This document highlights the steps to install and new Oracle RAC binary on AIX cluster system using Veritas Clusterware without ASM. I’ll be discussing only the CRS/ORACLE installation and database setup. There is a lot of work that needs to be done prior to installing the Oracle software,(ie os, hardware an network setup) which we’ll not be covering here.
Assumptions: - The hardware is ready and the OS, network and Heart beat are setup properly. Veritas software is loaded and the storage disks are configured (A sample layout of the storage I have used for RAC is shown below (Table 1.00)
Table 1.00
FILE SYSTEM NAME SIZE COMMENT
/u0/app/oracle/cluster/crs 12GB CRS home and Logs
/u02/app/oracle/product 16GB ORACLE_HOME
/u03/app/oracle/admin 12GB Oracle dump directory
/uo4/misc 20GB Work space
/u05h/app/oracle/arch 20GB Archive space
/u06h/app/oracle/ocr 12GB For OCR
/u07h/app/oracle/vote 12GB For Vote disk
/u08h/app/oracle/oradata/system01 10GB For system datafiles
/u09h/app/oracle/oradata/system02 10GB For system datafiles
/u10h/app/oracle/oradata/system03 10GB For system data files.
/u11h/,,,….. As needed For apps data files …… As needed “
Uxxh As needed “
Note : - the letter “h” denotes that the filesystem is global (clustered). I have used local file system for Oracle and CRS binaries.These sizes are sample sizes need not be suitable for your environment.
The Oracle and CRS binaries were installed using the “oracle:dba” account. No two separate accounts were used for “oracle” and “CRS” installation. The oracle and CRS binaries were installed on non-global file systems.
Installation Process.
Before you begin to perform the installation.
· Copy the required binaries “the oracle clusterware for 10g”(The s/w can be downloaded from http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/database/oracle10g/htdocs/10201aixsoft.html) · Make sure that the global file systems are accessible from both the nodes.
· Make sure you could “ssh’ to both the boxes. (From node1 to node2 and viceversa).
· Make sure VCS is online and it good state.
· Verify the hearbeat connection.
· Make sure your environment is set to CRS_HOME.
ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/crs/bin ; export ORACLE_HOME ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle; export ORACLE_BASE ORACLE_SID=crs ; export ORACLE_SID umask 022 EXPORT PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin;$PATH EXPORT LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib
· Make sure you have set the oracle recommended kernel parameters.
· Verify the /etc/hosts file on all the nodes. It should have a public IP address for both the nodes,
private IP address for both nodes and a VIP (virtual IP ) configured for both nodes.
$> more /etc/hosts
# Public
xxx.xxx.xx.xxx node1.localdomain node1
xxx.xxx.xx.xxx node2.localdomain node2
#Private
xxx.xxx.xx.xxx node1-pvt.localdomain node1-pvt
xxx.xxx.xx.xxx node2-pvt.localdomain node2-pvt
#Virtual
xxx.xxx.xx.xxx node1-vrt.localdomain node1-vrt
xxx.xxx.xx.xxx node2-vrt.localdomain node2-vrt
CRS Installation
From a DBA perspective CRS installation can be complex, if the hardware is not not configured properly. It’s better to have a good understanding about the concepts before proceeding. Understand what the VIPS are for how RAC is using them. I would recommend reading the oracle RAC installation documents and get a thorough understanding of the hardware requirements and setup details.
1. Start the media installation for CRS.
./runInstaller
Login as root on another screen and run “rootpre.sh”. Once finished continue here by entering “y” at the prompt.
2. You’ll see the Oracle installer welcome page. Hit next
3. Enter your inventory path and group name.
4. Enter the crs_home name and path to install the crs. Hit next. You might see a warning saying that “The directory “ is not empty, in most cases this is O.k. you can proceed.
5. Hit next. You will see a screen with the results of the pre-requisite checks. Check for any warning and proceed. The next screen you see might look something similar to this.
If you don’t see the node names in the screen, it shows a problem(pl see issues faced) . If this screen is populated like shown above, then you are good. The n/w address information most of the time will be auto generated. Pl edit the address and
change it according to your settings. Hit ok and then next.
6. Edit and change the n/w address if necessary.
7.In the next screen the DBA checks the external redundancy box and enter global file name allocated for Oracle cluster registry (OCR). I have decided to go with external redundancy.
8.Next screen prompts you to enter the Voting Disk Location. Check the external redundancy and enter the voting disk location
9. The next screen shows you the summary. Review the summary and hit Install. The CRS installation begins and
10. The installer stops and asks the following scripts to be run. In some cases I have seen it asks you to run only root.sh. That’s normal. Don’t hit ok. Continue from step 11.
11. Execute the scripts and hit OK
12. Once the scripts are successfully executed. Log in as root on a separate window and start VIPCA( Virtual IP config assistant).
13.
14. select the public interface from the list
15. Enter the virtual alias. Hit next review the summary and hit Finish.Exit when done
17. If everything goes well go back to step 10 and hit OK at CRS GUI install window. The installer does a final configuration check and exits.
18. Look at the status of CRS,
I would check for the CRS processes running on the box.
ps –ef grep –i crs
You should see: - crsd.bin, ocssd.bin, evmd.bin, emvlogger.bin
You can also execute the command crs_stat –t . which should see the “gsd”, “ons” and “vip” processes.
oracle@> crs_stat -t
Name Type Target State Host
------------------------------------------------------------
ora.node1.gsd application ONLINE ONLINE node1
ora.node1.ons application ONLINE ONLINE node1
ora.node1.vip application ONLINE ONLINE node1
ora.node2.gsd application ONLINE ONLINE node2
ora.node2.ons application ONLINE ONLINE node2
ora.node2.vip application ONLINE ONLINE node2
Issues Faced
• Step 5 the n/w addresses were not populated.
This shows that “oracle” user which performs the installation doesn’t have read privs on some system files. See whether oracle user has read permissions on /etc/llt* files.
• The specified nodes are not clusterable on step 5
Look in /etc/hosts file and make sure that the Ip address and names are entered in the same format as shown in the last bullet point of installation process and you IP addresses are right.
Conclusion
For first timer it’s slightly puzzling and as you do more you get to into the groove well. As I said in the beginning its better to have a good understanding of the concept before installing CRS. I’ll be discussing the Oracle binary installation and Patching process next.
I'll be discussing more of Oracle RDBMS install and pacthing process in the near future stay tuned.
