Re: 10g RAC using SAN for storage

On Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:48:01 -0700 (PDT), macdba321 <macdba321_at_gmail.com> wrote:

>On Sep 15, 4:52 pm, DA Morgan <damor..._at_psoug.org> wrote:
>> macdba321 wrote:
>> > On Sep 12, 9:29 pm, DA Morgan <damor..._at_psoug.org> wrote:
>> >> macdba321 wrote:
>> >>> On Sep 12, 9:35 am, DA Morgan <damor..._at_psoug.org> wrote:
>> >>>> macdba321 wrote:
>> >>>>> I am testing a 2 node RAC setup and want to try using a SAN for the
>> >>>>> dedicated storage (instead of a dedicated local storage disk array
>> >>>>> located within the same frame).
>> >>>>> Are there any "gotchas" that I should be aware of when using the SAN
>> >>>>> for storage as opposed to a typical storage array?
>> >>>>> Thanks!
>> >>>> How did you use "dedicated local storage disk" and make it shared
>> >>>> everything?
>> >>>> You've said nothing of CFS or ASM or RAW. Why?
>> >>>> The biggest potential issue with a SAN is labeling the disks used
>> >>>> for the voting disk and OCR so that they are mounted in the correct
>> >>>> order by the O/S.
>> >>>> --
>> >>>> Daniel A. Morgan
>> >>>> Oracle Ace Director & Instructor
>> >>>> University of Washington
>> >>>> damor..._at_x.washington.edu (replace x with u to respond)
>> >>>> Puget Sound Oracle Users Groupwww.psoug.org
>> >>> Thanks for the reply.
>> >>> I plan to use ASM over raw devices. (Again, this is purely for test/
>> >>> learning, not a production application.)
>> >>> Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming that I'll need HBAs
>> >>> for both nodes to connect to the same LUNs on the SAN? (There's no way
>> >>> to do it without the HBA is there?)
>> >>> Thanks.
>> >> Not with a SAN unless you have an antique with fibre protocol over
>> >> copper and can find drivers for it. Another possibility is to use
>> >> iSCSI drivers.
>> >> --
>> >> Daniel A. Morgan
>> >> Oracle Ace Director & Instructor
>> >> University of Washington
>> >> damor..._at_x.washington.edu (replace x with u to respond)
>> >> Puget Sound Oracle Users Groupwww.psoug.org
>>
>> > Thanks again for the reply. I will proceed with acquiring HBAs for
>> > each node.
>> > A related question if I may: Why would one require a single-channel
>> > Vs. dual-channel HBA in each node?
>>
>> > Thanks again!
>>
>> Dual channel cards are good for bonding to obtain higher bandwidth.
>> I like to have two cards, bonded, so that if one card fails it does
>> not become a single point of failure.
>> --
>> Daniel A. Morgan
>> Oracle Ace Director & Instructor
>> University of Washington
>> damor..._at_x.washington.edu (replace x with u to respond)
>> Puget Sound Oracle Users Groupwww.psoug.org
>
>Thanks again.
>For a prototype effort though, I could proceed with single channel
>HBAs on each node, correct?
>One additional question, if the nodes have multiple NIC cards, would
>they serve as the "dedicated high-speed interconnect" that rac
>requires?
>
>Thanks!

Provided they are 1 Gb cards, yes. As far as I know, this is documented. Do you read the documentation? Or are you trying to demonstrate we read it by asking for confirmation?

-- 
Sybrand Bakker
Senior Oracle DBA