Exadata - Display and Clear Fault using Fault Manager (faultmgmt)

Exadata Database Machine consists of a storage grid, compute grid, and network grid. Each grid, or hardware layer, is built with multiple high-performing, industry-standard Oracle servers to provide hardware and system fault tolerance. The hardware components are subjected to failure. Most common failure on Exadata is Hard Disk failure on Storage Cells. With the latest generation of Exadata the hardware failures are very minimal and less troublesome. 

The Exadata Storage Cells and Compute nodes consists of several hardware components, such as:

• Hard disk
• Flash disk 
• Physical Memory
• Processor  
• IB ports
• Mother Board
• Batteries
• Power Supply
• and So on

In this article we will demonstrate how to view the hardware fault and clear it using ILOM fault manager (faultmgmt).


Steps to display and clear hardware fault using faultmgmt:


Step 1: Login to compute node ILOM where the fault occurred

[root@dm01db01 ~]# ssh dm01db02-ilom
Password:

Oracle(R) Integrated Lights Out Manager

Version 4.0.0.24 r121523

Copyright (c) 2017, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Warning: HTTPS certificate is set to factory default.

Hostname: dm01db02-ilom

Step 2: Check if the fault manager is supported. If you get the output like below then fault manager is supported.

-> show /SP/faultmgmt/shell

 /SP/faultmgmt/shell
    Targets:

    Properties:

    Commands:
        cd
        show
        start

Step 3: Start the fault manager shell

-> start /SP/faultmgmt/shell
Are you sure you want to start /SP/faultmgmt/shell (y/n)? y

Step 4: Execute the following command to display the fault. Here we can see that there is no issue with hardware but he ILOM file system is 100% full.

faultmgmtsp> fmadm faulty
------------------- ------------------------------------ -------------- --------
Time                UUID                                 msgid          Severity
------------------- ------------------------------------ -------------- --------
2018-06-17/15:55:32 2a854ad2-4a31-e829-e26c-c84ba212d7f2 ILOM-8000-JV   Major

Problem Status           : open
Diag Engine              : fdd 1.0
System
   Manufacturer          : Oracle Corporation
   Name                  : Exadata X5-2
   Part_Number           : Exadata X5-2
   Serial_Number         : AK00XXXXXX

System Component
   Manufacturer          : Oracle Corporation
   Name                  : ORACLE SERVER X5-2
   Part_Number           : 7090664
   Serial_Number         : 15XXXXXXXX
   Firmware_Manufacturer : Oracle Corporation
   Firmware_Version      : (ILOM)4.0.0.24
   Firmware_Release      : (ILOM)2017.09.23

----------------------------------------
Suspect 1 of 1
   Problem class  : defect.ilom.fs.full
   Certainty      : 100%
   Affects        : /SYS/SP
   Status         : faulted

   FRU
      Status            : faulty
      Location          : /SYS/SP
      Manufacturer      : Oracle Corporation
      Name              : SP
      Part_Number       : PILOT3
      Chassis
         Manufacturer   : Oracle Corporation
         Name           : ORACLE SERVER X5-2
         Part_Number    : 7090664
         Serial_Number  : 1547NM10CX

Description : An ILOM filesystem has exceeded the filesystem capacity
              limit.

Response    : The chassis wide service-required LED will be illuminated.

Impact      : ILOM commands may fail, especially those which make
              configuration changes.

Action      : Please refer to the associated reference document at
              http://support.oracle.com/msg/ILOM-8000-JV for the latest
              service procedures and policies regarding this diagnosis.

Step 5: Execute the below command to clear the fault

faultmgmtsp> fmadm acquit UUID --> Get the UUID from the from output of the above command.

faultmgmtsp> fmadm acquit 2a854ad2-4a31-e829-e26c-c84ba212d7f2

Step 6: Verify that the fault is cleared

faultmgmtsp> fmadm faulty
No faults found

Step 7: Exit from the fault manager

faultmgmtsp> exit

Step 8: Reset the ILOM service processor

-> reset /SP
Are you sure you want to reset /SP (y/n)? y
Performing reset on /SP

Step 9: Exit from the ILOM

-> exit
Connection to dm01db02-ilom closed.

Step 10: Connec to ILOM and verify the ILOM SP is restarted

[root@dm01db01 ~]# ssh dm01db02-ilom
Password:

Oracle(R) Integrated Lights Out Manager

Version 4.0.0.24 r121523

Copyright (c) 2017, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Warning: HTTPS certificate is set to factory default.

Hostname: dm01db02-ilom


-> show -d properties /SP/clock uptime

 /SP/clock
    Properties:
        uptime = 0 days, 00:08:02


Conclusion

In this article we have learned how to display and clear a fault using fault manager (faultmgmt). The Fault Management Shell is the preferred method for displaying the details of a diagnosed fault. faultmgmt support for command shell varies depending ILOM release level and server product model. 

Extend or Increase root File System Size on Exadata

When Exadata database machine is installed by Oracle ACS the root file system size is set to 30GB. This space may not be sufficient for storing large files, logfiles, patches and so on and it can be filled very quickly. So you must consider increasing the root file system to avoid space issues. The root file system is built on volume group which makes it easy to resize the logical volume on which the root file system is mounted.

Root file system is created on two system partitions LVDbSys1 and LVDbSys2 and both system partitions must be size equally at the same time. Only one system partition is active at any time and other is inactive.

In this article, we will demonstrate how you can extend/increase the root file system size on Exadata Compute node. This activity can be done online without any downtime if the file system feature supports it.

Steps to extend/increase the root file system on Exadata Compute node

Step 1: Get the current root file system size and utilization. Here we can see that the root file system was expanded early to 60GB and currently it is 100% used.

[root@dm01db01 /]# df -h /
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/VGExaDb-LVDbSys1
                       59G   57G     0 100% /

Step 2: Get the logical volumne details

[root@dm01db01 /]# lvs -o lv_name,lv_path,vg_name,lv_size
  LV                 Path                            VG      LSize
  LVDbOra1           /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbOra1           VGExaDb 200.00g
  LVDbSwap1          /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSwap1          VGExaDb  24.00g
  LVDbSys1           /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys1           VGExaDb  60.00g
  LVDbSys2           /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys2           VGExaDb  60.00g
  LVDoNotRemoveOrUse /dev/VGExaDb/LVDoNotRemoveOrUse VGExaDb   1.00g

Step 3: Check to make sure that root file system can be resized online. Execute the following to determine it. If you get an output the file system can be resized online

[root@dm01db01 /]# tune2fs -l /dev/mapper/VGExaDb-LVDbSys1 | grep resize_inode
Filesystem features:      has_journal ext_attr resize_inode dir_index filetype needs_recovery extent flex_bg sparse_super large_file huge_file uninit_bg dir_nlink extra_isize

[root@dm01db01 /]# dcli -g ~/dbs_group -l root 'tune2fs -l /dev/mapper/VGExaDb-LVDbSys1 | grep resize_inode'
dm01db01: Filesystem features:      has_journal ext_attr resize_inode dir_index filetype needs_recovery extent flex_bg sparse_super large_file huge_file uninit_bg dir_nlink extra_isize
dm01db02: Filesystem features:      has_journal ext_attr resize_inode dir_index filetype needs_recovery extent flex_bg sparse_super large_file huge_file uninit_bg dir_nlink extra_isize
dm01db03: Filesystem features:      has_journal ext_attr resize_inode dir_index filetype needs_recovery extent flex_bg sparse_super large_file huge_file uninit_bg dir_nlink extra_isize
dm01db04: Filesystem features:      has_journal ext_attr resize_inode dir_index filetype needs_recovery extent flex_bg sparse_super large_file huge_file uninit_bg dir_nlink extra_isize

Step 4: Get the current active partition information. Here the current active partition is LVDbSys1

[root@dm01db01 ~]# imageinfo

Kernel version: 4.1.12-94.7.8.el6uek.x86_64 #2 SMP Thu Jan 11 20:41:01 PST 2018 x86_64
Image kernel version: 4.1.12-94.7.8.el6uek
Image version: 12.2.1.1.6.180125.1
Image activated: 2018-04-13 22:11:49 -0500
Image status: success
System partition on device: /dev/mapper/VGExaDb-LVDbSys1


Step 5: Get the free space available in the Volume Group. Currently we have around 1.3TB free space available. So we can easily increase the root file system.

[root@dm01db01 /]# vgdisplay -s
  "VGExaDb" 1.63 TiB  [345.00 GiB used / 1.30 TiB free]

Step 6: Using lvextend command increase the both logical volumes. In our case, we are increasing the root file system by 30GB to make 90GB total size.

[root@dm01db01 /]# lvextend -L +30G /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys1
  Size of logical volume VGExaDb/LVDbSys1 changed from 60.00 GiB (15360 extents) to 90.00 GiB (23040 extents).
  Logical volume LVDbSys1 successfully resized.

[root@dm01db01 /]# lvextend -L +30G /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys2
  Size of logical volume VGExaDb/LVDbSys2 changed from 60.00 GiB (15360 extents) to 90.00 GiB (23040 extents).
  Logical volume LVDbSys2 successfully resized.

Step 7: Using resize2fs command resize the file system as follows

[root@dm01db01 /]# resize2fs /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys1
resize2fs 1.43-WIP (20-Jun-2013)
Filesystem at /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys1 is mounted on /; on-line resizing required
old_desc_blocks = 4, new_desc_blocks = 6
The filesystem on /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys1 is now 23592960 blocks long.

[root@dm01db01 /]# e2fsck -f /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys1
e2fsck 1.43-WIP (20-Jun-2013)
/dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys1 is mounted.
e2fsck: Cannot continue, aborting.


[root@dm01db01 /]# resize2fs /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys2
resize2fs 1.43-WIP (20-Jun-2013)
Please run 'e2fsck -f /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys2' first.

[root@dm01db01 /]# e2fsck -f /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys2
e2fsck 1.43-WIP (20-Jun-2013)
Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes
Pass 2: Checking directory structure
Pass 3: Checking directory connectivity
Pass 4: Checking reference counts
Pass 5: Checking group summary information
/dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys2: 167407/3932160 files (0.1% non-contiguous), 4710754/15728640 blocks

[root@dm01db01 /]# resize2fs /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys2
resize2fs 1.43-WIP (20-Jun-2013)
Resizing the filesystem on /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys2 to 23592960 (4k) blocks.
The filesystem on /dev/VGExaDb/LVDbSys2 is now 23592960 blocks long.

Note: You can't run the e2fsck for the active paritition LVDbSys1. You run the e2fsck for inactive partition LVDbSys2 first before resizing it.

Step 8: Verify the new file system size

[root@dm01db01 /]# df -h /
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/VGExaDb-LVDbSys1
                       89G   57G   29G  67% /

Repeat the steps above on all the compute nodes in the Exadata Rack.


Conclusion

In this article we have learned how to extend/increase the root file system on Exadata Compute node online without any outage. Root file system is created on two system partitions LVDbSys1 and LVDbSys2 and both system partitions must be size equally at the same time. Only one system partition is active at any time and other is inactive.

Configure VNC on Exadata Database Machine

You can access database servers remotely by using tools such as PuTTY and Virtual Network Computing (VNC) which are freely available for download. In most cases, accessing a database server in a command-line mode via PuTTY is enough. Sometimes we may need to access a database server to run GUI-based software. For example, to run runInstaller to install Oracle software or DBCA to create databases. In these cases, VNC comes handy as it support GUI-based interface.

VNC allows you to run GUI interface on database server. It allows you to execute programs locally on the server, while only the screen output is sent to the VNC client on your desktop. you can use the vncserver command to configure VNC.


In this article we will demonstrate how to install VNC package using 2 different methods, start VNC session and run some Graphical interface tools to ensure VNC is configured correctly on the server.


Step 1: Installing VNC Package 

• Get the Exadata software version (optional)

[root@dm01db01 ~]# imageinfo

Kernel version: 4.1.12-94.7.8.el6uek.x86_64 #2 SMP Thu Jan 11 20:41:01 PST 2018 x86_64
Image kernel version: 4.1.12-94.7.8.el6uek
Image version: 12.2.1.1.6.180125.1
Image activated: 2018-05-03 01:49:58 -0500
Image status: success
System partition on device: /dev/mapper/VGExaDb-LVDbSys1

• Get the Exadata Model (optional)

[root@dm01db01 ~]# dbmcli -e list dbserver attributes makeModel
         Oracle Corporation SUN SERVER X4-2

• Check if VNC package already exists. In my case VNC is not configured.

[root@dm01db01 ~]# rpm -qa tigervnc*

• Get the Operating System version and update

[root@dm01db01 yum.repos.d]# cat /etc/oracle-release
Oracle Linux Server release 6.9

• You can install packages in 2 ways:

1. Using proxy server. This should be configured by your Organization network engineer already.
2. Using Local Yum repository

Using proxy server

• Get the proxy server details from your network engineer

• Set the http_proxy environment variable

[root@dm01db01 ~]# export http_proxy=webproxy:80

• Navigate to YUM repository directory

[root@dm01db01 ~]# cd /etc/yum.repos.d/

[root@dm01db01 yum.repos.d]# ls -ltr
total 24
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6843 May  7  2016 public-yum-ol6.repo
-r--r----- 1 root root  896 Jan 26 05:19 Exadata-computenode.repo.sample
-rw-r----- 1 root root  291 May  3 01:59 Exadata-computenode.repo

• Open the public-yum-ol6.repo and uncomment enabled=1 for the following 2 stanza

[root@dm01db01 yum.repos.d]# vi public-yum-ol6.repo

[ol6_latest]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Latest ($basearch)
baseurl=http://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/latest/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

[ol6_u9_base]
name=Oracle Linux $releasever Update 9 installation media copy ($basearch)
baseurl=https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL6/9/base/$basearch/
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

[root@dm01db01 yum.repos.d]# ls -ltr
total 36
-r--r----- 1 root root   896 Jan 26 05:19 Exadata-computenode.repo.sample
-rw-r----- 1 root root   291 May  3 01:59 Exadata-computenode.repo
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10544 May  9 10:09 public-yum-ol6.repo

• Perform the Yum clean up

[root@dm01db01 yum.repos.d]# yum clean all
Cleaning repos: ol6_latest ol6_u8_base ol6_u9_base
Cleaning up Everything

• List the yum repositories

[root@dm01db01 yum.repos.d]# yum repolist
ol6_latest                                                                                                                            | 1.4 kB     00:00
ol6_latest/primary                                                                                                                    |  68 MB     00:01
ol6_latest                                                                                                                                         40153/40153
ol6_u7_base                                                                                                                           | 1.4 kB     00:00
ol6_u7_base/primary                                                                                                                   | 3.2 MB     00:00
ol6_u7_base                                                                                                                                        8428/8428
repo id                                                        repo name                                                                           status
ol6_latest                                                     Oracle Linux 6Server Latest (x86_64)                                                32,690+7,463
repolist: 39,319

• Install the VNC package as shown below

[root@dm01db01 yum.repos.d]# yum install tigervnc*
Setting up Install Process
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package tigervnc.x86_64 0:1.1.0-24.el6 will be installed
---> Package tigervnc-server.x86_64 0:1.1.0-24.el6 will be installed
--> Processing Dependency: libxshmfence.so.1()(64bit) for package: tigervnc-server-1.1.0-24.el6.x86_64
---> Package tigervnc-server-applet.noarch 0:1.1.0-24.el6 will be installed
---> Package tigervnc-server-module.x86_64 0:1.1.0-24.el6 will be installed
--> Processing Dependency: xorg-x11-server-Xorg for package: tigervnc-server-module-1.1.0-24.el6.x86_64
--> Running transaction check
---> Package libxshmfence.x86_64 0:1.2-1.el6 will be installed
...
...
Transaction Summary
=============================================================================================================================================================================================
Install      24 Package(s)

Total download size: 4.3 M
Installed size: 11 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
...
...
Installed:
  tigervnc.x86_64 0:1.1.0-24.el6        tigervnc-server.x86_64 0:1.1.0-24.el6        tigervnc-server-applet.noarch 0:1.1.0-24.el6        tigervnc-server-module.x86_64 0:1.1.0-24.el6

Dependency Installed:
  acl.x86_64 0:2.2.49-7.el6_9.1           cryptsetup-luks.x86_64 0:1.2.0-11.el6   cryptsetup-luks-libs.x86_64 0:1.2.0-11.el6           hal.x86_64 0:0.5.14-14.el6
  hal-info.noarch 0:20090716-5.el6        hal-libs.x86_64 0:0.5.14-14.el6         hdparm.x86_64 0:9.43-4.el6                           libepoxy.x86_64 0:1.2-3.el6
  libevdev.x86_64 0:1.4.5-2.el6           libxshmfence.x86_64 0:1.2-1.el6         mesa-libEGL.x86_64 0:11.0.7-4.el6                    mesa-libgbm.x86_64 0:11.0.7-4.el6
  mtdev.x86_64 0:1.1.5-1.el6              pm-utils.x86_64 0:1.2.5-11.el6          system-setup-keyboard.x86_64 0:0.7-4.el6             xorg-x11-drv-evdev.x86_64 0:2.9.2-1.el6
  xorg-x11-drv-vesa.x86_64 0:2.3.4-1.el6  xorg-x11-drv-void.x86_64 0:1.4.1-1.el6  xorg-x11-server-Xorg.x86_64 0:1.17.4-16.0.1.el6_9.1  xorg-x11-server-common.x86_64 0:1.17.4-16.0.1.el6_9.1

Complete!

• Verify the VNC package is installed

[root@dm01db01 yum.repos.d]# rpm -qa | grep tigervnc*
tigervnc-server-applet-1.1.0-24.el6.noarch
tigervnc-server-1.1.0-24.el6.x86_64
tigervnc-server-module-1.1.0-24.el6.x86_64
tigervnc-1.1.0-24.el6.x86_64

Using Local Yum repository 

This method is useful when you don't have internet access through proxy.

Refer to the blog article below on how to configure a local yum repository on Exadata
http://netsoftmate.blogspot.com/2018/05/create-local-yum-repository-on-Exadata.html


Step 2: Configure VNC Server

• Login as root or any other user you want to configure VNC server

• Execute the vncserver command. On the prompt enter any password of your choice

[root@dm01db01 ~]# vncserver

You will require a password to access your desktops.

Password:
Verify:

Warning: dm01db01.netsoftmate.com:1 is taken because of /tmp/.X1-lock
Remove this file if there is no X server dm01db01.netsoftmate.com:1

New 'dm01db01.netsoftmate.com:2 (root)' desktop is dm01db01.netsoftmate.com:2

Creating default startup script /root/.vnc/xstartup
Starting applications specified in /root/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /root/.vnc/dm01db01.netsoftmate.com:2.log

3. Verify VNC server is running and note down the port number. Here the VNC server is running at dm01db01.netsoftmate.com:3 for root user

[root@dm01db01 ~]# ps -ef|grep vnc
root     141816 297951  0 12:14 pts/1    00:00:00 grep vnc
root     356225      1  0 11:02 pts/1    00:00:00 /usr/bin/Xvnc :3 -desktop dm01db01.netsoftmate.com:3 (root) -httpd /usr/share/vnc/classes -auth /root/.Xauthority -geometry 1024x768 -rfbwait 30000 -rfbauth /root/.vnc/passwd -rfbport 5903 -fp catalogue:/etc/X11/fontpath.d -pn
root     356351      1  0 11:02 pts/1    00:00:00 vncconfig -iconic


Step 3: Test VNC Connection and GUI interface

• Download and Install VNC Viewer. Here I am using VNC Tiger for Windows

• Double Click on VNC Viewer icon to launch VNC Viewer

• Enter the host name and port. You can get these by execute the command "ps -ef|grep vnc" on the server

• Enter the password provided at the time of configuring vncserver

• The VNC session is displayed

• Now test the GUI interface by starting some GUI tool. Here I am going to start DBCA to test the GUI interface

Conclusion

In this article we have learned how to install, configure and test VNC server on Exadata compute node. VNC allows you to run GUI interface on database server. It allows you to execute programs locally on the server, while only the screen output is sent to the VNC client on your desktop. you can use the vncserver command to configure VNC.

Storage Server Flash Memory is not Configured as Exadata Smart Flash Cache

While working on an Exadata database machine X4-2 half rack we found that the Smart Flash Cache on a storage cell was missing. We ran an Exachk and found the Smart Flash cache was indeed missing on Storage Cell 05.

Here is the message printed in the Exachk report.

FAIL Storage Server Check Storage Server Flash Memory is not configured as Exadata Smart Flash Cache dm01cel05 

Exadata Smart Flash Cache:

Oracle first introduced Exadata Flash Cache in the version Exadata V2. Exadata Smart Flash Cache, caches the data on flash based Storage. Exadata uses a caching algorithm to cache data intelligently in the flash card on the Storage cells. It improves the performance for OLTP databases. Exadata Flash Cache is used for Smart Flash Cache and Smart Flash log features. 

Courtesy Oracle

In this article we will demonstrate how to create a missing Smart Flash Cache on Exadata Storage cell.

Step to create/configure Smart Flash Cache

• List the Flash cache

From the output below we can clearly see that the storge cell 05 is missing.

[root@dm01db01 ~]# dcli -g ~/cell_group -l root cellcli -e list flashcache attributes name,size,status
dm01cel01: dm01cel01_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal
dm01cel02: dm01cel02_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal
dm01cel03: dm01cel03_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal
dm01cel04: dm01cel04_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal
dm01cel06: dm01cel06_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal
dm01cel07: dm01cel07_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal

• List the Flash log. Flash Log are is fine

[root@dm01db01 ~]# dcli -g ~/cell_group -l root cellcli -e list flashlog attributes name,size
dm01cel01: dm01cel01_FLASHLOG    512M
dm01cel02: dm01cel02_FLASHLOG    512M
dm01cel03: dm01cel03_FLASHLOG    512M
dm01cel04: dm01cel04_FLASHLOG    512M
dm01cel05: dm01cel05_FLASHLOG    512M
dm01cel06: dm01cel06_FLASHLOG    512M
dm01cel07: dm01cel07_FLASHLOG    512M

• Connect to Storage cell 05 and list the flash cache

[root@dm01cel05 ~]# cellcli
CellCLI: Release 12.2.1.1.6 - Production on Tue Jun 16 03:57:24 CDT 2018

Copyright (c) 2007, 2013, Oracle.  All rights reserved.
Cell Efficiency Ratio: 1,656

• List flash cache. We can't find flash cache on it as there is no output of the command reported

CellCLI> list flashcache detail

• Create Flash Cache as shown below

CellCLI> create flashcache all
Flash cache dm01cel05_FLASHCACHE successfully created

• List flash cache

CellCLI>  list flashcache detail
         name:                   dm01cel05_FLASHCACHE
         cellDisk:               FD_04_dm01cel05,FD_05_dm01cel05,FD_10_dm01cel05,FD_06_dm01cel05,FD_11_dm01cel05,FD_13_dm01cel05,FD_08_dm01cel05,FD_15_dm01cel05,FD_12_dm01cel05,FD_01_dm01cel05,FD_00_dm01cel05,FD_07_dm01cel05,FD_09_dm01cel05,FD_14_dm01cel05,FD_02_dm01cel05,FD_03_dm01cel05
         creationTime:           2015-06-16T04:03:21-05:00
         degradedCelldisks:
         effectiveCacheSize:     2978.75G
         id:                     ce4589c7-183c-4346-965d-3f43a4e47de5
         size:                   2978.75G
         status:                 normal

• List flash cache for all cells now. From compute node 1 , execute the following command

[root@dm01db01 ~]# dcli -g ~/cell_group -l root cellcli -e list flashcache attributes name,size,status
dm01cel01: dm01cel01_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal
dm01cel02: dm01cel02_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal
dm01cel03: dm01cel03_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal
dm01cel04: dm01cel04_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal
dm01cel05: dm01cel05_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal
dm01cel06: dm01cel06_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal
dm01cel07: dm01cel07_FLASHCACHE  2978.75G        normal


Conclusion

In this article we have learned how to create missing flash cache on  Exadata Storage cell. Exadata Smart Flash Cache, caches the data on flash based Storage. Exadata Flash Cache is used for Smart Flash Cache and Smart Flash log features. Exachk utility helps you diagnose and report the hardware problems and it also recommends the solution,

Oracle Database Appliance: Resize CloudFS ACFS File System Using ASMCA

During the Oracle Database Appliance Deployment you can optionally configure CloudFS file system. The default mount point is /cloudfs and set to default size of 50GB. Oracle Database Appliance uses the Oracle Automatic Storage Management Cluster File System (Oracle ACFS) for database and virtual machine files storage. ACFS can only be used to configure shared storage file system on ODA. Oracle ACFS provides both servers with concurrent access to /cloudfs shared file system. The default size of 50GB may not sufficient and must be increased to store big files for business requirement.


In this article we will demonstrate how to resize the /cloudfs file system using ASMCA GUI interface


Steps to resize the /cloudfs file system using asmca GUI Interface

Step 1: Get the current /cloudfs file system size

Step 2: Start VNC on node 1. Here I am starting VNC as root user. You can choose to start it as Grid or Oracle user.

[root@odanode1 ~]# rpm -qa *vnc*
tigervnc-1.1.0-18.el6.x86_64
tigervnc-server-1.1.0-18.el6.x86_64
[root@odanode1 ~]# ps -ef|grep vnc
root     23281 20754  0 13:32 pts/1    00:00:00 grep vnc

[root@odanode1 ~]# vncserver :1

You will require a password to access your desktops.

Password:
Verify:

New 'odanode1:1 (root)' desktop is odanode1:1

Creating default startup script /root/.vnc/xstartup
Starting applications specified in /root/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /root/.vnc/odanode1:1.log

[root@odanode1 ~]# ps -ef|grep vnc
root     23399     1  1 13:32 pts/1    00:00:00 /usr/bin/Xvnc :1 -desktop odanode1:1 (root) -auth /root/.Xauthority -geometry 1024x768 -rfbwait 30000 -rfbauth /root/.vnc/passwd -rfbport 5901 -fp catalogue:/etc/X11/fontpath.d -pn
root     23481 23480  0 13:33 pts/1    00:00:00 vncconfig -iconic
root     23636 20754  0 13:33 pts/1    00:00:00 grep vnc

Step 3: Start VNC viewer on desktop and enter the hostname/IP address on node 1. Enter the root password as we have started the VNC server using root user.

Step 4: Switch to grid user and verify the Grid Home

Step 5: Set Oracle Home to Grid home and start asmca

Step 6: Click on ASM Cluster File System Tab

Step 7: Right Click on /cloudfs and select Resize option

Step 8: Enter the desired new size. Here I am resizing the /cloudfs to 200GB

Step 9: Resize in progress

Step 10: Resize completed

Step 11: Verify the /cloudfs size

Conclusion

In this article we have learned how to resize/increase the size of /cloudfs ACFS file system on ODA using ASMCA GUI utility. The cloudfs file system is configured during the ODA deployment and it is set to 50GB which is not sufficient for storing the big files. The cloudfs is build using ACFS and it can be resized easily using ASMCA graphical interface.