5 Oracle Grid Infrastructure Postinstallation Procedures

5.1.1 Download and Install Patch Updates

Refer to the My Oracle Support Web site for required patch updates for your installation.

To download required patch updates:

1. Use a Web browser to view the My Oracle Support Web site:

   https://support.oracle.com

2. Log in to My Oracle Support Web site.

   Note:

   If you are not a My Oracle Support registered user, then click Register Here and register.

3. On the main My Oracle Support page, select Patches & Updates.

4. On the Patches & Update page, in the click Advanced "Classic" Patch Search.

   If you want to search for patch sets, click the Latest Patchsets link under the heading Oracle Server/Tools.

5. On the Advanced Search page, click the search icon next to the Product or Product Family field.

6. In the Search and Select: Product Family field, select Database and Tools in the Search list field, enter Database in the text field, and click Go.

   Click Oracle Database Family in the list of Product Names to select it.

7. Click the search icon next to the Release field. In the Search and Select: Release window, type 11.2 in the Search field, then click Go. Click Oracle 11.2.0.1.0 in the Release Name column to select it.

8. Select your platform from the Platform or Language drop-down list (for example, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2).

9. At the bottom of the Advanced Search section, click Go. Any available patch updates appear under the Results heading.

10. Click the patch number to view the patch description and access the README file for the patch. You can also download the patch from this page.

11. Click View README and read the page that appears. The README page contains information about the patch and how to apply the patch to your installation.

    Click Patch Details to return to the previous page.

12. Click Download, and save the patch file on your system.

13. Use the unzip utility provided with your Oracle software to uncompress the Oracle patch updates that you download from My Oracle Support. The unzip utility is located in the Grid_home\BIN directory.

14. Refer to Appendix D, "How to Upgrade to Oracle Grid Infrastructure 11g Release 2" for information about how to stop database processes in preparation for installing patches.

5.1.2 Configure Exceptions for the Windows Firewall

If the Windows Firewall feature is enabled on one or more of the nodes in your cluster, then virtually all TCP network ports are blocked to incoming connections. As a result, any Oracle product that listens for incoming connections on a TCP port will not receive any of those connection requests and the clients making those connections will report errors.

You must configure exceptions for the Windows Firewall if your system meets all of the following conditions:

• Oracle server-side components are installed on a computer running a supported version of Microsoft Windows. The list of components includes the Oracle Database, Oracle grid infrastructure, Oracle RAC, network listeners, or any Web servers or services.

• The Windows machine in question accepts connections from other machines over the network. If no other machines will be connecting to the Windows machine to access the Oracle software, then no post-installation configuration steps are required and the Oracle software will function as expected.

• The Windows machine in question is configured to run the Windows Firewall. If the Windows Firewall is not enabled, then no post-installation configuration steps are required.

If all of the above conditions are met, then the Windows Firewall must be configured to allow successful incoming connections to the Oracle software. To enable Oracle software to accept connection requests, Windows Firewall needs to be configured by either opening up specific static TCP ports in the firewall or by creating exceptions for specific executables so they can receive connection requests on any ports they choose. This firewall configuration can be done by one of the following methods:

• Start the Windows Firewall application, select the Exceptions tab and then click either Add Program or Add Port to create exceptions for the Oracle software.

• From the command prompt, use the netsh firewall add... command.

• When Windows notifies you that a foreground application is attempting to listen on a port, and gives you the opportunity to create an exception for that executable. If you choose the create the exception in this way, the effect is the same as creating an exception for the executable either via Control Panel or from the command line.

The following sections list the Oracle Database 11g release 2 executables that listen on TCP ports on Windows, along with a brief description of the executable. It is recommended that these executables (if in use and accepting connections from a remote, client machine) be added to the exceptions list for the Windows Firewall to ensure correct operation. In addition, if multiple Oracle homes are in use, firewall exceptions may need to be created for the same executable, for example, oracle.exe, multiple times, once for each Oracle home from which that executable loads.

• Firewall Exceptions for Oracle Database

• Firewall Exceptions for Oracle Database Examples (or the Companion CD)

• Firewall Exceptions for Oracle Gateways

• Firewall Exceptions for Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM

• Firewall Exceptions for Oracle RAC Database

• Firewall Exceptions for Oracle Cluster File System for Windows

• Firewall Exceptions for Other Oracle Products

5.2.1 Install Troubleshooting Tool

To address troubleshooting issues, Oracle recommends that you install Instantaneous Problem Detection OS Tool (IPD/OS).

http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/clustering/ipd_download_homepage.html

5.2.2 Optimize Memory Usage for Programs

The Windows operating system should be optimized for Memory Usage of 'Programs' instead of 'System Caching'. To modify the memory optimization settings, perform the following steps:

1. From the Start Menu, select Control Panel, then System.

2. In the System Properties window, click the Advanced tab.

3. In the Performance section, click Settings.

4. In the Performance Options window, click the Advanced tab.

5. In the Memory Usage section, make sure Programs is selected.

5.2.3 Create a Fast Recovery Area Disk Group

During installation, if you select Oracle ASM for storage, a single disk group is created. If you plan to add an Oracle Database for a standalone server or an Oracle RAC database, then you should create a separate disk group for the fast recovery area.

5.3.1 General Restrictions for Using Older Oracle Database Versions

You can use Oracle9i Database release 2, Oracle Database 10g releases 1 and 2, and Oracle Database 11g release 1 with Oracle Clusterware 11g release 2 (11.2).

If you upgrade an existing version of Oracle Clusterware, then the required configuration of existing databases is completed automatically. However, if you complete a new installation of Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster, and then want to install Oracle Database 11g release 1 or any prior release, then you must complete additional manual configuration tasks.

5.3.2 Pinning Cluster Nodes for Oracle Database Release 10.x or 11.x

When Oracle Database version 10.x or 11.x is installed on a new Oracle Grid Infrastructure for a cluster configuration, it is configured for dynamic cluster configuration, in which some or all IP addresses are provisionally assigned, and other cluster identification information is dynamic. This configuration is incompatible with older database releases, which require fixed addresses and configurations.

You can change the nodes where you want to run the older database to create a persistent configuration. Creating a persistent configuration for a node is called pinning a node.

To pin a node in preparation for installing an older Oracle Database version, use CRS_home\bin\crsctl with the following command syntax, where nodes is a space-delimited list of one or more nodes in the cluster whose configuration you want to pin:

crsctl pin css -n nodes

For example, to pin nodes node3 and node4, log in as an Administrator user and enter the following command:

C:\> crsctl pin css -n node3 node4

To determine if a node is in a pinned or unpinned state, use CRS_home\bin\olsnodes with the following syntax:

olsnodes -t -n 

For example, to list all pinned nodes, use the following command:

C:\> app\11.2.0\grid\bin\olsnodes -t -n
node1 1       Pinned
node2 2       Pinned
node3 3       Pinned
node4 4       Pinned

To list the state of a particular node use the -n option, as shown in the following example:

C:\> app\11.2.0\grid\bin\olsnodes -t -n node3
node3 3       Pinned

5.3.3 Enabling the Global Services Daemon (GSD) for Oracle Database Release 9.2

To install an Oracle Database version 9.2 on a cluster running Oracle Clusterware 11g (version 11.1 or higher), perform the following additional configuration steps to prevent permission errors:

1. Create the OracleCRSToken_username for the Oracle9i software owner on each node in the cluster. After the service is created, change the ownership for the GSD resource to the Oracle9i software owner.

   Run the following commands on each node using the specified syntax, where Grid_home is the Oracle Grid infrastructure home, 92_user_domain is the domain of the Oracle9i software owner, 92_username is the user name of the Oracle9i software owner, and nodename is the name of the node on which the service is being configured:

   Grid_home\bin\crsctl add crs administrator 92_domain/92_username
   Grid_home\bin\crsctl setperm resource ora.nodename.gsd -o 92_username
   

   For example, if the Oracle Clusterware home is C:\app\11.2.0\grid, the domain is ORAUSERS, the node name is node1, and the username is ora92, then you would enter the following commands:

   C:\app\11.2.0\grid\bin> crsctl add crs administrator ORAUSERS/ora92
   C:\app\11.2.0\grid\bin> crsctl setperm resource ora.node1.gsd 
    -o ORAUSERS/ora92
   

2. Enable and start the GSD daemon on all nodes in the cluster.

   On any node in the cluster, run commands using the following syntax, where Grid_home is the Oracle Grid infrastructure home:

   Grid_home\bin\srvctl enable nodeapps -g
   Grid_home\bin\srvctl start nodeapps 
   

   For example, if the Oracle Clusterware home is C:\app\11.2.0\grid, then enter the following commands:

   C:\app\11.2.0\grid\bin> srvctl enable nodeapps -g
   C:\app\11.2.0\grid\bin> srvctl start nodeapps
   

5.3.4 Using the Correct LSNRCTL Commands

To administer Oracle Clusterware and Oracle ASM 11g release 2 local and scan listeners using the lsnrctl command, use the Listener Control utility in the grid infrastructure home (Grid home). Do not attempt to use the lsnrctl commands from Oracle home locations for previous releases, because they cannot be used with the new release.