Best Practices for Oracle Database 10g RAC on Microsoft 64bit Windows

1. Best Practices for Oracle Database 10g RAC on Microsoft 64bit Windows Philip Newlan Principal Product Manager - RAC philip.newlan@oracle.com Anu Chawla Program Manager – Oracle Alliance Anu.Chawla@microsoft.com

2. <Insert Picture Here> Microsoft / Oracle Relationship

3. Commitment to Windows • Oracle7 was the first database to ship on Windows • in 1994 • Windows Server is a base development platform for Oracle • Windows Server is Tier 1 • fully supported platform for Oracle • Focused Engineering and Product management groups for Windows-specific integration projects • Supported both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Server 2003 on day of O/S release

4. Partnership • Oracle sponsors Microsoft events • (TechEd 2004, 2005, 2006) • Microsoft sponsors Oracle events • OracleWorld, UKOUG 2006,2007 • Oracle RAC Training Sessions at MS Redmond campus • Demos in the ETC • Communication channels open at various levels in the organizations • Joint support contacts for customer escalations • How we jointly solve problems • Conference calls, briefings, etc.

5. Register at Microsoft Oracle Customer Information Center:www.microsoft-oracle.com Best Practices on running Oracle on Windows Server Replay and Presentations of Oracle RAC on Windows Server Workshop Invitations to Global Technical Workshops hosted by Microsoft and Oracle Certification information for Oracle Applications and technology on Microsoft Platform

6. Oracle on WindowsWidely Deployed Oracle Revenues by OS for new license sales Other 2% Unix 49% Windows 29% Source: Gartner Research – May 2005 ID G00127787 Linux 20%

7. State Of The Market? Microsoft Momentum LinuxGrowthSlows Windows Growth atx86 Pace VAP/VARPreferenceImproves Industry Trends • Continuum of non-commercial software to commercial integration • Broad interoperability movement • Competing at the workload level Windows #1 platform for UNIX migrations • 44% Windows versus 37% Linux • Virtualization and consolidation

8. State Of The Market? Microsoft Momentum LinuxGrowthSlows Windows Growth atx86 Pace VAP/VARPreferenceImproves Industry Trends • Continuum of non-commercial software to commercial integration • Broad interoperability movement • Competing at the workload level Windows #1 platform for UNIX migrations • 44% Windows versus 37% Linux • Virtualization and consolidation

10. Load TestWindows 2003 v Red Hat 4.0 (64 bit) • RAC Stress Test (150-250 users) • Transactions Per Minute were up to 16% higher for MS Windows for 150 - 250 users. • The response times for the “Order Products” test component were up to 50% faster for MS Windows than Linux, and the response times for the “Order Products” component increased substantially above 150 users. • At 250 users, Linux performed over 30% of sorts on disk instead of sorts in memory. • For all of these tests, Linux used 17% - 40% more memory than MS Windows Server. • RAC User Load Tests (2500 – 4500 users) • At 3500 users, the Transactions Per Minute for MS Windows were 18% higher than the Linux Transactions Per Minute. • At 4000 users, MS Windows Server TPM continued to increase while the Linux test failed to complete. • At 2500 users, component response times were 9% - 33% faster for MS Windows Server; while at 3500 users Windows was faster by a wide margin. • For all of these tests, Linux used 5% - 25% more memory than MS Windows Server.

11. Supported 32-bit Architectures • For 32-bit x86 systems • Well-suited for mainstream deployments where 64-bit applications or drivers are unavailable • Most common on servers with 1-4 processors

12. Gradually replaces 32-bit Windows as mainstream offering Suitable for all workloads Well-suited for combining 32-bit and 64-bit software Intended for the most demanding Database and LOB deployments on 8-way+ Designed for pure 64-bit software stacks Supported 64-bit Architectures

13. 32 bit Vs 64bit Memory Limits • Product names listed are for general reference only and do not reflect actual product names. 64-bit • Windows Server Standard Edition will be available for x64 only.

14. SGA contains db buffers, log buffers shared pool, other memory allocations Each thread consists of PGA, stack, other memory allocations Architecture – Thread and Memory Model32bit Windows Oracle process SGA 2GB Background and foreground threads Code

15. SGA contains db buffers, log buffers shared pool, other memory allocations Each thread consists of PGA, stack, other memory allocations Architecture – Thread and Memory Model64bit Windows Oracle process SGA 8TB Background and foreground threads Code

16. <Insert Picture Here> Oracle Support for MS Windows

17. Windows 32-bit Platform Support

18. Windows 64-bit Platform Support

19. Windows Vista Support • Next Major Database Release • 32-bit support • 64-bit support ( for x64 systems) • 10gR2 • Plan to certify and support 32-bit Client and Server • Latest Patchset plus possible patches – exact requirements will be documented when certification is completed and announced

20. <Insert Picture Here> Oracle Architecture

21. Database ArchitectureProcess and Memory • Thread model, not a straight port of Oracle’s process architecture • 3GB (32-bit) or 8TB (64-bit) maximum memory per database instance. VLM support allows >3GB on 32-bit. • Runs as a Windows service process • No limits on memory, connections, resources except those imposed by the operating system • What does 8GB Process Address space give you ? • Connections • Datawarehousing improvements

22. Database ArchitectureFile I/O • Oracle10g supports asynchronous I/O to all types of files • Logical and physical raw files and partitions are fully supported (faster than NTFS) • Full 64-bit file I/O internally • No 2GB or 4GB limitations on database file sizes. • Maximum file size is 64GB • Maximum database size is 4 petabytes

23. Dual Core and Hyperthreading ü • Dual Core support • Supported – Oracle uses the OS scheduler • All versions of Oracle are supported in Hyperthreaded environments. • Hyperthreading • Circuitry added to Intel CPUs resulting in single CPU functioning as 2 CPUs • All versions of Oracle are supported in Hyperthreaded environments. • Customer 10 node RAC • 4 Dual cores with hyperthreading turned on • 16 CPU’s visible in taskmanager on each of 10 nodes • 32GB RAM per node - 200TB database ?

24. <Insert Picture Here> Best Practices for 64 bit Windows

25. Oracle on 64-bit Windows • Long history of supporting 64-bit databases on other platforms • Interoperability between 32-bit clients and 64-bit servers and vice versa • Improved performance, availability and scalability • Why do customers choose to migrate to 64bit Windows ?

26. 64-Bit Best Practices • Run correct 64-Bit version of Oracle for the architecture • 64-Bit Oracle for X64 (AMD or EM64T) • 64-Bit Oracle for Itanium. • 32-Bit Oracle Server not supported on 64-Bit platforms • Enable Large Pages

27. New for Windows Server 2003 SP1 • Large Page support • For instances with large memory requirements, large page support can improve performance • 32 bit – 4kb default – 2MB max • 64 bit – 8kb default – 2MB on x64 -16 MB on IA64 • NUMA support for memory/scheduling • Database intelligently allocates memory and schedules threads based on node configuration • Best Practice: For NUMA on AMD patch to a minimum 10.2.0.2 P5 ü

28. 64-bit: Migration • 32-bit to 64-bit upgrade process is simple • 32-bit data files are compatible with 64-bit DB • No need to recreate the database • Full export and import not required • Database Upgrade Assistant automates process • Transparent migration for end-user applications • No changes required to existing client applications when running against 64-bit database

29. File System Best Practices ü • Use ASM – whether single-instance or RAC – use 10.1.0.4 or higher • Provisioning storage when you need it… and save money • No need to move datafiles around • No need to take tablespaces offline • Allocate what you need, when you need it • Simple to add or remove • Add disks with no downtime • Save time and money ASM Disk Group % utilization Ctrl file, redo log, data 1,…data n

30. Where do I locate my datafiles ? • 10g Windows RAC tracked customers

31. <Insert Picture Here> Management & Diagnostics tools

32. Grid Control

33. Out of the Box Database Control • No client install required • Fully functional after database creation • Discovery, Configuration & Monitoring • Listener • ASM • RAC database

34. Diagnostic Tools - Performance Monitor

35. Process Explorer

36. OS Tools MS Tools diskpart poolmon memsnap tasklist, taskkill tlist (with -c) Driverquery - with /V sc (sc query state= all) Sysinternals regmon, filemon, procexp, tcpview Windows Services for Unix Oracle Tools srvctl crsctl ocrdump crs_stat cluvfy Tools

37. CPU Tuning • Oracle uses all processors available through the OS • ORACLE_AFFINITY registry value can be set to tell Oracle which threads to run on which processors (same setting for all instances) • Thread priorities can be set in the registry using the ORACLE_PRIORITY variable

38. CPU Tuning – Diagnosing High CPU • Process Explorer • drill down to threads • Get thread id of high CPU thread • Use following to map OS Thread Id to Oracle Background Process SELECT a.spid, b.username FROM v$process a, v$session b WHERE a.addr= b.paddr AND a.spid = <thread number>

39. Networking Best Practices • The default queue-size for Windows Server is 50 – increase using QUEUESIZE parameter in LISTENER.ORA – prevents errors during login storms • Use multiple listeners for increased throughput • Increase SDU_SIZE in SQLNET.ORA or TNSNAMES.ORA • Controls SQL*Net packet size • Set to larger SDU size for apps with bulk data transfer (LOBS, Dataguard etc). Perhaps 32k

40. Networking Best Practices • SQLNET.AUTHENTICATION_SERVICES=(NTS) This is a default value in SQLNET.ORA for a reason – it should be left at default. – Required for RAC • In 10.2.x, SQLNET.INBOUND_CONNECT_TIMEOUT defaults to 60 – this may need to be set to 0 in some situations ü

41. <Insert Picture Here> Installation and Patching Best Practices and Support’s Top Issues

42. Installation Pre-reqs • Hardware is set up correctly • Use the Cluster Verification Utility (CVU). • User Accounts • Remote Desktop Client. • Environment Variables • Networking • Disk Layout • Enable Automount • Stop ‘troublesome’ Services. • Time Sync

43. Install - Remote Desktop Client • If you must use the remote desktop client • Invoke the client with the /console command line parameter

44. Cluster Verification Utility - CVU • CVU checks and reports on varies configuration items at various steps during the install • Does not fix anything ! • Get the latest version from OTN • http://otn.oracle.com/rac - Right Hand Side - CVU • Two steps to run prior to starting install • runcluvfy stage -post hwos -n iwinrca01,iwinrca02 • runcluvfy stage -pre crsinst -n iwinrca01,iwinrca02 • Other steps as required

45. -pre dbcfg Configures RAC DB -pre dbinst Installs RAC -pre crsinst Installs Oracle Clusterware -post crsinst -pre cfs Sets up OCFS ( OPT ) -post cfs User sets up the Hardware, network & storage -post hwos Cluster Verification Utility

46. Most Common Support Issues • Oracle can be installed (and patches applied) over a remote connection. • Try installing on the server console directly, to determine if the problem is with the remote connection utility. • Logging into Windows as a user account, with Admin privs, is not identical as to logging in as the Local Administrator account. If there are problems installing, try using the Local Administrator account.

47. Most Common Support Issues • Files in use errors: • Must stop ALL Oracle Services. • Stop the DTC (Distributed Transaction Coordinator) service. • Use Process Explorer to find the process using the Oracle files. • Problems running catpatch.sql or catcpu.sql: • Verify there are NO invalid objects in the Database, prior to applying a patch. • Verify the Shared_Pool_size and Java_Pool_Size are set to a minimum of 150MB each. • Don’t set ORACLE_HOME in environment – Oracle gets its environment via the Registry. Oracle.key file in OH\bin points to correct registry key.

48. Patching Best Practices • For existing installs, make plans to test and apply future patchsets • Don’t wait until you are forced to apply patch on a production system without sufficient testing • Apply patches within 6 months of release • At minimum, CPU (Critical Patch Update) patches are released quarterly • Fifth-digit patches provided on Windows platforms which bundle one-off patches • For fixing new issues, applying latest patchset and fifth-digit patches available will help in eliminating known bugs

49. <Insert Picture Here> High Availability Solutions on Windows

50. High Availability Solutions • HA becomes essential as databases are critical component of business • HA Goals: Minimize downtime to your company and your customers • Solutions for Windows Environments • Real Application Clusters (RAC) • Oracle Fail Safe • Data Guard (DG) • Maximum Availability Architecture (MAA) • Oracle Clusterware for Single Instance • Provides MSCS – without MSCS • See http://www.oracleracsig.org this Thursday 16th