3 Installing Oracle Grid Infrastructure

Before starting the installer, you should set and unset environment variables.

1. As the grid or oracle user, execute the following commands:

   [oracle]$ unset ORACLE_HOME
   [oracle]$ unset ORACLE_SID
   [oracle]$ unset ORACLE_BASE
   [oracle]$ export ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle/
   [oracle]$ export ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/12.1.0/grid
   

2. Verify the changes have been made by executing the following commands:

   [oracle]$ echo $ORACLE_SID
   
   [oracle]$ echo $ORACLE_HOME
   /u01/app/12.1.0/grid
   
   [oracle]$ echo $ORACLE_BASE
   /u01/app/oracle/
   

During installation on Linux and UNIX platforms, for certain prerequisite check failures, you can click Fix & Check Again to generate a fixup script.

The installer detects when the minimum requirements for an installation are not met, and creates shell scripts, called Fixup scripts, to finish incomplete system configuration steps. If the installer detects an incomplete task, then it generates a Fixup script (runfixup.sh). You also can have CVU generate Fixup scripts before installation.

Fixup scripts do the following:

• If necessary, set kernel parameters to values required for successful installation, including:

  • Shared memory parameters.

  • Open file descriptor and UDP send/receive parameters.

• Create and set permissions on the Oracle Inventory (central inventory) directory.

• Create or reconfigure primary and secondary group memberships for the installation owner, if necessary, for the Oracle Inventory directory and the operating system privileges groups.

• Set shell limits if necessary to required values.

You can run the script after you click Fix and Check Again. You are prompted by the installer to run the fixup script as the root user in a separate session or you can specify through the installer interface that the scripts should be run automatically. You must run the script on all the nodes specified by the installer.

Modifying the contents of the generated fixup script is not recommended.

You use Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) to install the software on one node in the cluster, and the installer copies the software to the other cluster nodes.

1. Use the following command to start OUI, where staging_area is the ___location of the staging area on disk, or the root level of the installation media:

   cd /staging_area/clusterware/Disk1
   ./runInstaller
   

   After a few minutes, the Download Software Updates window appears.
2. Choose to download the latest software updates, providing your registered My Oracle Support user name and password. Click Next.
   You can use a staging ___location for the software updates or use software updates you have previously downloaded for this release. You can also proceed without checking for updates.
   The Select Installation Option window appears.
3. Choose the Install and Configure Grid Infrastructure for a Cluster option, then click Next.
   The Select Cluster Type window appears.
4. Choose the Configure a Standard cluster option, then click Next.
   The Select Installation Type window appears.
5. Select Typical Installation, then click Next.
   The Specify Cluster Configuration window appears.
6. In the SCAN Name field, enter a name for your cluster that is unique throughout your entire enterprise network. In the Hostname column of the table of cluster nodes, you should see your local node, for example racnode1.example.com. Click Add to add another node to the cluster.
   For example, you might choose a name that is based on the node names' common prefix. This guide uses the SCAN name docrac.

   Note:

   Specify both nodes during installation even if you plan to use Oracle RAC One Node.

   The Add Cluster Node Information pop-up window appears.
7. Enter the second node's public name (racnode2), and virtual IP name (racnode2-vip), then click OK.
   You are returned to the Specify Cluster Configuration window. You should now see both nodes listed in the table of cluster nodes.
8. Click the Identify Network Interfaces button.
   In the Identify Network Interfaces window, verify that each interface has the correct interface type (Public or Private) associated with it. If you have network interfaces that should not be used by Oracle Clusterware, then set the network interface type to Do Not Use.
   Make sure both nodes are selected, then click the SSH Connectivity button at the bottom of the window. The bottom panel of the window displays the SSH Connectivity information.
9. Enter the operating system username and password for the Oracle software owner (oracle). Select the option If you have configured SSH connectivity between the nodes, then select the Reuse private and public keys existing in user home option. Click Setup.
   A message window appears, indicating that it might take several minutes to configure SSH connectivity between the nodes. After a short period, another message window appears indicating that passwordless SSH connectivity has been established between the cluster nodes. Click OK to continue.
10. When returned to the Specify Cluster Configuration window, click Next to continue.
    After several checks are performed, the Specify Install Locations window appears.
11. In the Specify Install Locations window, specify information for all the fields in this window, then click Next.

    • For the Oracle base field, make sure it is set to the ___location you chose for your Oracle base directory, for example /u01/app/username/. If not, then click Browse. In the Choose Directory window, go up the path until you can select the /u01/app/username/ directory, then click Choose Directory.

    • For the Software Location field, make sure it is set to the ___location you chose for your Grid home, for example /u01/app/12.1.0/grid. If not, then click Browse. In the Choose Directory window, go up the path until you can select /u01/app/12.1.0/grid, then click Choose Directory.

    • For the Cluster Registry Storage Type, choose Automatic Storage Management.

    • Enter a password for a SYSASM user in the SYSASM Password and Confirm Password fields. This password is used for managing Oracle ASM after installation, so make note of it in a secure place.

    • For the OSASM group, use the drop-down list to choose the operating system group for managing Oracle ASM, for example, dba.

    The Create ASM Disk Group window appears.
12. In the Disk Group Name field, enter a name for the disk group, for example DATA. Choose the Redundancy level for this disk group, and then in the Add Disks section, choose the disks to add to this disk group. When you have finished selecting the disks for this disk group, click Next.
    In the Add Disks section you should see the disks that you configured using the ASMLIB utility in "Using ASMLIB to Mark the Shared Disks as Candidate Disks".
    If you have not installed Oracle software previously on this computer, then the Create Inventory window appears.
13. Change the path for the inventory directory, if required. Then, click Next.
    If you are using the same directory names as the examples in this book, then it should show a value of /u01/app/oraInventory. The group name for the oraInventory directory should show oinstall.

    Note:

    The path displayed for the inventory directory should be the oraInventory subdirectory of the directory one level above the Oracle base directory. For example, if you set the ORACLE_BASE environment variable to /u01/app/grid/ before starting OUI, then the Oracle inventory path displayed is /u01/app/oraInventory.

    The Root Script Execution Configuration window appears.
14. Select the option to Automatically run configuration scripts. Enter the credentials for the root user or a sudo account, then click Next.
    Alternatively, you can Run the scripts manually as the root user at the end of the installation process when prompted by OUI.
    The Perform Prerequisite Checks window appears.
15. If any of the checks have a status of Failed and are not Fixable, then you must manually correct these issues. After you have fixed the issue, you can click the Check Again button to have the installer recheck the requirement and update the status. Repeat as needed until all the checks have a status of Succeeded. Click Next.

    Figure 3-1 Perform Prerequisite Checks Window

    
    Description of "Figure 3-1 Perform Prerequisite Checks Window"

    The Summary window appears.

16. Review the contents of the Summary window and then click Finish.
    OUI displays a progress indicator enabling you to monitor the installation process.
17. If you did not configure automation of the root scripts, then you are required to run certain scripts as the root user, as specified in the Execute Configuration Scripts window appears. Do not click OK until you have run the scripts. Run the scripts on all nodes as directed, in the order shown.

    For example, on Oracle Linux you perform the following steps (note that for clarity, the examples show the current user, node and directory in the prompt):

    1. As the grid user on racnode1, open a terminal window, and enter the following commands:

       [grid@racnode1 oracle]$ cd /u01/app/oraInventory
       [grid@racnode1 oraInventory]$ su
       

    2. Enter the password for the root user, and then enter the following command to run the first script on racnode1:

       [root@racnode1 oraInventory]# ./orainstRoot.sh
       

    3. After the orainstRoot.sh script finishes on racnode1, open another terminal window, and as the oracle user, enter the following commands:

       [grid@racnode1 oracle]$ ssh racnode2
       [grid@racnode2 oracle]$ cd /u01/app/oraInventory
       [grid@racnode2 oraInventory]$ su
       

    4. Enter the password for the root user, and then enter the following command to run the first script on racnode2:

       [root@racnode2 oraInventory]# ./orainstRoot.sh
       

    5. After the orainstRoot.sh script finishes on racnode2, go to the terminal window you opened in part a of this step. As the root user on racnode1, enter the following commands to run the second script, root.sh:

       [root@racnode1 oraInventory]# cd /u01/app/12.1.0/grid
       [root@racnode1 grid]# ./root.sh
       

       Press Enter at the prompt to accept the default value.

       Note:

       You must run the root.sh script on the first node and wait for it to finish. You can run root.sh scripts concurrently on all other nodes except for the last node on which you run the script. Like the first node, the root.sh script on the last node must be run separately.

    6. After the root.sh script finishes on racnode1, go to the terminal window you opened in part c of this step. As the root user on racnode2, enter the following commands:

       [root@racnode2 oraInventory]# cd /u01/app/12.1.0/grid
       [root@racnode2 grid]# ./root.sh
       

       After the root.sh script completes, return to the OUI window where the Installer prompted you to run the orainstRoot.sh and root.sh scripts. Click OK.

       The software installation monitoring window reappears.

18. Continue monitoring the installation until the Finish window appears. Then click Close to complete the installation process and exit the installer.

After you have installed Oracle Clusterware, verify that the node applications are started.

1. As the grid user on the first node, check the status of the Oracle Clusterware targets by entering the following command:

   /u01/app/12.1.0/grid/bin/crsctl check cluster -all
   

   This command provides output showing if all the required cluster services, such as gsd, ons, and vip, are started on the nodes of your cluster.

2. In the displayed output, you should see the Oracle Clusterware daemons are online for each node in the cluster.

   ******************************************************************
   racnode1:
   CRS-4537: Cluster Ready Services is online
   CRS-4529: Cluster Synchronization Services is online
   CRS-4533: Event Manager is online
   ******************************************************************
   racnode2:
   CRS-4537: Cluster Ready Services is online
   CRS-4529: Cluster Synchronization Services is online
   CRS-4533: Event Manager is online
   ******************************************************************
   

   If you see that one or more Oracle Clusterware resources are offline, or are missing, then the Oracle Clusterware software did not install properly.

You run Oracle Universal Installer (OUI) from the oracle user account. You don’t have to configure the environment of the oracle user before you start OUI.

1. As the oracle user, execute the following commands:

   [oracle]$ unset ORACLE_SID
   [oracle]$ export ORACLE_BASE=/u01/app/oracle/
   [oracle]$ export ORACLE_HOME=/u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1

2. Verify the changes have been made by executing the following commands:

   [oracle]$ echo $ORACLE_SID
   
   [oracle]$ echo $ORACLE_HOME
   /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1
   [oracle]$ echo $ORACLE_BASE
   /u01/app/oracle/
   

If you want to use a separate disk group for your Oracle database files or for the fast recovery area, then you must create the additional Oracle ASM disk groups before installing Oracle Database software.

1. Prepare the disks or devices for use with Oracle ASM, as described in "Configuring Installation Directories and Shared Storage".
2. Start the Oracle Automatic Storage Configuration Assistant (ASMCA) from the Grid home:

   /u01/app/12.1.0/grid/bin/asmca
   

   ASMCA starts, and displays the Disk Groups window.

3. Click the Create button to create a disk group.

   The Create Disk Group window appears.

4. Provide the following information:

   • In the Disk Group Name field, enter a name for the new disk group, for example, FRA.

   • Choose a Redundancy level, for example, Normal.

   • Select the disks to include in the new disk group.

   After you have provided all the information, click OK. A progress window titled DiskGroup: Creation appears. After a few minutes, a message appears indicating the disk group was created successfully. Click OK to continue.

5. Repeat Step 3 and 4 to create additional disk groups, or click Exit, then select Yes to exit the utility.

After you have configured the operating system environment, you can use Oracle Universal Installer to install the Oracle RAC software and create an Oracle RAC database.

1. As the oracle user, use the following commands to start OUI, where staging_area is the ___location of the staging area on disk, or the ___location of the mounted installation disk:

   cd /staging_area
   ./runInstaller
   

   The Configure Security Updates window appears.
2. Optional: Enter your email address and My Oracle Support password, then click Next to continue.

   If you want to receive notification by email of any newly discovered security issues related to the software you are installing, then enter an email address in the Email field. If you also want to receive the security updates through My Oracle Support, then use the same email address that is registered with My Oracle Support, select the I wish to receive security updates via My Oracle Support option, and enter your My Oracle Support login password in the My Oracle Support Password field.

   If you provide an email address, then the Oracle Configuration Manager (OCM) tool will also be installed. This utility provides Oracle Support Services with configuration information about your system when creating service requests. You can disable the OCM tool after installation, but Oracle strongly discourages this. OCM does not access, collect, or store any personal information (except for technical support contact information), or any business data files residing in your software environment. For more information about OCM, see http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/documentation/ocm-092152.html.

   After you click Next, the Select Installation Option window appears.
3. Select Create and configure a database, then click Next to continue:
   The System Class window appears.
4. Choose Server Class, then click Next.
   If you choose the Desktop Class option, then OUI installs a single-instance database, not a clustered database.
   The Grid Installation Options window appears.
5. Choose either the Oracle Real Application Clusters database installation option or the Oracle RAC One Node database installation option.
   The Select Install Type window appears.
6. Choose Admin-managed or Policy-Managed for your database, then click Next to continue.
   If you chose Admin-Managed, then the Select List of Nodes window appears. If you selected Policy-Managed, then the Select Install Type window appears.
7. For an administrator-managed database, you must select the nodes in the cluster where you want to run Oracle RAC or Oracle RAC One Node.
   1. Select the nodes on which you want to install Oracle Database software and create an Oracle RAC instance. All the available nodes in the cluster are selected by default.

      Note:

      Select both nodes during installation, even if you are creating an Oracle RAC One Node database.

   2. Click the SSH Connectivity button at the bottom of the window.
      The bottom panel of the window displays the SSH Connectivity information.
8. Because you configured SSH connectivity between the nodes for the Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster installation, select the Reuse private and public keys existing in user home option. Click Test.
   If you are using a network user that has a home directory on shared storage, then also select the User home if shared by the selected nodes option.
   A message window appears, indicating that passwordless SSH connectivity has been established between the cluster nodes. Click OK to continue.
9. When returned to the Node Selection window, click Next to continue.
   The Select Install Type window appears.
10. Choose the Typical install option, and click Next.
    A typical installation requires minimal input. It installs the software and optionally creates a general-purpose database. If you choose the Advanced installation type (not documented in this guide), then you are prompted to provide more information about how the database should be configured. For example, you could set passwords for each user account individually, choose a different template for the starter database, choose a nondefault language for the database, and so on.
    The Typical Install Configuration window appears.
11. In this window, you must provide the following information:

    • Oracle base ___location: The default value is /u01/app/oracle/. If you did not set the ORACLE_BASE environment variable and the default ___location is different from the directory ___location you have chosen, then enter the directory for your Oracle base or click the Browse button to change the directory path.

    • Software ___location: If you did not set the ORACLE_HOME environment variable before starting the installation, then enter the directory for your Oracle home or click the Browse button to change the directory path.

    • Storage Type: In this drop-down list, choose Automatic Storage Management (ASM). If you do not want to use Oracle ASM, then choose File System. Because Oracle ASM was installed with the Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster, Oracle Automatic Storage Management is the default value.

    • Database file ___location: Choose the disk group to use for storing the database files. You can use the same disk group that Oracle Clusterware uses. If you do not want to use the same disk group that is currently being used to store the Oracle Clusterware files, then you must exit the installation and create a new disk group using Oracle ASM utilities. Refer to "Creating Additional Oracle ASM Disk Groups" for more information on creating a disk group.

      If you chose the File System storage type, then enter the directory ___location of the shared storage where the database files will be created.

    • ASMSNMP Password: Enter the password for the ASMSNMP user. The ASMSNMP user is used primarily by Oracle Enterprise Manager to monitor Oracle ASM instances. See Oracle Automatic Storage Management Administrator's Guide for more information about the ASMSNMP user.

      If you chose File System for the Storage Type, then this field is disabled.

    • Database edition: From this drop-down list choose either Enterprise Edition or Standard Edition. The number in parentheses next to your choice indicates the amount of disk space required.

    • OSDBA Group: From this drop-down list select the operating system group used for database administration, for example, dba.

    • Global database name: Enter the fully qualified global name for your database. The global database name is in the form DB_UNIQUE_NAME.DB_DOMAIN, for example, orcl.example.com.

      Note:

      The first eight characters of the ORACLE_SID must be a unique identifier for each database. The SID prefix cannot contain underscore (_), dollar ($), or pound (#) characters. The total length of the ORACLE_SID cannot exceed 15 characters for Oracle RAC databases.

    • Administrative password: Enter the password to be used for the administrative account, such as SYS, SYSTEM, and DBSNMP.

    • Confirm Password: Enter the same password in this field.

12. After you have provided all the necessary information, click Next.
    The Perform Prerequisite Checks window appears.
13. After a short period of time, the Summary window appears. Review the information on this window, then click Finish to continue.

    If any of the information in the Summary window is incorrect, then use the Back button to return to a previous window and correct it.

    After you click Finish, OUI displays a progress indicator to show that the installation has begun. This step takes several minutes to complete.
14. After the software is installed on each node, if you select the option to create a database, then OUI starts the Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA).

    This utility creates the database using the global database name specified in Step 9. At the end of the database creation, you see the DBCA window with the database configuration information displayed.

    There is also a Password Management button that you can click to unlock the database user accounts, or change their default passwords.

    After making note of the information in the Summary window, click OK.

    OUI configures Oracle Configuration Management, if you provided the information in Step 2.

    If you chose to perform a software-only installation, then the database configuration assistants are not started. You must run DBCA separately to create the Oracle RAC One Node database.

    See Also:

    Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation Guide for your platform for information about creating an Oracle RAC One Node database using DBCA

15. Perform the following steps to run the root.sh script (note that for clarity, the examples show the current user, node and directory in the prompt):
    In the last step of the installation process, you are prompted to perform the task of running the root.sh script on both nodes, as specified in the Execute Configuration Scripts window. Do not click OK until you have run the scripts on all nodes.

    Figure 3-2 Execute Configuration Scripts Window

    
    Description of "Figure 3-2 Execute Configuration Scripts Window"
    1. Open a terminal window as the oracle user on the first node. Change directories to your Oracle home directory, and then switch to the root user by entering the following commands:

       [oracle@racnode1 oracle]$ cd /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1
       [oracle@racnode1 dbhome_1]$ su
       

    2. Enter the password for the root user, and then run the script specified in the Execute Configuration scripts window:

       [root@racnode1 dbhome_1]# ./root.sh

       Note:

       You can run the root.sh script simultaneously on all nodes in the cluster for Oracle RAC installations or upgrades.

    3. After responding to prompt, press the Enter key. To accept the default choice, press the Enter key without entering any text.
       As the root.sh script runs, it prompts you for the path to the local bin directory. The information displayed in the brackets is the information it has obtained from your system configuration. It also writes the dbhome, oraenv, and coraenv files in the /usr/local/bin directory. If these files exist, then you are asked to overwrite them.
    4. Enter commands similar to the following to run the script on the other nodes:

       [root@racnode1 dhome_1]# exit
       [oracle@racnode1 dhome_1]$ ssh racnode2
       [oracle@racnode2 ~]$ cd /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1
       [oracle@racnode2 dbhome_1]$ su
       

    5. Enter the password for the root user, and then run the script specified in the Execute Configuration scripts window:

       [root@racnode2 dbhome_1]# ./root.sh
       

    6. After responding to each prompt, press the Enter key.
    7. When the root.sh script completes, the following messages are displayed:
       
       Description of the illustration GUID-35E56B9E-9F2A-463C-9366-313A265A4135-default.gif
16. After you finish executing the script on all nodes, return to the Execute Configuration scripts window and click OK.
    The Install Product window displays.
17. Click Next to complete the installation.
    The Finish window is displayed.
18. Click Close to exit the installer.

If you chose to create an Oracle RAC database during installation, then verify that all the database services are up and running.

1. Log in as the oracle user and go to the Grid_home/bin directory:

   [oracle] $ cd /u01/app/12.1.0/grid/bin
   

2. Run the following command to view the status of the resources managed by Oracle Clusterware that contain the string 'ora':

   [oracle] $ ./crsctl status resource -w "TYPE co 'ora'" -t
   

   The output of the command should show that the Oracle Clusterware, Oracle ASM, and Oracle Database resources are available (online) for each host. An example of the output is:

   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   NAME              TARGET STATE    SERVER            STATE_DETAILS
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Local Resources
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   ora.DATA.dg
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode1
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode2
   
   ora.LISTENER.lsnr
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode1
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode2
   
   ora.asm
   
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode1          Started
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode2          Started
   
   ora.eons
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode1
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode2
   
   ora.gsd
                     OFFLINE OFFLINE   racnode1
                     OFFLINE OFFLINE   racnode2
   
   ora.net1.network
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode1
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode2
   
   ora.ons
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode1
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode2
   ora.registry.acfs
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode1
                     ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode2
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Cluster Resources
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   ora.LISTENER_SCAN1.lsnr
         1           ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode1
   ora.oc4j
         1           OFFLINE OFFLINE
   ora.orcl.db
         1           ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode1            Open
         2           ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode2            Open
   ora.racnode1.vip
         1           ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode1
   ora.racnode2.vip
         1           ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode2
   ora.scan1.vip
         1           ONLINE  ONLINE   racnode1
   

 CRS-0184: Cannot communicate with the CRS daemon. 

Use Cluster Verification Utility (CVU) to verify that your installation is configured correctly.

After the Oracle Clusterware installation is complete, OUI automatically runs Cluster Verification Utility (CVU) as a configuration assistant to verify that the Oracle Clusterware installation has been completed successfully.

If CVU reports problems with your configuration, then correct these errors before proceeding.

The Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) utility is used to create Oracle Databases.

Certain files used during installation are very important to the operation of the installed software.

It is important to back up these files and keep them in a separate ___location from the installed software in case of hardware failure.

• About Backing Up the root.sh Script
  Oracle recommends that you back up the root.sh script after you complete an installation.
• About Backing Up the emkey.ora File
  Oracle recommends that you back up the emkey.ora file after you complete an installation.

When you create an Oracle RAC database and choose Database Control for your database management, the Enterprise Manager Database Control utility is installed and configured automatically.

1. Make sure the ORACLE_UNQNAME environment variable is set to the unique name of the database to which you want to connect, for example orcl. Also make sure the ORACLE_HOME environment variable is set to the ___location of the installed Oracle Database software.

   $ export ORACLE_UNQNAME=orcl
   $ echo $ORACLE_HOME
   /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1
   
   $ echo $ORACLE_UNQNAME
   orcl
   

2. Go to the Oracle_home/bin directory.
3. Run the following command as the oracle user:

   ./emctl status dbconsole
   

   The Enterprise Manager Control (EMCTL) utility displays the current status of the Database Control console on the current node.

   Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Database Control Release 11.2.0.1.0
   Copyright (c) 1996, 2009 Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.
   https://racnode1.example.com:1158/em/console/aboutApplication
   Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g is running.
   ------------------------------------------------------------------
   Logs are generated in directory /u01/app/oracle/product/12.1.0/dbhome_1/racnode1_orcl/sysman/log
   

4. If the EMCTL utility reports that Database Control is not started, then use the following command to start it:

   ./emctl start dbconsole
   

   Following a typical installation, Database Control serves console pages from the node where database was created. The console also monitors agents on all nodes of the cluster. However, you can configure Enterprise Manager to have multiple Database Control consoles within a cluster using Enterprise Manager Configuration Assistant (EMCA).

Ensure that you run the latest patch set of the installed software.

Periodically, Oracle issues bug fixes for its software called patches. Patch sets are a collection of bug fixes that were produced up to the time of the patch set release. Patch sets are fully tested product fixes. Application of a patch set affects the software residing in your Oracle home.

If you configured access to My Oracle Support during installation, then the latest patches should have been downloaded and applied during installation.

If you did not configure access to My Oracle Support within OUI, then you should apply the latest patch set for your release and any necessary patches that are not included in a patch set. Information about downloading and installing patches and patch sets is covered in Managing Oracle Software and Applying Patches.

You can use different operating system accounts for accessing and managing your Oracle RAC database.

The oracle user operating system account is the account that you used to install the Oracle Database software. You can modify the shell configuration file to set environment variables such as ORACLE_HOME whenever you log in as that operating system user.

Before you start the process of converting your database to a cluster database, your database environment must meet certain prerequisites.

• The existing database and the target Oracle RAC database must be on the same release of Oracle Database 12c and must be running on the same platform.

• The hardware and operating system software used to implement your Oracle RAC database must be certified for use with the release of the Oracle RAC software you are installing.

• You must configure shared storage for your Oracle RAC database. You will need additional shared storage for the Oracle Clusterware files, such as the Oracle Cluster Registry, the voting files, and the Grid Infrastructure Management Repository.

• You must verify that any applications that run against the Oracle RAC database do not need any additional configuration before they can be used successfully with the cluster database. This applies to both Oracle applications and database features, such as Oracle Streams, and applications and products that do not come from Oracle.

• Backup procedures should be available before converting from a single-instance Oracle Database to Oracle RAC.

• For archiving in Oracle RAC environments, the archive log file format requires a thread number.

• The archived redo log files from all instances of an Oracle RAC database are required for media recovery. If you archive to a file and you do not use a cluster file system, or some other means to provide shared file systems, then you require a method of accessing the archived redo log files from all nodes on which the cluster database has instances.

You can convert a single-instance database to an Oracle RAC database using Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control.

This section summarizes the process of converting a single-instance database to an Oracle RAC database:

• Complete the prerequisite tasks for converting to an Oracle RAC database:

  • Oracle Clusterware and Oracle Database software is installed on all target nodes.

  • Oracle Clusterware is started.

  • The Oracle Database binary is enabled for Oracle RAC on all target nodes.

  • Shared storage is configured and accessible from all nodes.

  • User equivalency is configured for the operating system user performing the conversion.

  • Enterprise Manager agents are configured and running on all nodes, and are configured with the cluster and host information.

  • The database being converted has been backed up successfully.

• Access the Database Home page for the database you want to convert. For instructions on navigating to the Database Home page, see "Accessing the Database Home Page" in the Oracle Database 2 Day DBAGuide.

• From the Availability menu, select Convert to Cluster Database.

• Provide the necessary credentials.

• Select the host nodes that should contain instances of the new database.

• Provide listener and instance configuration information.

• Specify the ___location of the shared storage to be used for the data files.

• Submit the job.

• Complete the post-conversion tasks.

The resulting Oracle RAC database uses a server pool instead of a fixed configuration.

This topic provides an outline of the process of converting a single-instance database to an Oracle RAC database using the rconfig utility.

• Complete the prerequisite tasks for converting to an Oracle RAC database.

  • Oracle Clusterware and Oracle Database software is installed on all target nodes.

  • Oracle Clusterware is started.

  • The Oracle Database binary is enabled for Oracle RAC on all target nodes.

  • Shared storage is configured and accessible from all nodes.

  • User equivalency is configured for the operating system user performing the conversion.

  • The database being converted has been backed up successfully.

• Using rconfig, you can convert a single-instance database to either an administrator-managed cluster database or a policy-managed cluster database. Modify the parameters in either the ConvertToRAC_AdminManaged.xml or ConvertToRAC_PolicyManaged.xml sample file, as appropriate for your environment, then save the file to a new ___location. Both files are located in the Oracle_home/assistants/rconfig/sampleXMLs directory.

• Run the rconfig command, supplying the name of the modified XML file as input.

• Complete the post-conversion tasks.

You can also use the rconfig utility to convert single-instance Oracle ASM to clustered Oracle ASM.

After you use the rconfig utility to convert a single-instance Oracle database into a single-node Oracle RAC database, you can use the srvctl utility to convert the database into an Oracle RAC One Node database.

srvctl convert database -db database_name -dbtype RACONENODE