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Is it possible to use a central tnsnames.ora on a shared file systems insite a Real Application Server. The answer to the question is YES. If the centralized tnsnames.ora is not correctly setup, it will produce the following errors [PRKP-1001 and CRS-0215 errors] at startup of the database or instance with SRVCTL. When using SQLPLUS to startup the database instance everything works as designed. Why SRVCTL is not working correctly is that, the TNS_ADMIN is not register into the Oracle Cluster Registry for the current database and instances. The following steps in this blog will explain to you how you can solved the [PRKP-1001 and CRS-0215 errors] at startup of a database or instances by using SRVCTL statement with a centralized tnsnames.ora.

A recurring question during Grid Infrastructure and RAC courses I teach is “How do you manage Oracle password files in a clustered environment?”. The answer isn’t as straight forward as you might think because there are significant differences between ASM and RAC (==clustered database) environments. Additionally, in recent releases changes were made concerning password file [ ...Original article... ] A Posted by Harald van Breederode on January 14, 2011 Summary Password file maintenance on Clustered ASM and RAC databases For ASM releases prior to 11gR2 password files should either be placed on a shared filesystem (and symlinked from  $ORACLE_HOME/dbs ) or password file changes should be performed manually on all instances in order to keep the password file contents synchronized on all nodes. For ASM releases from 11gR2 onwards there is no need to place the password files on a shared filesystem because password file changes are automatically propagated to remote instances. Fo...

If you are using dynamic listener registration (instance registration). The instance does not register with the listener until you mount the controlfile.  Without sysdba, Net service name using SID or Net service name using SERVICE_NAME with UR=A . RMAN requires a static listener entry and the tnsnames.ora should not contain FAIL_OVER=ON or LOAD_BALANCING. Just a plain vanilla dedicated server connection. RMAN-00554: initialization of internal recovery manager package failed RMAN-04005: error from target database: ORA-12528: TNS:listener: all appropriate instances are blocking new connections

Here are the list of Oracle Support ID's for Oracle Apps DBAs, I do refer regularly. Moreover, these are very informative. So, I thought of sharing those note ids here with you. Note : You have to have an account in Oracle Support to access id's. Points of Interest Installation Real Application Cluster (RAC) AD Utility Cloning Patching Upgrades Printer Performance Others Oracle Application DBA Field Guide

Oracle 11.2 fully supports continuing to use non-11.2 databases on a cluster that has been upgraded to 11.2. However, you should be aware that the Oracle 11.2.0.1 base release contained a number of problems that could affect users with a 10.2 database. Known problem with brand new installations of Grid Infrastructure 11.2 and pre-11.2 RDBMS instances is related to node pinning. During the upgrade, the nodes containing 10.2 RDBMS software will be pinned, allowing pre-11.2 databases to run on them. Important aspect is with Non-upgraded clusters are not automatically pinned, which causes problems with emca and dbca when executed from the pre-11.2 Oracle homes. You should use the utilities from the $GRID_HOME to manage resources provided by the same Oracle home. Similarly, when managing pre-11.2 resources, you can use the commands from their respective homes. This is a golden rule to remember You can find more information about problems with 10.2 databases and 11.2 Grid Infras...

The Single Client Access Name is a new feature that simplifies acces to a cluster database. In versions proir to Oracle RDBMS 11.2, an entry in the tnsnames.ora file for a n-npde RAC database always referenced all nodes in the address_list section. From Oracle RDBMS 11.2 the RAC databases can be covered with the SCAN method. A SCAN method is a hostname based method on 1 - 3 virtual IP-addresses based in the DNS of the organisation. The SCAN method solved an TNS ENTRY editing issue in the TNSNAMES.ORA, on actions of adding and removing nodes from the cluster. SCAN method makes my life easier in managing the Oracle sqlnet configurations for the Oracle cluster databases.

Important is that the storage devices operational, mounted and stamped as ASM device to the machine. Using Management Volume (ACFS) the compatibility level must be at least 11.2. on diskgroup level. See below the created statements from the diskgroups inside the ASM. De disksgroups are created with the compatible.* -> 11.2 . The diskgroup that will be used for ACFS is the diskgroup “ DG_DISK11G_01 ” Steps involved to use ACFS Create Diskgroups Load ACFS Drivers Create Filesystem for ACFS Volume Device Mount ACFS Filesystem ASMCA validation of ACFS Filesystem Automatic startup ACFS Mount Device Oracle ACFS Mount Registry