24 Mar 2016

Discoverer Login Fails with ORA-1017

Logging to discoverer url as sysadmin gives the following error.

ORA-1017: Invalid username/password
A connection error.  
- Oracle BI Discoverer is unable to authenticate using the password provided. This can happen due to an invalid password or because the password was lost while using back, forward, or refresh in your browser. Enter the password again to continue.
- Failed to connect to database - Unable to connect to Oracle Applications database (afscpgcs) 

Cause:

APPL_SERVER_ID parameter in .dbc file of Applications MT node(applmgr) and discoverer user is not matched


$diff test1_disco.dbc test1_mt.dbc

4c4
< APPL_SERVER_ID=178***********
---
> APPL_SERVER_ID=1A***********



Solution:

Copy the <SID>.dbc from $FND_TOP/secure or $FND_SECURE of Applications Middle tier to Disoverer user

Bounce Discoverer Services

Oracle RMAN Inremental Backup Algorithm and Change Tracking File

During an incremental backup, RMAN reads the SCN of each data block in the input file and compares it to the checkpoint SCN
of the parent incremental backup. If the SCN in the input data block is greater than or equal to the checkpoint SCN of the
parent, then RMAN copies the block.


Performance of incremental Backup can be improved by enabling block change tracking.When Change tracking is enabled, all the changes to datablocks are recored in change tracking file. RMAN can read the changed SCN's from change tracking file, instead of reading each and every input file.
One change tracking file is created for the entire database.
By default, the change tracking file is created as an Oracle managed file in DB_CREATE_FILE_DEST. We can specify the name of the block change tracking file by providing the location you choose.


SQL command to enable block change tracking

SQL> ALTER DATABASE ENABLE BLOCK CHANGE TRACKING;
This creates change tracking file in "db_create_file_dest" directory


SQL> ALTER DATABASE ENABLE BLOCK CHANGE TRACKING  USING FILE '/test1/data/rman_change_track.f' REUSE;
This creates the change tracking file in the location specified.


SQL command to disable block change tracking

SQL> ALTER DATABASE DISABLE BLOCK CHANGE TRACKING;
By Default,  block change tracking is disabled.
If the change tracking feature is disabled, any existing change tracking files will be deleted


SQL query to find change tracking file Details

select filename, status from v$block_change_tracking


How to Relocate the change tracking file


1.Shut down the database

SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE

2.Using OS commands, move the change tracking file to a new location.

3.Mount the database and move the change tracking file to a location that has more space.

SQL query to rename change tracking file

ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE   '/test1/data/rman_change_track.f' TO '/newtest1/data1/change_trk.f';

4.Open the database:

ALTER DATABASE OPEN;


If we cannot afford downtime for database shutdown, change tracking file can be relocated as below


ALTER DATABASE DISABLE BLOCK CHANGE TRACKING;
ALTER DATABASE ENABLE BLOCK CHANGE TRACKING USING FILE 'new-location';

Contents of change tracking file will be lost if we use the above method.So its not a preferable method.
RMAN will have to scan the entire file until the next level 0 incremental backup is done

Advantages of RMAN Incremental Backups

What is RMAN Incremental Backup?

Incremental Backups take  back up  of only datafile blocks that have changed after a previous full backup. 
Incremental backups are applicable for databases, individual tablespaces or datafiles.


Benefits of RMAN Incremental Backup:

1.RMAN Incremental backups are used to periodically roll forward an image copy of the database

2.Reduced amount of time needed for Backups

3.Less Network bandwidth is required

4.To get adequate backup performance when the aggregate tape bandwidth available for tape write I/Os is much less than the aggregate disk bandwidth for disk read I/Os

5.To  recover changes to objects created with the NOLOGGING option. 

6.To reduce backup sizes for NOARCHIVELOG databases. Instead of making a whole database backup every time, you can make incremental backups.

Note:

If the database is in ARCHIVELOG mode,  incremental backups can be taken if the database is open;
If the database is in NOARCHIVELOG mode, then we can only make incremental backups after a consistent shutdown.


Click Here to know more about how incremental backup is implemented by RMAN and the imporatnace of block change tracking feature.

22 Mar 2016

17 Mar 2016

How to Perform Clusterware Compatibility Testing in Oracle RAC

+ Compatiblity Testing can be done using Oracle Certification Environment (OCE) kit

Installing the Oracle Certification Environment Software for Oracle RAC

The OCE Certification Kit required to certify the system for Oracle RAC 11g Release 1 (11.1) is available for download only. The Single Instance certification tests should be completed prior to installing the OCE kit for Oracle RAC. Refer to the previous section if necessary. Once Single Instance testing has successfully completed, the single instance OCE installations must be archived to allow OCE installations for Oracle RAC to succeed. The OCE kit for Oracle RAC should be installed separately on each node of the cluster. If the ORACLE_HOME is located on a shared disk, multiple installations of OCE will not be possible. In that case, it will not be possible to run OCE tests simultaneously, and the time required to complete certification will be greatly increased. To install the OCE Kit:
1.      Download OCE for Oracle RAC 11g Release 1 (11.1) archive to a suitable location, such as /tmp/oce. The OCE archives are either CPIO archives, or compressed CPIO archives.
If compressed, extract as follows:
gunzip -c OCE ARCHIVE | cpio -idmv
If not compressed, extract as follows:
cpio -idmv < OCE_ARCHIVE
Where, OCE_ARCHIVE is the name of the archive.
2.      Enter the following command to run the OCE Installer:
3.  $ archive_location/oce_install.sh
The Environment variable screen is displayed.
4.      Enter values for each of the environment variables as described on screen.
Note: You must press the Enter key once to enter the new variable value, and then press the Enter key again to move onto the next variable.
5.      Type Done when finished and press the Enter key.
The installation progress screen is displayed. When all stages are complete, the installer will exit.
6.      Check $ORACLE_HOME/OCEinstallRAC.log file, and verify that there are no errors.
7.      Download the Binaries Package for OCE for Oracle RAC 11g Release 1 (11.1) which matches your platform, and extract the archive as explained in Step 1.
8.      Enter the following command to run the OCE binaries installation script.
9.  $ /tmp/oce/oce_exes_install.sh
10.  Check the OCE Kit installation log file, $ORACLE_HOME/OCE/install_log.txt, and verify that the installation was successful.
The kit is installed in the $ORACLE_HOME/oce directory.

Preparing the System for Multi-Node High Availability Services Testing
The Oracle RAC High Availability Services test suite must use shared storage for data files. Depending on the type of shared storage utilized, some preliminary setup may be required. Before running the Oracle RAC High Availability Services test suite, complete the following:
  • If you are using raw devices or logical volumes for shared storage perform the following steps:

Note:
In this example, the OCE user is oracle, which is a member of the dba group; there are 4 nodes in the cluster; and the OCE logical volumes are located in /dev/ocevg/ directory.

    1. Set up the devices or logical volumesrequired by the tests.
    2. Ensure raw devices are accessible and writable across all nodes by the OCE user
      1. # chown -R oracle:dba /dev/ocevg
      2. # chmod -R og+w /dev/ocevg
    3. Export $ORACLE_HOME/oce/work$ORACLE_HOME/dbs, and $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin from the node 1 to all other nodes in the cluster.
On node 1:
      1. # exportfs -i -o rw <node2>:$ORACLE_HOME/oce/work \
<node3>:$ORACLE_HOME/oce/work \
<node4>:$ORACLE_HOME/oce/work
      1. # exportfs -i -o rw <node2>:$ORACLE_HOME/dbs \
<node3>:$ORACLE_HOME/dbs \
<node4>:$ORACLE_HOME/dbs
    1. # exportfs -i -o rw <node2>:$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin \
<node3>:$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin \
<node4>:$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
    1. $ORACLE_HOME/oce/work$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin, and $ORACLE_HOME/dbs must be mounted on all secondary nodes from the primary (exported) node.
On all nodes except node 1:
      1. # mkdir –p $ORACLE_HOME/oce/work
      2. # chown oracle:dba $ORACLE_HOME/oce/work
      3. # mount <node1>:$ORACLE_HOME/oce/work $ORACLE_HOME/oce/work
      4. # mount <node1>:$ORACLE_HOME/dbs $ORACLE_HOME/dbs
      5. # mount <node1>:$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin \
$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
  • If you are using OCFS or NAS or a vendor clustered file system (CFS), and ORACLE_HOME directory is not located on shared partition, then perform the following steps:

Note:
If NAS, ensure that the appropriate mount options are employed when mounting the NAS partition. Oracle requires specific mount options. Consult your NAS Filer documentation for further details.

    1. Symbolically link $ORACLE_HOME/dbs to the OCFS/CFS/NAS partition on all nodes (in this example, the OCFS/CFS/NAS partition is at /sharedfs).
On node 1:
    1. mkdir /sharedfs/dbs
    2. chown oracle:dba /sharedfs
On all nodes:
      1. mv $ORACLE_HOME/dbs $ORACLE_HOME/dbs.BAK
      2. ln -s /sharedfs/dbs $ORACLE_HOME/dbs
    1. Export $ORACLE_HOME/oce/work and $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin from the primary node.
      1. # exportfs -i -o rw <node2>:$ORACLE_HOME/oce/work \
<node3>:$ORACLE_HOME/oce/work \
<node4>:$ORACLE_HOME/oce/work
    1. # exportfs -i -o rw <node2>:$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin \
<node3>:$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin \
<node4>:$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
    1. $ORACLE_HOME/oce/work and $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin must be mounted on all secondary nodes from the primary (exported) node. Default mount options will suffice.
On all nodes except node 1:
      1. # mkdir –p $ORACLE_HOME/oce/work
      2. # chown oracle:dba $ORACLE_HOME/oce/work
      3. # mount <node1>:$ORACLE_HOME/oce/work $ORACLE_HOME/oce/work
      4. # mount <node1>:$ORACLE_HOME/dbs $ORACLE_HOME/dbs
      5. # mount <node1>:$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin \
$ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
  • If you are using OCFS or CFS accessing a shared Oracle home directory, no setup is required.
  • Ensure that no databases are running.

Starting Test Manager
To start Test Manager:
  1. Ensure that the DISPLAY environment variable is set appropriately for your system. To verify that it is, try starting up xclock. If you do not see the clock, or you receive errors, DISPLAY is not set appropriately. You must correct any errors before proceeding.
  2. Enter the following command to launch OCE Test Manager:
3.  $ORACLE_HOME/oce/bin/startTM.sh > /tmp/OCETM.log 2>&1
The OCE Main Menu and OCE Test Manager windows appear.
Running a Test for the First Time
If this is your first time running certification tests, you must perform the following steps:
  1. Start Test Manager as described in Starting Test Manager.
  2. From the OCE - Main Menu window, double click Utilities.
  3. Run the bmchk test by selecting it and clicking Execute.
  4. When the test completes, click Results in the Test Manager window to check the outcome. If the test fails, you must analyze the output ($INST_HOME/work/bmchk) and resolve any issues. Do not proceed with testing until bmchk executes successfully.
  5. Run sdbck (the Seed Database Verification utility) test by selecting it and clicking Execute.
  6. When the test completes, click Results in the Test Manager window to check the outcome. If the test fails, you must analyze the output ($INST_HOME/work/sdbck) and resolve any issues. Do not proceed with testing until sdbck executes successfully.
  7. Run cssck (the CSS Daemon Verification utility) test by selecting it and clicking Execute.
  8. When the test completes, click Results in the Test Manager window to check the outcome. If the test fails, you must analyze the output ($INST_HOME/work/cssck) and resolve any issues. Do not proceed with testing until cssck executes successfully.

Running the OCE Test Suites

The OCE release consists of a set of test suites that you run from Test Manager. Each test suite consists of one or more individual tests. To complete the certification, run each of the Test Suites in the kit for the product for which you are certifying your system.
1.      From the OCE - Main Menu screen, double-click Complete test suites.
2.      From the screen that appears, select the test suite you want to run and click Execute to run it.
The test suite runs.
Test Manager creates two entries for the test suite in the Test Manager window; one in the Suite Name field and another in the History field:
o    The entry in the Current Test field is displayed only for the duration of a test. It displays the time at which you requested the test, and if it starts, when it started. Test Manager might display some tests with a status of Waiting until resources become available on the system.
o    The entry in the History field displays the time you requested it.
When a test finishes, Test Manager deletes its entry in the Current Tests field and adds another entry to the History field showing when the test finished.






Below are the Test plans for Oracle Clusterware Compatibility (Destructive) Testing
(Category : ORACLE HIGH AVAILABILITY FEATURES)
Clusterware Test Category
[Test Code]
Action  Target
Detailed Test Execution
Expected Test Outcome
Actual Test Outcome
[D]
Oracle HA Features


[HW-CW-09]

Run multiple cluvfy operations during Oracle Clusterware and RAC install  All RAC hosts

Configuration:
GNS:
Gns with dhcp (1)
Gns without dhcp (2)
Without gns (3)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option   2,  if still not applicable option 3

ASM:
Flex asm (1)
Standard asm (2)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option 2

DB:
CDB
Preconditions:
·          Type `cluvfy` to see all available command syntax and options

Steps:
1- Run cluvfy precondition
2- Do the next install step
3- Run cluvfy post-condition
(cluvfy comp software –n node_list) to check the file permissions
No need to collect CRS/RDBMS log for this test.  You need to submit the output for cluvfy.


Vendor Clusterware:
- same as RAC

RAC:
-           Correct cluster verification checks given the state of the cluster hardware and software

Pls provide cvu related logs under
$CRS_HOME/cv/log


[HW-CW-10]

Run concurrent crsctl start/stop crs commands to stop or start Oracle Clusterware in planned mode  All RAC hosts

Configuration:
GNS:
Gns with dhcp (1)
Gns without dhcp (2)
Without gns (3)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option 2,  if still not applicable option 3

ASM:
Flex asm (1)
Standard asm (2)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option 2

DB:
CDB


Preconditions:
·          Initiate all Workloads
·          Identify both CSS and CRS master nodes
·          Type `crsctl` as root to see all available command syntax and options

Steps:
1- As root user, run `crsctl stop crs` command concurrently on more than one RAC host, to stop the resident Oracle Clusterware stack
2- Wait until the target Oracle Clusterware stack is fully stopped (via `ps` command)
3- As root user, run `crsctl start crs
    -wait` command concurrently on more than one RAC host, to start the resident Oracle Clusterware stack


Vendor Clusterware:
- N/A

RAC:
Stop:  All Oracle Clusterware daemons stop without leaving open ports or zombie processes
Start:  All Oracle Clusterware daemons start without error messages in stdout or any of the CRS, CSS or EVM traces
Start:  All registered HA resource states match the “target” states, as per 
“crsctl stat res –t”

For 12cR1, collect
“crsctl stat res –t” in a 60s loop from beginning till the end of run.  Attach the output for auditing.

[HW-CW-11]

Run other concurrent crsctl commands, such as crsctl check crs,   All RAC hosts

Configuration:
GNS:
Gns with dhcp (1)
Gns without dhcp (2)
Without gns (3)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option   2,  if still not applicable option 3

ASM:
Flex asm (1)
Standard asm (2)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option 2

DB:
CDB
Preconditions:
·          Initiate all Workloads
·          Identify both CSS and CRS master nodes
·          Type `crsctl` as root to see all available command syntax and options

Steps:
1-        As root user, run any `crsctl check crs` commands concurrently on all nodes
2-        As root user, run any `crsctl check cluster -all` commands concurrently on all nodes


Vendor Clusterware:
- same as RAC

RAC:
-           Both `crsctl check crs` and `crsctl check cluster -all` commands produce the appropriate, useful output, without any error messages
-           Collect output for step 1 and step 2

[HW-CW-12]

Votedisk and OCR operation

Configuration:
GNS:
Gns with dhcp (1)
Gns without dhcp (2)
Without gns (3)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option 2,  if still not applicable option 3

ASM:
Flex asm (1)
Standard asm (2)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option 2

DB:
CDB
Preconditions:
·          Make sure votedisk on ASM diskgroup
·          Make sure ASM OCR files are used
·          Make sure at least one normal redundancy ASM Diskgroup with three failgroups is created and its “compatible.asm” attribute is set to “11.2”;

Steps:
1-        Make sure crs stack are running in all nodes.

2-        Run “crsctl query css votedisk” to check configured VFs;
3-        Run “crsctl replace votedisk +{ASM_DG_NAME}”(As crs user or root user);
4-        Run “crsctl query css votedisk” to get the new VF list;
5-        Run “ocrconfig –add +{ASM_DGNAME}” as root user;
6-        Run “ocrcheck” to verify the OCR files;
7-        Restart CRS stack and then verify the VF/OCR after it comes back;

Variants:
1. Add up to 5 OCR files and restart CRS stack;


RAC:
-           In 12cR1, we can support up to 5 OCRs;

-            





[HW-CW-13]
crsctl command to manage Oracle clusterware stack

Configuration:
GNS:
Gns with dhcp (1)
Gns without dhcp (2)
Without gns (3)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option 2,  if still not applicable option 3

ASM:
Flex asm (1)
Standard asm (2)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option 2

DB:
CDB
Preconditions:
·          CRS stack is up and running on all nodes.

Steps:
1-        Run ‘crsctl check cluster –all’ to get the stack status on all cluster nodes. Make sure stack status of all cluster nodes are correct;
2-        Run ‘crsctl stop cluster –all’ to stop all CRS resource (CSSD/CRSD/EVMD) with application resources;
3-        Run ‘crsctl status cluster –all’ to make sure CRS resource are OFFLINE;
4-        Run ‘crsctl start cluster –all’ to bring back the whole cluster stack
RAC:
-           After running “crsctl stop cluster –all”, make sure all ocssd/evmd/crsd processes are stopped on all cluster nodes by “ps –ef”.
For 12cR1, collect
“crsctl stat res –t” in a 60s loop from beginning till the end of run.  Attach the output for auditing.


[HW-CW-14]

OCR stores in ASM’s diskgroup and kill asm fatal process

Configuration:
GNS:
Gns with dhcp (1)
Gns without dhcp (2)
Without gns (3)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option   2,  if still not applicable option 3

ASM:
Flex asm (1)
Standard asm (2)
Preferred option 1, if not applicable option 2

DB:
CDB
Preconditions:
·          Initiate Workloads

Steps:
·          Make sure only ASM OCR files   are used by “ocrcheck –config”;

·          Kill the ASM pmon process on   the CRSD PE Master node;

Variants:
   Repeat the same test on non-OCR Master node.
Clusterware:
Because OCR is stored in ASM, if ASM fails or is brought down on crsd pe master, CRSD pe master will exit and  select a new crsd pe master

- ASM, CRSD will be automatically restarted.

-RDBMS instance should connect to other available asm instance in flex asm env 

- After CRSD restart, all resources’ state shouldn’t change

- New crsd pe master node should be the old crsd pe standby master A new crsd pe standby master should be   elected on other nodes.

(CRSD should recover resources’ previous state)

For 12cR1, collect
“crsctl stat res –t” in a 60s loop from beginning till the end of run.  Attach the output for auditing.



Collect Logfiles
Run each destructive test, taking note of the test start time, test stop time and fault injection time.  On the surviving node (if applicable), run the “date; crsctl stat res –t; sleep 60” in a loop

At the end of the test run, please collect the following logs and put them in directory <CRSHome>/log with the name format as [log_name]_[hostname] and then tar up and compress  with file name <VendorName>_<TestCode>.tar.gz.(e.g. WidgetCorp_HW-STOR-07.tar.gz):
·         Under <CRSHome>/log/<hostname>, the following logs are required
o   alert[hostname].log
o   crsd/crsd.log
o   cssd/ocssd.log
o   evmd/evmd.log
o   ohasd/ohasd.log
o   gpnpd/gpnpd.log
o   diskmon/diskmon.log
o   mdnsd/mdnsd.log
o   ctssd/ctssd.log
o   agent/*
o   gipcd/gipcd.log  (11.2.0.2 new feature)
o   cvu/cvulog/*.log (11.2.0.2 new feature)
o   cvu/cvutrc/*     (11.2.0.2 new feature)
o   srvm/*
o   admin/*
o   acfs/*
o   crfmond/*
o   crflogd/*
o   racg/*
o   gnsd/* (if gns configured)