Oracle DBA Blog - Vadiraj S

Network Requirements for RAC

2010-02-27T23:09:00.014+05:30

Hi Friends, hope you are doing well.
Recently I learnt some more things while installing 2 nodes RAC environment.

After installation of RAC environment I could notice that the VIP was turning into OFFLINE status frequently and sometimes it fails over on another node.

I could find that VIP keeps restarting if “Default gateway” and VIP are in different subnet. Then I set the subnet for default gateway same as VIP which resolved the issue.

I have listed below the Network Hardware/IP Address requirements for RAC setup:

Network Hardware/IP Address requirements for RAC setup

At least two network interface cards or network adapters needed for each node in RAC grid. One adapter is for the public network and the other adapter is for the private network
Make sure network interfaces have the same name on all nodes
At least three IP addresses needed for each node
1. An IP address for the public interface
2. An IP address for the private interface
3. A Virtual IP address with an associated network name
The VIP should be on the same subnet as your public interface and its address will be not be used currently in the network
For public and virtual addresses register with an associated network name in DNS.
If you do not have an available DNS, then record the all network names and interface names in the system hosts file (/etc/hosts)
Ensure the Default gateway is on the same subnet as the VIP. Otherwise this can cause the VIP and listener to keep restarting

Hope this blog will provide you some information about Network requirements for RAC setup.

Can I Install Oracle 11g Clusterware software in Sun x86_64?

2009-07-09T00:45:00.010+05:30

No!!! There is no Oracle 11g release for Sun x86_64.

I was trying to setup two nodes ORACLE RAC environment in Sun x86_64 platform.
I tried to install Clusterware software using SUN SPARC software binaries. I executed ./runcluvfy.sh to verify pre-requisites for Clusterware software installation and I got the error as below:

$ ./runcluvfy.sh stage -pre crsinst -n test100,test101 -verbose
./runcluvfy.sh: ./install/.oui: cannot execute
./runcluvfy.sh: /tmp/bootstrap/bin/cluvfy: not found

I created a SR with Oracle and I got the below update from Oracle support:

• There is no Oracle 11g release for Sun x86_64. There is no date or schedule for this release.
• We cannot use the SUN SPARC software on an SUN x86_64 platform.
• The latest available release for x86_64 is 10.2.0.4, i.e. install the base release (10.2.0.1) and then apply the 10.2.0.4 patch set to CRS, ASM and DB homes.

ITIL V3 Certification

2009-06-28T23:37:00.024+05:30

Hi Friends, hope you are doing well.

Recently I cleared ITIL V3 Foundation Certification exam. It is quite easy. All you need to do is attend the training, read the training materials thoroughly, solve 2-3 practice papers and then take the certification exam.

Here I am going to give an overview about ITIL, Examination Institute, Testing centre, How to register for exam, Credit values, ITIL Logo and ITIL Pins.

What is ITIL?

ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) is a public framework that describes Best Practice in IT Service Management. It is the most widely accepted approach to IT Service Management in the world.
The initial version of ITIL consisted of a library of 31 associated books covering all aspects of IT service provision. This initial version was revised and replaced by seven books and this version is known as ITIL V2. In 2007, ITIL V2 was superseded by an enhanced and consolidated third version of ITIL, consisting of five core books. This version is known as ITIL V3. The five core books cover each stage of the Service Life Cycle i.e. Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement.

EXIN is the leading Examination Institute for ITIL certification:
EXIN, the Examination Institute for Information Science, is a global, independent IT examination provider offering qualification programs for ISO/IEC 20000, ISO/IEC 27000, ITIL, MOF, ASL, BiSL, TMap and SCP. It's EXIN's mission to improve the quality of the IT sector, the IT professionals and the IT users, by means of independent testing and certification.

EXIN testing centers for ITIL exam:
The global Testing Centers of both Pearson VUE and Prometric, provide on line testing services for several EXIN Foundation exams in various languages. The examination process via these Testing Centers, situated all over the world, is fully automated and the candidate will receive the result immediately after having taken the computer based multiple choice examination.

How to register for exam:
You only need to access http://www.pearsonvue.com/ or http://www.prometric.com/ to arrange an examination. This can be done up to 24 hours before an examination. You will need to use a credit card.
OR
You can visit to any Prometric testing centre and register for exam.

Training providers:
Click on below link to search for a training provider in youur region.
http://www.exin-exams.com/training-providers/search-training-providers.aspx

Discontinuation ITIL V2:
The introduction of ITIL V3 exams has led to the question about a possible stop date for ITIL-V2. EXIN has received a considerable amount of requests from customers asking for an extension of the ITIL V2 lifespan. The ITIL Qualification Board is now considering the discontinuation of ITIL V2.

ITIL Logo:
The internationally recognized ITIL-logo has adorned the covers of ITIL books for years. The four fields of familiar diamond represent the four main subject areas in ITIL: Service Support, Service Delivery, Infrastructure Management and IT Management. However, the square fields around a central area 'service provision' also symbolize the four parties involved in the ITIL standard: in the center ITIL literature (with OGC as owner), around the center the users (represented by ITSMF), the examination institutions (e.g. EXIN) and finally the trainers and suppliers of ITIL related services.

ITIL Pins:
It has been a well-known tradition for years that passing an EXIN exam in IT Service Management (based on ITIL) does not only result in a certificate, but is also accompanied by the presentation of a metal pin which can be attached to a collar or lapel.

ITIL V2 Pins:

Green, for the Foundation Certificate
Blue, for the Practitioner's Certificate
Red, for with the Manager's Certificate

ITIL V3 Pins:
ITIL V3 Pins from left to right:
Foundation, Capability, Lifecycle, Expert, and Master
Note: At this time, only the Foundation, Capability, Lifecycle and Expert pins are available.

Credit values
Each V3 certification has been assigned a numerical credit value. Credit values across all levels can be accumulated to achieve the required minimum twenty two (22) in order for a candidate to achieve the ITIL Expert level achievement certification. Once the ITIL Expert Level is achieved, a candidate can pursue the Advanced Level certification, which is currently in development.

Credit profile

Hope this blog will provide you some information about ITIL V3 Certification.

How to create Notification Rules in OEM 10g

2009-06-21T00:29:00.015+05:30

Overview:

Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) 10g can send the Email Notifications to administrators when an alert is occurred. Alerts are notifications when particular metrics thresholds are crossed. For example, when a tablespace becomes 97 percent full this can be considered undesirable and have Oracle to generate a critical alert.

Notification Rules are defined sets of alerts on metrics. Metrics are automatically applied to a target when it is discovered by Enterprise Manager.

Enterprise Manager provides a series of default rules. We can modify these default rules or we can create the new rules to monitor only specific metrics for specific targets.

Here I am going to explain “How to create a Notification rule in OEM 10g”.

Please click the below link for Oracle document that explains “How to set up Email Notifications for alerts in OEM”. This setup involves mail server, user accounts and email account configuration in OEM.
http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/oem/pdf/BestPractices-Notifications.pdf

Steps to create a Notification Rule in OEM 10g:

Step 1:

Open OEM console and click “Preferences” link at top-right corner.

Step 2:
Click on “Rules” link on left hand side.

Step 3:
Click on “Create” button on top.

Step 4:

Enter Rule Name, Description and target type that needs to be monitored (e.g. Database Instance).

Select Make Public if you want to allow other administrators to subscribe to this rule.

Select option:
“Apply rule to all Database Instance Targets” if you want to monitor all the registered database instances in OEM with this rule.
“Apply rule to specified Database Instance Targets” if you want to monitor only specific Database Instances. On selecting this option a button with label as “Add” will appear on screen. Click on “Add” button to select specific database instances.

After completing configurations in “General” tab, the screen looks as below:

Step 5:
Similar to Step 4, configure the Availability, Metrics, Policies and Jobs pages.

Step 6:
Click on the last tab “Methods”.
This page displays the E-Mail Notification Method and other available notification methods setup in OEM.
Select the option “Send Me E-mail”
If you select option “Send Repeat notifications for E-mail”, OEM can send E-mail notifications repeatedly for all metric alerts and availability states.

Step 7:
Click “OK”.
The new Notification rule is created. It can be seen in rules list.