Oracle Database 10g: Managing Oracle on Linux for System Administrators

This course prepares a Linux system administrator for managing a system on which Oracle Database has been installed. Elements of how Oracle works on Enterprise Linux and specific steps for preparing Linux for a database installation are covered. This course provides the system administrator, who already has some Linux experience, with the skills needed to diagnose an Oracle Database using system administration tools. The Oracle Database architecture is covered, which will help the system administrator understand what affect database activity and configuration can have on the process list, disk space, memory use, and CPU utilization.

The Linux system administrator will also learn how to perform some tasks that are sometimes shared between the system administrator and database administrator.

The course provides information on how the operating system tools and techniques affect the tasks and settings that are often the DBA’s responsibility. File systems, including OCFS2, network configuration, memory management, and package management using the Unbreakable Linux Network are discussed. Demos and practices reinforce the concepts presented, including the installation and use of several tools that help in gathering diagnostic information that can be provided to Oracle Support Services.

Learn To:

• Configure Oracle to startup and shutdown automatically with the system
• Configure Linux and Oracle to address large amounts of memory on a 32 bit system
• Set up a local yum repository based on the Unbreakable Linux Network repository
• Diagnose and recover from Oracle instance errors
• Prepare Linux for Oracle Database
• Implement OCFS2

Audience

• Technical Administrator

Course Topics Oracle Database Architecture

• Components of the Oracle environment
• Database Management Tools
• Using SQL*Plus for SELECT queries
• Using Database Control to View System Statistics

Oracle Database Users and Files

• Creating the Needed Groups and Users
• The Oracle Inventory
• Navigating the Oracle Directories
• Physical Database Limits

Oracle Instance Processes

• Listing Oracle Instance Processes
• Automating Startup and Shutdown of the Database
• Configuring Command Line History for SQL*Plus
• Setting Kernel Parameters for the Oracle Database

Oracle and Linux Memory

• Configuring Shared Memory for Oracle Database
• Linux Memory Zones
• Configuring Linux and Oracle for a Large SGA
• Linux Memory Caches

Creating a ULN Repository

• Accessing the Unbreakable Linux Network
• Configuring and Populating a yum Repository
• Updating the System Using a yum Repository

Diagnosing the System

• Determining the CPU and Process Load
• Detecting Out-of-memory Conditions
• Listing Oracle port Usage
• Monitoring I/O Activity
• Generating Memory Dumps
• Installing and Using OSWatcher

Diagnosing Processes

• Determining the Environment of a Running Process
• Identifying Memory-Leaking Processes
• Viewing Oracle Shared Memory Segments
• Viewing Oracle Semaphore Usage
• Recovering From Database Crashes
• Locating Oracle Process Core Dump Files
• Recording Shell Activity

Managing Database Storage

• I/O Modes
• Oracle Database Storage Options
• Sizing I/O for Performance
• Data Striping Strategies
• Using RAID
• Sizing Disk Partitions for Oracle Files
• Configuring udev
• Using ASM and ASMLib

Implementing OCFS2

• Oracle Real Application Clusters Concepts
• Considering Clusters
• Scalability Considerations
• OCFS2 Concepts
• Installing OCFS2
• Configuring an OCFS2 Cluster
• Formatting OCFS2 Volumes

Configuring and Diagnosing the Network

• Displaying Network Status
• Using DHCP with a Static IP Address
• Using nmap
• Configuring SSH
• Connecting to SSH Without a Password
• Configuring an Interconnect for Oracle Clusters
• Network Interface Bonding

Configuring netdump

• The Need for netdump
• netdump Concepts
• Configuring the netdump Server
• Configuring the netdump Client
• Configuring netconsole

Course Objectives

• Navigate the directories where Oracle stores its files
• Startup the database components, including Database Control, the listener, and the database instance
• List the parts of the System Global Area (SGA)
• Create the groups and users needed for an Oracle installation
• List the physical entities that have limits on them in a database installation
• Automate startup and shutdown of the database
• Configure SQL*Plus command line history
• List the system resources that an Oracle Database uses
• Configure netdump and netconsole for remote diagnosis
• Measure system performance and identify ill-behaving database sessions
• List the major processes that make up the Oracle Database instance
• List the file system options available for use with an Oracle database
• Describe how Oracle Database uses the file system
• Implement OCFS2
• Display information about the network, including ports and connections
• Describe the methods for allowing Oracle to address large amounts of memory on a 32 bit machine