Oracle® Database

Upgrading a Database

If you choose the Custom installation path and have previous versions of Oracle databases installed, then the Oracle Universal Installer gives you the option of upgrading the existing databases. If you choose to upgrade an existing database, the Oracle Universal Installer displays another screen asking whether you want to create a starter database.If you choose to create a starter database, the DBCA upgrades the older version of the database to Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1.0.3), but does not create a starter database.

Upgrading an Oracle9i Database to Oracle Database 10g

If you upgrade an Oracle9i database to Oracle Database 10g release 1, Oracle Flashback features using a timestamp may fail. To work around this problem, enter the following SQL script from the Oracle Database 10g database:

SQL> DELETE FROM smon_scn_time WHERE orig_thread <> 0;
SQL> COMMIT;

This issue is tracked with Oracle bug 3994270.

extjob Executable Required Directory Permissions

To enable the extjob executable to locate required libraries, the $ORACLE_HOME/lib directory and all of its parent directories must have execute permissions for group and other.

Enabling Automated Backups

While installing Oracle Database, the Specify Backup and Recovery Options screen may appear truncated if your system does not have the required fonts installed. If your system has only fixed-width fonts, you may not be able to fully specify the required information in the Backup Job Credentials area of the screen. To work around this issue, do not select Enable Automated Backups on this screen. After the installation is complete, use the Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g Database Control to enable automated backups.

ASM Instance Clean Up Procedures for Node Deletion

To remove the ASM instances, the delete node procedure requires the following additional steps on UNIX-based systems:

1. If this is the Oracle home from which the per-node listener named LISTENER_nodename runs, then use NetCA to remove this listener and its CRS resources. If necessary, re-create this listener in another Oracle home.

2. If this is the Oracle home from which the ASM instance runs, then enter the following commands to remove the ASM configuration:

   $ srvctl stop asm -n node
   $ remove asm -n node
   
   

3. If you are using a cluster file system for your ASM Oracle home, then run the following commands on the local node:

   $ rm -r $ORACLE_BASE/admin/+ASM
   $ rm -f $ORACLE_HOME/dbs/*ASM*
   
   

4. If you are not using a cluster file system for your ASM Oracle home, then run the rm commands listed in the previous step on each node on which the Oracle home exists.

5. Remove oratab entries beginning with +ASM.

Deinstalling Oracle RAC Software

To deinstall Oracle RAC software in Oracle homes and Oracle CRS homes as described in the Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation and Configuration Guide, you must run the Installer on the node from which you performed the installation.

Oracle CRS Installation Errors Caused by stty Commands

During an Oracle CRS installation, the Installer uses SSH (if available) to run commands and copy files to the other nodes. During the installation, you might see errors similar to the following if a "dot" file on the system (for example, .bashrc or .cshrc) contains stty commands:

 stty: standard input: Invalid argument 
 stty: standard input: Invalid argument 

To avoid this problem, Oracle recommends that you modify these files to suppress all output on STDERR, as follows:

• Bourne, Bash, or Korn shell:

  if [ -t 0 ]; then
     stty intr ^C
  fi
  
  

• C shell:

  test -t 0
  if ($status == 0) then
     stty intr ^C
  endif
  

Using Shared CRS Home or Oracle Home Directories

For this release, Oracle supports shared CRS home and Oracle home directories on Linux only if they are located on a certified NAS device. This configuration is supported only if you also use the NAS device to store the Oracle database files.

Node addition and deletion is not supported for CRS_HOMES shared home. In addition, the installation on NAS is very slow.

Oracle CRS and RAC Installation Log File Messages

The installation log files for CRS and RAC installations might contain messages similar to the following:

/bin/tar: .../rootdeletenode: Cannot stat: No such file or directory/bin/tar: .../rootdelete: Cannot stat: No such file or directory/bin/tar: .../rootdeinstall: Cannot stat: No such file or directory

These messages do not indicate installation problems and can be ignored.

Creating a RAC Database on a NAS File System

To create a RAC database on a NAS file system, you must run DBCA in interactive mode. To run DBCA in interactive mode:

• Choose one of the following options when installing the software:

  • Choose the Enterprise Edition installation type, then choose the Advanced database configuration option

  • Choose the Custom installation type

• Run DBCA from the command line, after installing the software:

  $ $ORACLE_HOME/bin/dbca
  

When using DBCA to create the database, you must specify the value directIO for the FILESYSTEMIO_OPTIONS parameter, as follows:

1. When DBCA displays the Initialization Parameters screen, click All Initialization Parameters.

2. Click Show Advanced Parameters.

3. Specify the value directIO for the FILESYSTEMIO_OPTIONS parameter,

   then click Close.

Using Network Attached Storage for RAC Installations

On Linux, you can use an NFS file system on a certified NAS device for storing Oracle software or database files. The file system that you use must have the same mount point path on all cluster nodes. In addition, you must use the following mount options when mounting the NFS file systems:

• Use the noac option to disable attribute caching.

• Use the tcp option to specify the TCP protocol.

• Verify that the NFS file system and the correct mount options are specified in the /etc/fstab file on every node to ensure that the file system is mounted when each node boots.

For more information about using NAS devices and NFS file systems:

• See OracleMetalink for information about certified NAS devices

• Contact your NAS vendor for specific recommendations about using the device with Oracle Real Application Clusters

• See Appendix C in the Oracle Database Installation Guide for UNIX Systems for general guidelines about using NAS devices for Oracle Database installations

Backing Up the Voting Disk after Installing RAC

After installing Oracle RAC 10g and after ensuring that the system is functioning properly, make a backup of the voting disk. In addition, make a backup of the voting disk contents after you complete any node additions or node deletions and after running any de-installation procedures.

OCFS

OCFS recommended version for SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 is 1.0.13-1. OCFS is currently not supported on SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.

Oracle RAC 10g Installed on an OCFS

If you installed RAC on an Oracle Cluster File System (OCFS), after installation perform the following steps on each node of the cluster:

1. Stop the Oracle instance.

2. Move the $ORACLE_HOME/dbs/hc_*.dat files to a directory on a local file system.

3. Create symbolic links from the $ORACLE_HOME/dbs directory to the hc_*.dat files on the local file system.

4. Restart the Oracle instance.

Running Oracle9i RAC with Oracle RAC 10g

If you are running Oracle9i RAC on the same cluster nodes as Oracle RAC 10g, complete the following steps before installing CRS:

1. Create the following directories:

   $ mkdir -p /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib
   $ mkdir -p /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib32
   
   

2. Change directory to this directory:

   $ cd /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib
   
   

3. Copy the /oracle9i_home/lib/libcmdll.so and oracle9i_home/lib/libwddapi.so files to the current directory:

   $ cp /oracle9i_home/lib/libcmdll.so .
   $ cp /oracle9i_home/lib/libwddapi.so .
   
   

4. Create a soft link between the /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib/libcmdll.so and /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib/libskgxn2.so files:

   $ ln -s /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib/libcmdll.so /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib/libskgxn2.so
   
   

5. Change directory to this directory:

   $ cd /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib32
   
   

6. Copy the /oracle9i_home/lib32/libcmdll.so and oracle9i_home/lib32/libwddapi.so files to the current directory:

   $ cp /oracle9i_home/lib32/libcmdll.so .
   $ cp /oracle9i_home/lib32/libwddapi.so .
   
   

7. Create a soft link between the /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib32/libcmdll.so and /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib32/libskgxn2.so files:

   $ ln -s /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib32/libcmdll.so /etc/ORCLcluster/oracm/lib32/libskgxn2.so
   
   

8. On any cluster node, enter commands similar to the following to restart the node applications on all cluster nodes:

   $ORACLE_HOME/bin/svrctl stop nodeapps -n nodename
   $ORACLE_HOME/bin/svrctl start nodeapps -n nodename
   
   

   In this example, $ORACLE_HOME is the Oracle RAC 10g Oracle home and nodename is the name of the node. Repeat the commands for each node in the cluster.

Running root.sh on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 System

While installing Oracle Real Application Clusters, you need to set the LD_ASSUME_KERNEL environmental variable to 2.4.19 before running root.sh.

Subnet Mask in VIP Configuration Assistant

In the second screen of VIP configuration assistant 'Virtual IPs for cluster nodes' the values displayed for subnet mask are always 255.255.255.0. These values have to be corrected manually. However, this does not affect any functionality. After VIP Configuration Assistant is completed, you can verify the subnet configuration by using the following command:

$ ORA_CRS_HOME/bin/crs_stat -p <nodename.vip>

Oracle tracks this issue as bug 3495301.

Cluster Configuration Dialog Box

At Cluster Configuration dialog box, an intermittent timing issue is observed. This dialog box prompts you to enter Public Node Names and Private Node Names. Even after entering the node names, when you click Next, sometimes an error message "Each node must have both a private and public node names" appears. You need to click OK in this dialog box. The installation will continue.

DBCA Assistant

At DBCA Assistant window, an intermittent timing issue is observed. Sometimes, two identical windows pop up. If you click Next or OK in both the windows, the database creation hangs. On getting such windows, click Cancel in one of the windows.

Node Failover Performance

If 2 or more nodes reboot within 15 minutes (multiple failover), crsd does not start automatically on some of the recovering nodes after they are back online. Oracle tracks this issue as bug 3785893 and will be fixed in the 10.2 release.

Silent Installation with the Database Created on NAS Storage

RAC silent installation with the database created on NAS storage is not supported on SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.

CRS Installation Hangs

The CRS installation hangs if Oracle 9i RAC is present on the system and ocr is created on NAS. You can use the following workaround to fix this issue:

Before installing CRS, move /var/opt/oracle/srvConfig.loc file to a known directory. During the Cluster Node Selection of the installation process, move the /var/opt/oracle/srvConfig.loc file back and continue the installation process.

This issue is tracked.

Automatic Storage Management Library Driver

On Linux x86 systems, the ASM library driver (asmlib) is currently not supported on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.

ORA-00600 Error for ASM

If you are using ASM for database file storage and the ASM instance terminates with an ORA-00600 error, you might see an error message similar to the following in the ASM instance's alert log file:

ORA-00600: internal error code, arguments: [kfcDel67]

A one off patch will be provided to fix this issue. This issue is tracked with Oracle bug 3473576.

Net Configuration Assistant Help

In the Net Configuration Assistant (NetCA) help, the link to the Select Oracle Context help topic is broken. The text for this topic is as follows:

Directory Usage Configuration, Select Oracle Context

Oracle administrative content has been found in more than one location in the directory. Oracle administrative content is stored in an Oracle Context, a subtree in the directory that stores Oracle entries.

From the list, select or enter the location you want to use as the default Oracle Context location from which this computer will access Oracle entries, such as connect identifiers.

Flashback Table or Flashback Analysis

If a user invokes the Flashback Table or Flashback Analysis operation, and that user has FLASHBACK ANY TABLE privileges but does not have specific flashback privileges on the objects that flashback is invoked on and does not have DBA privileges, then the following errors may occur:

ORA-02002: error while writing to audit trail 
ORA-00600: internal error code, arguments: [kzasps1], [4], [47], [],[],  

To fix this problem, as SYSDBA, grant the user FLASHBACK privilege on the objects that are referred to in the FLASHBACK TABLE statement and then invoke the flashback operation. For example:

SQL> GRANT FLASHBACK ON SCOTT.EMP_1 TO user1;

This issue is tracked through Oracle bug 3403666.

Oracle Internet Directory

This release includes the Oracle Internet Directory (OID) client tools, but it does not include OID server components. OID server components are included with Oracle Application Server 10g. If you require the OID server tools for Oracle Database components, then run them from an Oracle Application Server 10g installation.

The OID client tools include:

• LDAP command-line tools

• Oracle Internet Directory SDK

• Oracle Directory Manager

The OID server components include the following servers and tools for starting and stopping them:

• Directory server

• Directory replication server

• Directory integration server

Error When Viewing Period SQL Execution Plan in Korean

Viewing the execution plan of a Period SQL in Korean causes an internal server error. This problem is unique to Korean; it does not reproduce in Japanese or Chinese. The only workaround currently available is to run the product in a language other than Korean when you need to view this page.

Quick Tour Not Available in Oracle Change Management Pack

Quick Tour is not available in Oracle Change Management Pack. If you try to run it, then an error results.

Grid Features

Oracle Database New Features for Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1.0.3) lists two Grid features that are not available in the first release of Oracle Database 10g; Resonance and Transparent Session Migration. These features will be available in a future release.

Network Utilization Metrics Not Displayed

The Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control or Database Control should display the following network utilization metrics for each network interface:

• Network Interface Combined Utilization (%)

• Network Interface Read Utilization (%)

• Network Interface Write Utilization (%)

If these metrics are not displayed for a particular network interface, create the $ORACLE_HOME/sysman/config/network_speed file and enter the network interface name and speed in the file as follows. In this example, interface is the network interface name and speed is the speed of the interface in megabits per second (Mbps):

interface_name speed

For example, if the eth0 network interface does not display metrics, create the $ORACLE_HOME/sysman/config/network_speed file and enter the following, where 100 is the network speed in Mbps:

eth0 100

Building Pro*C Applications if PostgreSQL is Installed

If the postgresql-devel package is installed on the system, add the following directory to the beginning of the sys_include parameter in the $ORACLE_HOME/precomp/admin/pcscfg.cfg file before building Pro*C applications:

$ORACLE_HOME/precomp/public

If you do not make this change, you may encounter errors similar to the following when linking the applications:

/tmp/ccbXd7v6.o(.text+0xc0): In function `drop_tables': 
: undefined reference to `sqlca' 

Linking Applications With Oracle Client Libraries

If your client application is compiled using a version of glibc other than version 2.2.4, you must link it with the client shared library. The use of the client static library is not supported.

$ORACLE_HOME/lib/stubs

Installing Enterprise Security Manager

To install Enterprise Security Manager (ESM), install Oracle Client and choose the Administrator installation type.

Full-Text Searching with Oracle Text

For full-text searching with Oracle Text, you must create XML tables manually.

If you will need to use Oracle Text indexes for text-based ora:contains searches over a collection of XML elements, then do not use XML schema annotation storeVarrayAsTable="true". This annotation causes element collections to be persisted as rows in an Index Organized Table (IOT). Oracle Text does not support IOTs.

To be able to use Oracle Text to search the contents of element collections, set parameter genTables="false" during schema registration. Then create the necessary tables manually, without using the clause ORGANIZATION INDEX OVERFLOW. The tables will then be heap-organized instead of index-organized (IOT), as shown in the following example:

CREATE TABLE PurchaseOrder of XMLTYPE
  XMLSCHEMA http://localhost:8080/home/SCOTT/poSource/xsd/purchaseOrder.xsd
  ELEMENT "PurchaseOrder"
  VARRAY "XMLDATA"."ACTIONS"."ACTION"
    STORE AS TABLE ACTION_TABLE ((PRIMARY KEY 
       (NESTED_TABLE_ID, ARRAY_INDEX)))
  VARRAY "XMLDATA"."LINEITEMS"."LINEITEM"
     STORE AS TABLE LINEITEM_TABLE ((PRIMARY KEY 
       (NESTED_TABLE_ID, ARRAY_INDEX)));

XDK Error Messages

XDK error messages are available at the XML Technology Center on the OTN Web site:

http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/xml/doc/production10g/Javaerrormsgs.html

Platform Specific Product Restrictions

The following products are not supported for Database 10g Release 1 (10.1.0.3) for Linux x86-64:

• Legato NetWorker Single Server

• Messaging Gateways are not supported with MQ Series

• Oracle Advance Security:

• • Radius challenge response authentication

  • DCE Integration

  • Entrust

  • nCipher secure accelerator

  • Identix

• Oracle JDBC Thin Driver and Oracle JDBC/OCI Driver for JDK 1.1

• Oracle Text: The INSO_FILTER is not available

• Pro*COBOL, Pro*FORTRAN, and SQL Module for Ada precompiler options

• Transparent Gateways and Generic Connectivity

Direct I/O Support

Direct I/O is not supported on ext3 file systems for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.

hugetlb Support

hugetlb is enabled for Database 10g Release 1 (10.1.0.3) on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 update 3 and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9. There is an issue with operating system on both platforms that results in the rebooting of the system. Oracle tracks this issue as bug 3986024 for SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 and bug 3986049 for Red Hat Linux 3 Update 3.

Client Connection to OC4J Instance on IPv6 Enabled Systems

You might receive an intermittent connection refused error when the client attempts to connect to an OC4J instance on IPv6 enables system. As a workaround, you can modify the /etc/hosts file to remove the localhost entry for IPv6 addresses.

For example:

# special IPv6 addresses
::1    localhost ipv6-localhost ipv6-loopback

should change to:

# special IPv6 addresses
::1    ipv6-localhost ipv6-loopback