Re: 32 bit or 64 bit Oracle on 64 bit OS?

Dave wrote:
> "Charles Hooper" <hooperc2000_at_yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1169224737.654947.135890_at_a75g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
>
> > Thanks for asking me to check the certification matrix - I dislike
> > giving out incorrect information, so it is good to check once in a
> > while to see what has changed. On Metalink I found Note:343737.1, last
> > revised June 27, 2006. From that document:
> >
> > "Oracle Server Product Support - 32-Bit running on 64-Bit x64
> > ============================================================
> > Oracle does not currently support running the 32-Bit versions of its
> > database
> > or client software on Windows XP 64-Bit Itanium / Windows 2003 64-Bit
> > Itanium
> > operating systems. Oracle has however certified the 32-Bit Client
> > software
> > from 9.2.0.x onwards to run on the Windows XP 64-Bit x64 / Windows 2003
> > 64-Bit
> > x64 operating systems."
> >
> > So, it looks like running a 32 bit client on a 64 bit operating system
> > is OK, but it is not supported to run the 32 bit version of the Oracle
> > database on a 64 bit version of Windows 2003.
> >
> > There could very well be another document on Metalink that contradicts
> > the above quote.
>
> Charles,
>
> Please note that there are two flavors of 64bit intel platforms, Itanium and
> EM64T. From the Metalink Certify tab:
>
> Certify - Certification Matrix: Oracle Database - Enterprise Edition
> on Microsoft Windows 2003 (AMD64/EM64T)
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Server Certifications
> OS Product Certified With Version Status Addtl. Info. Components
> Other Install Issue
> 2003 R2 10gR2 64-bit N/A N/A Certified Yes None None None
> 2003 10gR2 64-bit N/A N/A Certified Yes None None None
> 2003 32-bit 10gR2 32-bit N/A N/A Certified Yes None None None
>
>
> Sorry for the screwy formatting, but this says for EM64T, 32Bit 10gR2 is
> certified on 64bit Win2003.

We seem to have found an inconsistency between the two Metalink documents.

The certify section does show what you indicate above. Metalink note 343737.1, that I referenced in my previous post, is titled "Oracle Database Server support Matrix for Windows XP / 2003 64-Bit (x64)". The AMD64/EM64T CPU lines, if running a 64 bit version of Windows 2003, require the x64 Edition of Windows 2003. I can't determine why the document would include a heading of "Oracle Server Product Support - 32-Bit running on 64-Bit x64" and then directly below that heading discussed Itanium processors - Note 236183.1 deals with the Itanium processor.

If one were to run the 32 bit version of Oracle 10.2 on the x64 Edition of Windows 2003, what would be gained? The per process limit is raised from 2GB to 4GB. If support is needed for the 32 bit version of Oracle on 64 bit Windows 2003, would Oracle support state that this is an invalid configuration? I guess that the answer might depend on which document support references when troubleshooting the problem.

This has been an interesting discussion.

Charles Hooper
PC Support Specialist
K&M Machine-Fabricating, Inc. Received on Fri Jan 19 2007 - 14:30:54 CST