ORACLE REAL APPLICATION CLUSTERS

Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) is an Oracle feature that provides software for clustering and high availability in oracle databases. Oracle Real Application Clusters is a charged option in the Oracle Enterprise Edition. Oracle Real Application Clusters main aim is to provide performance and resilience to a database. It accomplishes this by using clusters that work independently which remove the risk of a single server failure. A cluster is a pool of independent servers that cooperate as a single system. This ensures improved fault tolerance over single symmetric multi-processor (SMP) systems. A server pool is made up of one or more servers, each having a public LAN connection, an interconnect connection and must be connected to a shared pool of storage. Up to 100 nodes are supported in the cluster. Each server in the cluster does not have to be the same but it must run in the same operating system and the same version of Oracle. Oracle Real Application Clusters works by having the data files that make the database stored on shared storage that is accessible from all servers that are a member of the cluster. Each server in the cluster runs the Oracle Real Application Clusters software. The RAC database has a one-to-many relationship between the datafiles (physical data residing on the storage drives) and instances (the processes and memory structures running on a server to allow access to the data). This allows many instances to access one datafile. The instances can be on different servers also known as hosts or nodes. Oracle Real Application Clusters is a shared everything architecture. All servers in the server pool share all storage used by the Oracle Real Application Cluster database. The storage pool can be: Network Attached Storage (NAS) Storage Area Network (SAN) SCSI disks

The best storage system to use is the storage system that will provide a scalable I/O for your application and an I/O system that will scale as additional servers are added to the pool. An Oracle Real Application Cluster Database requires a network connection to the Local Area Network (LAN) that a database server is attached to for application connections. With Oracle RAC each instance must have access to the datafile and recovery files for the Oracle RAC database. This is done by using Automatic Storage Management (ASM). ASM is an integrated, highperformance database file system and disk manager. ASM is based on the principle that the database should manage storage instead of requiring an administrator to do it. ASM has the following advantages:

Mirroring- Increases availability by optionally keeping redundant copies (mirroring) of any file to avoid data loss caused by disc failure. Managed file creation and deletion- Reduces Administration tasks such as assigning file names and deleting files no longer required by the database. This is done automatically by the ASM. Stripping- Data is spread evenly across all disks to optimize performance and utilization. Online Storage Reconfiguration and dynamic rebalancing- ASM permits you to add or remove disks from your disk storage system while the database is operating. When a disk is added, ASM automatically redistributes the data to include the new disk.

Oracle Clusterware, a portable cluster-ware solution integrated and designed for Oracle databases, starting with Oracle 10g. . It monitors and manages Oracle Real Application Cluster databases in that, when any single server in the server pool is started, automatically all instances, listeners and services are started as well. In the eventuality that an instance fails, the Oracle Clusterware automatically restarts the instance so that the service is immediately restored. The benefits of an Oracle Real Application Clusters are: 1. High Availability a. Reliability The database cannot fail due to a single point of failure. If an instance fails, the remaining instances in the server pool remain open and active b. Recoverability- If an instance fails, it is detected by another instance in the server pool and recovery starts immediately. c. Error Detection- The clusterware monitors Oracle Real Application Clusters databases, provides fast detection of problems and recovers from these problems quickly often before users notice. d. Continuous Operations- Oracle Real Application Clusters provides continued services when a server fails or when maintenance tasks are being carried out reducing downtime costs. 2. Scalability a. Capacity- Easily increase capacity by increasing servers instead of having to buy a new more powerful server as is the case traditionally. b. The Database Administrator can control which services to give specific clients ensuring adequate use of CPU and memory resources. This removes the need for manual reapportioning.

Here at http://www.pebbleit.com.au, we have all the Oracle expertise you may need. We can advice specifically on Oracle Real Application Clusters implementation and guide you into making the right decision when it comes to all Oracle matters.

Disclaimer Pebble IT does not guarantee the accuracy of the content contained within, and in no event or circumstance shall PebbleIT or its partners or affiliates be liable for any direct, indirect, or consequential damages, or loss of profits, revenue, or data incurred by you or any third party, if such should arise out of access to or the use of this content in any way