Licensing Oracle Clusterware?

Recently I have posted about how to protect a single instance database with Oracle Clusterware and have received a number of comments and requests concerning licensing information for this feature.
So I have just asked Oracle PreSales about this and here we are with the details:
The good news is:
You do not need an additional license to use the Oracle Clusterware, even with single instance database!
But!: the emphasis is on additional!
You need to have at least one license for at least one standard edition database in the cluster if you want to use the clusterware to protect your single instance database!

connect lutz hartmann as sysdba

Steven Feuerstein coming to Zurich

The PL/SQL guru and Oracle ACE Steven Feuerstein will be in Zurich on March 29.th-30th. next year.

These seminars are an absolute MUST for a PL/SQL-programmer!

He will deliver special seminars on programming techniques at the Sonnenberg Convention Center:
This is a summary contents for the seminars:

• Overview:
  Over its lifetime, PL/SQL has grown increasingly robust and complex. Many programmers are barely aware of the new capabilities of PL/SQL, much less fully understand the implications for their programs. And virtually all PL/SQL developers are too pressured by deadlines to have the time to think through the best way to apply PL/SQL’s many features.This two-day seminar, created specially for Oracle UK, teaches attendees about the most important features of the PL/SQL language, focusing on the major advances in Oracle 9i Database and Oracle Database 10g. Steven then takes you beyond the basics to show you how to apply these features in the context of best practices, so that you write highly optimized and easily maintained and enhanced applications.
• Prereqs :
  You should have a working knowledge of PL/SQL and at least a year’s worth of experience with the language. All developers, from beginner to expert, will benefit from Steven’s ideas and examples.Steven will demonstrate techniques and principles that apply to all versions of Oracle, but will also showcase new features in Oracle Database 10g that can dramatically improve the quality and performance of code that you write.
• Objectives:
  To improve query and DML performance
  Use “six simple steps to unit testing happiness” to test your PL/SQL subprograms
  Optimize SQL statements in PL/SQL programs
  Use modular, reusable code
• Topics:
  Improve query and DML performance Unit test your PL/SQL subprograms using “six simple steps to unit testing happiness”
  Optimize the construction of your SQL statements in PL/SQL programs
  Build modular, reusable code
  Manage errors by following a standard, consistent process
  Apply collections (a critical but under-utilized data structure)
  Take advantage of both forms of dynamic SQL in PL/SQL

For more information and booking you can also contact edu-buch_ch@oracle.com .

connect lutz hartmann as sysdba

How to use Oracle Clusterware to protect a single instance database

In Oracle 10g it is possible to use the Oracle Clustersoftware to protect single instance databases as well as cluster databases.

There is a new set of code samples on OTN and a brilliant white paper by the authors Philip Newlan and Roland Knapp, which shows how to protect a Single Instance Oracle Database with Oracle Clusterware.

It is packed into a .zip file and contains the white paper plus a number of little perl scripts:
- a script to start / stop / check the Oracle Listener in a cold failover configuration.
- a script for start / stop / check the Oracle Instance in a cold failover configuration.
- a script for start / stop / check the Oracle ASM Instance in a cold failover configuration

The white paper covers three different case studies:
(here is an excerpt from the white paper)

- Case 1 No Oracle Software installed on either node
- Case 2 Oracle with datafiles installed into a local instance of ASM
- Case 3 Oracle with datafiles installed onto a local filesystem

The ‘ending case’ configuration for each of these is as follows:
- Case 1 Oracle Clusterware installed onto both nodes, Clustered ASM installed onto both nodes in the cluster, Single Instance Database Home on each node. In this case Oracle Clusterware automatically protects the ASM instance (by default). This section discusses scripts to protect the single Instance database.
- Case 2 Oracle Clusterware installed onto both nodes, ASM instance ready to be started on new node. New database home on 2nd node, . This paper discusses scripts to protect the Listener, ASM and single Instance database. In this case the
ASM instance is non-clustered.
- Case 3 Oracle Clusterware installed onto both nodes, OCFS 2 installed as a
common shared filesystem for the datafiles. Local Oracle Homes on each node. This paper discusses scripts to protect the listener and single Instance database.

Nice one!!

connect lutz hartmann as sysdba