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Pre-Installation

This chapter describes pre-installation requirements for Oracle Parallel Server.

Specific topics discussed are:

• System Installation Requirements

• Setting Up Raw Devices

• Pre-Installation Steps

System Installation Requirements

Verify that your system meets the installation requirements described in the following sections before you install.

• Hardware and Software Requirements for Oracle8i Parallel Server Node

• Hardware and Software Requirement for Oracle Enterprise Manager

• Shared Disk Subsystem

Hardware and Software Requirements for Oracle8i Parallel Server Node

Very hardware software requirements for each node:

Hardware

Each node in a cluster requires the following hardware:

Operating system specific hardware, as described in platform-specific installation guides.

external shared hard disk

Software

Each node in a cluster requires the following software:

Operating-system specific software, as described in platform-specific installation guides.

Operating System Dependent layer from a vendor that has passed certification

Oracle8i Enterprise Edition

Net8 Server

Oracle Parallel Server Option

Oracle Intelligent Agent release 8.1.5 if using Oracle Enterprise Manager

The Oracle Intelligent Agent may be installed from the Oracle8i Enterprise Edition CD-ROM

Oracle Data Gatherer release 8.1.5 if using the Oracle Diagnostics Pack's Oracle Performance Manager product to generate performance reports

The Oracle Data Gatherer is automatically installed with the Oracle Intelligent Agent.

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Hardware and Software Requirement for Oracle Enterprise Manager

Oracle Enterprise Manager version 2 is a management framework consisting of a Console, a suite of tools and services, and a network of management servers and Oracle Intelligent Agents.

You can run the individual Oracle Enterprise Manager components on separate machines or combine different components on separate machines to collaboratively manage the complete Oracle environment.

The components are listed below:

• Console and Database Administration Applications

• Management Server

• Repository database

• Managed targets with agents throughout the network

  Console and Database Administration Applications	The Console works with the Oracle Intelligent Agent (installed on the nodes) to perform database administration from a single console. If both the Console and Database Administration Applications are on their own machines, Net8 installation and configuration is required to log on to the repository or managed nodes. Net8 is not required on nodes running only the Console.
  Management Server	The Management Server performs functions requested by the Console. Each Management Server manages exactly one domain. The domain is the logical grouping of machines for administrative purposes. If the Management Server is on its own machine separate from the repository database, Net8 installation and configuration is required to communicate with the repository database.
  Repository database	A repository is a set of tables in an Oracle database which stores data required by Oracle Enterprise Manager. The repository must stored in an Oracle database version 7.3.3 or above.
  Managed targets with agents throughout the network	A managed target is any service or entity which can be centrally managed by Oracle Enterprise Manager. Examples are nodes, databases, web servers, listeners, and paging services. Each Oracle Parallel Server must have a release 8.1.5 or earlier Oracle Intelligent Agent installed.

Operating System

• Windows NT version 4.0

• Solaris 2.6

  Note: The Oracle Enterprise Manager Console and DBA Applications may also run on Windows 95 or Windows 98. The OMS and repository cannot run on these platforms.

Enterprise Manager Software

• Oracle Enterprise Manager version 2

• Oracle Diagnostics Pack version 2

  The Oracle Diagnostics Pack includes the Oracle Performance Manager application, which allows you to choose from a variety of graphic performance statistical charts for parallel servers.

  Note: You may also use prior releases of Oracle Enterprise Manager and Oracle Diagnostics Pack for a release 8.1.5 database. See Oracle Enterprise Manager documentation for compatibility information.

• Net8 Client on the machine where the Diagnostics Pack is installed. Net8 Client is also required if the OMS and Database Administration Applications and Console are on their own machines.

Supported Oracle Database Versions as Repositories

8.1.5, 8.0.5, 8.0.4, 8.0.3, 7.3.4, 7.3.3 on database repository machine

Supported Oracle Intelligent Agents

8.1.5 on all Oracle Parallel Server nodes

The Oracle Intelligent Agent may be installed from the Oracle8i Enterprise Edition CD-ROM.

See Oracle Enterprise Manager Installation for detailed disk space and RAM requirements.

Shared Disk Subsystem

Oracle Parallel Server requires a shared disk subsystem to contain shared partitions that are raw. All Oracle8i data, log, and control files are placed on shared raw partitions.

Note: Each instance of an Oracle Parallel Server database has its own log files, but control files and data files are shared by instances in the cluster. However, log files must be accessible/readable by other instances.

Setting Up Raw Devices

Data files and control files must be shared by all instances. Each instance has its own log files, but all instances must have access to all log files during recovery. UNIX and Windows NT clusters do not provide access to a shared file system between all nodes of a cluster. As a result, all files associated with a database must be built on raw devices.

The database is created as a part of the installation process. Because of this, the raw devices must be set up prior to installation in order for the data files, control files and all logs to be copied to the raw devices.

A precise number of raw devices is required for the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant to succeed in creating the database:

• six for data files

• one for the Oracle8i interMedia (if used)

• two for control files

• two for redo log files for each node

The table below lists the raw devices that must be created and the minimum size that the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant expects. When creating a raw device, ensure the size is a little larger than indicated below to account for future growth.

Raw Device Must be Created For...	Size to Use on UNIX	Size to Use on Windows NT
DR tablespace for Oracle8i interMedia option	80 MB	101 MB
SYSTEM tablespace for system data file	120 MB	101 MB
TEMP tablespace for temporary data file	10 MB	101 MB
RBS tablespace for rollback data file	15 MB	50 MB
INDX tablespace for indexes	10 MB	50 MB
OEM_REPOSITORY tablespace for the Oracle Enterprise Manager repository	5 MB	50 MB
USERS tablespace for user workspace	10 MB	20 MB
first control file	7 K	2 MB
second control file	7 K	2 MB
two redo log files for each node	6 K	3 MB

The creation of raw devices is platform specific:

• UNIX

• Windows NT

UNIX

On UNIX platforms, creation of raw devices is as follows:

1. Create raw devices, as explained in the Oracle8i Administrator's Reference for Sun Solaris, HP 9000 or AIX-based systems.

   Note: Raw devices must be created by the root user on UNIX platforms.

   For each raw device, use a file name that makes sense for the data file it will store, for example:

   Raw Device	Example File Name
   Oracle8i interMedia option raw device	dr01.dbf
   SYSTEM tablespace raw device	system01.dbf
   TEMP tablespace raw device	tmp01.dbf
   RBS tablespace raw device	rbs01.dbf
   INDX tablespace raw device	indx01.dbf
   OEM_REPOSITORY tablespace raw device	oemrep01.dbf
   USERS tablespace raw device	user01.dbf
   first control file raw device	control01.clt
   second control file raw device	control02.clt
   redo log files for each node	redothread_id_number.log thread_id is the thread ID of the node and number is the log number (1 or 2) for the node

2. On the node you intend to later run the Oracle Universal Installer, create an ASCII file with entries for each raw device file name, as explained in "Identifying Raw Devices".

3. On the same node with the ASCII file, create an environment variable named DBCA_RAW_CONFIG that points to the location of this ASCII file. When the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant creates the database, it looks for the environment variable, reads in the ASCII file, and stores the files in the raw devices.

Windows NT

On Windows NT, creation of raw devices is as follows:

1. Create raw devices with the Disk Administrator, as explained in the Oracle8i Parallel Server Getting Started for Windows NT.

   Note: When creating raw partitions on Windows NT, you must unassign the drive letters assigned to the raw partitions. This will free up drive letters for other purposes, such as mapping network drives.

2. On each node, create an ASCII named DB_NAME.TBL with symbolic link names associated with each raw device, as explained in "Identifying Raw Devices".

3. Run the Oracle SETLINKS utility against the ASCII file to create the symbolic link names. When the Oracle Database Configuration Assistant creates the database, it verifies the symbolic links names have been created, and stores the files in the raw devices.

Identifying Raw Devices

Once raw devices are set up, the Oracle Database Configuration must have a way to map file to them when the database is create. This identification is platform-specific and must be set up prior to installation:

• UNIX

• Windows NT

UNIX

UNIX platforms identify raw devices through files names in an ASCII file that contains entries that follow the format of:

database_object raw_device_file

Separate entries should exist for the following database objects. The file names are names you created in step 1 in UNIX

Database Object	Description
dr	DR tablespace for Oracle8i interMedia option
sys1	SYSTEM tablespace for system data file
tmp1	TEMP tablespace for temporary data file
rbs1	RBS tablespace for rollback data file
indx1	INDX tablespace for indexes
oemrep1	OEM_REPOSITORY tablespace for the Oracle Enterprise Manager repository
usr1	USERS tablespace for user workspace
ctl1	first control file
ctl2	second control file
logthread_id_number thread_id is the thread ID of the node and number is the log number (1 or 2) for the node	redo log file Two entries for each node required. Entries for the first node would like: log1_1 log1_2 Entries for the second node would like: log2_1 log2_2

Example ASCII File

The ASCII file should look like the example below for a two-node cluster:

dr          device/path/dr01.dbf
sys1        device/path/system01.dbf
tmp1        device/path/tmp01.dbf
rbs1        device/path/rbs01.dbf
indx        device/path/indx01.dbf
oemrep1     device/path/oemrep01.dbf
usr1        device/path/user01.dbf
ctl1        device/path/control01.clt
ctl2        device/path/control02.clt
log1_1      device/path/redo1_1.log
log1_2      device/path/redo1_2.log
log2_1      device/path/redo2_1.log
log2_2      device/path/redo2_2.log

Windows NT

Windows NT uses symbolic link names to identify their raw devices in an ASCII file named DB_NAME.TBL that follow the format:

db_name_link_name      \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX 

Symbolic link names on Windows NT must be an exact name for the following:

• Data Files

• Control Files

• Redo Log Files

Data Files

When creating the raw partitions for the data files, you must use the following symbolic link names:

Symbolic Link Names	Tablespace	Optional?
db_name_dr	DR tablespace for Oracle8i interMedia option	Yes
db_name_sys1	SYSTEM tablespace for system data file	No
db_name_tmp1	TEMP tablespace for temporary data file	No
db_name_rbs1	RBS tablespace for rollback data file	No
db_name_indx1	INDX tablespace for indexes	No
db_name_oemrep1	OEM_REPOSITORY tablespace for the Oracle Enterprise Manager repository	No
db_name_usr1	USERS tablespace for user workspace	No

Control Files

When creating the raw partitions for the control files, you must use the following symbolic link names:

• db_name_ctl1

• db_name_ctl2

Redo Log Files

Two redo log files are required for each node. For a two-node cluster, these file symbolic link names must be:

db_name_logthread_id_number, where thread_id is the thread ID of the node and number is the log number (1 or 2) for the node.

Each node's log number starts at 1:

• The first node selected will be db_namelog1_1 and db_namelog1_2

• The second node selected will be db_namelog2_1 and db_namelog2_2

Example ASCII File

On Windows NT, the ASCII file should look like the example below for a two-node cluster. OP is the name of the database and X represents hard disk or partition numbers. The name of the database must be known prior to installation to create this file.

OP_dr           \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX      
OP_sys1         \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX  
OP_tmp1         \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX           
OP_rbs1         \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX   
OP_indx1        \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX          
OP_oemrep1      \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX       
OP_usr1         \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX        
OP_ctl1         \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX       
OP_ctl2         \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX       
OP_log1_1       \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX       
OP_log1_2       \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX       
OP_log2_1       \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX       
OP_log2_2       \Device\HarddiskX\PartitionX       

Pre-Installation Steps

Perform the following steps to prior to installation:

1. Install a vendor-supplied Operating System Dependent layer that passed certification. See your vendor supplied Operating System Dependent la

2. Perform diagnostics on the clusterware as described in your vendor documentation.

3. Create raw devices:

   On UNIX, perform these tasks:

   On Windows NT, perform these tasks:

   Create raw devices, following instructions in the Oracle8i Administrator's Reference. On the node from which you intend to run the Oracle Universal Installer, create an ASCII file with entries for each data file, control file and redo log file. For an example file, see "Example ASCII File". Create an environment variable named DBCA_RAW_CONFIG that points to the ASCII file .

   Create raw devices, following instructions in the Oracle8i Parallel Server Getting Started for Windows NT. On each node, insert the Oracle8i Enterprise Edition CD-ROM. On each node, copy the SETLINKS executable and the TEMPLATE.TBL file you will need from the \OPS_PREINSTALL directory to a temporary directory. On each node, change TEMPLATE.TBL to the DB_NAME.TBL, where DB_NAME is the database name you intend to use. On each node, change <db_name> entries to the database name you intend to use, and edit the partition and hard disk numbers appropriately in the *.TBL file. For an example file, see "Example ASCII File". On each node, un the *.TBL file through the SETLINKS utility: setlinks /f:dbname.tbl See the Oracle8i Parallel Server Getting Started for Windows NT for further information on these steps.

4. For UNIX clusters, perform the following as the root user:
   1. Make sure you have an OSDBA group defined in the /etc/group file on all nodes of the cluster. The OSDBA group name and number (and OSOPER group if you plan to designate one during installation) must be identical for all nodes of a UNIX cluster accessing a single database. The default UNIX group name for the OSDBA and OSOPER groups is dba.

   2. Create an oracle account on each node of the cluster so that:

      - the account is a member of the OSDBA group

      - the account is used only to install and update Oracle software

      - the account has write permissions on remote directories

   3. Create a mount point directory on each node to serve as the top of your Oracle software directory structure so that:

      -the name of the mount point on each node is identical to that on the initial node

      -the oracle account has read, write, and execute privileges

   4. On the node from which you plan to run the Oracle Universal Installer, set up user equivalence by adding entries for all nodes in the cluster to the .RHOSTS file of the oracle account, or the /etc/hosts.equiv file.

      Exit the root account when you are done.

5. For UNIX clusters, as the oracle account, check for user equivalence for the oracle account by performing a remote login (rlogin) to each node in the cluster. If you are prompted for a password, the oracle account has not been given the same attributes on all nodes. The Oracle Universal Installer cannot use the rcp command to copy Oracle products to the remote directories without user equivalence.

   Note: UNIX clusters also require environment setup similar to a single-instance environment. For these instructions and other platform-specific Oracle Parallel Server pre-installation instructions, see the Oracle8i Installation Guide for Sun Solaris, HP 9000 or AIX-based systems.

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