IBM AIX Oracle 11gR2-tips_SHANMUGAM 27Nov2012

Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and Oracle RAC 11g Release 2 on IBM AIX – Tips and Considerations http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP101176 © Copyright 2012, IBM Corporation 1 Oracle Database 11g R2 Oracle Database 11g R2 RAC on IBM AIX Tips and Considerations Ravisankar Shanmugam IBM Oracle International Competency Center Nov 27, 2012 Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and Oracle RAC 11g Release 2 on IBM AIX – Tips and Considerations http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP101176 © Copyright 2012, IBM Corporation 2 Table of contents Abstract..................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3 Terminology.............................................................................................................................. 3 IBM AIX...................................................................................................................................... 4 AIX support ........................................................................................................................................ 5 C and C++ compilers ......................................................................................................................... 7 Oracle Database 11g Release 2 ............................................................................................... 7 Current certifications .......................................................................................................................... 8 Latest patch set.................................................................................................................................. 9 Virtualization for Oracle Database 11g Release 2..............................................................................10 Oracle Database 11g Release 2 RAC .................................................................................... 12 Current certifications .........................................................................................................................12 Oracle Redundant Interconnect usage feature...................................................................................14 Oracle Clusterware ...........................................................................................................................15 IBM PowerHA (formerly High Availability Cluster Multi-Processing) ...................................................15 General Parallel File System.............................................................................................................17 Virtualization for Oracle Database 11g Release 2 RAC .....................................................................19 Network interconnects.......................................................................................................................22 Tuning tips.............................................................................................................................. 23 Automatic Storage Management .......................................................................................................24 Asynchronous I/O .............................................................................................................................25 Concurrent I/O and direct I/O ............................................................................................................25 File system cache size ......................................................................................................................26 RAC IPC...........................................................................................................................................26 General Parallel File System.............................................................................................................26 Oracle process memory footprint.......................................................................................................26 Tuning resources ..............................................................................................................................26 Summary................................................................................................................................. 29 Resources............................................................................................................................... 30 About the author..................................................................................................................... 31 Trademarks and special notices ........................................................................................... 32 Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and Oracle RAC 11g Release 2 on IBM AIX – Tips and Considerations http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP101176 © Copyright 2012, IBM Corporation 3 Abstract This paper consolidates the information necessary for planning and implementing Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) single node database or Oracle Database 11g Release 2 Real Application Cluster (RAC) on the IBM AIX® operating system. This paper summarizes the information available at the time of publication. It will be updated as changes (eg. new certifications) occur. It is meant to be used only as a guide. For any official Oracle certification information, please consult Oracle’s “My Oracle Support” website. This paper is written to a level of detail that assumes readers have an in-depth knowledge of AIX, Oracle Database 11g Release2, Oracle Database 11g Release 2 RAC and the related products. Introduction There are many technical topics to consider when running Oracle Database 11g Release2 and Oracle Database 11g Release 2 RAC on AIX such as: status of Oracle certifications, 11g Release 2 patch sets, AIX code levels, tuning and related software components - just to name a few. The documentation for these topics is spread across many websites, documents, presentations and forums. This paper consolidates that information for easy reference. This paper focuses on AIX 5.3, AIX 6.1 and AIX 7.1, since these are the AIX versions certified on Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and Oracle Database11g Release 2 RAC. This is a companion paper to three other papers. � For 9i and 10gR1, Oracle 9i & 10gR1 on IBM AIX5L: Tips and Considerations, http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP100556 � For 10gR2, Oracle Database 10gR2 and Oracle RAC 10gR2 on IBM AIX: Tips and Considerations, http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP101089 � For 11g, Oracle Database 11g and Oracle RAC 11g on IBM AIX: Tips and Considerations, http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP101753. Feedback is important; please send any comments about this paper to the IBM Oracle International Competency Center at ibmoracl@us.ibm.com. The IBM Oracle International Competency Center (ICC) works closely with the IBM Oracle Center (IOC) in Montpellier, France and the IBM Oracle Competency Center in Tokyo, Japan. � IBM Oracle Center, Montpellier, France – ioc@fr.ibm.com � IBM Oracle Competency Center, Tokyo, Japan – ibmoracc@jp.ibm.com Terminology In 2008, the System p™ and System i™ product families were combined to create the IBM Power™ Systems product family. The IBM Power Systems product family includes systems previously referred to as System p, System p5™, eServer™ pSeries®, RS6000®, System i™, System i5™, eServer iSeries®, AS/400®,Flex System, IBM PureFlex and IBM PureSystems. Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and Oracle RAC 11g Release 2 on IBM AIX – Tips and Considerations http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP101176 © Copyright 2012, IBM Corporation 4 The brand name of “AIX 5L™” is no longer used. The term “AIX 5L” will still appear in some places in this document, mostly in document titles which have yet to be updated. High Availability Cluster Multi-Processing (HACMP™) has been renamed to the PowerHA™ and PowerHA SystemMirror. This version of the document will use the name HACMP for version up to 5.4.1, PowerHA for version 5.5 and PowerHA SystemMirror for the version 6.1 and up. IBM AIX AIX is an open standards-based, UNIX operating system. AIX in combination with IBM's virtualization offerings provides new levels of flexibility and performance to allow you to consolidate workloads on fewer servers, which can increase efficiency and conserve energy. AIX delivers high levels of security, integration, flexibility and reliability—essential for meeting the demands of today's information technology environments. AIX operates on IBM Systems based on Power Architecture technology. For more information about AIX, see this web page: http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/p/os/aix/. IBM’s latest version of AIX is 7.1. It contains new features for virtualization, security, availability and manageability. AIX 7.1 is binary compatible with AIX 6.1 and AIX 5.x. AIX 7.1 includes supporting high- end POWER7 server with 256 CPUs, which can provide up to 1024 logical processors with use of SMT 4. For additional information about AIX 7.1, visit this web page: http://www- 03.ibm.com/systems/power/software/aix/v71/index.html Most of the new features of AIX 7.1 are available on earlier POWER™ platforms. However, the best capabilities are delivered on systems based on POWER6™ and POWER7™ processors. POWER7 processors built for Smarter Planet and automatically optimize work load performance and capacity. POWER7 loaded with specific features such as TurboCore™ for maximum per core performance for databases and MaxCore for high rate of parallelization and high capacity throughput. The POWER6 processor has ultra high-frequency dual-core processor technology and two integrated hardware accelerators. POWER7 processors built for Smarter Planet and automatically optimize work load performance and capacity. For information about the POWER7 and POWER6 processors, see this web page: http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/advantages/power.html. On April 11, 2012 IBM has introduced a new Hardware product called Flex System, which is an expert integrated system where servers (POWER7 and/or x86), networking, SAN, virtualization, enterprise storage (Flex System components) are combined and installed in an Enterprise Chassis. The chassis and its components are managed by unified management software called Flex System Manager (FSM). The binary compatibility of IBM Flex System and AIX 6.1 and 7.1 was verified and the interoperability of Flex System components with AIX 6.1/7.1 , PowerVM features and Oracle Database 11g Release 2 RAC was successfully verified. For more information on IBM Flex System, refer the following web link, http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/flex/index.html The interoperability test document of IBM Flex System p460 Compute Nodes, AIX 6.1 and Oracle Database 11g Release R2 RAC can be found in the following link. Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and Oracle RAC 11g Release 2 on IBM AIX – Tips and Considerations http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP101176 © Copyright 2012, IBM Corporation 5 IBM Flex System p460 Compute Nodes without PowerVM features and Oracle Database 11g Release 2 RAC, http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP102101 IBM Flex System p460 Compute Nodes with PowerVM features and Oracle Database 11g Release 2 RAC http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP102124 The following web link has additional information of AIX versions and their Technology Levels (TL) supported on Power System servers. IBM AIX “From Strength to Strength – A summary of upgrade benefits for each release of AIX” http://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/en/poo03022usen/POO03022USEN.PDF Large IBM Power Systems Power7 server can have up to 256 cores and supports up to 1024 logical processors. Power Systems with POWER7 processors requires minimum level of IBM SDK as specified in the following link http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/jdk/power7/index.html IBM also produces benchmark reports that demonstrate the performance results of Power Systems running AIX. These benchmarks are run using Oracle E-Business Suite, yet they provide valuable data about Oracle Database and Oracle RAC. The benchmark results are published at http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/benchmark/apps-benchmark/index.html IBM will also provide sizing estimations to help predict the system resources necessary to support a given workload. To start the sizing process, visit this web page, http://www.ibm.com/erp/sizing. Additional documentation resources for AIX can be found at: � IBM Power Systems and AIX Information Center, http://publib16.boulder.ibm.com/pseries/index.htm � IBM developerWorks AIX, http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/aix � IBM AIX Wiki, http://www-941.ibm.com/collaboration/wiki/display/WikiPtype/Home AIX support The latest fixes and updates for your system’s hardware and operating system can be found at the Fix Central web page: http://www-912.ibm.com/eserver/support/fixes/. Be sure to review My Oracle Support note 282036.1, “Minimum Software Versions and Patches Required to Support Oracle Products on IBM pSeries”, for the latest, up-to-date issues regarding AIX and Oracle Database 11gR2. This My Oracle Support note is the primary mechanism used to broadcast any breaking news, such as PTF’s or bug fixes, about AIX and Oracle Database 11gR2. Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and Oracle RAC 11g Release 2 on IBM AIX – Tips and Considerations http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP101176 © Copyright 2012, IBM Corporation 6 In general, the ICC recommends that you keep your TL’s and SP’s up to date for your AIX installation. Monitor My Oracle Support note 282036.1 and Fix Central for the latest issues. Always perform thorough testing on an OS update before deploying to production. Note: AIX 6.1 TL5 SP1 is recommended for POWER7 for the issue -Threads are not being utilized efficiently in SMT4 and Performance impact observed. Obtain and Install the APAR IZ78005 for AIX 6.1 TL05 SP1 for the issue - PERFORMANCE DEGRADATION IN IO WHEN AIO BUF SIZE IS > 128K or upgrade to AIX6.1 TL05 SP02 and UP Obtain the following fixes for AIX 7.1 TL0 SP01 and install or upgrade to SP02 and above • IZ87216: UNMAPPING ONE LUN ON DS5300 CAUSES ACCESS TO HANG ON OTHER LUNS • IZ87564: 7.1. POW() SUBROUTINE IN AIX 7100-00-01-1037, BOS.ADT.LIBM The following APAR needs on AIX 7.1 TL01 SP01 and AIX 6.1 TL07 SP01 while re-linking large Oracle library files using AIX “ld” command. AIX 7.1 TL01 SP01: • IV09541: FILE.ATION OVERFLOW REPORTED IN ERROR WHILE LINKING LARGE 11/12/13 PTF PECHANGE AIX6.1 TL07 SP01: • IV09580: FILE.ATION OVERFLOW REPORTED IN ERROR WHILE LINKING LARGE 11/12/13 PTF PECHANGE Oracle Database 11g Release 2 software Online Patching on AIX 6.1 and AIX 7.1 Oracle Database 11g Release 2 had introduced a new feature called “online patching” for some qualified interim patches. This “online patching” integrated with OPatch tool and provides the ability to patch the running processes of an Oracle instance without bringing down it. Each process associated with the Oracle instance checks for the patched code at a safe execution point, and then copies the code into its process space. The “online patching” of Oracle Database 11g Release 2 is available for AIX 6.1 TL07 and AIX 7.1 TL01. The customers are advised to upgrade to the mentioned AIX level for using the “online patching” feature. The “online patching” is not recommended to use with the lower TL level of AIX 6.1 TL07 and AIX 7.1 TL01. For more detailed information on the “online patching” on AIX, refer the following flash document, http://w3-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP102085 Recommended Code Levels There are two tools to help determine the recommended code levels among AIX and Power Systems related components. Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and Oracle RAC 11g Release 2 on IBM AIX – Tips and Considerations http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/WP101176 © Copyright 2012, IBM Corporation 7 1. The Fix Level Recommendation Tool (FLRT) can determine the recommended code levels among a mixture of AIX, HMC, Server firmware, VIOS, GPFS™ and PowerHA. The FLRT web page is: http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/flrt/home. Note, the FLRT recommendation provides a minimum acceptable level of compatibility. 2. The POWER code matrix indicates the recommended code levels for the HMC and Server firmware. The POWER code matrix web page is: http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/power5cm/home.html. Note, the POWER code matrix recommendation provides the maximum stability code combinations. Service Strategy To review the latest IBM AIX Operating System Service Strategy Details and Best Practices document, see this website: http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/best/home.html. C and C++ compilers XL C/C++ is a standards-based, high performance C and C++ compiler with advanced optimizing and debugging features. It gives you the ability to optimize and tune applications for optimal execution on systems using PowerPC®, POWER3™, POWER4™, POWER5™, POWER6™ and the latest POWER7™ processors from IBM. The compiler supports IBM Power Systems servers capable of running IBM AIX 5.2, 5.3, 6.1 and 7.1. To determine the current certifications for compilers on 11g Release 2, please review My Oracle Support note 43208.1, “Certified Compilers”. Currently, XL C/C++ 8.0 and 9.0 are certified for Oracle Database 11g. If necessary, read My Oracle Support note 335569.1, “How to Find C or C++ version on AIX Platform” to determine your XL C/C++ compiler version. The XL C/C++ runtime environment is installed during the installation of base AIX. To update to the latest runtime environment, go to the XL C/C++ web page, http://www-306.ibm.com/software/awdtools/xlcpp/features/aix/ and click on the “Latest XL C/C++ Updates (PTFs)” link. Then select the “Runtime Environment Components” in the AIX section. If the XL C/C++ Enterprise Edition for AIX compiler is installed, to get the latest updates, visit the product’s web page, http://www-306.ibm.com/software/awdtools/xlcpp/features/aix/ and click on the “Latest XL C/C++ Updates (PTFs)” link and select the appropriate link in the AIX section. Oracle Database 11g Release 2 This section contains the Oracle Database 11g non-RAC technical information that needs to be considered in an AIX installation. Oracle 11g Release 2 introduces the Grid Infrastructure installation for both stand alone and Real Application Cluster (RAC) databases. Grid Infrastructure is an option which includes Automatic Storage Management (ASM), the listener, and Oracle Restart. Oracle Restart is a new feature that provides the ability to monitor, manage, and automatically restart the Oracle Database instance, ASM instance, and listeners. Grid infrastructure is needed for the stand alone database server if the ASM is selected as a storage option for the database files. These are the basic documents to review for an Oracle Database 11g installation on AIX. Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and Oracle RAC 11g Release 2 on IBM AIX – Tips and Considerations http://ww