This article describes the installation of Oracle Database 10g release 2 (10.2.0.1 64-bit) RAC on Linux (Oracle Enterprise Linux 5 64-bit) using VMware Server 2 with no additional shared disk devices.

Introduction
Download Software
VMware Server Installation
Virtual Machine Setup
Guest Operating System Installation
Oracle Installation Prerequisites
Install VMware Client Tools
Create Shared Disks
Clone the Virtual Machine
Install the Clusterware Software
Install the Database Software and Create an ASM Instance
Create a Database using the DBCA
TNS Configuration
Check the Status of the RAC

Introduction

One of the biggest obstacles preventing people from setting up test RAC environments is the requirement for shared storage. In a production environment, shared storage is often provided by a SAN or high-end NAS device, but both of these options are very expensive when all you want to do is get some experience installing and using RAC. A cheaper alternative is to use a FireWire disk enclosure to allow two machines to access the same disk(s), but that still costs money and requires two servers. A third option is to use VMware Server to fake the shared storage.

Using VMware Server you can run multiple Virtual Machines (VMs) on a single server, allowing you to run both RAC nodes on a single machine. In addition, it allows you to set up shared virtual disks, overcoming the obstacle of expensive shared storage.

Before you launch into this installation, here are a few things to consider.

The finished system includes the host operating system, two guest operating systems, two sets of Oracle Clusterware, two ASM instances and two Database instances all on a single server. As you can imagine, this requires a significant amount of disk space, CPU and memory. I tried this installation on a 3.4G Pentium 4 with 2G of memory and it failed abysmally. When I used a dual 3.0G Xeon server with 4G of memory it worked fine, but it wasn't exactly fast.
This procedure provides a bare bones installation to get the RAC working. There is no redundancy in the Clusterware installation or the ASM installation. To add this, simply create double the amount of shared disks and select the "Normal" redundancy option when it is offered. Of course, this will take more disk space.
During the virtual disk creation, I always choose not to preallocate the disk space. This makes virtual disk access slower during the installation, but saves on wasted disk space.
This is not, and should not be considered, a production-ready system. It's simply to allow you to get used to installing and using RAC.

Download Software

Download the following software.

VMware Server Installation

For this article, I used CentOS 4.3 as both the host and guest operating systems. Regardless of the host OS, the setup of the virtual machines should be similar.

First, install the VMware Server software. On Linux you do this with the following command as the root user.

# rpm -Uvh VMware-server-*.rpm
Preparing...                ########################################### [100%]
   1:VMware-server          ########################################### [100%]
#

Then finish the configuration by running the vmware-config.pl script as the root user. Most of the questions can be answered with the default response by pressing the return key. The output below shows my responses to the questions.

# vmware-config.pl
Making sure services for VMware Server are stopped.

Stopping VMware services:
   Virtual machine monitor                                 [  OK  ]

You must read and accept the End User License Agreement to continue.
Press enter to display it.

VMWARE, INC.
SOFTWARE BETA TEST AGREEMENT

*** Editied out license agreement ***

Do you accept? (yes/no) yes

Thank you.

Configuring fallback GTK+ 2.4 libraries.

In which directory do you want to install the mime type icons?
[/usr/share/icons]

What directory contains your desktop menu entry files? These files have a
.desktop file extension. [/usr/share/applications]

In which directory do you want to install the application's icon?
[/usr/share/pixmaps]

Trying to find a suitable vmmon module for your running kernel.

The module bld-2.6.9-5.EL-i686smp-RHEL4 loads perfectly in the running kernel.

Do you want networking for your virtual machines? (yes/no/help) [yes]

Configuring a bridged network for vmnet0.

The following bridged networks have been defined:

. vmnet0 is bridged to eth0

All your ethernet interfaces are already bridged.

Do you want to be able to use NAT networking in your virtual machines? (yes/no)
[yes]

Configuring a NAT network for vmnet8.

Do you want this program to probe for an unused private subnet? (yes/no/help)
[yes]

Probing for an unused private subnet (this can take some time)...

The subnet 172.16.210.0/255.255.255.0 appears to be unused.

The following NAT networks have been defined:

. vmnet8 is a NAT network on private subnet 172.16.210.0.

Do you wish to configure another NAT network? (yes/no) [no]

Do you want to be able to use host-only networking in your virtual

machines?[yes] no

Trying to find a suitable vmnet module for your running kernel.

The module bld-2.6.9-5.EL-i686smp-RHEL4 loads perfectly in the running kernel.

Please specify a port for remote console connections to use [902]

Stopping xinetd:                                           [  OK  ]
Starting xinetd:                                           [  OK  ]
Configuring the VMware VmPerl Scripting API.

Building the VMware VmPerl Scripting API.

Using compiler "/usr/bin/gcc". Use environment variable CC to override.

The installation of the VMware VmPerl Scripting API succeeded.

Do you want this program to set up permissions for your registered virtual
machines?  This will be done by setting new permissions on all files found in
the "/etc/vmware/vm-list" file. [no] yes

Generating SSL Server Certificate

In which directory do you want to keep your virtual machine files?
[/var/lib/vmware/Virtual Machines] /u01/VM

Do you want to enter a serial number now? (yes/no/help) [no] yes

Please enter your 20-character serial number.

Type XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX or 'Enter' to cancel:ENTER-YOUR-SERIAL-NUMBER

Starting VMware services:
   Virtual machine monitor                                 [  OK  ]
   Virtual ethernet                                        [  OK  ]
   Bridged networking on /dev/vmnet0                       [  OK  ]
   Host-only networking on /dev/vmnet8 (background)        [  OK  ]
   NAT service on /dev/vmnet8                              [  OK  ]
   Starting VMware virtual machines...                     [  OK  ]

The configuration of VMware Server e.x.p build-22874 for Linux for this running
kernel completed successfully.

#

The VMware Server Console is started by issuing the command "vmware" at the command prompt, or by selecting it from the "System Tools" menu.

On the "Connect to Host" dialog, accept the "Local host" option by clicking the "Connect" button.

You are then presented with the main VMware Server Console screen.

The VMware Server is now installed and ready to use.

Virtual Machine Setup

Now we must define the two virtual RAC nodes. We can save time by defining one VM, then cloning it when it is installed.

Click the "Create a new virtual machine" button to start the "New Virtual Machine Wizard". Click the "Next" button onthe welcome page.

Select the "Custom" virtual machine configuration and click the "Next" button.

Select the "Linux" guest operating system option, and set the version to "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4", then click the "Next" button.

Enter the name "RAC1" and the location should default to "/u01/VM/RAC1", then click the "Next" button.

Select the required number of processors and click the "Next" button.

Uncheck the "Make this virtual machine private" checkbox and click the "Next" button.

Select the amount of memory to associate with the virtual machine. Remember, you are going to need two instances, so don't associate too much, but you are going to need approximately 1 Gig (1024 Meg) to compete the installation successfully.

Accept the "Use bridged networking" option by clicking the "Next" button.

Accept the "LSI Logic" option by clicking the "Next" button.

Select the "Create a new virtual disk" option and click the "Next" button.

Accept the "SCSI" option by clicking the "Next" button. It's a virtual disk, so you can still use this option even if your physical disk is IDE or SATA.

Set the disk size to "10.0" GB and uncheck the "Allocate all disk space now" option. The latter will make disk access slower, but will save you wasting disk space.

Accept "RAC1.vmdk" as the disk file name and complete the VM creation by clicking the "Finish" button.

On the "VMware Server Console" screen, click the "Edit virtual machine settings" button.

On the "Virtual Machine Settings" screen, highlight the "Floppy 1" drive and click the "- Remove" button.

Click the "+ Add" button and select a hardware type of "Ethernet Adapter", then click the "Next" button.

Accept the "Bridged" option by clicking the "Finish" button.

Click on the "Options" tab, highlight the "Startup/Shutdown" setting and select the "Don't power on virtual machine" in the "On host startup" option. Finish by clicking the "OK" button.

The virtual machine is now configured so we can start the guest operating system installation.

Guest Operating System Installation

Place the first CentOS 4 disk in the CD drive and start the virtual machine by clicking the "Power on this virtual machine" button. The right pane of the VMware Server Console should display a boot loader, then the CentOS installation screen.

Continue through the CentOS 4 installation as you would for a normal server. A general pictorial guide to the installation can be foundhere. More specifically, it should be a server installation with a minimum of 2G swap, secure Linux disabled and the following package groups installed:

X Window System
GNOME Desktop Environment
Editors
Graphical Internet
Server Configuration Tools
FTP Server
Development Tools
Legacy Software Development
Administration Tools
System Tools

To be consistent with the rest of the article, the following information should be set during the installation.

hostname: rac1.localdomain
IP Address eth0: 192.168.2.101 (public address)
Default Gateway eth0: 192.168.2.1 (public address)
IP Address eth1: 192.168.0.101 (private address)
Default Gateway eth1: none

You are free to change the IP addresses to suit your network, but remember to stay consistent with those adjustments throughout the rest of the article.

Once the basic installation is complete, install the following packages whilst logged in as the root user.

# From CentOS4 Disk 1
cd /media/cdrecorder/CentOS/RPMS
rpm -Uvh setarch-1*
rpm -Uvh compat-libstdc++-33-3*
rpm -Uvh make-3*
rpm -Uvh glibc-2*
cd /
eject

# From CentOS4 Disk 2
cd /media/cdrecorder/CentOS/RPMS
rpm -Uvh openmotif-2*
rpm -Uvh compat-db-4*
rpm -Uvh gcc-3*
cd /
eject

# From CentOS4 Disk 3
cd /media/cdrecorder/CentOS/RPMS
rpm -Uvh libaio-0*
rpm -Uvh rsh-*
rpm -Uvh compat-gcc-32-3*
rpm -Uvh compat-gcc-32-c++-3*
rpm -Uvh openmotif21*
cd /
eject

Oracle Installation Prerequisites

Perform the following steps whilst logged into the RAC1 virtual machine as the root user.

The "/etc/hosts" file must contain the following information.

127.0.0.1       localhost.localdomain   localhost
# Public
192.168.2.101   rac1.localdomain        rac1
192.168.2.102   rac2.localdomain        rac2
#Private
192.168.0.101   rac1-priv.localdomain   rac1-priv
192.168.0.102   rac2-priv.localdomain   rac2-priv
#Virtual
192.168.2.111   rac1-vip.localdomain    rac1-vip
192.168.2.112   rac2-vip.localdomain    rac2-vip

Add the following lines to the "/etc/sysctl.conf" file.

kernel.shmall = 2097152
kernel.shmmax = 2147483648
kernel.shmmni = 4096
# semaphores: semmsl, semmns, semopm, semmni
kernel.sem = 250 32000 100 128
fs.file-max = 65536
net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 1024 65000
net.core.rmem_default=262144
net.core.rmem_max=262144
net.core.wmem_default=262144
net.core.wmem_max=262144

Run the following command to change the current kernel parameters.

/sbin/sysctl -p

Add the following lines to the "/etc/security/limits.conf" file.

*               soft    nproc   2047
*               hard    nproc   16384
*               soft    nofile  1024
*               hard    nofile  65536

Add the following line to the "/etc/pam.d/login" file, if it does not already exist.

session    required     pam_limits.so

Disable secure linux by editing the "/etc/selinux/config" file, making sure the SELINUX flag is set as follows.

SELINUX=disabled

Alternatively, this alteration can be done using the GUI tool (Applications > System Settings > Security Level). Click on the SELinux tab and disable the feature.

Set the hangcheck kernel module parameters by adding the following line to the "/etc/modprobe.conf" file.

options hangcheck-timer hangcheck_tick=30 hangcheck_margin=180

To load the module immediately, execute "modprobe -v hangcheck-timer".

Create the new groups and users.

groupadd oinstall
groupadd dba
groupadd oper

useradd -g oinstall -G dba oracle
passwd oracle

Create the directories in which the Oracle software will be installed.

mkdir -p /u01/crs/oracle/product/10.2.0/crs
mkdir -p /u01/app/oracle/product/10.2.0/db_1
mkdir -p /u01/oradata
chown -R oracle.oinstall /u01

During the installation, both RSH and RSH-Server were installed. Enable remote shell and rlogin by doing the following.

chkconfig rsh on
chkconfig rlogin on
service xinetd reload

Create the "/etc/hosts.equiv" file as the root user.

touch /etc/hosts.equiv
chmod 600 /etc/hosts.equiv
chown root:root /etc/hosts.equiv

Edit the "/etc/hosts.equiv" file to include all the RAC nodes:

+rac1 oracle
+rac2 oracle
+rac1-priv oracle
+rac2-priv oracle

# Oracle Settings
TMP=/tmp; export TMP
TMPDIR=$TMP; export TMPDIR

ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle; export ORACLE_BASE
ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/10.2.0/db_1; export ORACLE_HOME
ORACLE_SID=RAC1; export ORACLE_SID
ORACLE_TERM=xterm; export ORACLE_TERM
PATH=/usr/sbin:$PATH; export PATH
PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/bin:$PATH; export PATH

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib:/lib:/usr/lib; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
CLASSPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/JRE:$ORACLE_HOME/jlib:$ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/jlib; export CLASSPATH

if [ $USER = "oracle" ]; then
  if [ $SHELL = "/bin/ksh" ]; then
    ulimit -p 16384
    ulimit -n 65536
  else
    ulimit -u 16384 -n 65536
  fi
fi

Install VMware Client Tools

Login as the root user on the RAC1 virtual machine, then select the "VM > Install VMware Tools..." option from the main VMware Server Console menu.

This should mount a virtual CD containing the VMware Tools software. Double-click on the CD icon labelled "VMware Tools" to open the CD. Right-click on the ".rpm" package and select the "Open with 'Install Packages'" menu option.

Click the "Continue" button on the "Completed System Preparation" screen and wait for the installation to complete.

Once the package is loaded, the CD should unmount automatically. You must then run the "vmware-config-tools.pl" script as the root user. The following listing is an example of the output you should expect.

# vmware-config-tools.pl

Stopping VMware Tools services in the virtual machine:
   Guest operating system daemon:                          [  OK  ]
Trying to find a suitable vmhgfs module for your running kernel.

The module bld-2.6.9-11.EL-i686up-RHEL4 loads perfectly in the running kernel.

pcnet32                30409  0
Unloading pcnet32 module

Trying to find a suitable vmxnet module for your running kernel.

The module bld-2.6.9-11.EL-i686up-RHEL4 loads perfectly in the running kernel.



Detected X.org version 6.8.


Please choose one of the following display sizes (1 - 13):

[1]  "640x480"
[2]  "800x600"
[3]  "1024x768"
[4]  "1152x864"
[5]  "1280x800"
[6]  "1152x900"
[7]  "1280x1024"
[8]  "1376x1032"
[9]  "1400x1050"
[10]  "1680x1050"
[11]  "1600x1200"
[12]< "1920x1200"
[13]  "2364x1773"
Please enter a number between 1 and 13:

[12] 3


X Window System Version 6.8.2
Release Date: 9 February 2005
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0, Release 6.8.2
Build Operating System: Linux 2.6.9-11.EL i686 [ELF]
Current Operating System: Linux rac1.localdomain 2.6.9-22.EL #1 Sat Oct 8 17:48:27 CDT 2005 i686
Build Date: 07 October 2005
Build Host: x8664-build.home.local

        Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.X.Org
        to make sure that you have the latest version.
Module Loader present
OS Kernel: Linux version 2.6.9-22.EL (buildcentos@louisa.home.local)
  (gcc version 3.4.4 20050721 (Red Hat 3.4.4-2)) #1 Sat Oct 8 17:48:27 CDT 2005 P
Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
        (++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
        (WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(++) Log file: "/tmp/vmware-config0/XF86ConfigLog.3674", Time: Thu Apr 13 21:17:37 2006
(++) Using config file: "/tmp/vmware-config0/XF86Config.3674"

X is running fine with the new config file.

(WW) VMWARE(0): Failed to set up write-combining range (0xf0000000,0x1000000)
Starting VMware Tools services in the virtual machine:
   Switching to guest configuration:                       [  OK  ]
   Guest filesystem driver:                                [  OK  ]
   Guest vmxnet fast network device:                       [  OK  ]
   DMA setup:                                              [  OK  ]
   Guest operating system daemon:                          [  OK  ]

The configuration of VMware Tools e.x.p build-22874 for Linux for this running
kernel completed successfully.

You must restart your X session before any mouse or graphics changes take
effect.

You can now run VMware Tools by invoking the following command:
"/usr/bin/vmware-toolbox" during an XFree86 session.

To use the vmxnet driver, restart networking using the following commands:
/etc/init.d/network stop
rmmod pcnet32
rmmod vmxnet
depmod -a
modprobe vmxnet
/etc/init.d/network start

Enjoy,

--the VMware team

#

The VMware client tools are now installed.

Create Shared Disks

Shut down the RAC1 virtual machine using the following command.

# shutdown -h now

Create a directory on the host system to hold the shared virtual disks.

# mkdir -p /u01/VM/shared

On the VMware Server Console, click the "Edit virtual machine settings" button. On the "Virtual Machine Settings" screen, click the "+ Add" button.

Select the hardware type of "Hard Disk" and click the "Next" button.

Accept the "Create a new virtual disk" option by clicking the "Next" button.

Accept the "SCSI" option by clicking the "Next" button.

Set the disk size to "10.0" GB and uncheck the "Allocate all disk space now" option, then click the "Next" button.

Set the disk name to "/u01/VM/shared/ocr.vmdk" and click the "Advanced" button.

Set the virtual device node to "SCSI 1:1" and the mode to "Independent" and "Persistent", then click the "Finish" button.

Repeat the previous hard disk creation steps 4 more times, using the following values.

File Name: /u01/VM/shared/votingdisk.vmdk
Virtual Device Node: SCSI 1:2
Mode: Independent and Persistent
File Name: /u01/VM/shared/asm1.vmdk
Virtual Device Node: SCSI 1:3
Mode: Independent and Persistent
File Name: /u01/VM/shared/asm2.vmdk
Virtual Device Node: SCSI 1:4
Mode: Independent and Persistent
File Name: /u01/VM/shared/asm3.vmdk
Virtual Device Node: SCSI 1:5
Mode: Independent and Persistent

At the end of this process, the virtual machine should look something like the picture below.

Edit the contents of the "/u01/VM/RAC1/RAC1.vmx" file using a text editor, making sure the following entries are present. Some of the tries will already be present, some will not.

disk.locking = "FALSE"
diskLib.dataCacheMaxSize = "0" 
diskLib.dataCacheMaxReadAheadSize = "0" 
diskLib.dataCacheMinReadAheadSize = "0" 
diskLib.dataCachePageSize = "4096" 
diskLib.maxUnsyncedWrites = "0"

scsi1.present = "TRUE"
scsi1.virtualDev = "lsilogic" 
scsi1.sharedBus = "VIRTUAL"

scsi1:1.present = "TRUE"
scsi1:1.mode = "independent-persistent"
scsi1:1.fileName = "/u01/VM/shared/ocr.vmdk"
scsi1:1.deviceType = "plainDisk"
scsi1:1.redo = ""

scsi1:2.present = "TRUE"
scsi1:2.mode = "independent-persistent"
scsi1:2.fileName = "/u01/VM/shared/votingdisk.vmdk"
scsi1:2.deviceType = "plainDisk"
scsi1:2.redo = ""

scsi1:3.present = "TRUE"
scsi1:3.mode = "independent-persistent"
scsi1:3.fileName = "/u01/VM/shared/asm1.vmdk"
scsi1:3.deviceType = "plainDisk"
scsi1:3.redo = ""

scsi1:4.present = "TRUE"
scsi1:4.mode = "independent-persistent"
scsi1:4.fileName = "/u01/VM/shared/asm2.vmdk"
scsi1:4.deviceType = "plainDisk"
scsi1:4.redo = ""

scsi1:5.present = "TRUE"
scsi1:5.mode = "independent-persistent"
scsi1:5.fileName = "/u01/VM/shared/asm3.vmdk"
scsi1:5.deviceType = "plainDisk"
scsi1:5.redo = ""

Start the RAC1 virtual machine by clicking the "Power on this virtual machine" button on the VMware Server Console. When the server has started, log in as the root user so you can partition the disks. The current disks can be seen by issueing the following commands.

# cd /dev
# ls sd*
sda  sda1  sda2  sdb  sdc  sdd  sde  sdf
#

Use the "fdisk" command to partition the disks sdb to sdf. The following output shows the expected fdisk output for the sdb disk.

# fdisk /dev/sdb
Device contains neither a valid DOS partition table, nor Sun, SGI or OSF disklabel
Building a new DOS disklabel. Changes will remain in memory only,
until you decide to write them. After that, of course, the previous
content won't be recoverable.


The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 1305.
There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024,
and could in certain setups cause problems with:
1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO)
2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs
   (e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK)
Warning: invalid flag 0x0000 of partition table 4 will be corrected by w(rite)

Command (m for help): n
Command action
   e   extended
   p   primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 1
First cylinder (1-1305, default 1):
Using default value 1
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (1-1305, default 1305):
Using default value 1305

Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/sdb: 10.7 GB, 10737418240 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1305 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1               1        1305    10482381   83  Linux

Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
Syncing disks.
#

In each case, the sequence of answers is "n", "p", "1", "Return", "Return", "p" and "w".

Once all the disks are partitioned, the results can be seen by repeating the previous "ls" command.

# cd /dev
# ls sd*
sda  sda1  sda2  sdb  sdb1  sdc  sdc1  sdd  sdd1  sde  sde1  sdf  sdf1
#

Edit the "/etc/sysconfig/rawdevices" file, adding the following lines.

/dev/raw/raw1 /dev/sdb1
/dev/raw/raw2 /dev/sdc1
/dev/raw/raw3 /dev/sdd1
/dev/raw/raw4 /dev/sde1
/dev/raw/raw5 /dev/sdf1

Restart the rawdevices service using the following command.

service rawdevices restart

Create some symbolic links to the raw devices. This is not really necessary, but it acts as a reminder of the true locatons.

ln -s /dev/raw/raw1  /u01/oradata/ocr
ln -s /dev/raw/raw2  /u01/oradata/votingdisk
ln -s /dev/raw/raw3  /u01/oradata/asm1
ln -s /dev/raw/raw4  /u01/oradata/asm2
ln -s /dev/raw/raw5  /u01/oradata/asm3

Run the following commands and add them the "/etc/rc.local" file.

chown oracle:oinstall /dev/raw/raw1
chown oracle:oinstall /dev/raw/raw2
chown oracle:oinstall /dev/raw/raw3
chown oracle:oinstall /dev/raw/raw4
chown oracle:oinstall /dev/raw/raw5
chmod 600 /dev/raw/raw1
chmod 600 /dev/raw/raw2
chmod 600 /dev/raw/raw3
chmod 600 /dev/raw/raw4
chmod 600 /dev/raw/raw5

The shared disks are now configured.

Clone the Virtual Machine

The current version of VMware Server does not include an option to clone a virtual machine, but the following steps illustrate how this can be achieved manually.

Shut down the RAC1 virtual machine using the following command.

# shutdown -h now

Copy the RAC1 virtual machine using the following command.

# cp -R /u01/VM/RAC1 /u01/VM/RAC2

Edit the contents of the "/u01/VM/RAC2/RAC1.vmx" file, making the following change.

displayName = "RAC2"

Ignore discrepancies with the file names in the "/u01/VM/RAC2" directory. This does not affect the action of the virtual machine.

In the VMware Server Console, select the File > Open menu options and browse for the "/u01/VM/RAC2/RAC1.vmx" file. Once opened, the RAC2 virtual machine is visible on the console. Start the RAC2 virtual machine by clicking the "Power on this virtual machine" button and click the "Create" button on the subsequent "Question" screen.

Ignore any errors during the server startup. We are expecting the networking components to fail at this point.

Log in to the RAC2 virtual machine as the root user and start the "Network Configuration" tool (Applications > System Settings > Network).

Highlight the "eth0" interface and click the "Edit" button on the toolbar and alter the IP address to "192.168.2.102" in the resulting screen.

Click on the "Hardware Device" tab and click the "Probe" button. Then accept the changes by clicking the "OK" button.

Repeat the process for the "eth1" interface, this time setting the IP Address to "192.168.0.102".

Click on the "DNS" tab and change the host name to "rac2.localdomain", then click on the "Devices" tab.

Once you are finished, save the changes (File > Save) and activate the network interfaces by highlighting them and clicking the "Activate" button. Once activated, the screen should look like the following image.

Edit the "/home/oracle/.bash_profile" file on the RAC2 node to correct the ORACLE_SID value.

ORACLE_SID=RAC2; export ORACLE_SID

Start the RAC1 virtual machine and restart the RAC2 virtual machine. Whilst starting up, the "Kudzu" detection screen may be displayed.

Press a key and accept the configuration change on the following screen.

When both nodes have started, check they can both ping all the public and private IP addresses using the following commands.

ping -c 3 rac1
ping -c 3 rac1-priv
ping -c 3 rac2
ping -c 3 rac2-priv

At this point the virtual IP addresses defined in the /etc/hosts file will not work, so don't bother testing them.

In the original installation I used RSH for inter-node communication. If you wish to use SSH instead, perform the following configurations. If you prefer to use RSH, jump straight to the runcluvfy.sh note.

Configure SSH on each node in the cluster. Log in as the "oracle" user and perform the following tasks on each node.

su - oracle
mkdir ~/.ssh
chmod 700 ~/.ssh
/usr/bin/ssh-keygen -t rsa # Accept the default settings.

The RSA public key is written to the "~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub" file and the private key to the "~/.ssh/id_rsa" file.

Log in as the "oracle" user on RAC1, generate an "authorized_keys" file on RAC1 and copy it to RAC2 using the following commands.

su - oracle
cd ~/.ssh
cat id_rsa.pub >> authorized_keys
scp authorized_keys rac2:/home/oracle/.ssh/

Next, log in as the "oracle" user on RAC2 and perform the following commands.

su - oracle
cd ~/.ssh
cat id_rsa.pub >> authorized_keys
scp authorized_keys rac1:/home/oracle/.ssh/

The "authorized_keys" file on both servers now contains the public keys generated on all RAC nodes.

To enable SSH user equivalency on the cluster member nodes issue the following commands on each node.

ssh rac1 date
ssh rac2 date
ssh rac1.localdomain date
ssh rac2.localdomain date
exec /usr/bin/ssh-agent $SHELL
/usr/bin/ssh-add

You should now be able to SSH and SCP between servers without entering passwords.

Before installing the clusterware, check the prerequisites have been met using the "runcluvfy.sh" utility in the clusterware root directory.

/mountpoint/clusterware/runcluvfy.sh stage -pre crsinst -n rac1,rac2 -verbose

If you get any failures be sure to correct them before proceeding.

It's a good idea to take a snapshot of the virtual machines, so you can repeat the following stages if you run into any problems. To do this, shutdown both virtual machines and issue the following commands.

# cd /u01/VM
# tar -cvf RAC-PreClusterware.tar RAC1 RAC2 shared
# gzip RAC-PreClusterware.tar

The virtual machine setup is now complete.

Install the Clusterware Software

Start the RAC1 and RAC2 virtual machines, login to RAC1 as the oracle user and start the Oracle installer.

./runInstaller

On the "Welcome" screen, click the "Next" button.

Accept the default inventory location by clicking the "Next" button.

Enter the appropriate name and path for the Oracle Home and click the "Next" button.

Wait while the prerequisite checks are done. If you have any failures correct them and retry the tests before clicking the "Next" button.

You can choose to ignore the warnings from the prerequisite checks and click the "Next" button. If you do, you will also need to ignore the subsequent warning message by clicking the "Yes" button.

The "Specify Cluster Configuration" screen shows only the RAC1 node in the cluster. Click the "Add" button to continue.

Enter the details for the RAC2 node and click the "OK" button.

Click the "Next" button to continue.

The "Specific Network Interface Usage" screen defines how each network interface will be used. Highlight the "eth0" interface and click the "Edit" button.

Set the "eht0" interface type to "Public" and click the "OK" button.

Leave the "eth1" interface as private and click the "Next" button.

Click the "External Redundancy" option, enter "/dev/raw/raw1" as the OCR Location and click the "Next" button. To have greater redundancy we would need to define another shared disk for an alternate location.

Click the "External Redundancy" option, enter "/dev/raw/raw2" as the Voting Disk Location and click the "Next" button. To have greater redundancy we would need to define another shared disk for an alternate location.

On the "Summary" screen, click the "Install" button to continue.

Wait while the installation takes place.

Once the install is complete, run the orainstRoot.sh and root.sh scripts on both nodes as directed on the following screen.

The output from the orainstRoot.sh file should look something like that listed below.

# cd /u01/app/oracle/oraInventory
# ./orainstRoot.sh
Changing permissions of /u01/app/oracle/oraInventory to 770.
Changing groupname of /u01/app/oracle/oraInventory to oinstall.
The execution of the script is complete
#

The output of the root.sh will vary a little depending on the node it is run on. The following text is the output from the RAC1 node.

# cd /u01/crs/oracle/product/10.2.0/crs
# ./root.sh
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product/10.2.0' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01' is not owned by root
Checking to see if Oracle CRS stack is already configured
/etc/oracle does not exist. Creating it now.

Setting the permissions on OCR backup directory
Setting up NS directories
Oracle Cluster Registry configuration upgraded successfully
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product/10.2.0' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01' is not owned by root
assigning default hostname rac1 for node 1.
assigning default hostname rac2 for node 2.
Successfully accumulated necessary OCR keys.
Using ports: CSS=49895 CRS=49896 EVMC=49898 and EVMR=49897.
node <nodenumber>: <nodename> <private interconnect name> <hostname>
node 1: rac1 rac1-priv rac1
node 2: rac2 rac2-priv rac2
Creating OCR keys for user 'root', privgrp 'root'..
Operation successful.
Now formatting voting device: /dev/raw/raw2
Format of 1 voting devices complete.
Startup will be queued to init within 90 seconds.
Adding daemons to inittab
Expecting the CRS daemons to be up within 600 seconds.
CSS is active on these nodes.
        rac1
CSS is inactive on these nodes.
        rac2
Local node checking complete.
Run root.sh on remaining nodes to start CRS daemons.
#

Ignore the directory ownership warnings. We should really use a separate directory structure for the clusterware so it can be owned by the root user, but it has little effect on the finished results.

The output from the RAC2 node is listed below.

# cd /u01/crs/oracle/product/10.2.0/crs
# ./root.sh
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product/10.2.0' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01' is not owned by root
Checking to see if Oracle CRS stack is already configured
/etc/oracle does not exist. Creating it now.

Setting the permissions on OCR backup directory
Setting up NS directories
Oracle Cluster Registry configuration upgraded successfully
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product/10.2.0' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle/product' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs/oracle' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01/crs' is not owned by root
WARNING: directory '/u01' is not owned by root
clscfg: EXISTING configuration version 3 detected.
clscfg: version 3 is 10G Release 2.
assigning default hostname rac1 for node 1.
assigning default hostname rac2 for node 2.
Successfully accumulated necessary OCR keys.
Using ports: CSS=49895 CRS=49896 EVMC=49898 and EVMR=49897.
node <nodenumber>: <nodename> <private interconnect name> <hostname>
node 1: rac1 rac1-priv rac1
node 2: rac2 rac2-priv rac2
clscfg: Arguments check out successfully.

NO KEYS WERE WRITTEN. Supply -force parameter to override.
-force is destructive and will destroy any previous cluster
configuration.
Oracle Cluster Registry for cluster has already been initialized
Startup will be queued to init within 90 seconds.
Adding daemons to inittab
Expecting the CRS daemons to be up within 600 seconds.
CSS is active on these nodes.
rac1
rac2
CSS is active on all nodes.
Waiting for the Oracle CRSD and EVMD to start
Waiting for the Oracle CRSD and EVMD to start
Waiting for the Oracle CRSD and EVMD to start
Waiting for the Oracle CRSD and EVMD to start
Waiting for the Oracle CRSD and EVMD to start
Waiting for the Oracle CRSD and EVMD to start
Waiting for the Oracle CRSD and EVMD to start
Oracle CRS stack installed and running under init(1M)
Running vipca(silent) for configuring nodeapps
The given interface(s), "eth0" is not public. Public interfaces should be used to configure virtual IPs.
#

Here you can see that some of the configuration steps are omitted as they were done by the first node. In addition, the final part of the script ran the Virtual IP Configuration Assistant (VIPCA) in silent mode, but it failed. This is because my public IP addresses are actually within the "192.168.255.255" range which is a private IP range. If you were using "legal" IP addresses you would not see this and you could ignore the following VIPCA steps.

Run the VIPCA manually as the root user on the RAC2 node using the following command.

# cd /u01/crs/oracle/product/10.2.0/crs/bin
# ./vipca

Click the "Next" button on the VIPCA welcome screen.

Highlight the "eth0" interface and click the "Next" button.

Enter the vitual IP alias and address for each node. Once you enter the first alias, the remaining values should default automatically. Click the "Next" button to continue.

Accept the summary information by clicking the "Finish" button.

Wait until the configuration is complete, then click the "OK" button.

Accept the VIPCA results by clicking the "Exit" button.

You should now return to the "Execute Configuration Scripts" screen on RAC1 and click the "OK" button.

Wait for the configuration assistants to complete.

When the installation is complete, click the "Exit" button to leave the installer.

# cd /u01/VM
# tar -cvf RAC-PostClusterware.tar RAC1 RAC2 shared
# gzip RAC-PostClusterware.tar

The clusterware installation is now complete.

Install the Database Software and Create an ASM Instance

Start the RAC1 and RAC2 virtual machines, login to RAC1 as the oracle user and start the Oracle installer.

./runInstaller

On the "Welcome" screen, click the "Next" button.

Select the "Enterprise Edition" option and click the "Next" button.

Enter the name and path for the Oracle Home and click the "Next" button.

Select the "Cluster Install" option and make sure both RAC nodes are selected, the click the "Next" button.

Wait while the prerequisite checks are done. If you have any failures correct them and retry the tests before clicking the "Next" button.

You can choose to ignore the warnings from the prerequisite checks and click the "Next" button. If you do, you will also need to ignore the subsequent warning message by clicking the "Yes" button.

Select the "Configure Automatic Storage Management (ASM)" option, enter the SYS password for the ASM instance, then click the "Next" button.

Select the "External" redundancy option (no mirroring), select all three raw disks (raw3, raw4 and raw5), then click the "Next" button.

On the "Summary" screen, click the "Install" button to continue.

Wait while the database software installs.

Once the installation is complete, wait while the configuration assistants run.

Execute the "root.sh" scripts on both nodes, as instructed on the "Execute Configuration scripts" screen, then click the "OK" button.

When the installation is complete, click the "Exit" button to leave the installer.

# cd /u01/VM
# tar -cvf RAC-PostASM.tar RAC1 RAC2 shared
# gzip RAC-PostASM.tar

The database software installation and ASM creation step is now complete.

Create a Database using the DBCA

Start the RAC1 and RAC2 virtual machines, login to RAC1 as the oracle user and start the Database Configuration Assistant.

dbca

On the "Welcome" screen, select the "Oracle Real Application Clusters database" option and click the "Next" button.

Select the "Create a Database" option and click the "Next" button.

Highlight both RAC nodes and click the "Next" button.

Select the "Custom Database" option and click the "Next" button.

Enter the values "RAC.WORLD" and "RAC" for the Global Database Name and SID Prefix respectively, then click the "Next" button.

Accept the management options by clicking the "Next" button. If you are attempting the installation on a server with limited memory, you may prefer not to configure Enterprise Manager at this time.

Enter database passwords then click the "Next" button.

Select the "Automatic Storage Management (ASM)" option, then click the "Next" button.

Select the "DATA" disk group, then click the "Next" button.

Accept the "Use Oracle-Managed Files" database location by the "Next" button.

Check both the "Specify Flash Recovery Area" and "Enable Archiving" options. Enter "+DATA" as the Flash Recovery Area, then click the "Next" button.

Uncheck all but the "Enterprise Manager Repository" option, then click the "Standard Database Components..." button.

Uncheck all but the "Oracle JVM" option, then click the "OK" button, followed by the "Next" button on the previous screen. If you are attempting the installation on a server with limited memory, you may prefer not to install the JVM at this time.

Accept the current database services configuration by clicking the "Next" button.

Select the "Custom" memory management option and accept the default settings by clicking the "Next" button.

Accept the database storage settings by clicking the "Next" button.

Accept the database creation options by clicking the "Finish" button.

Accept the summary information by clicking the "OK" button.

Wait while the database is created.

Once the database creation is complete you are presented with the following screen. Make a note of the information on the screen and click the "Exit" button.

The RAC database creation is now complete.

TNS Configuration

Once the installation is complete, the "$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/listener.ora" file on each RAC node will contain entries similar to the following.

LISTENER_RAC1 =
  (DESCRIPTION_LIST =
    (DESCRIPTION =
      (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = IPC)(KEY = EXTPROC1))
      (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac1-vip.localdomain)(PORT = 1521)(IP = FIRST))
      (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = 192.168.2.101)(PORT = 1521)(IP = FIRST))
    )
  )

SID_LIST_LISTENER_RAC1 =
  (SID_LIST =
    (SID_DESC =
      (SID_NAME = PLSExtProc)
      (ORACLE_HOME = /u01/app/oracle/product/10.2.0/db_1)
      (PROGRAM = extproc)
    )
  )

The "$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/tnsnames.ora" file on each RAC node will contain entries similar to the following.

RAC =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac1-vip.localdomain)(PORT = 1521))
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac2-vip.localdomain)(PORT = 1521))
    (LOAD_BALANCE = yes)
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVER = DEDICATED)
      (SERVICE_NAME = RAC.WORLD)
    )
  )

LISTENERS_RAC =
  (ADDRESS_LIST =
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac1-vip.localdomain)(PORT = 1521))
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac2-vip.localdomain)(PORT = 1521))
  )

RAC2 =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac2-vip.localdomain)(PORT = 1521))
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVER = DEDICATED)
      (SERVICE_NAME = RAC.WORLD)
      (INSTANCE_NAME = RAC2)
    )
  )

RAC1 =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = rac1-vip.localdomain)(PORT = 1521))
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVER = DEDICATED)
      (SERVICE_NAME = RAC.WORLD)
      (INSTANCE_NAME = RAC1)
    )
  )

This configuration allows direct connections to specific instance, or using a load balanced connection to the main service.

$ sqlplus / as sysdba

SQL*Plus: Release 10.2.0.1.0 - Production on Tue Apr 18 12:27:11 2006

Copyright (c) 1982, 2005, Oracle.  All rights reserved.


Connected to:
Oracle Database 10g Enterprise Edition Release 10.2.0.1.0 - Production
With the Partitioning, Real Application Clusters, OLAP and Data Mining options

SQL> CONN sys/password@rac1 AS SYSDBA
Connected.
SQL> SELECT instance_name, host_name FROM v$instance;

INSTANCE_NAME    HOST_NAME
---------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
RAC1             rac1.localdomain

SQL> CONN sys/password@rac2 AS SYSDBA
Connected.
SQL> SELECT instance_name, host_name FROM v$instance;

INSTANCE_NAME    HOST_NAME
---------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
RAC2             rac2.localdomain

SQL> CONN sys/password@rac AS SYSDBA
Connected.
SQL> SELECT instance_name, host_name FROM v$instance;

INSTANCE_NAME    HOST_NAME
---------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
RAC1             rac1.localdomain

SQL>

Check the Status of the RAC

There are several ways to check the status of the RAC. The srvctl utility shows the current configuration and status of the RAC database.

$ srvctl config database -d RAC
rac1 RAC1 /u01/app/oracle/product/10.2.0/db_1
rac2 RAC2 /u01/app/oracle/product/10.2.0/db_1
$

$ srvctl status database -d RAC
Instance RAC1 is running on node rac1
Instance RAC2 is running on node rac2
$

The V$ACTIVE_INSTANCES view can also display the current status of the instances.

$ sqlplus / as sysdba

SQL*Plus: Release 10.2.0.1.0 - Production on Tue Apr 18 12:15:15 2006

Copyright (c) 1982, 2005, Oracle.  All rights reserved.


Connected to:
Oracle Database 10g Enterprise Edition Release 10.2.0.1.0 - Production
With the Partitioning, Real Application Clusters, OLAP and Data Mining options

SQL> SELECT * FROM v$active_instances;

INST_NUMBER INST_NAME
----------- ------------------------------------------------------------
          1 rac1.localdomain:RAC1
          2 rac2.localdomain:RAC2

SQL>

Finally, the GV$ allow you to display global information for the whole RAC.

SQL> SELECT inst_id, username, sid, serial# FROM gv$session WHERE username IS NOT NULL;

   INST_ID USERNAME                              SID    SERIAL#
---------- ------------------------------ ---------- ----------
         1 SYS                                   127          2
         1 SYS                                   128         28
         1 SYS                                   130         10
         1 SYS                                   131          4
         1 SYS                                   133          9
         1 DBSNMP                                134         27
         1 DBSNMP                                135          1
         1 SYS                                   153        122
         2 SYSMAN                                120        243
         2 DBSNMP                                122         37
         2 DBSNMP                                124         93

   INST_ID USERNAME                              SID    SERIAL#
---------- ------------------------------ ---------- ----------
         2 SYSMAN                                125          2
         2 SYSMAN                                127          6
         2 SYS                                   128         26
         2 SYS                                   129         30
         2 SYS                                   130          3
         2 SYS                                   133        149
         2 SYSMAN                                134         58
         2 SYS                                   136         32

19 rows selected.

SQL>

If you have configured Enterprise Manager, it can be used to view the configuration and current status of the database.

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