Choosing%20the%20Right%20Mass%20Deployment%20Strategy%20for%20Oracle%20Database%2010g%20Software

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Choosing the Right Mass Deployment Strategy for
Oracle Database 10g Software

• Sudip Datta
• Principal Product Manager
• Oracle Corporation

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Agenda

• Part 1
• Software deployment challenges
• Basic best practice operations
• Operational entities-nuts and bolts
• Part 2
• Case study Enterprise Manager 10g

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Software Deployment challenges
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Data center labor distribution
Source Giga Forrester research,2003
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Life Cycle Management
Clone
Install
Configure
Upgrade
Activate
Patch
Uninstall
Operate
Deactivate
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Challenges

• Wide distribution of hosts
• Variety of platforms and versions
• Different hardware and network topologies
• Too many moving parts for administration
• Security vulnerabilities-frequent interim
  patching
• According to a recent Aberdeen group study, patch
  handling costs businesses in excess of 2 billion
  dollars annually. For a leading service provider,
  the cost was reported to be as high as 14,400
  per server
• All the above lead to high IT Management costs

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Basic best practice operations
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10g database software ontology

• Immutable Files
• Original
• Objects, classes, message files
• Derived
• Relinked executables, some library archives
• Mutable files
• Configuration files like init.ora, tnsnames.ora
• Oracle inventory

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Physical Cloning

• Build a stage consisting of a base image
  optionally patched with a patchset and/or
  one-offs
• Copy the stage as-is to other nodes
• Use secure transfer to make sure that bits are
  distributed reliably
• Make target specific changes to environment and
  inventory

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Physical Cloning-Merits and limitations

• Merits
• Trusted and Scalable
• Software can be tested at source and deployed
• Limitations
• Multi NLS deployments
• Multi-platform deployments

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Logical cloning

• Replay the operations as-is in the same order
• Works on staged software components and not on
  final bits
• Operations may consist of
• Silent install
• Silent upgrade
• Silent patch

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Logical Cloning-merits and limitations

• Merits
• Works for multi NLS environment
• Works for a fragmented platform distribution
• Limitations
• More time consuming and less scalable
• Results in less trusted deployments
• Cannot deploy a fully patched software in one go

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Incremental operations

• Checksum based approach
• Propagate deltas
• Logical approach
• Use opatch at the targets
• Frequent one offs not recommended
• Hybrid model
• Physical cloning for initial deployment
• Logical operations for one-off

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Operational entities-the nuts and bolts
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Oracle software inventory

• Hierarchical structure in every host
• Central Inventory pointer
• Central inventory
• Local Inventory within ORACLE_HOME
• There can be multiple central inventories to
  support the hosted environments
• Each central inventory contain pointers to a set
  of ORACLE_HOMEs
• Local inventory contains components, versions and
  patches
• Enterprise Manager host collection collects
  information from inventories
• Inventory is updated during install,patch,upgrade
  

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Oracle software Inventory (contd)
Oracle Home 1
Central Inventory pointer
Central inventory
Oracle Home 2
Oracle Home 3
Central Inventory pointer
Central Inventory
Oracle Home 4
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Interactive Install

• GUI driven-requires X configuration on Unix
• Single click enabled for database 10g on Windows
• Can be invoked in recordmode to capture session
  variables in responsefiles.
• ./runInstaller recordmode responsefile
  ltfilenamegt
• Not scalable in a large environment

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Http based install

• OUI supports software staged in a central
  application server
• More reliable and open than shared filesystem
• Both interactive and silent install supports http
  install
• FROM_LOCATION should point to the products.xml
  file.
• Supports firewalls between source and target

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Silent Install

• Supports different installation flows
• Scalable for mass deployment
• Can be scheduled from a job subsystem
• Can be chained with silent configuration tools
  (dbca, netca etc)
• Used by third party vendors like Opsware, HP,
  ASDIS among others
• Not suitable for deploying patched and tested
  bits

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Patch engine

• Opatch-the single patching interface from 9iR2
  onwards
• Pre-requisite checks include operating system,
  component and version
• Conflict detection and superset handling
• Integrates with inventory via OUI APIS
• Callable from a job subsystem in silent mode

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Cloning

• New Installer mode with OUI 10g, functionally
  equivalent to install
• Retains patched bits
• Makes context specific inventory changes
• The new installation can participate in bigger
  system management
• Smaller footprint helps in cloning

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Operation mappings
Data center operation Oracle operation Backend Engine
First time install on sandbox Interactive install Silent install OUI
Cloning EM cloning/ OUI cloning OUI clone mode
Logical large scale deployments Silent install from http/NFS stage OUI in silent mode
Interim patching EM patching via job subsystem Opatch and job subsystem
Compliance tracking Collection from inventories OUI APIs
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Case study Enterprise Manager 10g
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EM enabled practices

• Enterprise Manager 10gR1 adopts a hybrid model
• Physical cloning
• Logical incremental one off patching
• Job subsystem can perform silent installation as
  well
• Compliance tracking

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EM Cloning - choose source
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EM Cloning - provide source settings
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EM Cloning specify destination
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EM Cloning schedule job
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Post deployment practices
After a software system is packaged and released
the software producer must have an effective
mechanism to advertise the release in order to
notify interested consumers of its existence.
There is little benefit for the software producer
if its customers, both current and potential, are
unaware of its products and services.- Ricahrd
Scott Hall
1 Agent-based Software Configuration and
Deployment by Richard Scott Hall, B.S.,
University of Michigan, 1990,M.S., University of
Colorado, 1993  
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EM enabled practices

• Set up Enterprise Policies
• Compliance checking
• Software version and patchsets
• Patches
• Configuration parameters
• Database features
• Corrective action against deviations

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Compliance tracking via search
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Overall configuration search
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Compliance tracking through comparison
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Compliance tracking through comparison
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Compliance tracking through comparison
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Compliance tracking through comparison
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Compliance tracking through comparison
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Summary

• Build and clone method is the most scalable
  option
• Deployment has to be tied with overall lifecycle
  management
• Compliance has to be tracked
• Enterprise Manager 10g Grid Control implements
  some of the best practices.

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Thank you