==) Oracle 10g and VMware

[RGK]

Hello. We want to put Oracle 10g on Solaris in the VMware environment.

Would be the newest VMware I'm thinking, but could be one version behind.

I'm looking for any "gotchas" as we work through our planning before deciding on doing this.

Can anyone identify the "gotchas" that would have to be mitigated prior to Oracle interoperating in a VMware environment?

I have already contacted Oracle and they will be sending me some information, but wanted to catch the VMware side for anything you've noticed.

Thanks much.

Robert (robert.kowalke@jfcom.mil)

[doubleH]

i haven't done this....yet. from what I had read i believe oracle needs a RDM lun to store it's database on. hopefully someone that has done this can confirm and add-on to this.

hth

[MartijnLo]

Oracle doesn't need an RDM LUN (we have both "flavors" running) but it is strongly recommended with regards to performance.

Also Oracle seems to be a bit more critical with memory settings. The good thing with a VM is that you will able to tune this much quicker but make sure you loadtest the DB server to check for memory use.

Message was edited by:

MartijnLo

[gogogo5]

It would also be worth getting confirmation from Oracle that they support 10g running in a virtual environment.

[RGK]

This is what I'm hoping to get from the Oracle ppl!

I'll see how that goes.

I know awhile back they didn't per some metalink note, but wondering if today it is fine.

When I hear back from them somewhat affirmatively then I can advise...

[doubleH]

thanks for the clarification....not a requirement, but a recommendation.

[gogogo5]

Something else that just sprang to mind is how you intend to backup your Oracle database within a VM. Nothing stops you using the same method(s) as you do now for a physical box i.e. backup agent running in Windows.

But if you wish to backup at the VM level then you will need to consider VCB with/without third party VM backup software. How big the Oracle database will grow to can affect the VM backup method, especially if the database will sit within a VMDK or RDM as mentioned above.

[petedr]

We are not running 10G but I can talk about our experience with running 9i(9.2.0.2) as a VM, Red Hat Linux is the guest O/S. First off we have not had any issues with support from Oracle, no problems there.

Our database is about 70GB and performs has not been an issue. For backups once we moved Oracle to a VM we stopped using the tradition Oracle backup methods and moved to VM ( vmdk ) backups. For backups we use esXpress.

[petedr]

thanks for the helpful

[kreischl]

Did you get a response from Oracle on vwmare support?

Message was edited by:

kreischl

[smithg001]

I feel obligated to be the party pooper here, but dispite all of Oracle's and VMware's agreements, Oracle still does not have a decent support statement when running on VMware. [b]There official statement is any unknown (meaning not already discovered by Oracle and a standard resolution to it released) problem discovered on a VM must be replicated on a physical system prior to Oracle researching that issue.[/b][/u]

I have tried to push both Oracle and VMware for a better official support statement but I have been unsuccessful. As a result I would not recommend a production application with any type of SLA or OLA depending on an Oracle on VMware solution.

Sorry, just wanted to put that out there.

Message was edited by:

smithg001