2 Preinstallation Tasks

2.2.1 Memory Requirements

The following are the memory requirements for installing Oracle Database 11g Release 1:

• At least 1 GB of RAM

  To determine the RAM size, enter the following command:

  • On HP-UX PA-RISC

    # grep "Physical:" /var/adm/syslog/syslog.log
    

  • On HP-UX Itanium

    # /usr/contrib/bin/machinfo  | grep -i Memory
    

  If the size of the RAM is less than the required size, then you must install more memory before continuing.

• The following table describes the relationship between installed RAM and the configured swap space requirement.

  RAM	Swap Space
  Between 1024 MB and 2048 MB	1.5 times the size of RAM
  Between 2049 MB and 8192 MB	Equal to the size of RAM
  More than 8192 MB	0.75 times the size of RAM

  
  

  To determine the size of the configured swap space, enter the following command:

  # /usr/sbin/swapinfo -a
  

  If necessary, refer to the operating system documentation for information about how to configure additional swap space.

2.2.2 System Architecture

To determine whether the system architecture can run the software, enter the following command:

# /bin/getconf KERNEL_BITS

The expected output of this command is 64. If you do not see the expected output, then you cannot install the software on this system.

2.2.3 Disk Space Requirements

The following are the disk space requirements for installing Oracle Database 11g Release 1:

• Between 150 and 400 MB of disk space in the /tmp directory

  To determine the amount of free disk space in the /tmp directory enter the following command:

  #  bdf /tmp
  

  If there is less than 400 MB of free disk space available in the /tmp directory, then complete one of the following steps:

  • Delete unnecessary files from the /tmp directory to meet the disk space requirement.

  • Set the TMP and TMPDIR environment variables when setting the oracle user's environment (described later).

  • Extend the file system that contains the /tmp directory. If necessary, contact the system administrator for information about extending file systems.

• To determine the amount of free disk space on the system, enter the following command:

  # bdf
  

• The following table describes the disk space requirements for software files for each installation type:

  Installation Type	Requirement for Software Files (GB)
  Enterprise Edition	6.89
  Standard Edition	6.09
  Custom (maximum)	6.89

  
  

  Between 1.5 GB and 3.5 GB of disk space for the Oracle software, depending on the installation type

• The following table describes the disk space requirements for each installation type:

  Installation Type	Disk Space for Data Files (GB)
  Enterprise Edition	1.69
  Standard Edition	1.48
  Custom (maximum)	1.81

  
  

  Additional disk space, either on a file system or on an Automatic Storage Management disk group is required for the flash recovery area if you choose to configure automated backups.

2.3.1 Operating System Requirements

The following are the operating system requirements for Oracle Database 11g Release 1:

• HP-UX 11i v2 (11.23)

• HP-UX 11i v3 (11.31)

To determine the distribution and version of HP-UX installed, enter the following command:

# uname -a

HP-UX hostname B.11.23 ia64 109444686 unlimited-user license

In this example, the version of HP-UX 11i is 11.23.

To determine whether a bundle, product, or fileset is installed, enter a command similar to the following, where level is bundle, product, or fileset:

# /usr/sbin/swlist -l level | more

If a required bundle, product, or fileset is not installed, then you must install it. Refer to your operating system or software documentation for information about installing products.

2.3.2 Compiler Requirements

The following are the compiler requirements for HP-UX on Itanium Pro*C/C++, Oracle Call Interface, Oracle C++ Call Interface, and Oracle XML Developer's Kit (XDK) with Oracle Database 11g Release 1:

On HP-PA RISC:

• HP C/ANSI C Compiler (B11.11.16)

  HP ANSI C compiler (B.11.11.16) - June (AR0606) release

• HP aC++ Compiler (A.03.73)

  C++ (aCC) compiler (A.03.70) - June 2006 (AR0606) release

On HP-UX Itanium:

• HP C/ANSI C Compiler (A.06.14)

  HP ANSI C compiler (C.06.10) - June 2006 (AR0606) release

• HP aC++ Compiler (A.06.14)

  C++ (aCC) compiler (C.06.10) - June 2006 (AR0606) release

2.3.3 Patch Requirement

In addition, you must verify that the following patches are installed on the system.

To ensure that the system meets these requirements:

1. To determine whether a patch is installed, enter a command similar to the following:

   # /usr/sbin/swlist -l patch | grep PHSS_35979
   

   Alternatively, to list all installed patches, enter the following command:

   # /usr/sbin/swlist -l patch | more
   

2. If a required patch is not installed, then download it from the following Web site and install it:

   http://itresourcecenter.hp.com

   If the Web site displays a recent version of the patch, then download and install that version.

2.3.4 Additional Software Requirements

Depending on the components you want to use, you must ensure that the following software are installed:

• Oracle ODBC Drivers

• Oracle JDBC/OCI Drivers

• Oracle Messaging Gateway

• Browser Requirements

• Oracle XML DB for Oracle Application Express

• PL/SQL Web Toolkit

• Oracle Text

2.5.1 Configuring Name Resolution

When you run Oracle Universal Installer, an error may occur if name resolution is not set up. To avoid this error, before you begin installation, you must ensure that host names are resolved only through the /etc/hosts file.

To ensure that host names are resolved only through the /etc/hosts file:

1. Verify that the /etc/hosts file is used for name resolution. You can do this by checking the hosts file entry in the nsswitch.conf file as follows:

   # cat /etc/nsswitch.conf | grep hosts
   

   The output of this command should contain an entry for files.

2. Verify that the host name has been set by using the hostname command as follows:

   # hostname
   

   The output of this command should be similar to the following:

   myhost.mycomputer.com
   

3. Verify that the domain name has not been set dynamically by using the domainname command as follows:

   # domainname
   

   This command should not return any results.

4. Verify that the hosts file contains the fully qualified host name by using the following command:

   # cat /etc/hosts | grep `eval hostname`
   

   The output of this command should contain an entry for the fully qualified host name and for localhost.

   For example:

   192.168.100.16    myhost.us.example.com   myhost
   127.0.0.1         localhost                 localhost.localdomain
   

   If the hosts file does not contain the fully qualified host name, then open the file and make the required changes in it.

2.5.2 Installing on DHCP Computers

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) assigns dynamic IP addresses on a network. Dynamic addressing enables a computer to have a different IP address each time it connects to the network. In some cases, the IP address can change while the computer is still connected. You can have a mixture of static and dynamic IP addressing in a DHCP system.

In a DHCP setup, the software tracks IP addresses, which simplifies network administration. This lets you add a new computer to the network without having to manually assign that computer a unique IP address.

2.5.3 Installing on Multihomed Computers

You can install Oracle Database on a multihomed computer. A multihomed computer is associated with multiple IP addresses. This is typically achieved by having multiple network cards on the computer. Each IP address is associated with a host name. In addition, you can set up aliases for the host name. By default, Oracle Universal Installer uses the ORACLE_HOSTNAME environment variable setting to find the host name. If ORACLE_HOSTNAME is not set and you are installing on a computer that has multiple network cards, then Oracle Universal Installer determines the host name by using the first entry in the /etc/hosts file.

Clients must be able to access the computer either by using this host name or by using aliases for this host name. To verify this, ping the host name from the client computers using the short name (host name only) and the full name (host name and domain name). Both tests must be successful.

Setting the ORACLE_HOSTNAME Environment Variable

Use the following procedure to set the ORACLE_HOSTNAME environment variable. For example, if the fully qualified host name is somehost.us.example.com, then enter one of the following commands:

In Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:

$ ORACLE_HOSTNAME=somehost.us.example.com
$ export ORACLE_HOSTNAME

In C shell:

% setenv ORACLE_HOSTNAME somehost.us.example.com

2.5.4 Installing on Computers with Multiple Aliases

A computer with multiple aliases is registered with the naming service under a single IP but with multiple aliases. The naming service resolves any of those aliases to the same computer. Before installing Oracle Database on such a computer, set the ORACLE_HOSTNAME environment variable to the computer whose host name you want to use.

2.5.5 Installing on Non-Networked Computers

You can install Oracle Database on a non-networked computer. If the computer, such as a laptop, is configured for DHCP and you plan to connect the computer to the network after the Oracle Database installation, then use the ping command on the computer on which you want to install the database to check if the computer can connect to itself. Perform this step by first using only the host name and then using the fully qualified name, which should be in the /etc/hosts file.

If the ping command fails, then contact your network administrator.

Connecting the Computer to the Network after Installation

If you connect the computer to a network after installation, then the Oracle Database instance on your computer can work with other instances on the network. The computer can use a static IP or DHCP, depending on the network to which you are connected.

2.6.1 Creating the Oracle Inventory Group

You must create the Oracle Inventory group if it does not already exist. The following subsections describe how to determine the Oracle Inventory group name, if it exists, and how to create it if necessary.

Determining Whether the Oracle Inventory Group Exists

When you install Oracle software on the system for the first time, Oracle Universal Installer creates the oraInst.loc file. This file identifies the name of the Oracle Inventory group and the path of the Oracle Inventory directory.

To determine whether the Oracle Inventory group exists, enter the following command:

# more /var/opt/oracle/oraInst.loc

If the oraInst.loc file exists, then the output from this command is similar to the following:

inventory_loc=/u01/app/oracle/oraInventory
inst_group=oinstall

The inst_group parameter shows the name of the Oracle Inventory group, for example oinstall.

Creating the Oracle Inventory Group

If the oraInst.loc file does not exist, then create the Oracle Inventory group by entering the following command:

# /usr/sbin/groupadd oinstall

2.6.2 Creating the OSDBA Group

You must create an OSDBA group in the following circumstances:

• An OSDBA group does not exist, for example, if this is the first installation of Oracle Database software on the system

• An OSDBA group exists, but you want to give a different group of operating system users database administrative privileges in a new Oracle installation

If the OSDBA group does not exist or if you require a new OSDBA group, then create it as follows. In the following command, use the group name dba unless a group with that name already exists.

# /usr/sbin/groupadd dba

2.6.3 Creating an OSOPER Group (Optional)

Create an OSOPER group only if you want to identify a group of operating system users with a limited set of database administrative privileges (SYSOPER operator privileges). For most installations, it is sufficient to create only the OSDBA group. If you want to use an OSOPER group, then you must create it in the following circumstances:

• If an OSOPER group does not exist, for example, if this is the first installation of Oracle Database software on the system

• If an OSOPER group exists, but you want to give a different group of operating system users database operator privileges in a new Oracle installation

If you require a new OSOPER group, then create it as follows. In the following command, use the group name oper unless a group with that name already exists.

# /usr/sbin/groupadd oper

2.6.4 Creating an OSASM Group

Create an OSASM group only if you want SYSASM as a system privilege that enables the separation of the SYSDBA database administration privilege from the Automatic Storage Management storage administration privilege. If you want to use an OSASM group, then you must create it in the following circumstances:

• If an OSASM group does not exist, for example, if this is the first installation of Oracle Database software on the system

• If an OSASM group exists, but you want to give a different group of operating system users database operator privileges in a new Oracle installation

If you require a new OSOPER group, then create it as follows. In the following procedure, use the group name oper unless a group with that name already exists.

# /usr/sbin/groupadd asmadmin

2.6.5 Creating the Oracle Software Owner User

You must create an Oracle software owner user in the following circumstances:

• If an Oracle software owner user does not exist, for example, if this is the first installation of Oracle software on the system

• If an Oracle software owner user exists, but you want to use a different operating system user, with different group membership, to give database administrative privileges to those groups in a new Oracle Database installation

# id oracle

uid=440(oracle) gid=200(oinstall) groups=201(dba),202(oper)

# /usr/sbin/usermod -g oinstall -G dba[,oper] oracle

2.6.6 Creating an Unprivileged User

You must create a new unprivileged local user to own the extjob executable. You can use any user name for this user, but this document uses the name extjob. To create the extjob user, enter the following command:

# /usr/sbin/useradd extjob

2.8.1 Oracle Base Directory

The Oracle base directory is a top-level directory for Oracle software installations. On HP-UX systems, the Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) guidelines recommend that you use a path similar to the following for the Oracle base directory:

/mount_point/app/oracle_sw_owner

In this example:

• mount_point is the mount point directory for the file system that will contain the Oracle software.

  The examples in this guide use /u01 for the mount point directory. However, you can choose another mount point directory, such as /oracle or /opt/oracle.

• oracle_sw_owner is the operating system user name of the Oracle software owner, for example oracle.

You must specify the ORACLE_BASE folder that contains all Oracle products.

You can use the same Oracle base directory for more than one installation or you can create separate Oracle base directories for different installations. If different operating system users install Oracle software on the same system, then each user must create a separate Oracle base directory. The following are the examples of Oracle base directories that can exist on the same system:

/u01/app/oracle
/u01/app/orauser
/opt/oracle/app/oracle

2.8.2 Oracle Inventory Directory

The Oracle Inventory directory (oraInventory) stores an inventory of all software installed on the system. It is required and shared by all Oracle software installations on a single system. If you have an existing Oracle Inventory path, then Oracle Universal Installer continues to use that Oracle Inventory.

The first time you install Oracle software on a system, Oracle Universal Installer checks if you have created an OFA-compliant directory structure with the format u[01-09]/app, such as /u01/app, and that the user running the installation has permissions to write to that path. If this is true, then Oracle Universal Installer creates the Oracle Inventory directory similar to /u[01-09]/app/oraInventory. For example:

/u01/app/oraInventory

If you have set the environment variable ORACLE_BASE for the oracle user, then Oracle Universal Installer creates the Oracle Inventory directory similar to $ORACLE_BASE/../oraInventory. For example, if ORACLE_BASE is set to /opt/oracle/11, then the Oracle Inventory directory is created similar to /opt/oracle/oraInventory.

If you have neither created an OFA-compliant path nor set ORACLE_BASE, then the Oracle Inventory directory is placed in the home directory of the user that is performing the installation. For example:

/home/oracle/oraInventory

Oracle Universal Installer creates the directory that you specify and sets the correct owner, group, and permissions for it. You do not need to create it.

2.8.3 Oracle Home Directory

The Oracle home directory is the directory where you choose to install the software for a particular Oracle product. You must install different Oracle products or different releases of the same Oracle product in separate Oracle home directories. When you run Oracle Universal Installer, it prompts you to specify the path to this directory and a name that identifies it. The directory that you specify must be a subdirectory of the Oracle base directory. Oracle recommends that you specify a path similar to the following for the Oracle home directory:

oracle_base/product/11.1.0/db_1

Oracle Universal Installer creates the directory path that you specify under the Oracle base directory. It also sets the correct owner, group, and permissions on it. You do not need to create this directory.

2.9.1 Identifying an Existing Oracle Base Directory

Existing Oracle base directories may not have paths that comply with OFA guidelines. However, if you identify an existing Oracle Inventory directory or existing Oracle home directories, then you can usually identify the Oracle base directories, as follows:

• Identifying an existing Oracle Inventory directory. Refer to Creating the Oracle Inventory Group for more information.

• Identifying existing Oracle home directories

  Enter the following command to display the contents of the oratab file:

  # more /etc/oratab
  

  If the oratab file exists, then it contains lines similar to the following:

  *:/u03/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/db_1:N
  *:/opt/orauser/infra_904:N
  *:/oracle/9.2.0:N
  

  The directory paths specified on each line identify Oracle home directories. Directory paths that end with the user name of the Oracle software owner that you want to use are valid choices for an Oracle base directory. If you intend to use the oracle user to install the software, then you can choose one of the following directories listed in the previous example:

  /u03/app/oracle
  /oracle
  

  Note:

  If possible, choose a directory path similar to the first one (/u03/app/oracle). This path complies with the OFA guidelines.

Before deciding to use an existing Oracle base directory for this installation, ensure that it satisfies the following conditions:

• It should not be on the same file system as the operating system.

• To determine the free disk space on the file system where the Oracle base directory is located, enter the following command:

  # bdf oracle_base_path
  

To continue:

• If an Oracle base directory exists and you want to use it, then refer to the "Choosing a Storage Option for Oracle Database and Recovery Files" section.

  When you configure the oracle user's environment later in this chapter, set the ORACLE_BASE environment variable to specify the directory you chose.

• If an Oracle base directory does not exist on the system or if you want to create an Oracle base directory, then refer to the following section.

2.9.2 Creating an Oracle Base Directory

Before you create an Oracle base directory, you must identify an appropriate file system with disk space.

To identify an appropriate file system:

1. Use the bdfcommand to determine the free disk space on each mounted file system.

2. From the display, identify a file system that has appropriate free space.

   The file system that you identify can be a local file system, a cluster file system, or an NFS file system on a certified NAS device.

3. Note the name of the mount point directory for the file system that you identified.

To create the Oracle base directory and specify the correct owner, group, and permissions for it:

1. Enter commands similar to the following to create the recommended subdirectories in the mount point directory that you identified and set the appropriate owner, group, and permissions on them:

   # mkdir -p /mount_point/app/oracle_sw_owner
   # chown -R oracle:oinstall /mount_point/app/oracle_sw_owner
   # chmod -R 775 /mount_point/app/oracle_sw_owner
   

   For example, if the mount point you identify is /u01 and oracle is the user name of the Oracle software owner, then the recommended Oracle base directory path is as follows:

   /u01/app/oracle
   

2. When you configure the oracle user's environment later in this chapter, set the ORACLE_BASE environment variable to specify the Oracle base directory that you have created.

2.11.1 Guidelines for Placing Oracle Database Files on a File System

If you choose to place the Oracle Database files on a file system, then use the following guidelines when deciding where to place them:

• The default path suggested by Oracle Universal Installer for the database file directory is a subdirectory of the Oracle base directory.

• You can choose either a single file system or more than one file system to store the database files:

  • If you want to use a single file system, then choose a file system on a physical device that is dedicated to the database.

    For best performance and reliability, choose a RAID device or a logical volume on more than one physical device and implement the stripe-and-mirror-everything (SAME) methodology.

  • If you want to use more than one file system, then choose file systems on separate physical devices that are dedicated to the database.

    This method enables you to distribute physical input-output operations and create separate control files on different devices for increased reliability. It also enables you to fully implement the OFA guidelines described in Appendix D, "Optimal Flexible Architecture". You must choose either the Advanced database creation option or the Custom installation type during the installation to implement this method.

• If you intend to create a preconfigured database during the installation, then the file system (or file systems) that you choose must have at least 1.2 GB of free disk space.

  For production databases, you must estimate the disk space requirement depending on the use that you want to make of the database.

• For optimum performance, the file systems that you choose should be on physical devices that are used only by the database.

• The oracle user must have write permissions to create the files in the path that you specify.

2.11.2 Creating Required Directories

To create directories for the Oracle database, or recovery files on separate file systems to the Oracle base directory:

1. Use the bdf command to determine the free disk space on each mounted file system.

2. From the display, identify the file systems that you want to use:

   File Type	File System Requirements
   Database files	Choose either: A single file system with at least 1.2 GB of free disk space Two or more file systems with at least 1.2 GB of free disk space in total
   Recovery files	Choose a file system with at least 2.4 GB of free disk space.

   
   

   If you are using the same file system for more than one type of file, then add the disk space requirements for each type to determine the total disk space requirement.

3. Note the names of the mount point directories for the file systems that you identified.

4. Enter commands similar to the following to create the recommended subdirectories in each of the mount point directories and set the appropriate owner, group, and permissions on them:

   • Database file directory:

     # mkdir /mount_point/oradata
     # chown oracle:oinstall /mount_point/oradata
     # chmod 775 /mount_point/oradata
     

     The default location for Database file directory is $ORACLE_BASE/oradata.

   • Recovery file directory (flash recovery area):

     # mkdir /mount_point/flash_recovery_area
     # chown oracle:oinstall /mount_point/flash_recovery_area
     # chmod 775 /mount_point/flash_recovery_area
     

   The default flash recovery area is $ORACLE_BASE/flash_recovery_area. However, Oracle recommends that you keep the flash recovery area on a separate physical disk than that of the database file directory. This will enable you use the flash recovery area to retrieve data if the disk containing oradata is unusable due to any reasons.

5. If you also want to use Automatic Storage Management for storage, then refer to one of the following sections:

   "Stopping Existing Oracle Processes" section.

2.12.1 General Steps for Configuring Automatic Storage Management

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

1. Identify the storage requirements of the site.

2. Optionally, use an existing Automatic Storage Management disk group.

3. If you are creating an Automatic Storage Management disk group, create partitions for DAS or SAN disks.

4. Use one of the following methods to complete the Automatic Storage Management configuration:

   • If you plan to install Oracle Database using interactive mode, Oracle Universal Installer prompts you for the Automatic Storage Management disk configuration information during the installation.

   • If you plan to install Oracle Database using noninteractive mode, you should manually configure the disks before performing the installation.

2.12.2 Step 1: Identifying Storage Requirements for Automatic Storage Management

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

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

   Note:

   You do not must use the same storage mechanism for data files and recovery files. You can use the file system for one file type and Automatic Storage Management for the other. If you plan to use Automatic Storage Management for both data files and recovery files, then you should create separate Automatic Storage Management disk groups for the data files and the recovery files.

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

   • If you select an installation method that runs Oracle Database Configuration Assistant in an interactive mode, by choosing the Advanced database configuration option for example, then you can decide whether you want to use the same Automatic Storage Management disk group for database files and recovery files, or you can choose to use different disk groups for each file type. Ideally, you should create separate Automatic Storage Management disk groups for data files and for recovery files.

     The same choice is available to you if you use Oracle Database Configuration Assistant after the installation to create a database.

   • If you select an installation type that runs Oracle Database Configuration Assistant in noninteractive mode, then you must use the same Automatic Storage Management disk group for data files and recovery files.

2. Choose the Automatic Storage Management redundancy level that you want to use for each Automatic Storage Management disk group that you create.

   The redundancy level that you choose for the Automatic Storage Management disk group determines how Automatic Storage Management mirrors files in the disk group and determines the number of disks and amount of disk space that you require, 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.

     If you select this option, Automatic Storage Management does not mirror the contents of the disk group. Choose this redundancy level under any one of the following conditions:

     • When the disk group contains devices, such as RAID devices, that provide their own data protection

     • The use of the database does not require uninterrupted access to data, for example, in a development environment where you have a suitable backup strategy

   • Normal redundancy

     In a normal redundancy disk group, by default Automatic Storage Management uses two-way mirroring for datafiles and three-way mirroring for control files, to increase performance and reliability. 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

     The contents of the disk group are three-way mirrored by default. To create a disk group with high redundancy, you must specify at least 3 failure groups (a minimum of 3 devices).

     Although high-redundancy disk groups 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 database 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	1.15 GB	2.3 GB	3.45 GB
   Normal	2	2.3 GB	4.6 GB	6.9 GB
   High	3	3.45 GB	6.9 GB	10.35 GB

   
   

   If an Automatic Storage Management instance is already running on the system, then 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 installation.

   The following step describes how to identify existing disk groups and determine the free disk space that they contain.

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

   Note:

   You must perform this step only when you intend to use an installation method that runs Oracle Database Configuration Assistant in an interactive mode. For example, if you intend to choose the Custom installation type or the Advanced database configuration option. Other installation types do not enable you to specify failure groups.

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

   To avoid failures of this type, you can 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, then 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, then install or identify appropriate disk devices to add to a new disk group. Apply the following guidelines when identifying appropriate disk devices:

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

   • Do not specify more than one partition on a single physical disk as a disk group device. 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 Automatic Storage Management disk group, Oracle does not recommend its use. Logical volume managers can hide the physical disk architecture. This would prevent Automatic Storage Management from optimizing I/O across the physical devices.

   See Also:

   "Step 4: Configuring Disks for Automatic Storage Management" for information about completing this task

2.12.3 Step 2: Using an Existing Automatic Storage Management Disk Group

If you want to store either database or recovery files in an existing Automatic Storage Management disk group, then you have the following choices, depending on the installation method that you select:

• If you select an installation method that runs Oracle Database Configuration Assistant in interactive mode (for example, choosing the Advanced database configuration option), then you can decide whether you want to create a disk group or use an existing one.

  The same choice is available to you if you use Oracle Database Configuration Assistant after the installation to create a database.

• If you select an installation method that runs Oracle Database Configuration Assistant in noninteractive mode, then you must choose an existing disk group for the new database; you cannot create a disk group. However, you can add disk devices to an existing disk group if it has insufficient free space for your requirements.

To determine whether an existing Automatic Storage Management disk group exists, or to determine whether there is sufficient disk space in a disk group, you can use Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control or Database Control. Alternatively, you can use the following procedure:

1. View the contents of the oratab file to determine whether an Automatic Storage Management instance is configured on the system:

   # more /etc/oratab
   

   If an Automatic Storage Management instance is configured on the system, then the oratab file should contain a line similar to the following:

   +ASM:oracle_home_path:N
   

   In this example, +ASM is the system identifier (SID) of the Automatic Storage Management instance and oracle_home_path is the Oracle home directory where it is installed. By convention, the SID for an Automatic Storage Management instance begins with a plus sign.

2. Open a shell window and temporarily set the ORACLE_SID and ORACLE_HOME environment variables to specify the appropriate values for the Automatic Storage Management instance that you want to use.

   For example, if the Automatic Storage Management SID is named OraDB11g+ASM and is located in the asm subdirectory of the ORACLE_BASE directory, then enter the following commands to create the required settings:

   • Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:

     $ ORACLE_SID=OraDB11g+ASM
     $ export ORACLE_SID
     $ ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/asm
     $ export ORACLE_HOME
     

   • C shell:

     % setenv ORACLE_SID OraDB11g+ASM
     % setenv ORACLE_HOME /u01/app/oracle/product/11.1.0/asm
     

3. By using SQL*Plus, connect to the ASM instance as the SYS user with SYSDBA privilege and start the instance if necessary:

   # $ORACLE_HOME/bin/sqlplus "SYS/SYS_password as SYSDBA"
   SQL> STARTUP
   

4. Enter the following command to display the existing disk groups, their redundancy level, and the amount of free disk space in each one:

   SQL> SELECT NAME,TYPE,TOTAL_MB,FREE_MB FROM V$ASM_DISKGROUP;
   

5. From the output, identify a disk group with the appropriate redundancy level and note the free space that it contains.

6. If necessary, install or identify the additional disk devices required to meet the storage requirements listed in the previous section.

   Note:

   If you are adding devices to an existing disk group, then Oracle recommends that you use devices that have the same size and performance characteristics as the existing devices in that disk group.

2.12.4 Step 3: Creating DAS or SAN Disk Partitions for Automatic Storage Management

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

2.12.5 Step 4: Configuring Disks for Automatic Storage Management

To configure disks for use with Automatic Storage Management:

1. If necessary, install the disks that you intend to use for the Automatic Storage Management disk group.

2. To ensure that the disks are available, enter the following command:

   # /usr/sbin/ioscan -fun -C disk
   

   The output from this command is similar to the following:

   Class  I  H/W Path    Driver S/W State   H/W Type     Description
   ==========================================================================
   disk    0  0/0/1/0.6.0 sdisk  CLAIMED     DEVICE       HP   DVD 6x/32x
                          /dev/dsk/c0t6d0   /dev/rdsk/c0t6d0
   disk    1  0/0/1/1.2.0 sdisk  CLAIMED     DEVICE      SEAGATE ST39103LC
                          /dev/dsk/c1t2d0   /dev/rdsk/c1t2d0
   

   This command displays information about each disk attached to the system, including the block device name (/dev/dsk/cxtydz).

   Note:

   On HP-UX 11i v.3, you can also use agile view to review mass storage devices, including block devices (/dev/disk/diskxyz), or character raw devices (/dev/rdisk/diskxyz). For example:

   #>ioscan -funN -C disk
   Class I    H/W Path       Driver  S/W State H/W Type   Desc
   ===================================================================
   disk  4  64000/0xfa00/0x1 esdisk  CLAIMED    DEVICE  HP73.4GST373454LC   
              /dev/disk/disk4    /dev/rdisk/disk4
   disk 907 64000/0xfa00/0x2f esdisk  CLAIMED   DEVICE  COMPAQ MSA1000 VOLUME
              /dev/disk/disk907  /dev/rdisk/disk907
   

3. If the ioscan command does not display device name information for a device that you want to use, then enter the following command to install the special device files for any new devices:

   # /usr/sbin/insf -e
   

4. For each disk that you want to add to a disk group, enter the following command to verify that it is not already part of an LVM volume group:

   # /sbin/pvdisplay /dev/dsk/cxtydz
   

   If this command displays volume group information, then the disk is already part of a volume group. The disks that you choose must not be part of an LVM volume group.

   Note:

   If you are using different volume management software, for example VERITAS Volume Manager, then refer to the appropriate documentation for information about verifying that a disk is not in use.

5. Enter commands similar to the following to change the owner, group, and permissions on the character file for each disk that you want to add to a disk group:

   # chown oracle:dba /dev/rdsk/cxtydz
   # chmod 660 /dev/rdsk/cxtydz
   

   Note:

   For DSF (agile view) paths, enter commands using paths similar to the following:

   # chmod 660 /dev/rdisk/diskxyz
   

   Note:

   If you are using a multi-pathing disk driver with Automatic Storage Management, then ensure that you set the permissions only on the correct logical device name for the disk.