Re: Logical Domains for Oracle RAC (Sun T5440)
- From: Mark Brinsmead <pythianbrinsmead@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: ravigaur1@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:32:26 -0700
Check very carefully on this proposed configuration.
Oracle has different rules for "hard" partitioning and "soft" partitioning.
With "hard" partitioning, which is usually supported by hardware that
provides (close to) electrical isolation between server partitions (and
almost always prevents sharing of any physical resource other than maybe a
power or IO bus between partitions), you only need to license Oracle for the
CPUs (cores) within the partition running Oracle.
With "soft" partitioning (where, commonly, the *number* of processors
serving a partition at a given moment is limited, but instructions on the
partition can potentially run on *any* processor or core in the server at
some time or other), you will need to license Oracle for every processor
(core) in the server, regardless of how many or few processors are in
partition(s) used for Oracle.
In all likelihood, you configuration will be what Oracle describes as "soft"
partitioning, in which case you will need to license all cores. (I do not
know that for certain, though, as I have never researched this particular
question for Solaris "containers".) Be *certain* that you know the *correct
* answer to this question before you commit to a cost-saving plan like this
one -- you might otherwise be in for a nasty surprise otherwise. Do
*not*accept the word of your local sales rep. Wherever you get an
answer, try to
get a statement in writing, preferably with citations back to the
appropriate part of the OLSA, the Oracle Licensing Manual, etc.
As for using "Logical Domains" with RAC, I expect you are going to find that
this is unsupported in any event. Again, I may be mistaken here, but I
believe I have read on Metalink (about a year ago) that this is indeed
unsupported. Again, check this configuration carefully on with Oracle
Suport before making any plans around it.
On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 1:52 PM, Ravi Gaur <ravigaur1@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> We are trying to bring in some Sun T5440 (will run Oracle RAC) for a new
> application and are working with Oracle on some licensing issues.
> One idea that came up was to create a virtualized env (Logical Domains) in
> an effort to reduce the # of cores presented and still purchase the
> equipment (ultimately get the Oracle licensing cost within the budget). In
> an year or so, when the application load increases, we can then scale up the
> CPUs and buy the extra licenses at that time.
>
> Anyone has any experiences to share running RAC (10gR2 at this pt) in
> Solaris 10 LDom env? Any concerns/gotchas that we should be aware of?
>
> TIA,
>
> - Ravi Gaur
>
--
Cheers,
-- Mark Brinsmead
Senior DBA,
The Pythian Group
http://www.pythian.com/blogs
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