SuperCluster Best Practices : Deploying Oracle 11g Database in Zones

To be clear, this post is about a white paper that's been out there for more than two months. Access it through the following url.

  Best Practices for Deploying Oracle Solaris Zones with Oracle Database 11g on SPARC SuperCluster

The focus of the paper is on databases and zones. On SuperCluster, customers have the choice of running their databases in logical domains that are dedicated to running Oracle Database 11g R2. With exclusive access to Exadata Storage Servers, those domains are aptly called "Database" domains. If the requirement mandates, it is possible to create and use all logical domains as "database domains" or "application domains" or a mix of those. Since the focus is on databases, the paper talks only about the database domains and how zones can be created, configured and used within each database domain for fine grained control over multiple databases consolidated in a SuperCluster environment.

When multiple databases are being consolidated (including RAC databases) in database logical domains, zones are one of the options that fulfill requirements such as the fault, operation, network, security and resource isolation, multiple RAC instances in a single logical domain, separate identity and independent manageability for database instances.

The best practices cover the following topics. Some of those are applicable to standalone, non-engineered environments as well.

Solaris Zones

• CPU, memory and disk space allocation
• Zone Root on Sun ZFS Storage Appliance
• Network configuration
• Use of DISM
• Use of ZFS filesystem
• SuperCluster specific zone deployment tool, ssc_exavm
• ssctuner utility

Oracle Database

• Exadata Storage Grid (Disk Group) Configuration
• Disk Group Isolation
  • Shared Storage approach
  • Dedicated Storage Server approach
• Resizing Grid Disks

Oracle RAC Configuration
Securing the Databases, and

Example Database Consolidation Scenarios

• Consolidation example using Half-Rack SuperCluster
• Consolidation example using Full-Rack SuperCluster

Acknowledgements

A large group of experts reviewed the material and provided quality feedback. Hence they deserve credit for their work and time. Listed below are some of those reviewers (sincere apologies if I missed listing any major contributors).

Kesari Mandyam, Binoy Sukumaran, Gowri Suserla, Allan Packer, Jennifer Glore, Hazel Alabado, Tom Daly, Krishnan Shankar, Gurubalan T, Rich long, Prasad Bagal, Lawrence To, Rene Kundersma, Raymond Dutcher, David Brean, Jeremy Ward, Suzi McDougall, Ken Kutzer, Larry Mctintosh, Roger Bitar, Mikel Manitius