Thursday, February 10, 2011
Oracle VM
I just wanted to let you know that I am finalizing the last bits of my latest book; Oracle VM Implementation and Administration Guide. You can use Oracle VM to host both Windows and Linux guest machines. The book (according to Amazon) should be out in early August. Enjoy. Ed W.
Enabling the 11gR2 Grid Infrastructure on Windows
I was recently asked if Oracle 10.2.0.5 was available for CRS for Windows. At first I started looking up to see if 10.2.0.5 had CRS components, and then I decided to ask about the end goal. It turns out that the final goal was to install a new RAC cluster with the 10.2.0.5 database.
With this new information in mind I immediately recommended that the 11gR2 Grid Infrastructure be installed. This provides the most stable and robust clusterware and ASM software and at the same time extending the lifetime of these components before they need to be upgraded.
In addition, by using the 11gR2 Grid Infrastructure both 10g and 11g RAC databases can be created. This will allow you to create an 11gR2 database for testing. Since the architecture of RAC has changed slightly in 11gR2 it is best to move to this structure for any new installations, even if a 10g database is the end result.
So, what has changed? In Oracle 10g and 11gR1 there were three separate components and/or Oracle homes that were used for RAC; the CRS, the ASM home and the database home. In 11gR2 the clusterware and ASM homes are combined into the Grid Infrastructure and have one home. In addition, the confusion as to which listener to use is clarified by having the cluster, ASM and master listener run out of the Grid Infrastructure. Now, instead of three Oracle homes, there are two; Grid Infrastructure and database.
So, if you are planning any new RAC installations on Windows, do yourself a favor and use the 11gR2 Grid Infrastructure, even if you are installing a 10g database.
With this new information in mind I immediately recommended that the 11gR2 Grid Infrastructure be installed. This provides the most stable and robust clusterware and ASM software and at the same time extending the lifetime of these components before they need to be upgraded.
In addition, by using the 11gR2 Grid Infrastructure both 10g and 11g RAC databases can be created. This will allow you to create an 11gR2 database for testing. Since the architecture of RAC has changed slightly in 11gR2 it is best to move to this structure for any new installations, even if a 10g database is the end result.
So, what has changed? In Oracle 10g and 11gR1 there were three separate components and/or Oracle homes that were used for RAC; the CRS, the ASM home and the database home. In 11gR2 the clusterware and ASM homes are combined into the Grid Infrastructure and have one home. In addition, the confusion as to which listener to use is clarified by having the cluster, ASM and master listener run out of the Grid Infrastructure. Now, instead of three Oracle homes, there are two; Grid Infrastructure and database.
So, if you are planning any new RAC installations on Windows, do yourself a favor and use the 11gR2 Grid Infrastructure, even if you are installing a 10g database.
