WebLogic | Linux

Home » Articles » 11g » Here

Oracle 11g Release 1 RAC On Linux Using VMware Server 2

This article describes the installation of Oracle 11g release 1 (11.1 32-bit) RAC on Linux (Oracle Enterprise Linux 5 32-bit) using VMware Server 2 with no additional shared disk devices.

Introduction

One of the biggest obstacles preventing people from setting up test RAC environments is the requirement for shared storage. In a production environment, shared storage is often provided by a SAN or high-end NAS device, but both of these options are very expensive when all you want to do is get some experience installing and using RAC. A cheaper alternative is to use a FireWire disk enclosure to allow two machines to access the same disk(s), but that still costs money and requires two servers. A third option is to use VMware Server to fake the shared storage.

Using VMware Server you can run multiple Virtual Machines (VMs) on a single server, allowing you to run both RAC nodes on a single machine. In addition, it allows you to set up shared virtual disks, overcoming the obstacle of expensive shared storage.

Virtual RAC

Before you launch into this installation, here are a few things to consider.

Download Software

Download the following software.

VMware Server Installation

Regardless of the host OS, the setup of the virtual machines should be similar.

First, install the VMware Server software. On Linux you do this with the following command as the root user.

# rpm -Uvh VMware-server*.rpm
Preparing...                ########################################### [100%]
   1:VMware-server          ########################################### [100%]

The installation of VMware Server 2.0.0 for Linux completed successfully.
You can decide to remove this software from your system at any time by
invoking the following command: "rpm -e VMware-server".

Before running VMware Server for the first time, you need to
configure it for your running kernel by invoking the
following command: "/usr/bin/vmware-config.pl".

Enjoy,

    --the VMware team

#

Then finish the configuration by running the vmware-config.pl script as the root user. Most of the questions can be answered with the default response by pressing the return key. The output below shows my responses to the questions.

# vmware-config.pl
Making sure services for VMware Server are stopped.

Stopping VMware autostart virtual machines:
   Virtual machines                                        [FAILED]
Stopping VMware management services:
   VMware Virtual Infrastructure Web Access
   VMware Server Host Agent                                [FAILED]
Stopping VMware services:
   VMware Authentication Daemon                            [  OK  ]
   Virtual machine monitor                                 [  OK  ]

You must read and accept the End User License Agreement to continue.
Press enter to display it.

*** Editied out license agreement ***

Do you accept? (yes/no) yes

Thank you.

The bld-2.6.18-8.el5-x86_64smp-RHEL5 - vmmon module loads perfectly into the
running kernel.

The bld-2.6.18-8.el5-x86_64smp-RHEL5 - vmci module loads perfectly into the
running kernel.

The bld-2.6.18-8.el5-x86_64smp-RHEL5 - vsock module loads perfectly into the
running kernel.

Do you want networking for your virtual machines? (yes/no/help) [yes]

Configuring a bridged network for vmnet0.

Please specify a name for this network.
[Bridged]

The following bridged networks have been defined:

. vmnet0 is bridged to eth0

All your ethernet interfaces are already bridged.

Do you want to be able to use NAT networking in your virtual machines? (yes/no)
[yes]

Configuring a NAT network for vmnet8.

Please specify a name for this network. [NAT]

Do you want this program to probe for an unused private subnet? (yes/no/help)
[yes]

Probing for an unused private subnet (this can take some time)...

The subnet 192.168.130.0/255.255.255.0 appears to be unused.

The following NAT networks have been defined:

. vmnet8 is a NAT network on private subnet 192.168.130.0.

Do you wish to configure another NAT network? (yes/no) [no]

Do you want to be able to use host-only networking in your virtual machines?
[yes]

Configuring a host-only network for vmnet1.

Please specify a name for this network.
[HostOnly]

Do you want this program to probe for an unused private subnet? (yes/no/help)
[yes]

Probing for an unused private subnet (this can take some time)...

The subnet 192.168.129.0/255.255.255.0 appears to be unused.

The following host-only networks have been defined:

. vmnet1 is a host-only network on private subnet 192.168.129.0.

Do you wish to configure another host-only network? (yes/no) [no]

The bld-2.6.18-8.el5-x86_64smp-RHEL5 - vmnet module loads perfectly into the
running kernel.

Please specify a port for remote connections to use [902]

You have a pre-existing config.xml.  The new version will be created as
/etc/vmware/hostd/NEW_config.xml.  Please check the new file for any new values
that you may need to migrate to your current config.xml.

Please specify a port for standard http connections to use [8222]

Please specify a port for secure http (https) connections to use [8333]

The current administrative user for VMware Server  is 'root'.  Would you like
to specify a different administrator? [no]

Using root as the VMware Server administrator.

You have a pre-existing authorization.xml.  The new version will be created as
/etc/vmware/hostd/NEW_authorization.xml.  Please check the new file for any new
values that you may need to migrate to your current authorization.xml.

You have a pre-existing vmInventory.xml.  The new version will be created as
/etc/vmware/hostd/NEW_vmInventory.xml.  Please check the new file for any new
values that you may need to migrate to your current vmInventory.xml.

In which directory do you want to keep your virtual machine files?
[/var/lib/vmware/Virtual Machines] /u01/VM

You have a pre-existing datastores.xml.  The new version will be created as
/etc/vmware/hostd/NEW_datastores.xml.  Please check the new file for any new
values that you may need to migrate to your current datastores.xml.

Do you want to enter a serial number now? (yes/no/help) [no] yes

Please enter your 20-character serial number.

Type XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX or 'Enter' to cancel:  XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Creating a new VMware VIX API installer database using the tar4 format.

Installing VMware VIX API.

In which directory do you want to install the VMware VIX API binary files?
[/usr/bin]

In which directory do you want to install the VMware VIX API library files?
[/usr/lib/vmware-vix/lib]

The path "/usr/lib/vmware-vix/lib" does not exist currently. This program is
going to create it, including needed parent directories. Is this what you want?
[yes]

In which directory do you want to install the VMware VIX API document pages?
[/usr/share/doc/vmware-vix]

The path "/usr/share/doc/vmware-vix" does not exist currently. This program is
going to create it, including needed parent directories. Is this what you want?
[yes]

The installation of VMware VIX API 1.6.0 build-122956 for Linux completed
successfully. You can decide to remove this software from your system at any
time by invoking the following command: "/usr/bin/vmware-uninstall-vix.pl".

Enjoy,

--the VMware team

Starting VMware services:
   Virtual machine monitor                                 [  OK  ]
   Virtual machine communication interface                 [  OK  ]
   VM communication interface socket family:               [  OK  ]
   Virtual ethernet                                        [  OK  ]
   Bridged networking on /dev/vmnet0                       [  OK  ]
   Host-only networking on /dev/vmnet1 (background)        [  OK  ]
   DHCP server on /dev/vmnet1                              [  OK  ]
   Host-only networking on /dev/vmnet8 (background)        [  OK  ]
   DHCP server on /dev/vmnet8                              [  OK  ]
   NAT service on /dev/vmnet8                              [  OK  ]
   VMware Server Authentication Daemon (background)        [  OK  ]
   Shared Memory Available                                 [  OK  ]
Starting VMware management services:
   VMware Server Host Agent (background)                   [  OK  ]
   VMware Virtual Infrastructure Web Access
Starting VMware autostart virtual machines:
   Virtual machines                                        [  OK  ]

The configuration of VMware Server 2.0.0 build-122956 for Linux for this
running kernel completed successfully.

#

The web-based VMware Intrastructure Web Access Console is started by issuing the command "vmware" at the command prompt, or by pointing your browser to one of the two following URLs depending on whether you need Secure HTTP or not.

If you are using Secure HTTP, your browser may fail due to the self-signed certificate. In Firefox you can solve this by clicking the "Or you can add an exception..." link on the failure page.

Secure Connection Failed

On the resulting page, click the "Add Exception..." button..

Add Exception

On the "Add Security Exception" page, click the "Get Certificate" button, then click the "Confirm Security Exception" button.

Add Security Exception

You are then presented with the web-based login screen.

Login

Log in with the user specified during the config stage and you are presented with the VMware Intrastructure Web Access Console.

Console

The VMware Server is now installed and ready to use.

Virtual Machine Setup

Now we must define the two virtual RAC nodes. We can save time by defining one VM, then cloning it when it is installed.

Click the "Virtual Machine > Create Virtual Machine" menu option, or click the "Create Virtual Machine" link on the bottom right of the console.

Create Virtual Machine

Enter the name "RAC1" and accept the standard datastore by clicking the "Next" button.

New Virtual Machine Wizard Name

Select the "Linux operating system" option, and set the version to "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (32-bit)", then click the "Next" button.

New Virtual Machine Wizard Guest OS

Enter the required amount of memory and number of CPUs for the virtual machine, then click the "Next" button. You should enter a minimum of 1024MB of memory.

New Virtual Machine Wizard Memory And Processors

Click on the "Create a New Virtual Disk" link or click the "Next" button.

New Virtual Machine Wizard Hard Disk

Set the disk size to "10 GB" and click the "Next" button. Note: If you intend to unzip the Oracle installation software on the virtual disk you will need a 12-15 GB virtual disk.

New Virtual Machine Wizard Disk Size

Click the "Add a Network Adapter" link or click the "Next" button.

New Virtual Machine Wizard Network Adapter

Select the "Bridged" option and click the "Next" button.

New Virtual Machine Wizard Network Properties

Click the "Use a Physical Drive" link, or click the "Next" button.

New Virtual Machine Wizard DVD

Accept the DVD properties by clicking the "Next" button.

New Virtual Machine Wizard DVD properties

Click the "Don't Add a Floppy Drive" link.

New Virtual Machine Wizard Floppy

Click the "Add a USB Controller" link, or click the "Next" button.

New Virtual Machine Wizard USB

Click the "Finish" button to create the virtual machine.

New Virtual Machine Wizard Finish

Highlight the "RAC1" VM in the "Inventory" pane, then click the "Add Hardware" link in the "Commands" section to the right.

Console RAC1

Click the "Network Adapter" link.

Network Adapter

Select the "Bridged" option and click the "Next" button.

Network Properties

Click the "Finish" button.

Finish

The virtual machine is now configured so we can start the guest operating system installation.

Guest Operating System Installation

Place the first OEL 5 disk in the DVD drive and start the virtual machine by clicking the play button on the toolbar.

Start VM

Click on the "Console" tab. If you have not previously installed the VMware browser plugin you will be prompted to do so. If it is already present, simply click on the black pane to the right to open a new console window.

Console

The resulting console window will contain the OEL boot screen.

OEL Boot

Continue through the OEL 5 installation as you would for a normal server. A general pictorial guide to the installation can be found here. More specifically, it should be a server installation with a minimum of 2G swap, firewall and SELinux disabled and the following package groups installed:

To be consistent with the rest of the article, the following information should be set during the installation.

You are free to change the IP addresses to suit your network, but remember to stay consistent with those adjustments throughout the rest of the article.

Once the basic installation is complete, install the following packages whilst logged in as the root user.

# From Enterprise Linux 5 DVD
cd /media/cdrom/Server
rpm -Uvh binutils-2.*
rpm -Uvh elfutils-libelf-0.*
rpm -Uvh glibc-2.*
rpm -Uvh glibc-common-2.*
rpm -Uvh libaio-0.*
rpm -Uvh libgcc-4.*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-4.*
rpm -Uvh make-3.*
rpm -Uvh compat-libstdc++-33*
rpm -Uvh elfutils-libelf-devel-*
rpm -Uvh glibc-headers*
rpm -Uvh glibc-devel-2.*
rpm -Uvh libgomp*
rpm -Uvh gcc-4.*
rpm -Uvh gcc-c++-4.*
rpm -Uvh libaio-devel-0.*
rpm -Uvh libstdc++-devel-4.*
rpm -Uvh unixODBC-2.*
rpm -Uvh unixODBC-devel-2.*
rpm -Uvh sysstat-7.*
cd /
eject

Oracle Installation Prerequisites

Perform the following steps whilst logged into the RAC1 virtual machine as the root user.

The "/etc/hosts" file must contain the following information.

127.0.0.1       localhost.localdomain   localhost
# Public
192.168.2.101   rac1.localdomain        rac1
192.168.2.102   rac2.localdomain        rac2
#Private
192.168.0.101   rac1-priv.localdomain   rac1-priv
192.168.0.102   rac2-priv.localdomain   rac2-priv
#Virtual
192.168.2.111   rac1-vip.localdomain    rac1-vip
192.168.2.112   rac2-vip.localdomain    rac2-vip

Add the following lines to the "/etc/sysctl.conf" file.

kernel.shmmni = 4096
# semaphores: semmsl, semmns, semopm, semmni
kernel.sem = 250 32000 100 128
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 1024 65000
net.core.rmem_default=4194304
net.core.rmem_max=4194304
net.core.wmem_default=262144
net.core.wmem_max=262144

Run the following command to change the current kernel parameters.

/sbin/sysctl -p

Add the following lines to the "/etc/security/limits.conf" file.

oracle               soft    nproc   2047
oracle               hard    nproc   16384
oracle               soft    nofile  1024
oracle               hard    nofile  65536

Add the following lines to the "/etc/pam.d/login" file, if it does not already exist.

session    required     pam_limits.so

Disable secure linux by editing the "/etc/selinux/config" file, making sure the SELINUX flag is set as follows.

SELINUX=disabled

Alternatively, this alteration can be done using the GUI tool (System > Administration > Security Level and Firewall). Click on the SELinux tab and disable the feature.

Create the new groups and users.

groupadd oinstall
groupadd dba
groupadd oper
groupadd asmadmin

useradd -u 500 -g oinstall -G dba,oper,asmadmin oracle
passwd oracle

Create the directories in which the Oracle software will be installed.

mkdir -p /u01/crs/oracle/product/11.1.0/crs
mkdir -p /u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1
chown -R oracle:oinstall /u01

Login as the oracle user and add the following lines at the end of the ".bash_profile" file.

# Oracle Settings
TMP=/tmp; export TMP
TMPDIR=$TMP; export TMPDIR

ORACLE_HOSTNAME=rac1.localdomain; export ORACLE_HOSTNAME
ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle; export ORACLE_BASE
ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/11.1.0/db_1; export ORACLE_HOME
ORACLE_SID=RAC1; export ORACLE_SID
ORACLE_TERM=xterm; export ORACLE_TERM
PATH=/usr/sbin:$PATH; export PATH
PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$PATH; export PATH

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib:/lib:/usr/lib; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/JRE:$ORACLE_HOME/jlib:$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/jlib; export CLASSPATH

if [ $USER = "oracle" ]; then
  if [ $SHELL = "/bin/ksh" ]; then
    ulimit -p 16384
    ulimit -n 65536
  else
    ulimit -u 16384 -n 65536
  fi
fi

Install VMware Client Tools

On the web console, highlight the "RAC1" VM and click the "Install VMware Tools" link and click the subsequent "Install" button.

Install VMware Tools

In the RAC1 console, right-click on the "VMwareTools*.rpm" file and select the "Open with "Software Installer"" option.

Software Installer

Click the "Apply" button and accept the warning by clicking the subsequent "Install Anyway" button.

Installing Packages

Next, run the "vmware-config-tools.pl" script as the root user.

# vmware-config-tools.pl

Accept all the default settings and pick the screen resolution of your choice. Ignore any warnings or errors. The VMware client tools are now installed.

Issue the "vmware-toolbox" command as the root user. On the subsequent dialog, check the "Time synchronization..." option and click the "Close" button.

Time Sync

Reboot the server before proceeding. After the reboot, it is possible the monitor will not be recognised. If this is the case don't panic. Follow the instructions provided on the screen and reconfigure the monitor setting, which will allow the XServer to function correctly.

Create Shared Disks

Shut down the RAC1 virtual machine using the following command.

# shutdown -h now

Create a directory on the host system to hold the shared virtual disks.

# mkdir -p /u01/VM/shared

On the VMware Intrastructure Web Access Console, click the "Add Hardware" link.

Add Hardware

Click the "Hard Disk" link, or click the "Next" button.

Add Hard Disk

Click the "Create New Virtual Disk" link, or click the "Next" button.

Create Virtual Disk

Set the size to "10 GB" and the location to "[standard] shared/ocr.vmdk".

Disk Size And Location

Expand the "Disk Mode" section and check the "Independent" and "Persistent" options. Expand the "Virtual Device Node" section and set the adapter to "SCSI 1" and the device to "1", then click the "Next" button.

Disk Settings

Click the "Finish" button to add the new virtual disk.

Disk Finish

Repeat the previous hard disk creation steps 4 more times, using the following values.

At the end of this process, the virtual machine should look something like the picture below.

Virtual Machine Settings Final

Edit the contents of the "/u01/VM/RAC1/RAC1.vmx" file using a text editor, making sure the following entries are present. Some of the tries will already be present, some will not.

disk.locking = "FALSE"
diskLib.dataCacheMaxSize = "0"
diskLib.dataCacheMaxReadAheadSize = "0"
diskLib.dataCacheMinReadAheadSize = "0"
diskLib.dataCachePageSize = "4096"
diskLib.maxUnsyncedWrites = "0"

scsi1.present = "TRUE"
scsi1.sharedBus = "VIRTUAL"
scsi1.virtualDev = "lsilogic"

scsi1:1.present = "TRUE"
scsi1:1.fileName = "/u01/VM/shared/ocr.vmdk"
scsi1:1.writeThrough = "TRUE"
scsi1:1.mode = "independent-persistent"
scsi1:1.deviceType = "plainDisk"
scsi1:1.redo = ""

scsi1:2.present = "TRUE"
scsi1:2.fileName = "/u01/VM/shared/votingdisk.vmdk"
scsi1:2.writeThrough = "TRUE"
scsi1:2.mode = "independent-persistent"
scsi1:2.deviceType = "plainDisk"
scsi1:2.redo = ""

scsi1:3.present = "TRUE"
scsi1:3.fileName = "/u01/VM/shared/asm1.vmdk"
scsi1:3.writeThrough = "TRUE"
scsi1:3.mode = "independent-persistent"
scsi1:3.deviceType = "plainDisk"
scsi1:3.redo = ""

scsi1:4.present = "TRUE"
scsi1:4.fileName = "/u01/VM/shared/asm2.vmdk"
scsi1:4.writeThrough = "TRUE"
scsi1:4.mode = "independent-persistent"
scsi1:4.deviceType = "plainDisk"
scsi1:4.redo = ""

scsi1:5.present = "TRUE"
scsi1:5.fileName = "/u01/VM/shared/asm3.vmdk"
scsi1:5.writeThrough = "TRUE"
scsi1:5.mode = "independent-persistent"
scsi1:5.deviceType = "plainDisk"
scsi1:5.redo = ""

Start the RAC1 virtual machine by clicking the "Play" button on the toolbar, then start the console as before. When the server has started, log in as the root user so you can partition the disks. The current disks can be seen by issuing the following commands.

# cd /dev
# ls sd*
sda  sda1  sda2  sdb  sdc  sdd  sde  sdf
#

Use the "fdisk" command to partition the disks sdb to sdf. The following output shows the expected fdisk output for the sdb disk.

# fdisk /dev/sdb
Device contains neither a valid DOS partition table, nor Sun, SGI or OSF disklabel
Building a new DOS disklabel. Changes will remain in memory only,
until you decide to write them. After that, of course, the previous
content won't be recoverable.


The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 1305.
There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024,
and could in certain setups cause problems with:
1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO)
2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs
   (e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK)
Warning: invalid flag 0x0000 of partition table 4 will be corrected by w(rite)

Command (m for help): n
Command action
   e   extended
   p   primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 1
First cylinder (1-1305, default 1):
Using default value 1
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (1-1305, default 1305):
Using default value 1305

Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/sdb: 10.7 GB, 10737418240 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1305 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1               1        1305    10482381   83  Linux

Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
Syncing disks.
#

In each case, the sequence of answers is "n", "p", "1", "Return", "Return", "p" and "w".

Once all the disks are partitioned, the results can be seen by repeating the previous "ls" command.

# cd /dev
# ls sd*
sda  sda1  sda2  sdb  sdb1  sdc  sdc1  sdd  sdd1  sde  sde1  sdf  sdf1
#

Add the following commands to the "/etc/rc.local" file.

chown oracle:oinstall /dev/sdb1
chown oracle:oinstall /dev/sdc1
chown oracle:oinstall /dev/sdd1
chown oracle:oinstall /dev/sde1
chown oracle:oinstall /dev/sdf1
chmod 600 /dev/sdb1
chmod 600 /dev/sdc1
chmod 600 /dev/sdd1
chmod 600 /dev/sde1
chmod 600 /dev/sdf1

The shared disks are now configured. We don't have to worry about defining raw devices, which are deprecated in Enterprise Linux 5.

Clone the Virtual Machine

The current version of VMware Server does not include an option to clone a virtual machine, but the following steps illustrate how this can be achieved manually.

Shut down the RAC1 virtual machine using the following command.

# shutdown -h now

Copy the RAC1 virtual machine using the following command.

# cp -R /u01/VM/RAC1 /u01/VM/RAC2

Edit the contents of the "/u01/VM/RAC2/RAC1.vmx" file, making the following change.

displayName = "RAC2"

Ignore discrepancies with the file names in the "/u01/VM/RAC2" directory. This does not affect the action of the virtual machine.

In the VMware Infrastructure Web Access Console, select the "Virtual Machine > Add Virtual Machien to Inventory" menu options and browse for the "/u01/VM/RAC2/RAC1.vmx" file. Once opened, the RAC2 virtual machine is visible on the console.

Add Virtual Machine

Start the RAC2 virtual machine by clicking the "Play" button on the toolbar. Select the "I _copied it" option click the "OK" button when prompted.

Copy Message

Ignore any errors during the server startup. We are expecting the networking components to fail at this point.

Log in to the RAC2 virtual machine as the root user and start the "Network Configuration" tool (System > Administration > Network).

Network Configuration

Remove the devices with the "%.bak" nicknames. To do this, highlight a device, deactivate, then delete it. This will leave just the regular "eth0" and "eth1" devices. Highlight the "eth0" interface and click the "Edit" button on the toolbar and alter the IP address to "192.168.2.102" in the resulting screen.

eth0 General

Click on the "Hardware Device" tab and click the "Probe" button. Then accept the changes by clicking the "OK" button.

eth0 Hardware Devices

Repeat the process for the "eth1" interface, this time setting the IP Address to "192.168.0.102", and making sure the default gateway is not set for the "eth1" interface.

Click on the "DNS" tab and change the host name to "rac2.localdomain", then click on the "Devices" tab.

Network Configuration DNS

Once you are finished, save the changes (File > Save) and activate the network interfaces by highlighting them and clicking the "Activate" button. Once activated, the screen should look like the following image.

Network Configuration Final

Edit the "/home/oracle/.bash_profile" file on the RAC2 node to correct the ORACLE_SID and ORACLE_HOSTNAME values.

ORACLE_SID=RAC2; export ORACLE_SID
ORACLE_HOSTNAME=rac2.localdomain; export ORACLE_HOSTNAME

Start the RAC1 virtual machine and restart the RAC2 virtual machine. When both nodes have started, check they can both ping all the public and private IP addresses using the following commands.

ping -c 3 rac1
ping -c 3 rac1-priv
ping -c 3 rac2
ping -c 3 rac2-priv

At this point the virtual IP addresses defined in the /etc/hosts file will not work, so don't bother testing them.

Configure SSH on each node in the cluster. Log in as the "oracle" user and perform the following tasks on each node.

su - oracle
mkdir ~/.ssh
chmod 700 ~/.ssh
/usr/bin/ssh-keygen -t rsa # Accept the default settings.

The RSA public key is written to the ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub file and the private key to the ~/.ssh/id_rsa file.

Log in as the "oracle" user on RAC1, generate an "authorized_keys" file on RAC1 and copy it to RAC2 using the following commands.

su - oracle
cd ~/.ssh
cat id_rsa.pub >> authorized_keys
scp authorized_keys rac2:/home/oracle/.ssh/

Next, log in as the "oracle" user on RAC2 and perform the following commands.

su - oracle
cd ~/.ssh
cat id_rsa.pub >> authorized_keys
scp authorized_keys rac1:/home/oracle/.ssh/

The "authorized_keys" file on both servers now contains the public keys generated on all RAC nodes.

To enable SSH user equivalency on the cluster member nodes issue the following commands on each node.

ssh rac1 date
ssh rac2 date
ssh rac1.localdomain date
ssh rac2.localdomain date
exec /usr/bin/ssh-agent $SHELL
/usr/bin/ssh-add

You should now be able to SSH and SCP between servers without entering passwords.

Before installing the clusterware, check the prerequisites have been met using the "runcluvfy.sh" utility in the clusterware root directory.

/mountpoint/clusterware/runcluvfy.sh stage -pre crsinst -n rac1,rac2 -verbose

If you get any failures be sure to correct them before proceeding.

It's a good idea to take a snapshot of the virtual machines, so you can repeat the following stages if you run into any problems. To do this, shutdown both virtual machines and issue the following commands.

# cd /u01/VM
# tar -cvf RAC-PreClusterware.tar RAC1 RAC2 shared
# gzip RAC-PreClusterware.tar

The virtual machine setup is now complete.

Install the Clusterware Software

Start the RAC1 and RAC2 virtual machines, login to RAC1 as the oracle user and start the Oracle installer.

./runInstaller

On the "Welcome" screen, click the "Next" button.

Clusterware Welcome

Accept the default inventory location by clicking the "Next" button.

Clusterware Inventory

Enter the appropriate name and path for the Oracle Home and click the "Next" button.

Clusterware Oracle Home

Wait while the prerequisite checks are done. If you have any failures correct them and retry the tests before clicking the "Next" button.

Clusterware Prerequisites

The "Specify Cluster Configuration" screen shows only the RAC1 node in the cluster. Click the "Add" button to continue.

Clusterware Cluster Config

Enter the details for the RAC2 node and click the "OK" button.

Clusterware Cluster Config Add

Click the "Next" button to continue.

Clusterware Cluster Config

The "Specific Network Interface Usage" screen defines how each network interface will be used. Highlight the "eth0" interface and click the "Edit" button.

Clusterware Network Interface Usage

Set the "eht0" interface type to "Public" and click the "OK" button.

Clusterware Network Interface Eth0 Type

Leave the "eth1" interface as private and click the "Next" button.

Clusterware Network Interface Usage

Click the "External Redundancy" option, enter "/dev/sdb1" as the OCR Location and click the "Next" button. To have greater redundancy we would need to define another shared disk for an alternate location.

Clusterware OCR Location

Click the "External Redundancy" option, enter "/dev/sdc1" as the Voting Disk Location and click the "Next" button. To have greater redundancy we would need to define another shared disk for an alternate location.

Clusterware Voting Disk Location

On the "Summary" screen, click the "Install" button to continue.

Clusterware Summary

Wait while the installation takes place.

Clusterware Install

Once the install is complete, run the orainstRoot.sh and root.sh scripts on both nodes as directed on the following screen.

Clusterware Post Install Scripts

The output from the orainstRoot.sh file should look something like that listed below.

# cd /u01/app/oraInventory
# ./orainstRoot.sh
Changing permissions of /u01/app/oraInventory to 770.
Changing groupname of /u01/app/oraInventory to oinstall.
The execution of the script is complete
#

The output of the root.sh will vary a little depending on the node it is run on. The following text is the output from the RAC1 node.

# cd /u01/crs/oracle/product/11.1.0/crs
# ./root.sh
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product/11.1.0' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01' is not owned by root
Checking to see if Oracle CRS stack is already configured
/etc/oracle does not exist. Creating it now.

Setting the permissions on OCR backup directory
Setting up Network socket directories
Oracle Cluster Registry configuration upgraded successfully
The directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product/11.1.0' is not owned by root. Changing owner to root
The directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product' is not owned by root. Changing owner to root
The directory '/u01/crs/oracle' is not owned by root. Changing owner to root
The directory '/u01/crs' is not owned by root. Changing owner to root
The directory '/u01' is not owned by root. Changing owner to root
Successfully accumulated necessary OCR keys.
Using ports: CSS=49895 CRS=49896 EVMC=49898 and EVMR=49897.
node <nodenumber>: <nodename> <private interconnect name> <hostname>
node 1: rac1 rac1-priv rac1
node 2: rac2 rac2-priv rac2
Creating OCR keys for user 'root', privgrp 'root'..
Operation successful.
Now formatting voting device: /dev/sdc1
Format of 1 voting devices complete.
Startup will be queued to init within 30 seconds.
Adding daemons to inittab
Expecting the CRS daemons to be up within 600 seconds.
Cluster Synchronization Services is active on these nodes.
        rac1
Cluster Synchronization Services is inactive on these nodes.
        rac2
Local node checking complete. Run root.sh on remaining nodes to start CRS daemons.
#

Ignore the directory ownership warnings. We should really use a separate directory structure for the clusterware so it can be owned by the root user, but it has little effect on the finished results.

The output from the RAC2 node is listed below.

# cd /u01/crs/oracle/product/11.1.0/crs
# ./root.sh
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product/11.1.0' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01' is not owned by root
Checking to see if Oracle CRS stack is already configured
/etc/oracle does not exist. Creating it now.

Setting the permissions on OCR backup directory
Setting up Network socket directories
Oracle Cluster Registry configuration upgraded successfully
The directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product/11.1.0' is not owned by root. Changing owner to root
The directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product' is not owned by root. Changing owner to root
The directory '/u01/crs/oracle' is not owned by root. Changing owner to root
The directory '/u01/crs' is not owned by root. Changing owner to root
The directory '/u01' is not owned by root. Changing owner to root
clscfg: EXISTING configuration version 4 detected.
clscfg: version 4 is 11 Release 1.
Successfully accumulated necessary OCR keys.
Using ports: CSS=49895 CRS=49896 EVMC=49898 and EVMR=49897.
node <nodenumber>: <nodename> <private interconnect name> <hostname>
node 1: rac1 rac1-priv rac1
node 2: rac2 rac2-priv rac2
clscfg: Arguments check out successfully.

NO KEYS WERE WRITTEN. Supply -force parameter to override.
-force is destructive and will destroy any previous cluster
configuration.
Oracle Cluster Registry for cluster has already been initialized
Startup will be queued to init within 30 seconds.
Adding daemons to inittab
Expecting the CRS daemons to be up within 600 seconds.
Cluster Synchronization Services is active on these nodes.
        rac1
        rac2
Cluster Synchronization Services is active on all the nodes.
Waiting for the Oracle CRSD and EVMD to start
Waiting for the Oracle CRSD and EVMD to start
Waiting for the Oracle CRSD and EVMD to start
Oracle CRS stack installed and running under init(1M)
Running vipca(silent) for configuring nodeapps

Creating VIP application resource on (2) nodes...
Creating GSD application resource on (2) nodes...
Creating ONS application resource on (2) nodes...
Starting VIP application resource on (2) nodes...
Starting GSD application resource on (2) nodes...
Starting ONS application resource on (2) nodes...


Done.
#

Here you can see that some of the configuration steps are omitted as they were done by the first node. In addition, the final part of the script ran the Virtual IP Configuration Assistant (VIPCA) in silent mode.

You should now return to the "Execute Configuration Scripts" screen on RAC1 and click the "OK" button.

Clusterware Post Install Scripts

Wait for the configuration assistants to complete.

Clusterware Config Assistants

When the installation is complete, click the "Exit" button to leave the installer.

Clusterware Complete

It's a good idea to take a snapshot of the virtual machines, so you can repeat the following stages if you run into any problems. To do this, shutdown both virtual machines and issue the following commands.

# cd /u01/VM
# tar -cvf RAC-PostClusterware.tar RAC1 RAC2 shared
# gzip RAC-PostClusterware.tar

The clusterware installation is now complete.

Install the Database Software and Create an ASM Instance

Start the RAC1 and RAC2 virtual machines, login to RAC1 as the oracle user and start the Oracle installer.

./runInstaller

On the "Welcome" screen, click the "Next" button.

Database Welcome

Select the "Enterprise Edition" option and click the "Next" button.

Database Installation Type

Enter the name and path for the Oracle Home and click the "Next" button.

Database Specify Home

Select the "Cluster Install" option and make sure both RAC nodes are selected, the click the "Next" button.

Database Cluster Installation

Wait while the prerequisite checks are done. If you have any failures correct them and retry the tests before clicking the "Next" button.

Database Prerequisites

Select the "Configure Automatic Storage Management (ASM)" option, enter the SYS password for the ASM instance, then click the "Next" button.

Database Configuration Option

Select the "External" redundancy option (no mirroring), select all three raw disks (/dev/sdd1, /dev/sde1 and /dev/sdf1), then click the "Next" button.

Database Configure ASM

The candidate disks may not be listed at first. If this is the case, click the "Change Disk Discovery Path..." button, enter the value "/dev/sd*", then click the "OK" button. After a short pause, the candidate disks should be listed as above.

Database Configure ASM Discovery Path

Click the "next" button to avoid the Oracle Configuration Manager Registration.

Database Oracle Configuration Manager Registration

On the "Summary" screen, click the "Install" button to continue.

Database Summary

Wait while the database software installs.

Database Install

Once the installation is complete, wait while the configuration assistants run.

Database Configuration Asistants

Execute the "root.sh" scripts on both nodes, as instructed on the "Execute Configuration scripts" screen, then click the "OK" button.

Database Post Install Scripts

When the installation is complete, click the "Exit" button to leave the installer.

Database Complete

It's a good idea to take a snapshot of the virtual machines, so you can repeat the following stages if you run into any problems. To do this, shutdown both virtual machines and issue the following commands.

# cd /u01/VM
# tar -cvf RAC-PostASM.tar RAC1 RAC2 shared
# gzip RAC-PostASM.tar

The database software installation and ASM creation step is now complete.

Create a Database using the DBCA

Start the RAC1 and RAC2 virtual machines, login to RAC1 as the oracle user and start the Database Configuration Assistant.

dbca

On the "Welcome" screen, select the "Oracle Real Application Clusters database" option and click the "Next" button.

DBCA Welcome

Select the "Create a Database" option and click the "Next" button.

DBCA Create Database

Highlight both RAC nodes and click the "Next" button.

DBCA Node Selection

Select the "Custom Database" option and click the "Next" button.

DBCA CustomDatabase

Enter the values "RAC.WORLD" and "RAC" for the Global Database Name and SID Prefix respectively, then click the "Next" button.

DBCA Database ID

Accept the management options by clicking the "Next" button. If you are attempting the installation on a server with limited memory, you may prefer not to configure Enterprise Manager at this time.

DBCA Management Options

Enter database passwords then click the "Next" button.

DBCA Database Credentials

Select the "Automatic Storage Management (ASM)" option, then click the "Next" button.

DBCA ASM

Select the "DATA" disk group, then click the "Next" button.

DBCA Disk Groups

Accept the "Use Oracle-Managed Files" database location by the "Next" button.

DBCA Database Location

Check both the "Specify Flash Recovery Area" and "Enable Archiving" options. Enter "+DATA" as the Flash Recovery Area, then click the "Next" button.

DBCA Recovery Config

If you are attempting a minimual installation, uncheck all but the "Enterprise Manager Repository" option, then click the "Standard Database Components..." button.

DBCA Database Content

Uncheck all but the "Oracle JVM" and "Oracle XML DB" options, then click the "OK" button, followed by the "Next" button on the previous screen. If you are attempting the installation on a server with limited memory, you may prefer not to install the JVM at this time.

DBCA Standard DB Components

Accept the "Custom" option and accept the default settings by clicking the "Next" button.

DBCA Parameters

Accept the default security settings by clicking the "Next" button.

DBCA Security Settings

Accept the default automatic maintenence task settings by clicking the "Next" button.

DBCA Automatic Maintenance Tasks

Accept the database storage settings by clicking the "Next" button.

DBCA Storage

Accept the database creation options by clicking the "Finish" button.

DBCA Creation Options

Accept the summary information by clicking the "OK" button.

DBCA Summary

Wait while the database is created.

DBCA Creation

Once the database creation is complete you are presented with the following screen. Make a note of the information on the screen and click the "Exit" button.

DBCA Complete

The RAC database creation is now complete.

TNS Configuration

Once the installation is complete, the "$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/listener.ora" file on each RAC node will contain entries similar to the following.

LISTENER_RAC1 =
  (DESCRIPTION_LIST =
    (DESCRIPTION =
      (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = IPC)(KEY = EXTPROC1521))
      (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac1-vip)(PORT = 1521)(IP = FIRST))
      (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = 192.168.2.101)(PORT = 1521)(IP = FIRST))
    )
  )

The "$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/tnsnames.ora" file on each RAC node will contain entries similar to the following.

RAC =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac1-vip)(PORT = 1521))
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac2-vip)(PORT = 1521))
    (LOAD_BALANCE = yes)
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVER = DEDICATED)
      (SERVICE_NAME = RAC.WORLD)
    )
  )

LISTENERS_RAC =
  (ADDRESS_LIST =
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac1-vip)(PORT = 1521))
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac2-vip)(PORT = 1521))
  )

RAC2 =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac2-vip)(PORT = 1521))
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVER = DEDICATED)
      (SERVICE_NAME = RAC.WORLD)
      (INSTANCE_NAME = RAC2)
    )
  )

RAC1 =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac1-vip)(PORT = 1521))
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVER = DEDICATED)
      (SERVICE_NAME = RAC.WORLD)
      (INSTANCE_NAME = RAC1)
    )
  )

This configuration allows direct connections to specific instance, or using a load balanced connection to the main service.

$ sqlplus / as sysdba

SQL*Plus: Release 11.1.0.6.0 - Production on Mon Oct 22 09:09:01 2007

Copyright (c) 1982, 2007, Oracle.  All rights reserved.


Connected to:
Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition Release 11.1.0.6.0 - Production
With the Partitioning, Real Application Clusters, OLAP, Data Mining
and Real Application Testing options

SQL> CONN sys/password@rac1 AS SYSDBA
Connected.
SQL> SELECT instance_name, host_name FROM v$instance;

INSTANCE_NAME    HOST_NAME
---------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
RAC1             rac1.localdomain

SQL> CONN sys/password@rac2 AS SYSDBA
Connected.
SQL> SELECT instance_name, host_name FROM v$instance;

INSTANCE_NAME    HOST_NAME
---------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
RAC2             rac2.localdomain

SQL> CONN sys/password@rac AS SYSDBA
Connected.
SQL> SELECT instance_name, host_name FROM v$instance;

INSTANCE_NAME    HOST_NAME
---------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
RAC1             rac1.localdomain

SQL>

Check the Status of the RAC

There are several ways to check the status of the RAC. The srvctl utility shows the current configuration and status of the RAC database.

$ srvctl config database -d RAC
rac1 RAC1 /u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1
rac2 RAC2 /u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1
$

$ srvctl status database -d RAC
Instance RAC1 is running on node rac1
Instance RAC2 is running on node rac2
$

The V$ACTIVE_INSTANCES view can also display the current status of the instances.

$ sqlplus / as sysdba

SQL*Plus: Release 11.1.0.6.0 - Production on Mon Oct 22 09:09:01 2007

Copyright (c) 1982, 2007, Oracle.  All rights reserved.


Connected to:
Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition Release 11.1.0.6.0 - Production
With the Partitioning, Real Application Clusters, OLAP, Data Mining
and Real Application Testing options

SQL> SELECT * FROM v$active_instances;

INST_NUMBER INST_NAME
----------- ------------------------------------------------------------
          1 rac1.localdomain:RAC1
          2 rac2.localdomain:RAC2

SQL>

Finally, the GV$ allow you to display global information for the whole RAC.

SQL> SELECT inst_id, program, sid, serial# FROM gv$session;

   INST_ID PROGRAM                                                 SID    SERIAL#
---------- ------------------------------------------------ ---------- ----------
         1 oracle@rac1.localdomain (q002)                          121         46
.
.
         1 racgimon@rac1.localdomain (TNS V1-V3)                   170         11
         2 sqlplus@rac2.localdomain (TNS V1-V3)                    120         51
.
.
         2 oracle@rac2.localdomain (RSMN)                          170          3

77 rows selected.

SQL>

If you have configured Enterprise Manager, it can be used to view the configuration and current status of the database using a URL like "https://rac1.localdomain:1158/em".

Oracle Enterprise Manager

For more information see:

Hope this helps. Regards Tim...

Back to the Top.