3 Oracle Grid Infrastructure

3.1.1 Memory Requirements

At least 1 GB of RAM (for Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Standalone Server installations, including installations where you plan to install Oracle Database).

3.1.2 Disk Space Requirements

The following are the disk space requirements for installing Oracle Grid Infrastructure:

At least 2 GB of disk space

The amount of disk space available in the %TEMP% directory is equivalent to the total amount of free disk space, minus what is required for Oracle Grid Infrastructure to be installed.

If less than 1 GB free disk space is available in the %TEMP% directory, then complete the following steps:

• Delete unnecessary files from the %TEMP% directory to meet the disk space requirement.

• Set TEMP environment variable. Go to System Properties, then Environment Variables , "TEMP=C:\Temp\"

If you plan to install Oracle Database, then you must meet additional preinstallation requirements. See Chapter 2, "Oracle Database Preinstallation Requirements."

3.6.1 General Steps for Configuring Oracle Automatic Storage Management

The following are the general steps to configure Oracle Automatic Storage Management:

1. Identify your site's storage requirements.

2. If you are creating a new Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group, create partitions for direct attached storage (DAS) or storage area network (SAN) disks.

3. Use asmtool to stamp the disks before using them for Oracle Automatic Storage Management.

   See Also:

   "Step 3: Manually Configuring Disks for Oracle Automatic Storage Management" for more information about stamping the disks

4. Configure the disks for use with Oracle Automatic Storage Management. You must provide the Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk configuration information during the Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation.

3.6.2 Step 1: Identifying Storage Requirements for Oracle Automatic Storage Management

To identify the storage requirements for using Oracle Automatic Storage Management, you must determine how many devices and the amount of free disk space that you require. To complete this task, follow these steps:

1. Determine whether you want to use Oracle Automatic Storage Management for Oracle data files, recovery files, or both.

   Note:

   You do not have to use the same storage mechanism for Oracle Database files and recovery files. You can use a file system for one file type and Oracle Automatic Storage Management for the other.

   If you choose to enable automated backups and you do not have a shared file system, then you must choose Oracle Automatic Storage Management for recovery file storage.

   During the database installation, if you plan to enable automated backups, then you can choose Oracle Automatic Storage Management as the storage mechanism for recovery files by specifying an Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group for the fast recovery area. Depending how you choose to create a database during the installation, you have the following options:

   • You can run Oracle Automatic Storage Management Configuration Assistant in interactive mode to create and configure the required disk groups.

     During the database installation, if you select an installation method that runs Database Configuration Assistant in interactive mode (Advanced Installation type), then you select the disk groups that you created using Oracle ASMCA.

     You have the option to use the disk groups you created using Oracle ASMCA both for database files and recovery files, or you can choose to use different disk groups for each file type. Ideally, you should create separate Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk groups for data files and for recovery files.

   • If you run Oracle ASMCA in noninteractive mode, then you must use the same Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group for data files and recovery files. During the database installation (Typical Install type), you select the same disk group for both data files and recovery files.

   See Also:

   • "Oracle ASM Configuration Assistant Command-Line Interface" section in Oracle Database Storage Administrator's Guide

   • "Creating a Fast Recovery Area Disk Group"

2. Choose the Oracle Automatic Storage Management redundancy level for each Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group you create.

   The redundancy level that you choose for the Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group determines how Oracle Automatic Storage Management mirrors files in the disk group and determines the number of disks and amount of disk space that you require. The redundancy levels are as follows:

   • External redundancy

     An external redundancy disk group requires a minimum of one disk device. The effective disk space in an external redundancy disk group is the sum of the disk space in all of its devices.

     Because Oracle Automatic Storage Management does not mirror data in an external redundancy disk group, Oracle recommends that you use only RAID or similar devices that provide their own data protection mechanisms as disk devices in this type of disk group.

   • Normal redundancy

     To optimize performance and reliability in a normal redundancy disk group, Oracle Automatic Storage Management uses two-way mirroring for data files and three-way mirroring for control files, by default. In addition, you can choose the mirroring characteristics for individual files in a disk group. Alternatively, you can use two-way mirroring or no mirroring.

     A normal redundancy disk group requires a minimum of two failure groups (or two disk devices) if you are using two-way mirroring. The effective disk space in a normal redundancy disk group is half the sum of the disk space in all of its devices.

     For most installations, Oracle recommends that you use normal redundancy disk groups.

   • High redundancy

     In a high redundancy disk group, Oracle Automatic Storage Management uses three-way mirroring to increase performance and provide the highest level of reliability. A high redundancy disk group requires a minimum of three disk devices (or three failure groups). The effective disk space in a high redundancy disk group is one-third the sum of the disk space in all of its devices.

     While high redundancy disk groups do provide a high level of data protection, you must consider the higher cost of additional storage devices before deciding to use this redundancy level.

3. Determine the total amount of disk space that you require for the data files and recovery files.

   Use the following table to determine the minimum number of disks and the minimum disk space requirements for the installation:

   Redundancy Level	Minimum Number of Disks	Data Files	Recovery Files	Both File Types
   External	1	1.6 GB	2.95 GB	4.55 GB
   Normal	2	3.2 GB	5.90 GB	9.10 GB
   High	3	4.8 GB	8.85 GB	13.65 GB

   
   

   If an Oracle Automatic Storage Management instance is on the system, you can use an existing disk group to meet these storage requirements. If necessary, you can add disks to an existing disk group during the database installation.

4. Optionally identify failure groups for the Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group devices.

   Note:

   You must complete this step only if you intend to use an installation method that runs Oracle Automatic Storage Management Configuration Assistant in interactive mode, for example, if you intend to choose the Advanced database configuration option. Other installation types do not allow you to specify failure groups.

   If you intend to use a normal or high redundancy disk group, you can further protect your database against hardware failure by associating a set of disk devices in a custom failure group. By default, each device comprises its own failure group. However, if two disk devices in a normal redundancy disk group are attached to the same SCSI controller, the disk group becomes unavailable if the controller fails. The controller in this example is a single point of failure.

   For instance, to avoid failures of this type, you could use two SCSI controllers, each with two disks, and define a failure group for the disks attached to each controller. This configuration would enable the disk group to tolerate the failure of one SCSI controller.

   Note:

   If you define custom failure groups, you must specify a minimum of two failure groups for normal redundancy disk groups and three failure groups for high redundancy disk groups.

5. If you are sure that a suitable disk group does not exist on the system, install or identify appropriate disk devices to add to a new disk group. Use the following guidelines when identifying appropriate disk devices:

   • All of the devices in an Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group should be the same size and have the same performance characteristics.

   • Do not specify multiple partitions on a single physical disk as a disk group device. Oracle Automatic Storage Management expects each disk group device to be on a separate physical disk.

   • Although you can specify a logical volume as a device in an Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group, Oracle does not recommend their use. Logical volume managers can hide the physical disk architecture, preventing Oracle Automatic Storage Management from optimizing I/O across the physical devices.

   See Also:

   "Step 3: Manually Configuring Disks for Oracle Automatic Storage Management" for information about completing this task

3.6.3 Step 2: Creating DAS or SAN Disk Partitions for an Oracle Automatic Storage Management Instance

In order to use a DAS or SAN disk in Oracle Automatic Storage Management, the disk must have a partition table. Oracle recommends creating exactly one partition for each disk containing the entire disk.

This section covers the following topics.

• Step 1: Enabling Disk Automounting

• Step 2: Creating the Disk Partitions

Step 1: Enabling Disk Automounting

Before you can configure partitions or logical drives on Windows, you must enable disk automounting. Enable disk automounting when using:

• Disk partitions on both single-instance and Oracle RAC installations

• Cluster file system for Oracle RAC

• Oracle Clusterware

• Raw partitions for a single-node database installation

• Primary or logical partitions for Oracle Automatic Storage Management

To enable automounting:

1. Enter the following commands at a command prompt:

   DRIVE_LETTER:\> diskpart
   DISKPART> automount enable
   DISKPART> exit
   

2. Restart your computer.

Step 2: Creating the Disk Partitions

To create disk partitions, use the disk administration tools provided by the operating system or third party vendors. The following administration tools are provided by the operating system:

• The graphical user interface Disk Management snap-in to manage disks.

  To access this tool, type diskmgmt.msc at the command prompt. Alternatively, from the Start menu, select Programs, then Administrative Tools, then Computer Management. Then select the Disk Management node in the Storage tree.

  On Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2, create primary partitions and logical drives in extended partitions by selecting the New Simple Volume option. To create a raw device, assign a drive letter and remove the letter after the partition is created. For other Windows, you must not assign the drive letter. You must select Do not format this partition to specify raw partition. Do not use spanned volumes or striped volumes. These options convert the volume to a dynamic disk. Oracle Automatic Storage Management does not support dynamic disks.

  For other Windows, create primary partitions by selecting the New Partition option. Create the logical drives by selecting the New Logical Drive option.

• The command-line tool diskpart.exe, which lets you create primary partitions, extended partitions, and logical drives.

  To access this tool, enter diskpart.exe at the command prompt. The syntax for using diskpart.exe for the procedures in this section is as follows:

  DRIVE_LETTER:\> diskpart
  DISKPART> select disk diskn
  DISKPART> create partition primary | extended | logical size=sizen
  DISKPART> 
  

  where:

  • diskpart.exe is the command-line tool for managing disks.

  • diskn is the disk number where the partitions are created.

  • sizen is the size of the partition, for example 500 represents 500 MB.

You can enter the diskpart.exe commands directly at the command line; alternatively, you can enter the commands in a text file, and then run diskpart /s using this file as a script.

You cannot create more than four primary disk partitions per disk. If you need more, you can get around this limitation by creating three primary partitions and then creating the fourth partition as an extended partition with as many logical partitions within as you need.

For example, on Windows x86-based systems, to create the disk partitions on Disk 5 and assign them each a size:

DISKPART> select disk 5
DISKPART> create partition primary size=500
DISKPART> ...
DISKPART> create partition extended
DISKPART> create partition logical size=800
DISKPART> ...
DISKPART> create partition logical size=500

DISKPART> select disk 5
DISKPART> create partition primary size=500
DISKPART> ... 
DISKPART> create partition primary size=800

If you prefer to use logical drives, you can create an extended partition and then assign the logical drives within it. For example:

DISKPART> create partition extended
DISKPART> create partition logical size=500
DISKPART> create partition logical size=700

3.6.4 Step 3: Manually Configuring Disks for Oracle Automatic Storage Management

To use Oracle Automatic Storage Management with direct attached storage (DAS) or storage area network (SAN), the disks must be stamped with a header. If you install Oracle Grid Infrastructure in interactive mode, Oracle Universal Installer configures the disks' headers during the installation process. However, if you plan to install Oracle Grid Infrastructure in response file mode, you must manually configure the disks before installation by using either asmtoolg (GUI version) or asmtool (command-line version). You can also use these tools to reconfigure the disks later on after installation. The asmtoolg and asmtool utilities only work on partitioned disks—you cannot use Oracle Automatic Storage Management on unpartitioned disks.

The asmtoolg and asmtool tools associate meaningful, persistent names with disks to facilitate using those disks with Oracle Automatic Storage Management. Oracle Automatic Storage Management uses disk strings to more easily operate on groups of disks at once, so the names that asmtoolg or asmtool creates make this easier than using Windows drive letters.

All disk names created by asmtoolg or asmtool begin with the prefix ORCLDISK followed by a user-defined prefix (the default is DATA) and a disk number for identification purposes.

Using the asmtoolg Tool (Graphical User Interface)

The asmtoolg tool is a graphical interface for creating device names. Use asmtoolg to add, change, delete, and examine the devices available for use in Oracle Automatic Storage Management.

To add or change disk stamps:

1. In the installation media labeled Oracle Grid Infrastructure 11g Release 2 (11.2), from the media root, go to asmtool directory and double-click asmtoolg.exe.

   If Oracle Database is installed, go to ORACLE_HOME\bin and double-click asmtoolg.exe.

   On Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, if User Account Control is enabled, create a shortcut for the command prompt window on your desktop. An icon for that shortcut appears on the desktop. Right click the icon for the newly created shortcut, and specify "Run as administrator." When the command window opens, go to ORACLE_HOME\bin, and then type asmtoolg.

2. Select the Add or change label option, then click Next.

   The asmtoolg tool shows the devices available on the system. Unrecognized disks are labeled as "Candidate device", stamped Oracle Automatic Storage Management disks as "Stamped ASM disk", and unstamped Oracle Automatic Storage Management disks as "Unstamped ASM disks." The tool also shows disks that are recognized by Windows as a file system (such as NTFS). These are not available for use as disks and cannot be selected. In addition, Microsoft Dynamic disks are not available for use as Oracle Automatic Storage Management disks.

   If necessary, follow the steps under "Step 2: Creating DAS or SAN Disk Partitions for an Oracle Automatic Storage Management Instance" to create a disk partition for the Oracle Automatic Storage Management instance.

3. In the Stamp Disks window, select the disks to stamp.

   Oracle Automatic Storage Management can generate unique stamps for all of the devices selected for a given prefix. The stamps are generated by concatenating a number with the prefix specified. For example, if the prefix is DATA, then the first Oracle Automatic Storage Management link name is ORCLDISKDATA0.

   You can also specify the stamps of individual devices.

4. Optionally, select a disk to edit the individual stamp (Oracle Automatic Storage Management link name).

5. Click Next.

6. Click Finish.

To delete disk stamps:

1. Select the Delete labels option, then click Next.

   The delete option is only available if disks exist with stamps. The delete window shows all stamped Oracle Automatic Storage Management disks.

2. In the Delete Stamps window, select the disks to unstamp.

3. Click Next.

4. Click Finish.

Using the asmtool Utility (Command Line)

The asmtool utility is a command-line interface for stamping disks. On Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, if User Account Control is enabled, then you can create a shortcut for the command prompt window on your desktop. An icon for that shortcut appears on the desktop. Right-click the icon for the newly created shortcut, and specify "Run as administrator." Then start asmtool.

It has the following options:

asmtool -add [-force]
\Device\Harddisk1\Partition1 ORCLDISKASM0
\Device\Harddisk2\Partition1 ORCLDISKASM2...

asmtool -addprefix ORCLDISKASM [-force]
\Device\Harddisk1\Partition1
\Device\Harddisk2\Partition1...

asmtool -list [-force]

asmtool -delete ORCLDISKASM0 ORCLDISKASM1...

3.7.1 Installing the Software Binaries

1. Log in to Windows using a member of the Administrators group and run the setup.exe command from the Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) installation media.

2. Complete a software-only installation of Oracle Grid Infrastructure.

   See "Configuring the Software Binaries" for information about configuring Oracle Grid Infrastructure after performing a software-only installation.

3. Verify that the server meets the installation requirements using the command runcluvfy.bat stage -pre hacfg. Ensure that you have completed all storage and server preinstallation requirements.

3.7.2 Configuring the Software Binaries

To configure and activate a software-only Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation for Oracle Restart, complete the following tasks:

1. Run the roothas.pl script from the Grid_home, using the following syntax:

   Grid_home\perl\bin\perl -IGrid_home\perl\lib -IGrid_home\crs\install 
   Grid_home\crs\install\roothas.pl
   

   For example, if your Grid home is C:\app\11.2.0\grid, then run the following script:

   C:\app\11.2.0\grid\perl\bin\perl -IC:\app\11.2.0\grid\perl\lib -IC:\app
   \11.2.0\grid\crs\install C:\app\11.2.0\grid\crs\install\roothas.pl
   

2. Change directory to Grid_home\oui\bin, where Grid_home is the path of the Oracle Grid Infrastructure home.

3. Enter the following command syntax, where Grid_home is the path of the Oracle Grid Infrastructure home:

   setup.exe -updateNodeList ORACLE_HOME=Grid_home
   CLUSTER_NODES= CRS=TRUE
   

   For example:

   C:\app\11.2.0\oui\bin> setup.exe -updateNodeList ORACLE_HOME=C:\app\11.2.0\grid
   CLUSTER_NODES= CRS=TRUE
   

4. Use the SRVCTL utility along with Network Configuration Assistant and Oracle Automatic Storage Management Configuration Assistant to add the listener, the Oracle Automatic Storage Management instance, and all Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk groups to the Oracle Restart configuration.

3.8.1 Installing Oracle Grid Infrastructure with a New Database Installation

Perform the following steps to install the Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a standalone server and then create a database that is managed by Oracle Restart. First install Oracle Grid Infrastructure, which installs Oracle Restart and Oracle Automatic Storage Management, then configure Oracle Automatic Storage Management with at least one disk group, and then install Oracle database that stores database files in Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk groups. Click the help button on the Oracle Universal Installer page for page level assistance.

To install Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a standalone server with a new database installation:

1. Double-click setup.exe to start Oracle Universal Installer.

   Note:

   You must install Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a standalone server from the Oracle Grid Infrastructure media.

   Downloading Updates Before Installation

   Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2), if you plan to run the installation in a secured data center, then you can download updates before starting the installation by starting Oracle Universal Installer on a system that has Internet access in update download mode. To start Oracle Universal Installer to download updates before installation, enter the following command:

   setup.exe -downloadUpdates
   

   Provide the My Oracle Support user name and password, and provide proxy settings if needed. After you download updates, transfer the update file to a directory on the server where you plan to run the installation.

   See Also:

   • Oracle Universal Installer and OPatch User's Guide for Windows and UNIX for more information about response file formats

   • "Software Updates Option"

   Note:

   Start Oracle Universal Installer from the terminal session where you logged in as the Oracle Grid Infrastructure software owner user and set the user's environment.

2. Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2), you can use the Software Updates feature to dynamically download and apply latest updates. After starting Oracle Universal Installer, in the Download Software Updates screen, select one of the following options and click Next:

   • Use My Oracle Support credentials for download: Select this option to download and apply the latest software updates.

     Click Proxy Settings to configure a proxy for Oracle Universal Installer to use to connect to the Internet. Provide the proxy server information for your site, along with a user account that has access to the local area network through which the server is connecting.

     Click Test Connection to ensure that your proxy settings are correctly entered, and the installer can download the updates.

   • Use pre-downloaded software updates: Select this option to apply the software updates previously downloaded using the -downloadUpdates flag.

   • Skip software updates: Select this option if you do not want to apply any updates.

3. The Apply Software Updates screen is displayed if you select to download the software updates or provide the pre-downloaded software updates location. If you selected Use My Oracle Support credentials for download in the previous screen, then select Download and apply all updates, and click Next.

   If you selected Use pre-downloaded software updates in the previous screen, then select Apply all updates, and click Next.

4. The Select Installation Option screen appears. Select the Configure Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Standalone Server option, to install and configure Oracle Restart and Oracle Automatic Storage Management. Click Next.

5. On the Select Product Languages screen, select one or more languages. Move the languages from the Available Languages list to the Selected Languages list. Click Next.

6. Create ASM Disk Group screen lists all the stamped disks matching the default pattern, \\.\ORCLDISK.

   Click Change Discovery Path to select any devices for use by Oracle Automatic Storage Management but are not listed. In the Change Discovery Path window, enter a string to use to search for devices that Oracle Automatic Storage Management uses, such as \\.\ORCLDISK*, and then click OK.

   The Disk Group Name default is DATA. You can enter a new name for the disk group, or use the default name.

   Check with your system administrator to determine if the disks used by Oracle Automatic Storage Management are mirrored at the storage level. If so, select External for the redundancy. If the disks are not mirrored at the storage level, then choose Normal for the redundancy.

   Note:

   For normal redundancy, you require twice as much disk space to hold the same amount of data. For example, if your database is 100 GB, then you approximately require 200 GB of storage.

   After you have finished selecting the disks to be used by Oracle Automatic Storage Management, click Next.

7. On the Specify ASM password screen, enter SYSASM password required to connect to the Oracle Automatic Storage Management instance. The Oracle Automatic Storage Management instance is managed by a privileged role called SYSASM, which grants full access to Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk groups. Oracle recommends that you create a less privileged user, ASMSNMP, with SYSDBA privileges to monitor the Oracle Automatic Storage Management instance.

   Enter password for the SYSASM and ASMSNMP user accounts. The passwords should be at least eight characters in length and include at least one alphabetic and one numeric character.

   Optionally, you can use the same password for all accounts. However, Oracle recommends that you specify a different password for each account. You must remember the passwords that you specify.

8. On the Specify Installation Location screen, enter the following details and click Next:

   • Oracle base: Enter the directory location for Oracle base. Do not include spaces in the path name.

   • Software Location: This field is populated by default in concurrence with Oracle base location. Do not include spaces in the path name.

9. Perform Prerequisite Checks screen, checks if the minimum system requirements are met to perform the database installation. If all the system requirements are met, then you are directed to the Summary screen. However, in a failed installation, you can review the error.

   To get a failed requirements list, click Show Failed. Click Fix & Check Again, if you want the installer to fix the problem and check the system requirements once more. If you click Check Again, then you can run the prerequisite check again to see if the minimum requirements are met to carry on with the database installation.

   To get a list of failed requirements, select Show Failed from the list. To get a list of all the prerequirement checks run by the OUI, select Show All. To get a list of the prerequirement checks that are successful, select Show Succeeded.

   Note:

   • The Fix & Check Again option generates a script that sets some system parameters to Oracle-recommended values. Oracle recommends that you do not modify the contents of this script.

   • Oracle recommends that you use caution in checking the Ignore All option. If you check this option, then Oracle Universal Installer may not confirm that your system can install Oracle Database successfully.

10. Review contents of the Summary screen, click Install.

    Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2), you can save all the installation steps into a response file by clicking Save Response File. This file can be used for a silent installation.

11. The Setup screen displays the progress of the Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation.

12. The Finish screen displays the installation status. Click Close to end the installation, then Yes to confirm you want to exit Oracle Universal Installer.

    If you encounter any problems, refer to the configuration log for information. The path to the configuration log is displayed on the Configuration Assistants window.

13. Oracle ASMCA is installed as part of the Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Standalone Server installation. To create additional disk groups, run the Oracle ASMCA utility. For example, you can create another disk group named RECOVERY to store the fast recovery area.

    Note:

    To check if the Oracle High Availability Service is installed properly, run crsctl check has command from Grid_home\bin directory. has is a service that is installed with Oracle Restart, which is responsible for starting software services like Oracle Automatic Storage Management.

14. Install Oracle Database. Refer to "Installing the Oracle Database Software" for information about installing Oracle Database.

    Note:

    • If a new database is installed after a grid infrastructure installation, then the listener runs from the Oracle Grid Infrastructure home. Because Oracle Automatic Storage Management is installed as part of the Oracle Grid Infrastructure, the default listener is created and runs from the Oracle Grid Infrastructure home. If you perform a database installation, then the database uses the same listener created during the Oracle Grid Infrastructure installation.

    • If you are using Oracle Restart, then the default listener and any additional listeners must run from the Oracle Grid Infrastructure home.

3.8.2 Installing Oracle Grid Infrastructure for an Existing Database

Follow the high-level instructions in this section to install Oracle Grid Infrastructure and configure it for an existing Oracle database. Oracle Restart can only manage existing 11.2 resources and hence you can install Oracle Grid Infrastructure only for an existing 11.2 database. However, Oracle database releases before 11.2 can coexist on the same server without being managed by Oracle Restart.

To install Oracle Restart for an Existing database:

• On the same host computer as the database, use Oracle Universal Installer to install the Oracle Grid Infrastructure, and select Install and Configure Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a Standalone Server as the installation option.

  The Oracle Grid Infrastructure components are installed in a separate Oracle home.

  Refer to "Installing Oracle Grid Infrastructure with a New Database Installation" section for detailed instructions.

• Use the SRVCTL utility to add the database, the listener, the Oracle Automatic Storage Management instance, all Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk groups, and any database services to the Oracle Restart configuration.

  See Also:

  Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for more information about SRVCTL commands for Oracle Restart