Re: ASM on Linux 6
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 15:19:32 -0400
Message-ID: <BANLkTikd=kd1HmAzDGXvcT3RioU-edVUSw_at_mail.gmail.com>
> This seems to be a very serious situation for us: I think a call to my Oracle
> Sales Rep for a strongly worded protest is in order.
Why use ASMLib in the first place?
Of course the official ASM documentation [1] says that if you're
running Linux, then « use the Oracle ASMLIB feature to provide
consistent device naming and permission persistency. » But you can
achieve the same goal with udev instead of ASMLib [2]. Don't take my
word for it and check out Christo Kutrovsky's presentation « RAC+ASM:
3 years in
production. Stories to share » [3] in which he also suggests to drop
ASMLib in favor of udev.
The main reason I don't like ASMLib is because it has to be kept in sync with your kernel version. So every time you do a kernel upgrade, you have to fiddle with ASMLib otherwise your node can't see the disks. While udev is part of the base OS and so it's a lot easier to manage. Yes, writing udev rules can be complex and ASMLib is a bit more simple to use. But once the udev rules have been written, adding a new LUN is very easy.
HTH, David
[1] http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E11882_01/server.112/e16102/asmprepare.htm#BABJHHEC [2] http://itdavid.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-increase-disk-space-in-existing.html [3] http://www.pythian.com/news/9055/oracle-rac-asm-3-years-in-production-stories-to-share-slides-from-rmoug10/
-- http://ca.linkedin.com/in/davidrobillard http://itdavid.blogspot.com/Received on Sat Apr 23 2011 - 14:19:32 CDT
> -----Original Message-----
> From: oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org [mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org] On
> Behalf Of Gillfillan, Marianne J.
> Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 7:54 AM
> To: oracle-l_at_freelists.org
> Subject: ASM on Linux 6
>
> Did anyone else see the announcement from Oracle that they will not be providing
> ASMlib for kernels distributed by RH as part of RHEL 6, only for Oracle
> kernels? See Metalink Note 1089399.1:
>
> "For RHEL6, Oracle will only provide ASMLib software and updates when configured
> with a kernel distributed by Oracle. Oracle will not provide ASMLib packages for
> kernels distributed by Red Hat as part of RHEL6. ASMLib updates will be
> delivered via Unbreakable Linux Network(ULN) which is available to customers
> with Oracle Linux support. ULN works with both Oracle Linux or Red Hat Linux
> installations, but ASMlib usage will require replacing any Red Hat kernel with a
> kernel provided by Oracle."
>
> To me, this sounds like Oracle is forcing all ASM Linux sites to buy into their
> support structure and drop RH support. When we investigated the cost between RH
> and Oracle Linux support, we found Oracle Linux to be more expensive than RH
> (when comparing apples to apples). For those on an already tight budget, this
> is not going to sit well.
>
> I had also heard that this may have something to do with RedHat's decision to
> pre-bundle patches in the kernel, making it more difficult for Oracle to provide
> Red Hat support (and take away customers from Red Hat support):
>
> http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/72012.html?wlc=1303298360
>
> If that's the reason, it's going to backfire on RedHat as all those running ASM
> on Linux will have to flip to Oracle Support just to be able to download ASMlib
> updates. They'll end up losing customers anyway. The only other option is for
> ASM customers to drop the use of ASM and lose all the great functionality it
> provides. Tough decisions ahead, I believe.
>
> Marianne
>
> Marianne Gillfillan, OCA
> CAIS Technical DBA
> Marianne.Gillfillan_at_cais.cus.edu
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