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Program Scope

The goal of this program is to validate hardware with Oracle Linux and Oracle VM, and to identify issues and configuration details that would impact customer deployments. Oracle developed the program to go far beyond the standard certification testing normally performed with operating systems. Hardware vendors participating in this program perform thorough testing of the hardware in real-world configurations with Oracle Linux and Oracle VM.

This is not a database certification. Oracle Database is a component of the environment because it is demanding on hardware resources (processor, memory, cache, storage, network) and the operating system, and well suited for this advanced level of testing. The validation program uses Oracle Database as a tool and hardware is not certified with Oracle Database as a result of the validation program.

For more information please see the program's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

Validated Configuration Details
Configuration SummaryOEL 5 Update 4 x86_64 on Cisco Unified Computing System with two Cisco B200-M1 Blade Servers and EMC CX4-960,CX4-480,CX4-120,CX4-240 and CX3 family SAN Storage array with Oracle Database 11g Release 1
Publication Date03-MAY-10
Version1.0
Server PlatformCisco Unified Computing System with two Cisco B200-M1 Blade Servers
Storage ModelEMC CX4-960,CX4-480,CX4-120,CX4-240 and CX3 family SAN Storage array
Oracle SoftwareOracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1.0.7) for Linux x86_64
Linux DistributionOracle Enterprise Linux 5 Update 4 x86_64
Server and Storage Platform Details
Server Model2 X Cisco Unified Computing System with two Cisco B200-M1 Blade Servers
Processors2 X Quad Core Intel Xeon X5570 2.933GHz
Memory12GB RAM
OnBoardStorage 73GB SEAGATE ST973402SS
Network/Interconnect Cisco UCS M71KR Q
HBA Cisco UCS M71KR Qlogic-Q
Storage ModelEMC CX4-960,CX4-480,CX4-120,CX4-240 and CX3 family SAN Storage array
 
Switch Details
Switch ModelCisco MDS9124
Switch TypeFC Switch
Additional Info.None
 
Switch ModelCisco UCS 6120XP
Switch TypeUCS Interconnect
Additional Info.UCS uses Converged Network Adapters. CNAs provide both data networking and storage networking traffic on a single I/O adapter - EEDC and FCoE.More details at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns944/#~product
 
Linux Distribution Details
OSOEL 5 Update 4 x86_64
Kernelkernel-2.6.18-164.0.0.0.1.el5.x86_64.rpm or higher
 
Additional Packages Needed From Distribution
binutils-2.17.50.0.6-12.el5.x86_64.rpm
compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3-61.i386.rpm
compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3-61.x86_64.rpm
elfutils-libelf-devel-0.137-3.el5.x86_64.rpm
gcc-4.1.2-46.el5.x86_64.rpm
gcc-c++-4.1.2-46.el5.x86_64.rpm
gdb-6.8-37.el5.x86_64.rpm
glibc-2.5-42.i686.rpm
glibc-2.5-42.x86_64.rpm
glibc-common-2.5-42.x86_64.rpm
glibc-devel-2.5-42.i386.rpm
glibc-devel-2.5-42.x86_64.rpm
libXp-1.0.0-8.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
libXtst-1.0.1-3.1.i386.rpm
libaio-0.3.106-3.2.i386.rpm
libaio-devel-0.3.106-3.2.x86_64.rpm
libstdc++-4.1.2-46.el5.i386.rpm
libstdc++-4.1.2-46.el5.x86_64.rpm
libstdc++-devel-4.1.2-46.el5.x86_64.rpm
make-3.81-3.el5.x86_64.rpm
sysstat-7.0.2-3.el5.x86_64.rpm
unixODBC-2.2.11-7.1.x86_64.rpm
unixODBC-devel-2.2.11-7.1.x86_64.rpm
util-linux-2.13-0.52.el5.x86_64.rpm
xorg-x11-utils-7.1-2.fc6.x86_64.rpm
Oracle Packages
oracle-validated-1.0.0-18.el5.x86_64.rpmoracle-validated installs the packages required for Oracle Database and sets the recommended system parameters. It is not required but is recommended to save time in getting the system setup.It is available in ULN channels, Oracle Enterprise Linux media, and public-yum.oracle.com. NOTE: oracle-validated does not install gdb. Oracle support recommends to install gdb for supportability and diagnosability.
oracleasm-2.6.18-164.6.1.0.1.el5-2.0.5-1.el5.x86_64.rpmCorresponding to the kernel version
oracleasm-support-2.1.3-1.el5.x86_64.rpmRequired for DB on ASM
oracleasmlib-2.0.4-1.el5.x86_64.rpmRequired for DB on ASM
Configuration Files
File Name
 Conf File Settings Comments
/etc/grub.confnuma=offNuma enabled by default
/etc/modprobe.confoptions hangcheck_timer hangcheck_tick=1 hangcheck_margin=10 hangcheck_reboot=1#These hangcheck timer settings is for the default css misscount value and needs to be tuned based on the css misscount value & oracle RAC version
/etc/security/limits.conforacle hard core unlimited 
 oracle hard memlock 50000000 
 oracle soft nproc 131072 
 oracle hard nofile 131072 
 oracle soft nofile 131072# depending on size of db, these may need to be larger
 oracle soft core unlimited 
 oracle soft memlock 50000000# set memlock greater than or equal to the sga size to allow oracle to use hugepages if configured
 oracle hard nproc 131072 
/etc/sysctl.confnet.core.rmem_max=4194304# rmem_max can be tuned based on workload to balance performance vs lowmem usage
 net.core.wmem_default=262144 
 net.core.wmem_max=262144 
 fs.aio-max-nr=3145728 
 net.core.rmem_default=262144# rmem_default can be tuned based on workload to balance performance vs lowmem usage
 kernel.sysrq=1 
 kernel.shmmax=439804651110# For 32bit architecture set (4GB-1) and for 64 bit architecture set 4TB
 kernel.shmall=1073741824 
 kernel.shmmni=4096 
 kernel.sem=250 32000 100 142 
 kernel.msgmnb=65536 
 kernel.msgmni=2878 
 net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range=1024 65000 
 fs.file-max=327679 
 kernel.msgmax=8192 
Filesystems Tested
Filesystem Mount Options Details
ASMNoneUsing Automatic Storage Management Library Driver (asmlib) for datafiles
NoneNoneocr and voting disk located directly on block device, for configuration with datafiles on ASM with ASMLib.
Driver Modules
Driver ModuleHangcheck module driver
Version0.9.0
SettingsRefer to /etc/modprobe.conf entries in Configuration Files Section
Additional Info.The driver is supplied with OEL 5 Update 4
 
Driver ModuleQLogic Fibre Channel HBA Driver
Version8.03.00.1.05.05-k
SettingsNone
Additional Info.The driver is supplied with OEL 5 Update 4
 
Driver ModuleNetwork Driver module(ixgbe)
Versionv2.0.8-k3
SettingsNone
Additional Info.The driver is supplied with OEL 5 Update 4
 
Miscellaneous
Two gigabit networks, 1 for public(igb) and 1 private(igb).
The swap partition is 16GB.
Oracle Software Details
ProductOracle Database 11g Release 1, Single Instance and Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) for Linux x86_64
Version11.1.0.7
Patches9207257 , 8290478 , 7135702 , 8362693 , 8287931 , 7520217
 
Configuration Feedback
Bug No6045759
SummaryApplications using random numbers may hang or report errors if there is insufficient random data in the system
AffectsOracle applications tools (e.g: java apps) requesting random data
SymptomOracle applications tools (e.g: java apps) requesting random data from /dev/random either hang or print out the following information message: Not enough random bytes available. Please do some other work to give the OS a chance to collect more entropy!
Solution/WorkaroundIf using e1000 or bnx2 network drivers on OEL5 the entropy=1 module option can be set for either of these drivers in /etc/modprobe.conf. Fixed in 2.6.18-8.0.0.4.1.el5 kernel or higher
 
Bug No6241862
SummaryUsing sysrq+t with netconsole/tg3 configured causes the system to panic.
AffectsTroubleshooting of systems via "alt sysrq t" with netconsole/tg3 configured.
SymptomWhen troubleshooting system, usage of "alt + sysrq + t" with netconsole/tg3 configured to take a system stack trace may cause the system to panic . This does not affect the normal operation of the system.
Solution/WorkaroundFixed in 2.6.18-92.0.0.0.1.el5 kernel or higher
 
Bug No7689332
SummaryORACLE REPORTS I/O ERRORS FOR DB FILES RESIDING ON NFS DURING TEMPORARY NETWORK FAILURE
AffectsORACLE INSTANCE WITH DB FILES ON NFS
SymptomIf the nfs server becomes unavailable (due to a network partition or server crash) and after major timeout (timeo*(retrans+1), specified in nfs mount options ), Oracle may report ORA-27072 in database alert logs which may results in an instance crash
Solution/WorkaroundFixed in 2.6.18-128.0.0.0.2.EL5 kernel or higher
 
Bug No8253185
SummaryMachine becomes unresponsive during swap pressure, due to direct reclaim threads
AffectsSystems with heavy memory and I/O load
SymptomDuring periods of heavy memory or I/O load that forces the system to swap, the machine becomes unresponsive. In the case of Oracle RAC deployments, this could result in RAC evictions.
Solution/WorkaroundFixed in 2.6.18-92.1.17.0.1.el5 kernel or higher
 
Bug No8277913
SummaryNetconsole module insertion fails with bonding on el5.3
Affectsnetconsole with bonding.
SymptomWith bonding enabled, "/etc/init.d/netconsole start" fails with the following error Initializing netconsole FATAL: Error inserting netconsole (/lib/modules//kernel/drivers/net/netconsole.ko): Invalid argument [FAILED]
Solution/WorkaroundFixed in 2.6.18-92.1.17.0.2.el5 kernel or higher
 
Bug No8451369
SummaryIf oracle-validated rpm is installed from CD, it fails to update the numa settings in /boot/grub/menu.lst
Affectsx86_64 AMD processor based systems
SymptomRecommended settings for numa will not be set on AMD processor based systems
Solution/WorkaroundAfter install, bring up the system. Append numa=off to the lines "kernel " in /boot/grub/menu.lst. Reboot the system for changes to take effect.Fixed in OEL5U4.
 
Bug No9204429
SummaryRAC database instance termination when running with the very high IO load.
Affects11gR1 RAC
SymptomRAC database instance termination by LMON with the following traces "ORA-00471: DBWR process terminated with error".
Solution/WorkaroundDisable NUMA in the boot cmdline. Append numa=off to the lines "kernel" in /boot/grub/menu.lst. Reboot the system for changes to take effect
 
Bug No9752036
SummaryOracle shadow processes hang with following error in alertlog "ORA-00445: BACKGROUND PROCESS "CJQ0" DID NOT START AFTER 120 SECONDS".
AffectsProcesses starting from /etc/inittab
Symptomulimit settiing are not taking effect for the processes started via inittab like init.cssd.
Solution/WorkaroundEdit /etc/init.d/init.cssd file manually and add ulimit -n 65536 after line "$ULIMIT_CORE"
 
Bug No6140224
SummarySQLPLUS FAILS TO LOAD LIBNNZ11.SO WITH SELINUX ENABLED ON EL5/RHEL5
Affects11gR1 and 11gR2
Symptomsqlplus fails with the following error message "cannot restore segment prot after reloc: Permission denied"
Solution/WorkaroundDisable selinux
 
Bug No6501138
SummaryORA-12751: CPU TIME OR RUN TIME POLICY VIOLATION under certain type of workloads.
Affects11gR1 performance
SymptomFollowing messages appear in the oracle trace files "Runtime exceeded 900 seconds"
Solution/WorkaroundReduce the load ( e.g: reduce no of users ) or enhance system configuration for that workload
 
Bug No7036544
SummaryDatabase instance startup fails when sga_target was set to multiples of 4096M
Affects11.1.0.6
SymptomDatabase instance startup fails with the following error " ORA-12853: insufficient memory for PX buffers: current 0K, max needed 2640K and ORA-04031: unable to allocate 21544 bytes of shared memory ("large pool","unknown object","large pool","PX msg pool")"
Solution/WorkaroundFixed in 11.1.0.7, for 11.1.0.6 set the parameter large_pool_size in init.ora or increase the sga_target size.
 
Bug No7135702
SummaryORA-15001 when shutting down the database instance
Affects11.1.0.7 database shutdown
SymptomErrors in database alert log "Unexpected communication failure with ASM instance: error 15001 (ORA-15001: diskgroup""does not exist or is not mounted )"
Solution/WorkaroundApply patch 7135702
 
Bug No7272646
SummaryDatabase instance startup fails when memory_target value is >4096M
Affects11.1.0.7 database startup
SymptomDatabase instance startup fails with the following error in the database alert log "error 27103 detected in background process, ORA-27103: internal error" and trace log error " Linux-x86_64 Error: 11: Resource temporarily unavailable"
Solution/WorkaroundApply patch 7520217 or reduce memory_target value.
 
Bug No8525592
SummaryIncorrect "SGA memory leak" errors encountered during the database shutdown
Affects11gR1
SymptomDuring database shutdown, following errors are seen in the database trace files "ERROR: SGA memory leak detected.."
Solution/WorkaroundWorkaround is to ignore these errors.
 
Bug No8451866
SummaryIncorrect multipath.conf setting affects RAC node failover. Settings(features = "1 queue_if_no_path") and/or (no_path_retry = queue) causes the node hang if io path fails. no_path_retry has to be set to the numeric value explicitly.
AffectsAll applications using device mapper multipath devices which have contingency plan in case of io path failure.
SymptomRAC node hangs if io path fails.
Solution/WorkaroundIn configuration file /etc/multipath.conf,set no_path_retry and polling_interval to the numeric values, for example, "no_path_retry=5" and "polling_interval=10" so as to disable queuing. These values depend on system workload.
 
Bug No8598410
SummaryOracle database shadow process doesnt failover using TAF during network interconnect failure.
Affects10gR1 & 11gR1 RAC
SymptomWhen the network interconnect fails, client connections on the faulty node, may not failover to the surviving nodes in the cluster.
Solution/WorkaroundContact Oracle support
 
Bug No8265418
Summarykexec/kdump not working as expected on HP Smart Array P400i Controller
Affectsvmcore generation on cciss disks (HP Smart Array P400i Controller Firmware Version: 1.18)
SymptomAfter booting from crash kernel, machine will hang with following messages on console: cciss:using PCI PM to reset controller cciss:controller message 03:00 timed out
Solution/WorkaroundRemove reset_devices from KDUMP_COMMANDLINE_APPEND argument in /etc/sysconfig/kdump
 
Bug No8824087
SummarySystem with bnx2 (1.7.9-ora) driver may hang when running oracle workloads on a RAC cluster.
AffectsRAC on RHEL/OEL5U3 with Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5709 ethernet card
SymptomWhen running Oracle workload on a RAC setup, the second node hangs with "FATAL NI CONNECT ERROR 12170" message in alertlog.
Solution/WorkaroundFor OEL5U3, this is fixed in netxtreme2-4.6.0.2-1.3dkms.noarch.rpm. Fixed in OEL5U4.
 
Note: The above configuration can be deployed with Red Hat with the changes listed below:
os Kernel
RHEL 5 Update 4 x86_64kernel-2.6.18-164.el5.x86_64.rpm or higher
Required Packages
Packages
oracleasm-2.6.18-164.el5-2.0.5-1.el5.x86_64.rpm
oracleasmlib-2.0.4-1.el5.x86_64.rpm
oracle-validated-1.0.0-18.el5.x86_64.rpm
oracleasm-support-2.1.3-1.el5.x86_64.rpm


Note: Oracle-validated for Red Hat is available from oracle-validated-1.0.0-18 onwards.
 
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