This presentation, which was first presented during Sangam16, discusses general and specific support rules for the Oracle Database and Oracle RAC with the purpose of enabling you to determine whether a given system is supported, certified or even recommended. This presentation was last updated on August 31st 2017 (minor update).

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How
to
use
Oracle
Real
ApplicaCon
Clusters
(RAC)
in
a
Cloud?
–
A
Support
QuesCon
Markus
Michalewicz
Senior
Director
of
Product
Management,
Oracle
RAC
Development
May
29th,
2017
Markus.Michalewicz@oracle.com
@OracleRACpm
hTp://www.linkedin.com/in/markusmichalewicz
hTp://www.slideshare.net/MarkusMichalewicz

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3
To
help
you
answer
ques0ons
like
the
one
below
Why
I
Created
this
PresentaCon…
I
have
a
customer
(IHAC)
using
Oracle
12c
on
Windows
2012
R2
with
MSCS
and
Oracle
Failsafe
.
The
underlying
storage
cluster
solu0on
is
HP
3par
peer
persistence.
Kindly
confirm,
is
HP
3par
peer
persistence
cer0fied
by
Oracle
on
Windows?
Received:
10/12/16,
7:29
AM

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4
It’s
a
mul0-­‐dimensional
problem
The
Problem
with
DocumenCng
Supported
ConfiguraCons
The
soluCon
is
to
break
it
down
into
handle-­‐able
chunks.

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Program
Agenda
General
Oracle
Database
Support
General
Oracle
RAC
Support
Rules
CerCfied,
Supported
&
Recommended
VirtualizaCon
Technologies
Support
Oracle
RAC
Support
in
the
Cloud
1
2
3
4
5
5

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and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
Program
Agenda
General
Oracle
Database
Support
General
Oracle
RAC
Support
Rules
CerCfied,
Supported
&
Recommended
VirtualizaCon
Technologies
Support
Oracle
RAC
Support
in
the
Cloud
1
2
3
4
5
6

7. Copyright
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and/or
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affiliates.
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|
Terminology
for
this
PresentaCon
• “Cer%fica%on”
describes
the
process
of
tesCng
a
given
configuraCon
for
the
purpose
of
supporCng
it.
• “Cer%fied”
describes
that
a
given
configuraCon
has
been
tested
(by
Oracle).
• “Supported”
means
that
a
given
configura%on
is
eligible
to
retrieve
technical
support
provided
by
Oracle.
• “Determining
Support”
means
to
find
out
whether
a
given
configuraCon
is
“supported”
by
Oracle.
• Notes:
1. CerCficaCon
is
not
prerequisite
for
a
configuraCon
to
be
supported!
2. A
cerCfied
configuraCon
is
always
supported.
7

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General
rules
and
regulaCons
govern
the
support
for
the
Oracle
Database.
8
If
“general
rules
and
regulaCons”
(alone)
do
not
cover
a
given
case,
CerCfy
should
be
consulted
for
details.
If
“CerCfy”
does
not
cover
a
case,
check
for
“excepCons”
and
“special
rulings”
in
My
Oracle
Support
(MOS)
Notes
or
request
clarificaCon
via
a
Service
Request.
Support
Basics
for
the
Oracle
Database
–
Part
1

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General
rule:
The
Oracle
Database
is
cerCfied
on
OS-­‐level,
not
on
hardware-­‐level.
9
General
rule:
Storage
that
represents
itself
as
block
storage
to
the
OS
does
not
require
cerCficaCon.
File
System
support
is
subject
to
“special
ruling”
(see
MOS
note
“Supported
and
Recommended
File
Systems
on
Linux
–
Doc
ID
236826.1”)
for
example.
Support
Basics
for
the
Oracle
Database
–
Part
2
Note
1:
Icon
size
is
random.
Note
2:
Not
a
complete
list
of
supported
OS.
Tip:
Oracle
ASM
avoids
a
lot
of
cerCficaCon
quesCons
therefore.

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10
Punng
“1+1”
Together
–
Examples
Can
I
use
my
EMC
storage
with
the
Oracle
11.2.0.4?
§
YES,
assuming
that
the
storage
coming
from
the
EMC
storage
represents
itself
as
block
storage.
Is
Oracle
11.2.0.4
with
EMC
storage
on
OL
6.4
supported?
§
The
storage
part
is
covered
as
per
the
previous
quesCon.
For
the
OS
support,
CerCfy
needs
to
be
checked.
(“layered”
approach)

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11
Is
the
Oracle
Database
in
version
11.2.0.4
supported
on
Oracle
Linux
6.4?
Using
CerCfy
–
Part
1

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12
Review
“Cer0fica0on
Details
for
Notes
and
Support
informa0on.”
Using
CerCfy
–
Part
2

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Support
Basics
for
the
Oracle
Database
–
Conclusions
• Determining
support
for
a
given
configuraCon
means
considering:
1. General
rules
and
regulaCons
2. CerCfy
3. ExcepCons
and
special
ruling
• Support
for
the
Oracle
Database
is
“layered”
– A
system
is
only
supported
for
the
Oracle
Database,
if
all
layers
are
supported.
– Example:
In
a
given
system,
in
which
the
OS
is
cerCfied,
but
the
file
system
(which
is
subject
to
“special
ruling”)
is
not,
the
Oracle
Database
cannot
be
supported
using
the
unsupported
file
system
(FS)
for
database
files.
• The
FS
might
sCll
be
eligible
to
host
the
Oracle
Home
while
other
FSs
can
be
used
for
database
files.
13

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Program
Agenda
General
Oracle
Database
Support
General
Oracle
RAC
Support
Rules
CerCfied,
Supported
&
Recommended
VirtualizaCon
Technologies
Support
Oracle
RAC
Support
in
the
Cloud
1
2
3
4
5
14

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Oracle
RAC
can
only
be
supported
on
a
system
that
is
supported
for
the
Oracle
Database.
15
To
determine
support
for
Oracle
RAC
on
a
given
system,
certain
hardware
requirements
as
listed
in
the
“RAC
Technology
Support
Matrixes”
need
to
be
met.
AddiConally,
all
requirements
listed
in
the
Oracle
DocumentaCon
for
the
Oracle
Grid
Infrastructure
InstallaCon
guide
need
to
be
met.
Support
Basics
for
Oracle
RAC
–
Part
1

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16
RAC
Technology
CompaCbility
Matrix
(RTCM)
RTCM
for
Linux
http://www.oracle.com/
technetwork/database/
clustering/tech-generic-
linux-new-086754.html
RTCM
for
Unix
http://www.oracle.com/
technetwork/database/
clustering/tech-generic-unix-
new-166583.html
RTCM
for
Windows:
h^p://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/clustering/tech-­‐generic-­‐windows-­‐new-­‐166584.html

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Network
requirements
(network
cards
&
switches)
need
to
be
considered
for
Oracle
RAC.
They
are
covered
in
the
RTCMs
and
the
Oracle
DocumentaCon.
17
Storage
requirements
(shared
storage
&
access
protocols)
need
to
be
considered
for
Oracle
RAC.
They
are
covered
in
the
RTCMs
and
the
Oracle
DocumentaCon.
CerCfy
must
be
consulted
as
soon
as
Oracle
RAC
is
meant
to
be
operated
together
with
a
third
party
cluster
soluCon
or
a
third
party
cluster
file
system.
Support
Basics
for
Oracle
RAC
–
Part
2
Cluster
A
Oracle
Cluster
Best
PracCces
(BP)
suggest
to
avoid
using
any
third
party
cluster
with
RAC.

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18
Ques0on:
Can
I
use
Oracle
RAC
12.1.0.2
with
Veritas
Cluster
on
Linux?
Using
CerCfy
–
Part
1

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19
YES:
Can
I
use
Oracle
RAC
12.1.0.2
with
Veritas
Cluster
on
Linux?
Using
CerCfy
–
Part
2
Best
PracCces
(BP)
suggest
to
avoid
using
any
third
party
cluster
with
RAC.

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20
Punng
“1+1”
Together
–
Example
1
Can
I
build
a
4-­‐node
Oracle
RAC
12.1
cluster
using
Dell
PowerEdge
R330
Servers
and
HP
MSA2012
storage?
Determining
Support:
1. OS
informaCon
is
missing!
• AssumpCons
need
to
be
made
2. Dell
PowerEdge
R330
Servers
• Can
run
“supportable
OS”
• By
default
come
with
2*1GbE
cards
• Good
enough
for
support
purposes,
but
not
for
BP
3. HP
MSA2012
is
an
outdated
storage,
but
for
support-­‐purposes
this
is
fine.
• This
is
an
SCSI
Drive
Case
NO,
as
the
storage
is
a
SCSI
Drive
Case.
Direct
aTached
SCSI
storage
is
supported
for
a
maximum
of
2
nodes
only
as
per
RTCM.

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21
Punng
“1+1”
Together
–
Example
2
Can
I
use
the
FlashGrid
Storage
Fabric
(Sotware)
to
provide
shared
storage
for
my
Oracle
RAC
Clusters?
Determining
Support:
1. OS
informaCon
is
missing!
• AssumpCons
need
to
be
made
2. FlashGrid
Storage
Fabric
• Physical
storage
located
inside
the
database
nodes
(hyper-­‐converged)
or
in
separate
storage
nodes
• Standard
x86
servers
used
as
database
and
storage
nodes
• With
FlashGrid
managing
storage
is
an
easy
task
for
DBAs
and
server
administrators.
YES,
IF
the
storage
and
server
vendors
(here
only
server
vendor)
support
FlashGrid
as
a
storage
soluCon,
as
the
RTCM
says:

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Support
Basics
for
Oracle
RAC
–
Conclusions
• Determining
support
for
a
given
configuraCon
means
considering:
1. Support
for
the
Oracle
Database
2. The
Oracle
RAC
Technology
CompaCbility
Matrixes
(RTCM)
3. Oracle
DocumentaCon
regarding
further
requirements
4. Third
party
cluster
soluCons
and
third
party
cluster
file
systems
as
needed
• Support
for
Oracle
RAC
is
“layered”
and
does
consider
hardware
to
some
degree
– A
system
is
only
supported
for
Oracle
RAC,
if
all
layers
are
supported.
– Example:
In
a
given
system,
in
which
the
Oracle
Database
is
supported,
but
which
fails
to
meet
network
or
storage
requirements
for
Oracle
RAC,
cannot
be
supported
for
Oracle
RAC.
– This
means,
a
system
that
is
supported
for
Oracle
RAC
is
always
supported
for
the
Oracle
DB.
22

23. Copyright
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Program
Agenda
General
Oracle
Database
Support
General
Oracle
RAC
Support
Rules
CerCfied,
Supported
&
Recommended
VirtualizaCon
Technologies
Support
Oracle
RAC
Support
in
the
Cloud
1
2
3
4
5
23

24. Copyright
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and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
More
Terminology
(for
this
PresentaCon)
• “Cer%fied”
describes
that
a
given
configuraCon
has
been
tested
(by
Oracle).
• “Supported”
means
that
a
given
configuraCon
is
eligible
to
retrieve
technical
support
provided
by
Oracle.
• “Recommended”
means
that
a
given
configuraCon
is
preferred
over
other
soluCons,
although
other
soluCons
may
sCll
be
supported.
– RecommendaCons
are
oten
provided
as
part
of
Best
PracCces
(BP)
• Notes:
1. CerCficaCon
is
not
prerequisite
for
a
configuraCon
to
be
supported!
2. A
cerCfied
configuraCon
is
always
supported.
24

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25
CerCfied,
Supported
and
Recommended
ConfiguraCons
Supported
ConfiguraCons
CerCfied
ConfiguraCons
Recommended
ConfiguraCons
Graphics
do
not
scale!
Recommended
configuraCons
are
typically
“not
on
the
edge”.
Recommended
ConfiguraCons

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26
The
Problem
with
Choices…
Venus
Oracle GI
Oracle RAC
Virtualization
Operating System
Earth
Oracle GI
Oracle RAC
Virtualization
Operating System
Storage
Layer
Storage
Access
Layer
VirtualizaCon
Layer
OperaCng
System
Layer
Sotware
Layer
Server
Hardware
Layer
Network
Layer

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27
The
Problem
with
Choices
…
A
SoluCon
Venus
Oracle GI
Oracle RAC
Virtualization
Operating System
Earth
Oracle GI
Oracle RAC
Virtualization
Operating System
Storage
Layer
Storage
Access
Layer
VirtualizaCon
Layer
OperaCng
System
Layer
Sotware
Layer
Server
Hardware
Layer
Network
Layer

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28
Using
a
mainstream
solu0on
usually
leads
to
smoother
day-­‐to-­‐day
opera0ons
For
High
Availability
SoluCons
Uniqueness
Does
Not
Pay
Off
Supported
Configura0ons
Recommended
Configura0on

29. Copyright
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29
Check
support
status
on
a
regular
basis
–
Example
RDS
Support
for
RAC
on
Linux
A
Support
Status
can
Change
over
Time
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/clustering/tech-generic-linux-new-086754.html
OFED
use
for
RDS
was
“permiTed”
Today*
In
Future,
RDS
over
IB
will
be
supported
on
Exadata
and
Oracle
Database
Appliance
only
and
as
applicable.
*
March
15th
2017
**
Timeline
does
not
scale
t**

30. Copyright
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Program
Agenda
General
Oracle
Database
Support
General
Oracle
RAC
Support
Rules
CerCfied,
Supported
&
Recommended
VirtualizaCon
Technologies
Support
Oracle
RAC
Support
in
the
Cloud
1
2
3
4
5
30

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rights
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The
Virtualiza0on
Matrix
is
Oracle’s
single
source
of
truth
for
“Supported
Virtualiza%on
and
Par%%oning
Technologies
for
Oracle
Database
and
RAC
Product
Releases”
31
General
rule:
Oracle’s
DocumentaCon
is
based
on
the
idea
of
a
posiCve
list!
I.E.
a
configuraCon
that
is
not
listed
is
–
if
in
doubt
–
not
supported.
If
the
“Virtualiza0on
Matrix
”
does
not
cover
a
case
(directly
or
indirectly),
check
for
“excepCons”
and
“special
rulings”
in
My
Oracle
Support
(MOS)
Notes
or
request
clarificaCon
via
a
Service
Request.
Support
Basics
for
VirtualizaCon
Technologies
Best
PracCces
suggest
to
avoid
using
most
virtualizaCon
technologies
with
RAC.

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32
h^p://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/virtualiza0onmatrix-­‐172995.html
The
VirtualizaCon
Matrix
Covering
posiCve
list
for
future
versions.
RAC
One
Node
follows
RAC
CerCficaCon

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33
Oracle
VM
and
Vmware
are
treated
as
special
ruling
cases
Using
The
VirtualizaCon
Matrix
• Oracle
VM
is
the
only
fully
supported
and
cerCfied
VM-­‐based
virtualizaCon
soluCon
for
Oracle
RAC.
• For
more
informaCon,
see:
• Oracle
Real
ApplicaCon
Clusters
in
Oracle
VM
Environments
• MOS
note
“CerCfied
Sotware
on
Oracle
VM
(Doc
ID
464754.1)”
• Vmware
support
is
regulated
in
MOS
note:
“Support
Posi%on
for
Oracle
Products
Running
on
VMWare
Virtualized
Environments
(Doc
ID
249212.1)”:
• Note:
Oracle
has
not
cer%fied
any
of
its
products
on
VMware.
For
Oracle
RAC,
Oracle
will
only
accept
Service
Requests
as
described
in
this
note
on
Oracle
RAC
11.2.0.2
and
later
releases.

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34
Punng
“1+1”
Together
–
A
MulCdimensional
Example
IHAC
considering
RAC
One
Node
on
Microsot
Hyper-­‐V
using
Windows
server
as
the
OS.
QuesCons:
1)
Is
RAC
cerCfied
on
Hyper-­‐V?
2)
Is
it
supported?
3)
If
RAC
is
supported
on
Hyper-­‐
V,
how
will
it
be
setup?
4)
Can
we
use
the
Hyper-­‐V
shared
disk
feature
or
shall
we
go
for
physical
LUNs
from
the
SAN
storage
instead?
Received:
11/3/16,
4:54
PM

35. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
35
A
MulCdimensional
Example
–
Determining
Support
Step
1
IHAC
considering
RAC
One
Node
on
Microsoj
Hyper-­‐V
using
Windows
server
as
the
OS.
QuesCons:
1)
Is
RAC
cerCfied
on
Hyper-­‐V?
2)
Is
it
supported?
3)
If
RAC
is
supported
on
Hyper-­‐
V,
how
will
it
be
setup?
4)
Can
we
use
the
Hyper-­‐V
shared
disk
feature
or
shall
we
go
for
physical
LUNs
from
the
SAN
storage
instead?
Received:
11/3/16,
4:54
PM
Determining
Support:
• The
exact
OS
informaCon
is
missing!
• Consult
the
Virtualiza0on
Matrix
RAC
One
Node
follows
RAC
CerCficaCon

36. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
36
A
MulCdimensional
Example
–
Determining
Support
Step
2
IHAC
considering
RAC
One
Node
on
Microsot
Hyper-­‐V
using
Windows
server
as
the
OS.
Ques0ons:
1)
Is
RAC
cer0fied
on
Hyper-­‐V?
2)
Is
it
supported?
3)
If
RAC
is
supported
on
Hyper-­‐
V,
how
will
it
be
setup?
4)
Can
we
use
the
Hyper-­‐V
shared
disk
feature
or
shall
we
go
for
physical
LUNs
from
the
SAN
storage
instead?
Received:
11/3/16,
4:54
PM
Determining
Support:
• The
VirtualizaCon
Matrix
says
“cerCfied”:

37. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
37
A
MulCdimensional
Example
–
Determining
Support
Step
3
IHAC
considering
RAC
One
Node
on
Microsot
Hyper-­‐V
using
Windows
server
as
the
OS.
Ques0ons:
1)
Is
RAC
cerCfied
on
Hyper-­‐V?
2)
Is
it
supported?
3)
If
RAC
is
supported
on
Hyper-­‐
V,
how
will
it
be
setup?
4)
Can
we
use
the
Hyper-­‐V
shared
disk
feature
or
shall
we
go
for
physical
LUNs
from
the
SAN
storage
instead?
Determining
Support:
• Any
cerCfied
soluCon
is
supported!
• The
answer
therefore
is:
YES,
Oracle
RAC
in
version
11.2.0.4
and
12.1.0.2
are
supported
assuming
at
least
Windows
Server
2012
is
used
with
11.2.0.4
and
at
least
Windows
Server
2012
R2
Gen
2
is
used
for
12.1.0.2.
Received:
11/3/16,
4:54
PM

38. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
38
A
MulCdimensional
Example
–
The
“Extra”
QuesCon
3)
IHAC
considering
RAC
One
Node
on
Microsot
Hyper-­‐V
using
Windows
server
as
the
OS.
Ques0ons:
1)
Is
RAC
cerCfied
on
Hyper-­‐V?
2)
Is
it
supported?
3)
If
RAC
is
supported
on
Hyper-­‐
V,
how
will
it
be
setup?
4)
Can
we
use
the
Hyper-­‐V
shared
disk
feature
or
shall
we
go
for
physical
LUNs
from
the
SAN
storage
instead?
• QuesCons
3)
and
4)
are
not
support
quesCons;
they
are
BP
quesCons.
• Note:
Oracle
does
not
provide
best
pracCces
(BP)
for
virtualizaCon
soluCons
that
it
does
not
own
(here:
Hyper-­‐V)
• Reason:
VirtualizaCon
soluCons
are
meant
to
be
transparent
and
hence,
standard
documentaCon
should
be
sufficient
to
set
up
an
Oracle
Database
and
RAC
within
it.
• Thus,
quesCon
3)
cannot
be
answered
by
Oracle
regarding
the
generic
Hyper-­‐V
part.
Received:
11/3/16,
4:54
PM

39. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
39
A
MulCdimensional
Example
–
The
“Extra”
QuesCon
4)
IHAC
considering
RAC
One
Node
on
Microsot
Hyper-­‐V
using
Windows
server
as
the
OS.
Ques0ons:
1)
Is
RAC
cerCfied
on
Hyper-­‐V?
2)
Is
it
supported?
3)
If
RAC
is
supported
on
Hyper-­‐
V,
how
will
it
be
setup?
4)
Can
we
use
the
Hyper-­‐V
shared
disk
feature
or
shall
we
go
for
physical
LUNs
from
the
SAN
storage
instead?
• QuesCons
3)
and
4)
are
not
support
quesCons;
they
are
BP
quesCons.
• For
quesCon
4),
the
requirement
for
Oracle
RAC
is
to
have
“shared
disk
storage”.
• As
Oracle
does
not
cerCfy
against
specific
features
(unless
explicitly
stated),
the
“Hyper-­‐V
shared
disk
feature”
is
unknown.
• Oracle
does
know,
however,
that
physical
LUNs
from
the
SAN
are
likely
to
work
and
make
the
stack
simpler.
Why
not
use
them?
Received:
11/3/16,
4:54
PM

40. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
Support
Basics
for
VirtualizaCon
Technologies
-­‐
Conclusions
• Determining
support
for
a
given
configuraCon
means
considering:
1. The
Virtualiza0on
Matrix
2. The
Oracle
DocumentaCon,
which
is
based
on
a
posiCve-­‐list
idea
3. Special
ruling,
which
is
more
common
for
virtualizaCon
soluCons
4. Common
Sense
• Support
for
Oracle
RAC
is
“layered”
and
does
consider
virtualizaCon
technologies
– A
system
is
only
supported
for
Oracle
RAC,
if
all
layers
are
supported.
– There
is
no
implied
cerCficaCon
for
Oracle
RAC
on
virtualizaCon
soluCons.
– Example:
A
configuraCon
that
is
cerCfied
by
all
measures
on
a
bare
metal
system
is
not
automaCcally
cerCfied
in
a
virtualized
environment.
A
posiCve
list
entry
is
needed.
40

41. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
Program
Agenda
General
Oracle
Database
Support
General
Oracle
RAC
Support
Rules
CerCfied,
Supported
&
Recommended
VirtualizaCon
Technologies
Support
Oracle
RAC
Support
in
the
Cloud
1
2
3
4
5
41

42. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
Oracle
RAC
is
fully
cer0fied
in
the
Oracle
Cloud
via
the
Exadata
Service
and
as
an
DBaaS
offering.
42
Azure
provides
an
ability
to
run
Oracle
RAC
over
a
min.
of
three
Azure
IaaS
instances.
AWS
provides
an
ability
to
run
Oracle
RAC
over
a
min.
of
three
EC2
IaaS
instances.
Support
Basics
for
Oracle
RAC
“in
the
Common
Clouds”

43. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
43
It
describes
the
ability
to
u0lize
compute
instances
as
shared
storage
in
some
way
What
does
“ability
to
run
RAC
over
3
IaaS
instances”
mean?
• Most
clouds
do
not
provide
shared
storage
naCvely.
• “NaCvely”
means
“as
part
of
their
standard
offer”.
• RAC
requires
shared
storage.
Per
RTCM:
• iSCSI
and
NFS
are
supported
for
Oracle
RAC
• RestricCon:
“The
accessed
storage
must
be
supported
by
the
system
and
storage
vendors.”
• Using
one
instance
as
an
NFS
/
iSCSI
server,
which
provides
shared
storage
to
“RAC
compute
nodes”
is
a
“supportable”
setup
following
RTCM
regulaCon.
• As
long
as
the
OS,
network
and
other
layers
are
supported,
such
a
configuraCon
is
supportable.
• Special
ruling
sCll
needs
to
be
considered.

44. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
44
Strongly
recommended
to
operate
Oracle
RAC
in
any
cloud
NaCvely
Provided
Shared
Storage
• Cloud
vendors
are
asked
by
their
customers
to
support
Oracle
RAC
as
part
of
their
cloud
offerings.
• Other
than
the
Oracle
Cloud,
no
other
cloud
offering
currently
provides
shared
storage
support
as
required
by
Oracle
RAC.
• MulCple
non-­‐naCve
soluCons
have
been
used
by
different
cloud
vendors
to
provide
shared
storage.
• Such
soluCons
include
virtual
shared
storage
as
well
as
physical
third
party
storage
soluCons.
• As
ease
of
support
and
manageability
decreases
with
every
addiConal
non-­‐naCve
layer
used
to
operate
an
Oracle
RAC
database,
naCvely
provided
shared
storage
is
strongly
recommended
to
operate
Oracle
RAC
in
any
cloud.

45. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
45
Punng
“1+1”
Together
–
Example
Can
I
use
the
FlashGrid
sotware
to
enable
Oracle
RAC
in
either
AWS
or
the
Azure
Cloud?
Is
it
supported?
Determining
Support:
1. FlashGrid
Sojware
• FlashGrid
Cloud
Area
Network
provides
a
high-­‐speed
network
overlay
with
mulCcast
and
QoS
• Local
drives
(elas0c
block
storage
or
local
SSDs)
are
shared
between
all
nodes
in
the
cluster
2. Oracle
RAC
on
Amazon
EC2
• AWS
supports
the
AWS
infrastructure
components
on
which
FlashGrid's
solu0on
relies.
• For
quesCons
about
FlashGrid
sotware
and
support
capabiliCes,
please
see
the
FlashGrid
website…
NO,
it’s
not
supported,
as
AWS
as
the
storage
and
server
vendor
does
not
support
FlashGrid
as
a
storage
soluCon
as
required
by
the
RTCM:

46. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
46
Special
Ruling
AffecCng
Oracle
RAC
Support
in
the
Cloud
• The
“Licensing
Oracle
Sotware
in
the
Cloud
CompuCng
Environment”
document
states:
• hTp://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/pricing/cloud-­‐licensing-­‐070579.pdf
• This
policy
applies
to
cloud
compu%ng
environments
from
the
following
vendors:
Amazon
Web
Services
–
Amazon
Elas+c
Compute
Cloud
(EC2),
Amazon
Rela+onal
Database
Service
(RDS)
and
Microso?
Azure
PlaAorm
(collec%vely,
the
‘Authorized
Cloud
Environments’)
This
policy
applies
to
these
Oracle
programs.
•
• These
Oracle
programs
do
not
include
Oracle
RAC:
• hTp://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/pricing/
authorized-­‐cloud-­‐environments-­‐3493562.pdf

47. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
Oracle
conCnues
to
support
Oracle
RAC
in
the
Oracle
Cloud
via
Exadata
Service
and
as
an
DBaaS
offering,
which
is
planned
to
scale
beyond
the
current
2-­‐nodes.
47
General
rule:
As
long
as
an
IaaS
Cloud
meets
Oracle
RAC
requirements
(e.g.
network
and
storage),
this
cloud
is
in
principle
“supportable”
for
Oracle
RAC.
“Special
ruling”
regulates
most
Public
Cloud
and
IaaS
soluCons.
Check
for
such
ruling
prior
to
considering
any
soluCon.
Oracle
RAC
in
the
Cloud
–
Where
is
it
Heading?

48. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
Support
Basics
for
Oracle
RAC
in
the
Cloud
–
Conclusions
• Determining
support
for
a
given
configuraCon
means
considering:
1. General
Oracle
Database
support
rules
as
discussed
2. Oracle
RAC
support
rules
as
discussed
3. Most
VirtualizaCon
Technology
support
does
not
apply
4. Special
ruling,
which
is
more
common
for
the
Cloud
• Support
for
Oracle
RAC
in
the
Cloud
is
sCll
“layered”
– A
system
is
only
supported
for
Oracle
RAC,
if
all
layers
are
supported.
– IaaS
Cloud
soluCons
are
treated
as
server
and
oten
subject
to
special
ruling,
as
the
underlying
or
used
technology
may
not
be
transparent
enough
for
general
rules.
48

49. Copyright
©
2016,
Oracle
and/or
its
affiliates.
All
rights
reserved.
|
49
To
help
you
answer
ques0ons
like
the
one
below
Why
I
Created
this
PresentaCon…
I
have
a
customer
(IHAC)
using
Oracle
12c
on
Windows
2012
R2
with
MSCS
and
Oracle
Failsafe
.
The
underlying
storage
cluster
solu0on
is
HP
3par
peer
persistence.
Kindly
confirm,
is
HP
3par
peer
persistence
cer0fied
by
Oracle
on
Windows?
Received:
10/12/16,
7:29
AM
The
answer
is:
YES,
they
can
use
this
storage
with
the
Oracle
DB.
For
all
other
quesCons
they
should
ask
the
OS
&
Cluster
vendor.