2 Installing Oracle Database 11g with Oracle Real Application Clusters

2.1 Verifying System Readiness for installing Oracle Database with CVU

To help verify that your system is prepared to install Oracle Database with Oracle RAC successfully, enter a Cluster Verification Utility (CVU) command using the following command syntax:

/mountpoint/runcluvfy.sh stage -pre dbinst -n node_list [-r {10gR1|10gR2|11gR1}] 
[-osdba osdba_group][-verbose]

In the preceding syntax example:

• The variable mountpoint is the mountpoint of the installation media.

• The variable node_list is the list of nodes in your cluster, separated by commas.

• The optional flag -r takes the options 10gR1 (test for an Oracle Database 10g release 1 Oracle Cluster Ready Services installation), 10gR2 (test for an Oracle Database 10g release 2 Oracle Clusterware installation), or 11gR1 (test for an Oracle Database 11g release 1 (11.1) installation). If the -r flag is missing, then by default, the command tests for Oracle Clusterware for Oracle Database 11g release 1 (11.1) installation.

• The variable osdba_group is the name of your OSDBA group, which by default is dba.

For example, to perform a pre-installation check for Oracle Database 11g release 1 (11.1) with Oracle RAC installation on a two-node cluster with the mountpoint /mnt/dvdrom, and with nodes node1 and node2, enter the following command:

$ /mnt/dvdrom/cluvfy/runcluvfy.sh stage -pre dbinst -n node1,node2 -verbose

Oracle recommends that you select the option -verbose to receive progress updates as the CVU performs its system checks. The -verbose option provides detailed test reporting, which you can use to identify the cause of any checks that fail.

If the cluster verification check fails, then your Oracle Clusterware installation is not functioning. Review and correct the relevant system configuration steps, and run the test again.

2.2 Reviewing Oracle Application Express Requirements

With the Oracle Database 11g release, Oracle Application Express is provided as an Oracle Database option, rather than as an Oracle Application option. If you intend to install Oracle Database after installing Oracle Clusterware, and you have an existing Oracle Database installation that you are upgrading, then review the following Oracle Application Express requirements:

• Browser Requirements for Oracle Application Express

• Installing APEX with Existing Oracle HTML Server Installations

• Oracle Text Requirement for Oracle Application Express

• Oracle XML DB Requirement for Oracle Application Express

2.3 Selecting a Configuration Option

This section describes OUI features that you should understand before beginning phase two of the Oracle RAC installation process.

On the Select Configuration page, you are given the following options:

• Create a database: Provides you with the option to create a database using a preconfigured database template designed for particular system load demands, such as an online transaction processing (OLTP) database, or a decision support or data warehouse database.

  If you select the Automatic Storage Management option for storage, then an ASM instance is installed as part of the database installation. The Oracle home is used for the ASM home when you install the database using this method. If you plan to use the ASM instance for multiple database homes, you should select the Configure Automatic Storage Management option to create a separate ASM home.

• Configure Automatic Storage Management: Installs an ASM instance only. You are prompted for the ASM SYS password.

• Install database software only: Installs Oracle Database software; you must complete database configuration later.

If you are installing Oracle Database software, then Oracle recommends that you use one of the preconfigured database options, or select the Advanced option on the Select Configuration page, and configure a custom starter database.

If you want to configure your environment and create your database manually, then select Do not create a database on the Select Configuration page, and refer to the manual database creation procedures posted at the following Web site:

http://otn.oracle.com

2.4 Automatic Storage Management Configuration

If you want to use Automatic Storage Management, then select Configure Automatic Storage Management (ASM), and provide information as prompted. Click Help if you need assistance.

Before you start Oracle Automatic Storage Management installation, ensure that you have the list of paths to the storage devices on which you want to configure ASM disk groups.

If you are installing ASM 11g release 1 (11.1) on a system with an existing ASM installation, you choose to upgrade the existing ASM installation, and you have running databases on that system, then you must stop ASM on those systems before you start the upgrade. To do this, enter the following command:

srvctl stop asm -n ASM_nodename

2.5 Preparing for a Rolling Upgrade of Automatic Storage Management

Starting with Oracle ASM 11g, you can perform rolling upgrades of ASM. This can be performed with 11.1 and later releases; it is not backward-compatible. To prepare for a rolling upgrade, perform a software-only installation of ASM on all nodes in the cluster.

Note the following if you intend to perform rolling upgrades of ASM:

• Either the release version of Oracle Clusterware must be equal to the ASM release to which you want to upgrade, or you must first upgrade Oracle Clusterware. For example, you can upgrade ASM release 11.1.0.6 to 11.1.0.7 if Oracle Clusterware on your system is release 11.1.0.7, but you cannot do this if Oracle Clusterware is 11.1.0.6 or an earlier release.

• On the nodes that you want to upgrade, you must shut down all applications and fail over those applications to other nodes when applicable, and you must shut down all database instances using ASM on the nodes, or fail the instances over to other nodes when applicable.

• You must ensure that any rebalance operations on your existing ASM installation are completed.

• During the upgrade process, you alter the ASM instances to an upgrade state. Because this upgrade state limits ASM operations, you should complete the upgrades soon after you begin. The following are the operations allowed during ASM upgrade:

  • Diskgroup mounts and dismounts

  • Opening, closing, resizing, or deleting database files

  • Recovering instances

  • Queries of fixed views and packages: Users are allowed to query fixed views and run anonymous PL/SQL blocks using fixed packages, such as dbms_diskgroup)

2.6 Oracle Database Vault Configuration

You can install Oracle Database Vault using a Custom installation. Review the following information if you want to install Oracle Database Vault:

• Oracle Database Vault Requirements

• Oracle Database Vault Accounts

• Multiple Oracle Data Vault Homes

• Starting the Listener with Oracle Database Vault Installations

$ORACLE_HOME/bin/lsnrctl start listener_name
$ORACLE_HOME/bin/srvctl start instance -d database_name -i instance_name

2.7 Oracle Database Configuration Type Descriptions

When you run OUI, you can select the General Purpose, Transaction Processing, Data Warehouse, or Advanced database configuration type.

For the first three configuration types, you can complete additional procedures that are described later in this chapter. If you select Advanced configuration, then you can use Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) to create the database as described in Chapter 3. Oracle recommends that you use DBCA to create your database.

2.8 Oracle Configuration Manager Option

During installation, you are prompted to provide information needed to enable Oracle Configuration Manager. This option enables you to associate information about your Oracle RAC configuration with your OracleMetaLink account. In the event that you need to place a service request with Oracle Support, that configuration information can help to provide a more rapid resolution to the service issue.

You can enable Oracle Configuration Manager during or after installation, or choose not to enable it. To enable it during installation, you must have the following information available:

• Customer Support Identification Number (CSI) that identifies your organization

• OracleMetalink user account name

• Country code associated with your service agreement

Refer to OracleMetalink (https://metalink.oracle.com) if you encounter registration failures and are uncertain that the correct country code has been specified. You can find the country associated with your OracleMetaLink account in the Profile section under the Licenses link.

2.9 Database Security Options

During installation, you are prompted to select database security configuration.The Secure Configuration option configures the database with database auditing options, and password policy and expiration settings.

For new database installations, the default configuration for Oracle Database 11g release 1 (11.1) includes the Secure Configuration option. If you want to disable these enhanced security controls, then you can check the Disable security settings check box. Oracle Database is then installed with default options for Oracle Database 10g release 2. After installation, you can change security settings by starting DBCA and modifying security settings. You can enable or disable auditing or password security settings, or revert to a previous security setting.

For database upgrades, the upgraded database retains your existing database security configuration, to ensure compatibility with existing applications. After installation, you can use DBCA to enable or disable the Secure Configuration auditing or password security settings for testing.

2.10 Selecting Database Passwords

Apply the following guidelines when specifying passwords:

• Passwords must be between 8 and 30 characters long.

• Passwords must be from the ASCII character set.

• Passwords must not start with a numeral.

• Passwords must not be the same as the user name.

• Passwords must not be Oracle reserved words.

• The SYS account password must not be change_on_install.

• The SYSTEM account password must not be manager.

• The SYSMAN account password must not be sysman.

• The DBSNMP account password must not be dbsnmp.

• If you choose to use the same password for all the accounts, then that password must not be change_on_install, manager, sysman, or dbsnmp.

• Passwords should have at least 1 alphabetic, 1 numeric, and 1 punctuation mark character

• Passwords should not be simple or obvious words, such as welcome, account, database, and user.

2.11 Actions of OUI, DBCA, and Other Assistants During Installation

After installation, OUI starts the Network Configuration Assistant (NETCA). After NETCA completes its processing, OUI runs DBCA to create your database, in accordance with Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) guidelines. An installation created following OFA guidelines means that DBCA creates your database files, including the default server parameter file (SPFILE), using standard file naming and file placement practices.

The primary phases of DBCA processing are the following:

• Create the database.

• Configure the Oracle network services, if necessary.

• Start the listeners and database instances.

You can also use DBCA in standalone mode to create or delete a database or ASM installation, or to switch database management from Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control to Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control.

Note that with Oracle Database release 11.1, service management is no longer performed for Oracle RAC databases. Use Oracle Enterprise Manager DB Control or Grid Control for all administration and monitoring of services.

In Oracle Database 10g and later releases, some database language and territory definition files have been updated to better reflect locale conventions used in associated locales.

If the resulting changes in default NLS parameter values break your existing applications, you can revert the changes by installing Oracle9i compatibility definition files. To install Oracle9i files in place of Oracle11g files, you must run OUI from a command line, as described in "Using Oracle Universal Installer to install Oracle RAC", and use the following statement to set the b_cr9idata variable to true:

runInstaller oracle.rsf.nlsrtl_rsf:b_cr9idata=true

2.12 Installing Oracle Database with Other Languages

If you want to use languages other than the default (English), either for the database or for applications running on the database, then you must use the Custom Installation method.

2.13 Selecting a Database Name

The global database name can be up to 30 characters in length, and must begin with an alphabetic character. The domain portion of the global database name can be no more than 128 characters and can contain only alphabetic and numeric characters, as well as the period (.) character.The SID prefix must begin with an alphabetic character.

2.14 Using Oracle Universal Installer to install Oracle RAC

Perform the following procedures to install the Oracle Database software with Oracle RAC:

1. Ensure that you can access other nodes with SSH. If you are prompted for a pass phrase, then obtain it from the system administrator.

   If it is required, then the pass phrase provides credentials to set up Secure Shell (SSH). OUI requires secure shell keys to be loaded for the terminal session from which OUI runs.

2. Open the terminal from which you intend to run OUI, log in as the oracle user (the user account that you want to own the Oracle Database software installation), and enter the following commands:

   $ exec /usr/bin/ssh-agent $SHELL
   $ /usr/bin/ssh-add
   

   If your system has been configured to require a pass phrase, then enter the pass phrase for each key when prompted.

   For example:

   [rac@node1 .ssh]$ exec /usr/bin/ssh-agent $SHELL
   [rac@node1 .ssh]$ ssh-add
   Enter passphrase for /home/crs/.ssh/id_rsa
   Identity added: /home/oracle/.ssh/id_rsa (/home/crs/.ssh/id_rsa)
   Identity added: /home/oracle/.ssh/id_dsa (/home/crs/.ssh/id_dsa)
   

   These commands start the ssh-agent on the node, and load the SSH RSA and DSA keys into memory.

3. Ensure that you have su or sudo credentials, as you will be prompted to run a script as the root user during installation.

4. Start the runInstaller command from the Disk1 directory of the Oracle Database 11g release 1 (11.1) installation media. When OUI displays the Welcome page, click Next.

5. Provide information or run scripts as root when prompted by OUI. If you need assistance during installation, click Help. If you encounter problems during installation, then examine the OUI actions recorded in the installation log file. The log file is located in the Oracle Inventory directory in the following location:

   OraInventory/logs/installActionsdate_time.log
   

   Note:

   The Oracle home name and path that you provide during database installation must be different from the home that you used during the Oracle Clusterware installation in phase one. You must not install Oracle Database 11g with Oracle RAC software into the same home in which you installed the Oracle Clusterware software.

   If you are upgrading, then you must use the same type of Oracle home. For example, you should not change from local Oracle homes to a shared Oracle home.

   The following is a list of additional information to note about installation:

   • If you are installing on Linux systems, you are using the ASM library driver (ASMLIB), and you select Automatic Storage Management (ASM) during installation, then ASM default discovery finds all disks that ASMLIB marks as ASM disks.

   • If you are installing on Linux systems, you are not using ASMLIB, and you select ASM during installation, then ASM default discovery finds all disks marked /dev/raw/* for which the oracle account has read/write permission. You can change the disk discovery string during the install if the disks you want to use for ASM are located elsewhere.

     If you are installing Oracle RAC from the Standard Edition, then you must use ASM for your database storage.

     On the Select Database Management Option page, if you have already completed the Grid Control Management Agent installation, then you can select either Grid or Local Database control. Otherwise, only Local Database control for database management is supported for Oracle RAC. When you use the local Database Control, you can choose the e-mail option and enter the outgoing SMTP server name and e-mail address.

     If you perform an installation that does not include Oracle Enterprise Manager (for example, a custom software install without Oracle Enterprise Manager, an installation with no Oracle Enterprise Manager configuration, or a database creation with your own scripts), then you can configure Oracle Enterprise Manager later with OUI, DBCA, or the Oracle Enterprise Manager Configuration Assistant (EMCA) utility.

When you have completed the second and final phase of the installation, proceed to Chapter 4, "Oracle Real Application Clusters Postinstallation Procedures" to perform the post-installation tasks.