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Software
The integrated products of the Solaris 9 update 2 operating environment, Oracle9i RAC 9.0.1.2, VERITAS Volume Manager 3.1.1, Sun Cluster 3.0 update 1 software and Sun ONE products (Sun ONE DS, Sun ONE AS, Sun ONE CS, Sun ONE ES, and Sun ONE PS) running on various platforms.
Solaris 9 Update 2 Operating Environment
The Solaris 9 update 2 operating environment is acknowledged by the industry to be the premier UNIX™ environment for SPARC™ and Intel Architecture systems. This operating environment minimizes planned and unplanned downtime, reduces administration errors, and simplifies troubleshooting, which keeps mission-critical applications available and ensures high-speed, reliable access to data. Based on a smaller, more stable kernel, the Solaris platform delivers industry-leading load balancing across multiple processors.
To maximize uptime, the Solaris operating environment provides built-in features such as live upgrade, automatic dynamic reconfiguration, hot-swapping, hot diagnostics, dynamic system domains, IP network failover and balancing, UNIX file system logging, and remote console. These features enable maximization of uptime and increase availability of services.
As with previous versions, the modular construction of the Solaris 9 update 2 operating environment allows installation of new feature updates as they become available—while applications continue to run. Updates can be installed on a separate partition from the currently running environment. When installation is complete, a simple reboot enables the new version to take control. This reduces the amount of planned downtime needed and significantly decreases risk—because the older version is just a reboot away.
Oracle9i Real Application Clusters
The Oracle9i Real Application Clusters (Oracle9i RAC) database system allows two or more cluster nodes to simultaneously perform transactions against a single database. These nodes can operate in two modes—active-active and active-passive.
Active-active is a type of architecture in which multiple nodes synchronize their accesses to database objects.
Active-passive or primary-secondary is a type of architecture in which one node performs work against the database while a second node stands by, ready to take over processing if the first node fails.
The Oracle9i RAC uses a shared disk architecture so each node in the cluster has direct access to the shared disks. All database instances access the data files and control files.
VERITAS Volume Manager
VERITAS Volume Manager (VxVM) is an enterprise-level, online storage management tool that provides flexible storage configuration and powerful, reliable performance. Volume Manager removes the physical limitations of disk storage, so you can configure, share, and manage storage without interrupting data availability.
Sun Cluster 3.0
The Sun Cluster 3.0 update 1 software increases the availability and capacity of the Solaris operating environment by enabling core services, such as devices, file systems, and networks, to operate seamlessly across a cluster. Sun Cluster 3.0 is integral to the SunPlex™ framework, which is an end-to-end, fully integrated application service delivery solution for tightly-coupled environments that also includes servers, storage, interconnects, the Solaris operating environment, applications, and support. Within the Sun Cluster environment, both failover and scalable services help manage and maintain service levels.
Nodes in a cluster can be used to automatically recover failed services, or dynamically add scalable services anywhere in the cluster to increase capacity. These capabilities are key to increasing delivered service levels, while decreasing costs and reducing administrative risk.
VERITAS File System
VxFS is a powerful, quick-recovery, journaling file system that provides the high performance and easy management required by mission critical applications. It delivers scalable performance and provides continuous availability, increased I/O, and up-to-date structural integrity. VxFS also provides extremely fast recovery following a system crash or reboot, reducing unplanned downtime. Compatible with any disk storage hardware platform, VxFS supports online backup, resizing, and defragmentation without interrupting data access.
Sun ONE
The Sun ONE™ products are the Sun ONE AS, Sun ONE CS, Sun ONE DS, Sun ONE MS, Sun ONE PS, and Sun ONE ES.
Application Server
The Sun ONE AS provides a robust Java™ 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE™) e-commerce platform for delivering innovative and leading-edge application services to a broad range of servers, clients and devices.
Calender Server
The Sun ONE CS enables customers to deploy customized calendar and planning solutions to share up-to-date, real-time information.
Directory Server (Sun Cluster 3.0 Support)
The Sun ONE DS delivers a user-management infrastructure for enterprises that manage high volumes of information for partners, customers, suppliers, and others. It integrates with existing systems and acts as a central repository for the consolidation of user profiles.
Enterprise Server
A key component of the Sun ONE Intelligent Communications Platform, the Sun ONE MS provides a highly scalable, reliable Web-based solution for communications and messaging.
Portal Server
The Sun ONE PS provides all of the membership management, personalization, aggregation, security, and integration services needed to quickly deploy e-commerce portals.
Messaging Server (Sun Cluster 3.0 Support)
The Sun ONE MS combines industrial strength reliability, performance, and security with the ability to deliver dynamic, personalized content, in an easy-to-manage environment enabling worry-free deployment of e-commerce sites.
Sun's Sun Cluster HA Agent for Oracle Versus Oracle9i RAC
The Sun Cluster HA agent for Oracle is configured specifically for Oracle. This agent monitors the health of its target application. If the active application fails, the agent starts the application on the surviving node. This provides a hot backup capability rather than parallel operation.
The HA configuration can use Solstice DiskSuite™ software or the VERITAS Volume Manager.
Oracle9i RAC runs concurrently on both cluster nodes. A failure on one node causes sessions to be transferred to the surviving node. The Oracle9i RAC software only supports the use of the VERITAS Volume Manager (VxVM).
This results in three configuration options for Oracle:
HA with VxVM
HA with Solstice DiskSuite software
Oracle9i RAC with VxVM only