Re: RAC on Linux

Yes, you can install Oracle onto the shared disk, not a problem -provided you have a Cluster File System on that shared disk and not just raw partitions (as it would seem that you do).

And yes, it is actually possible to use a shared init.ora. I see Pete mentioned SPFILEs to you, and they were certainly designed to be shareable. Trouble with the SPFILE is that it's binary. Which means you can't easily edit it. That wouldn't be so bad if Oracle was smart enough to prevent you editing it daftly.

For example, the following command is perfectly acceptable when editing it:

alter system set shared_pool_size=0 scope=spfile sid='INST1';

Now try and re-start Instance 1, and of course it will fail. Try issuing a correcting 'alter system' command, and forget it (if Instance 2 is still available, of course, you'll be in luck). So what you are then supoposed to do is export the spfile to a regular text pfile, edit (ie correct) the pfile, and then export the pfile back into the binary spfile.

It's a palaver all right!

Fortunately, and unhearalded, the init.ora itself permits the 'star notation' which allows the one file to be of use to multiple instances. Of course, if the init.ora is stored on the shared disk, it won't be in the default location, and Oracle will have trouble finding it at startup.

But that's easily dealt with: you have an init.ora in the default location(s) (ie, ORACLE_HOME/dbs) containing just the one line: IFILE=/shared/init.ora

If you want to use SPFILEs, you still need the default init.ora in the default location, containing the one line SPFILE=/shared/spfileSID.ora. Ultimately, I would imagine that the init.ora would one day be abolished altogether, so maybe we should be getting used to spfiles now, in advance. But I can't stand them, they're more trouble than they're worth, and I'd sell my grandmother not to have to use one.

Regards
HJR "PdV" <piet.de.visser_at_cmg.com> wrote in message news:6de2ae57.0212050936.701aaad1_at_posting.google.com...
> Group,
>
> We have installed OCF and ORacle RAC 92 on Linux Redhead 2.1 AS,
> went fairly smooth and all works fine.
>
> Two issues I want to discuss :
> 1. would it be allowed to move ORACLE_HOME to the cluster-disk ?
> thus allow multiple nodes to use the same, physical, software.
> I know this is possible on openVMS and Tru64, and like the concept
> very much.
> 2. Is is possible to run two nodes from a single init-file,
> linking initINST<nr>.ora, using include-file to point to a single
> initDB.ora file. and then specify parameters as :
> <instance>.<parameter> = Value, e.g. INST1.sort_area_size = 1000000
>
> TIA for your feedback.
Received on Fri Dec 06 2002 - 15:01:52 CST