Oracle RAC Database Management Styles and Database Installation

Before installing the Oracle RAC database software and creating respective databases, decide on the management style you want to apply to the Oracle RAC databases, as described in "Overview of Server Pools and Policy-Managed Databases".

The management style you choose impacts the software deployment and database creation. If you choose the administrator-managed database deployment model, using a per-node installation of software, then it is sufficient to deploy the Oracle Database software (the database home) on only those nodes on which you plan to run Oracle Database.

If you choose the policy-managed deployment model, using a per-node installation of software, then you must deploy the software on all nodes in the cluster, because the dynamic allocation of servers to server pools, in principle, does not predict on which server a database instance can potentially run. To avoid instance startup failures on servers that do not host the respective database home, Oracle strongly recommends that you deploy the database software on all nodes in the cluster. When you use a shared Oracle Database home, accessibility to this home from all nodes in the cluster is assumed and the setup needs to ensure that the respective file system is mounted on all servers, as required.

Oracle Universal Installer will only allow you to deploy an Oracle Database home across nodes in the cluster if you previously installed and configured Oracle Grid Infrastructure for the cluster. If Oracle Universal Installer does not give you an option to deploy the database home across all nodes in the cluster, then check the prerequisite, as stated, by Oracle Universal Installer.

During installation, you can choose to create a database during the database home installation. Oracle Universal Installer runs DBCA to create your Oracle RAC database according to the options that you select.

See Also:

"Oracle RAC Database Management Styles and Database Creation" for more information if you choose this option

Note:

Before you create a database, a default listener must be running in the Oracle Grid Infrastructure home. If a default listener is not present in the Oracle Grid Infrastructure home, then DBCA returns an error instructing you to run NETCA from the Oracle Grid Infrastructure home to create a default listener.

See Also:

Oracle Database Net Services Administrator's Guide for more information about NETCA

The Oracle RAC software is distributed as part of the Oracle Database installation media. By default, the Oracle Database software installation process installs the Oracle RAC option when it recognizes that you are performing the installation on a cluster. Oracle Universal Installer installs Oracle RAC into a directory structure referred to as the Oracle home, which is separate from the Oracle home directory for other Oracle software running on the system. Because Oracle Universal Installer is cluster aware, it installs the Oracle RAC software on all of the nodes that you defined to be part of the cluster.