Many organizations that use Oracle

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1 Maximizing replication efficiency in Oracle environments By Annette Cormier and Jason Kotsaftis Power Solutions online exclusive dell.com/powersolutions In Oracle database environments, Dell/EMC storage technologies help simplify and enhance the time-consuming replication process while enabling application-level consistency and recovery to previous points in time. Many organizations that use Oracle databases deploy Oracle software in support of mission-critical applications. To help ensure that production resources are available for such applications, administrators often create database copies to use for non-production tasks such as testing and development. Replication is also essential for backup and restoration purposes, as well as for disaster recovery and full business continuity often requires administrators to recover not only database information, but also applications. Replication traditionally requires database administrators (DBAs) to perform manual steps that copy data over existing enterprise networks, which can pose several challenges. For example, creating and maintaining multiple database copies can be time-consuming, particularly in multi-database environments. Replicating and recovering not only database files but also application-level files makes the process even more complexand moving large amounts of data over enterprise networks can adversely affect Oracle database and application performance. Now, administrators can replicate Oracle databases efficiently and cost-effectively by using features built into Dell/EMC CX4 Series storage arrays. Using Dell/EMC CX4 storage based replication with EMC Replication Manager software, administrators can quickly create storage-based snapshots and clones, create read/write snapshots for multitasking, or establish full volume-based copies of Oracle databases, enabling comprehensive database recovery as well as helping to ensure transactional consistency. Understanding the use cases of Oracle replication After an Oracle database has been deployed, copies of the environment are often required for various tasks. Administrators can use different types of replication depending on the intended result. Snapshots, for example, are point-in-time images of production data, not actual copies of the data itself; these images are useful for quickly creating multiple usable copies of data, and are typically cost-effective because they can be maintained without using much storage space. Read/write access with short-term usage may be required to run queries or reports, or to support test and development environments. Full-volume replication is required for multitasking with actual database data, including database testing, upgrades, and cutover to production as well as backup, restoration, and disaster recovery. Full-volume replication requires a complete copy of the production database, including all data files and recovery files. Maintaining the write-order consistency of the data is particularly important, Issue 03 dell.com/powersolutions

2 to help ensure that the Oracle database image is fully recoverable. Administrators can leverage applicationaware recovery points to recover applications and database data together. Application-aware recovery journals help provide full recovery by enabling rollback of applications to a specific point in time. Using Dell/EMC unified storage snapshots and clones Dell/EMC unified storage platforms give administrators the choice of cost-effective IP connectivity or high-throughput Fibre Channel connectivity to support block or file protocols in Oracle environments. For maximum throughput, Fibre Channel is the growth path for Internet SCSI (iscsi), and Multi-Path File System (MPFS) is the growth path for network attached storage (NAS). Organizations can start small and then scale both throughput and capacity. By providing multi-protocol support in a single unified platform, Dell/EMC unified storage offers flexibility in deployment options. The unified platform combines the best of both Dell/EMC CX4 Series and Dell/EMC NS Series storage, including the following: NAS: File-sharing protocol for Microsoft Windows and UNIX OS based systems Common Internet File System (CIFS) and Network File System (NFS) MPFS: File-sharing protocol designed to provide improved performance and scalability Native iscsi: Advanced iscsi implementation using the native Dell/EMC CX4 storage area network (SAN) block logical unit (LUN) model with fast failover and full Dell/EMC CX4 feature support File-based iscsi: Basic iscsi functionality using the Dell/EMC NS file emulation of iscsi LUNs with full Dell/EMC NS unified storage feature support Fibre Channel: High-speed networking for SANs providing full native Dell/EMC CX4 SAN features The Dell/EMC platform also provides a variety of replication options, including capabilities of both the Dell/EMC CX4 and Dell/EMC NS unified storage systems (see Figure 1). Requirements Dell/EMC CX4 Series storage Dell/EMC NS Series unified storage Operational recovery Ability to leverage snapshot and clone technologies to recover from specific points in time EMC SnapView EMC Celerra SnapSure Integrated backup to disk EMC Disk Library, EMC NetWorker software EMC Disk Library, EMC Celerra Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP), EMC NetWorker Continuous data (CDP) technology to recover from specific points in time EMC RecoverPoint CDP Synchronous disaster recovery No data loss, or RPO of seconds EMC RecoverPoint Continuous Remote Replication (CRR), EMC MirrorView/Synchronous EMC MirrorView/Synchronous Asynchronous disaster recovery RPO of seconds to minutes, scalability, and performance EMC RecoverPoint CRR RPO of 30 minutes or longer EMC MirrorView/Asynchronous Microsoft Windows only environment, file-based replication EMC RepliStor software EMC RepliStor Data mobility Data mobility across arrays EMC SAN Copy Data distribution and consolidation EMC SAN Copy Figure 1. Replication capabilities in Dell/EMC CX4 Series and Dell/EMC NS Series storage dell.com/powersolutions 2010 Issue 03 2

3 Innovative efficiencies In this series of on-demand Webcasts, learn how combining Dell/EMC storage with Oracle Database 11g can help lower infrastructure costs while maintaining high-performance operations and access. dellenterprise.com/goto/ emcoracle Local replication capabilities on Dell/EMC CX4 SAN arrays and Dell/EMC NS unified storage EMC SnapView software enables administrators utilizing Dell/EMC CX4 Series SAN arrays to create local point-in-time snapshots and complete data clones for testing, backup, and recovery operations. EMC Celerra SnapSure software enables administrators utilizing Dell/EMC NS Series unified storage platforms to create read-only or read/write point-in-time snapshots of production file systems and iscsi LUNs. Dell/EMC storage arrays also provide snapshots and clones that can reside on physically separate spindles from the production database, enabling a variety of workload compression applications that include accelerated backup to tape, independent testing of the database, reporting, and so forth. The ability to use independent spindles allows administrators to implement such usage scenarios without adversely affecting the performance of the primary database. More important, because these copies are logically separate rather than intermixed, administrators can recover from one arbitrary point-in-time copy without disturbing other snapshots in the sequence. In other words, if an organization makes hourly snapshots, it could recover from the 2:00 p.m. snapshot without disturbing the 1:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. snapshots. From a granularity perspective, Dell/EMC storage arrays allow snapshots to be taken at the LUN level. In an Oracle database environment, certain LUNs may need a snapshot taken only once per day (for example, backups), whereas others may need a snapshot taken several times per day (for example, reports). This approach allows for a fine level of granularity in determining what data is snapped and how often, helping to optimize management and to minimize the amount of storage needed for snapshots. EMC consistent split feature Many Oracle implementations span multiple LUNs for performance or scalability reasons. It is imperative that these environments be able to suspend I/O at the host level, and to ensure that the copies that are being created are consistentthat is, that no additions to, deletions from, or changes to the database have been lost during replication. Consistency can be lost, for example, if a link failure interrupts replication for some LUNs but not others. The data could then be unusable by database applications, unrecoverable in the event of a disaster. Additionally, Oracle Automatic Storage Management can trigger periodic rebalances of the underlying storage volumes; if these rebalances take place during a replication procedure, data inconsistency might result. Host-based consistency software, such as EMC consistent split technology, helps protect against such situations by operating at the host I/O level to suspend database I/O to the storage subsystem during a replication, thus helping ensure that any replicated copies are consistent with the production database. Dell, EMC, and Oracle have developed joint best practices governing the use of this technology. Evaluating additional remote replication options Protecting business continuity involves more than just recovering the databaseit organizations must recover applications as well. With time, as more and more data is generated, the cost of networking interconnects to perform disaster recovery of all data may become a concern. EMC RecoverPoint EMC developed its RecoverPoint software to address this challenge. RecoverPoint is designed to complement EMC MirrorView software during remote replication by addressing three additional areas not handled by MirrorView (see Figure 2). The first area addressed by RecoverPoint is the cost of the networking infrastructure required to perform the remote replication. RecoverPoint complements Dell/EMC CX4 Series storage replication by providing a network-based, outof-band appliance that can offer bandwidth reduction to help decrease the amount of data sent over the wide area network. Second, RecoverPoint also adds an extra layer of heterogeneous capability, allowing both Oracle and non-oracle databases to be moved, for example, or allowing data to be moved between Issue 03 dell.com/powersolutions

4 different Dell/EMC storage platforms or between EMC and non-emc platforms. Third, RecoverPoint provides a level of application awareness that allows for rollback to specific points in time. To make this possible, RecoverPoint maintains a transaction-consistent set of bookmarks in a journal; the Oracle database is placed in hot backup mode, and a bookmark is written to the journal to show that the specific image represents an applicationconsistent image with the database in hot backup mode. The journal volume can then be used to roll back the replica volumes on the secondary Dell/EMC CX4 system to a consistent point in time. Dell/EMC NS storage and Another option, EMC Celerra Replicator software, can provide efficient, asynchronous data replication over IP networks. Celerra Replicator provides the capability to create point-in-time NAS file system copies on local or remote sites. Replication is scalable and flexible, designed to meet the most demanding disaster recovery infrastructure requirements. The specific operation is based on business requirements for recoverability. Administrators can set the recovery point objective (RPO), which defines the amount of acceptable data exposure, for each file system that is to be replicated; the software then Local data Remote data Local and remote data Figure 2. Dell/EMC CX4 Series architecture innovation in the EMC RecoverPoint CDP appliance manages the transmission of change blocks to the target file system. The target file system is available read-only, but administrators can create read/write copies of the target file system for use in disaster recovery testing. Because these test copies do not affect the disaster recovery replication process, disaster recovery testing can be done during normal operations to minimize evening and weekend work even while providing the capability to thoroughly test disaster recovery processes. Putting it together: EMC Replication Manager EMC Replication Manager is host-based management software designed to automate and synchronize the creation, management, and use of pointin-time replicassnapshots, clones, and mirrorsacross application workloads. Replication Manager brings the solution elements together, Point-in-time recovery helps improve RPOs Automated VMware includes integrated support for VMware vcenter Site Recovery Manager software Efficient replication helps optimize bandwidth usage integrating the technology stack from the application to the storage and replicas. Advanced intelligence capabilities in Replication Manager can be used to map the host to storage and replicas, to catalog information, and to capture changes when they occur. The software automatically discovers the underlying components of the storage environment and automates the process of creating and managing replications, including scheduling and expiration. Replication Manager is tightly integrated with Oracle, allowing administrators to create simple, repeatable operations that leverage replication to help improve business operations. The point-and-click interface makes it easy for DBAs to use, and the tool is heterogeneous across applicationsincluding Oracleas well as across Dell/EMC storage arrays and replication software. Tiered storage and information life cycle management In this Webcast, Annette Cormier and Jason Kotsaftis discuss how using EMC technologies in support of Dell and Oracle information life cycle management can help reduce costs and improve efficiency. brainshark.com/dell/ vu?pi= dell.com/powersolutions 2010 Issue 03 4

5 Dell/EMC storage platforms offer a range of options to enhance replication and recovery of data for Oracle databases and to fit the needs of a wide variety of organizations. The Replication Manager centralized console and interface enable easy point-and-click management of EMC SnapView software, EMC SAN Copy software, the EMC TimeFinder family, and the EMC RecoverPoint family, as well as of and EMC Celerra SnapSure software on iscsi systems. Streamlining replication and recovery Dell/EMC storage platforms offer a range of options to enhance replication and recovery of data for Oracle databases and to fit the needs of a wide variety of organizations. And because IT organizations also need to recover their applications, DBAs can leverage applicationaware recovery points to recover applications and database data together. The Dell/EMC platform offers several options for replication and recovery, including capabilities of both Dell/EMC CX4 Series and Dell/EMC NS Series storage systems. As organizations grow and enterprise environments become increasingly complex, EMC Replication Manager helps simplify replication. Built-in intelligence and automation help decrease manual errors, enhance scalability, and enable administrators to quickly and easily change replication processes as the needs of the organization change. Learn more Annette Cormier is a solutions marketing manager for Dell/EMC with 20 years of experience developing and bringing to market enterprise storage, network management, and security products. Jason Kotsaftis is a director in EMC Technology Alliances with 14 years of experience developing and bringing to market integrated solutions for Oracle environments. Dell storage solutions: dell.com/storage Dell/EMC storage: dell.com/emc Dell and Oracle: dell.com/oracle Issue 03 dell.com/powersolutions