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EMC VMAX3 WITH ORACLE DATABASE 12c
With EMC VMAX3, EMC Unisphere, Oracle Database 12c
 Powerful - VMAX3 with industry-leading performance and density for
consolidated Oracle workloads
 Trusted - Innovative Oracle backup and recovery
 Agile – VMAX3 Service Level Objective (SLO) enables one-click
provisioning and automated Oracle service levels
EMC Solutions
Abstract
This white paper describes managing workloads using VMAX3 service levels
with Oracle Database 12c, and deploying Oracle Database 12c multitenant
pluggable databases (PDBs) on VMAX3.
October, 2014
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Part Number H13425
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Table of contents
Executive summary............................................................................................................................... 5
Business case .................................................................................................................................. 5
Solution overview ............................................................................................................................ 5
Key results/ recommendations ........................................................................................................ 5
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................... 7
Purpose ........................................................................................................................................... 7
Scope .............................................................................................................................................. 7
Audience ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Terminology ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Key technology components ................................................................................................................ 8
Overview .......................................................................................................................................... 8
EMC VMAX3 ...................................................................................................................................... 8
EMC VMAX3 Storage core allocation ................................................................................................. 8
EMC HYPERMAX OS .......................................................................................................................... 9
EMC VMAX3 Service Level Objective ................................................................................................. 9
EMC FAST ......................................................................................................................................... 9
EMC Unisphere for VMAX ................................................................................................................. 9
Oracle Database 12c Enterprise Edition ........................................................................................... 9
Oracle Grid Infrastructure ............................................................................................................... 10
EMC VMAX3 solution features ............................................................................................................. 11
Introduction to EMC VMAX3 ............................................................................................................ 11
EMC FAST ....................................................................................................................................... 11
EMC VMAX3 SLO with Unisphere ..................................................................................................... 12
Deploying Oracle Database 12c on EMC VMAX3 .................................................................................. 14
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 14
Deployment architecture ................................................................................................................ 14
Hardware resources ....................................................................................................................... 16
Software resources ........................................................................................................................ 16
Storage provisioning with SLO ....................................................................................................... 17
Unisphere Oracle Database 12c database storage provisioning ..................................................... 17
Configuring RAC database .............................................................................................................. 20
VMAX3 features to improve operational efficiency .............................................................................. 22
EMC TimeFinder SnapVX ................................................................................................................ 22
EMC SRDF ...................................................................................................................................... 22
EMC ProtectPoint ........................................................................................................................... 23
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Backup Oracle Database 12c with ProtectPoint ......................................................................... 23
Recovering Oracle Database 12c with ProtectPoint .................................................................... 24
EMC ProtectPoint Benefits ......................................................................................................... 25
Database Storage Analyzer ............................................................................................................ 26
Dashboard tab .......................................................................................................................... 26
Performance tab ........................................................................................................................ 27
Analytics tab ............................................................................................................................. 28
Administration tab .................................................................................................................... 28
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 30
Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 30
Findings ......................................................................................................................................... 30
References.......................................................................................................................................... 31
Product documentation.................................................................................................................. 31
Other documentation ..................................................................................................................... 31
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Executive summary
Business case
Solution overview
Oracle Database 12c customers face the following business challenges:

Performance tuning of Oracle Database 12c environments is complex, timeconsuming and largely manual.

Consolidation of Oracle databases onto a common hardware platform is
needed to reduce database sprawl and simplify management.

Full backups of Oracle databases are preferred over incremental backups for
several reasons. One of these is space. Full backups require a lot more storage
room than incremental backups do, at least on a traditional storage array. On
the other hand, full backups also allow for a much simpler path to
restoration/recovery, providing a reduced RTO/RPO. Incremental backups are
more complex than full backups, but, again, space requirements for full
backups can be quite large. Finally, incremental backups provide a shorter
backup window, reducing CPU cost and performance impact.

For more information on the challenges faced by Oracle 12c Database
customers, refer to the article IOUG 2014 Survey “Efficiency Isn’t Enough.”
The new EMC® VMAX3® is the first storage array that allows the Oracle DBA to tune
storage-related database performance by assigning and adjusting service levels.
Thus, the DBA can focus on the specific performance issue, rather than the specific
implementation details required to address that issue. A simple, single-click
adjustment to the service levels for a specific pluggable database (PDB) is all that is
required to address storage-related performance concerns.
Another feature of the VMAX3 is the integration with EMC ProtectPoint™ and EMC Data
Domain® to allow the Oracle DBA to create full backups with the same performance
and capacity cost as incremental backups. This provides optimal RTO/RPO while also
reducing backup complexity.
This white paper describes:
Key results/
recommendations

Workload management using VMAX3 service levels with Oracle Database 12c

Deploying PDBs using Oracle Database 12c multitenant option on VMAX3

Assignment of VMAX3 service levels to Oracle Database 12c PDBs to
automatically adjust resources and improve performance
By implementing Oracle Database 12c on EMC VMAX3, the Oracle DBA is able to
reduce the burden of performance tuning. This paper shows that the dynamic
allocation of VMAX3 service levels to an Oracle Database 12c PDB can return that PDB
to compliance with the defined service level objective (SLO).
VMAX3 uses Service Level Objectives (SLOs) which enable database policy
recommendations for storage tiers and influences database policy for FAST VP
environments, based upon a combination of the workload and the service level
assigned to a PDB’s storage LUNs.
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Oracle Database 12c multitenant option is one available method to consolidate
Oracle databases onto a common hardware platform, thus reducing database sprawl.
VMAX3 fits neatly into the Oracle Database 12c environment by providing features
that mesh perfectly with multitenancy.
VMAX3 can efficiently provide Oracle full backups when combined with ProtectPoint
and Data Domain.1 Because the VMAX3 sends only changed blocks to Data Domain, a
full backup is as space- and performance-efficient as an incremental backup. But
since full backups (from the DBA perspective) are provided, this optimizes RTO/RPO,
and eliminates the cost of incremental backups.
1
ProtectPoint provides script integration with Oracle 11g and 12c databases running on Unix
(Solaris, AIX, HP-UX) and Linux.
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Introduction
Purpose
Scope
This paper describes a workload management solution for Oracle Database 12c
environments using EMC VMAX3, the industry’s first enterprise service platform. This
white paper also explores new features and enhancements to existing VMAX3
features such as local and remote technologies.
This white paper describes the following:

Deploying Oracle Database 12c on EMC VMAX3

EMC VMAX3 Service Level Objective (SLO) with Full Automated Storage Tiering
(FAST)EMC VMAX3 and other new features such as TimeFinder SnapVX, SRDF,
and ProtectPoint to improve operational efficiency
Audience
This white paper is primarily intended for database and system administrators,
storage administrators, and system architects who are responsible for implementing,
maintaining, and protecting robust databases and storage systems. Readers of this
white paper should have some familiarity with Oracle database backup concepts and
EMC software, and should be interested in achieving higher database availability and
protection.
Terminology
This white paper includes the following terminology.
Table 1.
Terminology
Term
Definition
CDB
Container Database
DSA
Database Storage Analyzer
FAST
Fully Automated Storage Tiering
PDB
Pluggable Database
SLO
Service Level Objective
SRDF
Symmetrix Remote Data Facility
SRP
Storage Resource Pool
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Key technology components
Overview
EMC VMAX3
The key technology components used in this white paper are as follows:

EMC VMAX3

EMC VMAX3 Storage core allocation

EMC HYPERMAX OS

EMC VMAX3 Service Level Objective

EMC Unisphere for VMAX3

Oracle Database 12c Enterprise Edition
The newest additions to the EMC VMAX family deliver the latest in Tier-1 scale-out
multi-controller architecture with consolidation and efficiency for the enterprise. With
completely redesigned hardware and software, the new VMAX 100K, 200K, and 400K
arrays provide unprecedented performance and scale. Ranging from the single or dual
engine VMAX 100K up to the 8-engine VMAX 400K, these new arrays offer dramatic
increases in floor tile density with engines and high capacity disk enclosures for both
2.5" and 3.5" drives consolidated in the same system bay.
In addition, VMAX 100K, 200K, and 400K can be configured as either hybrid or allflash arrays. All new VMAX3 models come fully pre-configured from the factory to
significantly shorten the time from installation to first I/O.
The Dynamic Virtual Matrix Architecture enables IT departments to build storage
systems that transcend the physical constraint of competing array architectures. The
architecture allows scaling of system resources through common and fully redundant
building blocks called VMAX3 engines. VMAX3 engines provide the complete
foundation for high-availability storage arrays. Each engine contains two VMAX3
directors and redundant interfaces to the new Dynamic Virtual Matrix dual
InfiniBand® fabric interconnect. Each director consolidates front-end, global memory,
and back-end functions, enabling direct memory access to data for optimized I/O
operations. Depending on the array chosen, up to eight VMAX3 engines can be
interconnected via a set of active fabrics that provide scalable performance and high
availability.
EMC VMAX3
Storage core
allocation
VMAX3 introduces the “Dynamic Virtual Matrix,” by using multiple CPU cores within
the system. With the largest VMAX 400K system, there are 384 CPU cores which can
be allocated to:

Front-end resources

Back-end resources

Data services
Systems ports are no longer mapped directly to CPU resources. CPU resources are
allocated as needed from a pool (front-end, back-end, or data services pool) of CPU
cores which can service all activity in the VMAX3 array. The allocation of cores can be
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balanced, which is the default, or biased towards front-end or back-end. The
allocation is configurable online by EMC support staff.
EMC HYPERMAX OS
VMAX3 arrays introduce the industry’s first open storage and hypervisor-converged
operating system, HYPERMAX OS. It combines industry-leading high availability, I/O
management, quality of service, data integrity validation, storage tiering, and data
security with an open application platform.
HYPERMAX OS features the first real-time, nondisruptive storage hypervisor that
manages and protects embedded services by extending VMAX3 high availability to
services that traditionally would have run external to the array. It also provides direct
access to hardware resources to maximize performance. The hypervisor can be
nondisruptively upgraded.
HYPERMAX OS runs on top of the Dynamic Virtual Matrix using its scale-out flexibility
of cores, caches, and host interfaces. The embedded storage hypervisor reduces
external hardware and networking requirements, while it delivers higher levels of
availability and dramatically lower latency.
EMC VMAX3
Service Level
Objective
All storage in the VMAX3 array is virtually provisioned. All pools are created in
containers called Service Level Objectives (SLO). The system will use the dynamic and
intelligent capabilities of the VMAX3 to guarantee the required performance levels
throughout the lifecycle of the application. As the system workloads change over time
and other workloads are added to the array, the VMAX3 will continue to dynamically
add resources in order to guarantee that you continue to get the required level of
performance to match the defined SLO, provided those resources are available in the
array.
EMC FAST
VMAX3 service levels are tightly integrated with EMC FAST software to optimize agility
and array performance across all drive types in the system. EMC Fully Automated
Storage Tiering (FAST) technology improves your system performance while reducing
cost by using Flash drives combined with cost-effective high-capacity drives.
EMC Unisphere for
VMAX
EMC Unisphere® for VMAX is an intuitive management interface that allows IT
managers to maximize human productivity by dramatically reducing the time required
to provision, manage, and monitor VMAX3 storage assets. Unisphere delivers key
requirements such as simplification, flexibility, and automation. The Unisphere
Performance Viewer facilitates detailed VMAX3 system performance analysis available
without the need for a live array connection. Representation State Transfer
Application Programming Interfaces (REST APIs) simplify programmatic performance
monitoring from cloud management and data center orchestration tools.
Oracle Database
12c Enterprise
Edition
Oracle Database 12c introduces the Oracle multitenant architecture (for an extra
cost), which simplifies the process of database consolidation. Oracle Database 12c
delivers all the benefits of managing many databases as one, yet it retains the data
isolation and resource prioritization of a separate database.
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Oracle Grid
Infrastructure
Beginning with Oracle Database 11gR2, Oracle Automatic Storage Management
(ASM) and Oracle Clusterware are integrated into a single set of binaries and named
Oracle Grid Infrastructure. This provides all the cluster and storage services required
to run an Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) database.
Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1.0.2) CREATE_FILE_DEST Clause of the CREATE
PLUGGABLE DATABASE statement allows the DBA to specify the default file system
directory or Oracle ASM diskgroup for the PDB's files. In this solution each PDB was
created in its own ASM diskgroup.
Oracle Multitenant is fully interoperable with Oracle Real Application Cluster (RAC)
where each RAC instance opens the CDB as a whole. Each SGA contains the data
block and library cache for each of the PDBs contained in the CDB.
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EMC VMAX3 solution features
Introduction to
EMC VMAX3
EMC VMAX3 redefines high-end storage by delivering unprecedented power,
scalability, and density. VMAX3 delivers the highest performance for mixed workload
Oracle environments. Based on a newly updated hardware and software architecture,
the VMAX3 storage array now delivers up to three times greater performance while
also providing up to two times more capacity per floor tile over previous generation
products. This provides the processing and bandwidth horsepower to meet the
demands of even the largest Oracle and mixed workload application environments.
EMC FAST
While VMAX3 continues to use updated FAST technology to dynamically move
workloads to the appropriate tier of storage (for example, Flash or SAS), it now also
uses Oracle-specific performance features. VMAX3 adds application awareness for
Oracle databases, which monitors Oracle activity and then makes recommendations
on how to increase performance based on predictive analytics. New in VMAX3 is the
ability to quickly configure FAST using Service Level Objectives. Simply choose the
level of service you want, such as Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, or
optimized, and the VMAX3 configures FAST automatically to meet your service level
requirements.
EMC FAST dynamically allocates workloads across storage technologies,
nondisruptively moving workloads to meet stringent service level objectives. As
illustrated in Figure 1, FAST technology moves the most active parts of your workloads
(hot data) to high-performance flash drives and the least frequently accessed storage
(cold data) to lower-cost hard drives, using the best performance and cost
characteristics of each different drive type. FAST delivers higher performance using
fewer drives to help reduce acquisition, power, cooling, and footprint costs.
Figure 1.
FAST – workload based data placement
This promotion/demotion activity is based on policies that associate the storage
group to multiple drive technologies using thin storage pools, as well as performance
requirements of the application contained within a storage group. Data movement
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executed during this activity is performed non-disruptively, without affecting
business continuity and data availability.
EMC VMAX3 SLO
with Unisphere
The VMAX3 family delivers unmatched ease of storage provisioning for different
service levels: diamond, platinum, gold, silver, bronze, and optimized as shown in
Figure 2. All devices not explicitly associated with an SLO are managed by the
system-optimized SLO by default.
Figure 2.
Unisphere – Service Level Objectives
The compliance of the service level objectives for the Oracle Database storage groups
can be verified in Unisphere, as shown in Figure 3. This ensures the correct response
time target is assigned for a given workload. Unisphere shows only the SLOs for the
storage available. For example, if no flash storage is available in the VMAX3 array,
then the Diamond SLO option is not displayed.
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Figure 3.
SLO compliance
For more information refer to the EMC VMAX 3 Family with HYPERMAX OS Product
Guide.
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Deploying Oracle Database 12c on EMC VMAX3
Introduction
This section explains how to deploy Oracle Database 12c RAC using the VMAX3
Service Level Objective (SLO) feature.
Deployment
architecture
Oracle Database 12c supports the concept of a Container Database (CDB) and
multiple pluggable databases (PDBs) which consolidates databases with different
purposes into one master (container) database. We deployed the Oracle 12c CDB
with four PDBs to demonstrate four levels of resource requirements, as shown in
Table 2.
Table 2.
Example of PDB names and SLO type
PDB name
SLO
PDB1
Platinum
PDB2
Gold
PDB3
Silver
PDB4
Bronze
Using the new SLO feature provided by VMAX3, four different SLOs were assigned to
the PDBs. VMAX3 provides a perfect solution to address the different service level
requirements in the Oracle database environment.
We deployed a two-node Oracle RAC Database 12c multitenant database on the
VMAX 200K, as shown in Figure 4.
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Figure 4.
Oracle deployment with VMAX3 SLO
As shown in Figure 4, four PDBs were created in the 2-node 12c RAC CDB with two
PDBs running on each node. Each PDB was created in a dedicated ASM disk group, in
which the LUNs are managed by a different SLO in VMAX3 according to the business
requirement for each PDB.
For example, “PDB2” has an initial high priority, so we defined the LUNs it used with
the Gold service level to ensure that the I/O requests from that PDB are processed
quickly. If the importance of PDB2 changes, the SLO is adjusted accordingly.
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Hardware
resources
Table 3 describes the various hardware components used during the deployment.
Table 3.
Hardware resources
Device
Quantity
Configuration
Description
VMAX 200K
1
 HYPERMAX OS
VMAX3 storage
 2 Engines
 2 TB Cache( 1 TB Cache per
engine)
 222 x 15K 300 GB FC Drives
 176 x 7.2K 1 TB drives
 70 x 200 GB flash drives
Servers
2
Database server
 20 physical cores
 512 GB memory
 2 10 GbE network NICs
 1 1 GbE network NICs
FC switch
2
Fiber Channel switch - 8 Gb/s FC
Ethernet switch
2
Ethernet switch – 1 GbE & 10 GbE
Software resources Table 4 describes the various software components of the solution.
Table 4.
Software resources
Device
Version
Description
EMC Unisphere
8.0.0.21
Storage array management
GUI
EMC PowerPath
5.7 SP4
Multipathing and load
balancing software
Solutions Enabler
8.0.0
Storage array management
(CLI)
Oracle Enterprise Linux
6.4
Operating system for
database servers
Oracle Grid Infrastructure
12c
Enterprise Edition 12.1.0.2
Software support for ASM
storage
Oracle Database 12c
Enterprise Edition 12.1.0.2
Oracle Database software
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Storage
provisioning with
SLO
We defined four different types of resource requirements for the database to reflect
the real-world customer needs, which are listed below:

Platinum: This database requires the highest response levels, such as a
production database to support the core business operations.

Gold: A production database to support the non-core business operations.

Silver: Appropriate for a test database to support UAT (User Acceptance Test)
requirements.

Bronze: Appropriate for a development database.
Table 5 describes the SLOs utilized in this solution:
Table 5.
Assigning SLO to database components (example)
Database
component
SLO
Workload
Volumes
Capacity
(GB)
CRS
Bronze
Not
Specified
3
16.10
CDB
Platinum
OLTP
4
16.10
PDB1
Platinum
OLTP
4
201.21
PDB2
Gold
OLTP
4
201.21
PDB3
Silver
OLTP
4
201.21
PDB4
Bronze
OLTP
4
201.21
Redo
Platinum
Not
Specified
4
16.10
FRA
Bronze
Not
Specified
10
2012.15
Note: The SLO policy being used by each PDB can be adjusted dynamically and nondisruptively according to the customer’s requirements. For example, if PDB1’s priority
decreased, its SLO could be adjusted to use a lower SLO policy such as Silver.
Unisphere Oracle
Database 12c
database storage
provisioning
Complete the Oracle Database 12c storage provisioning using Unisphere as follows:
1.
Create a cascaded storage group with parent and child storage groups each
with their own SLO and optional workload, as shown in Figure 5.
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Figure 5.
2.
Create Storage
Type a Storage Group Name. Storage group names must be unique from other
storage groups on the storage system and cannot exceed 64 characters. Only
alphanumeric characters, underscores ( _ ), and dashes (-) are allowed.
Storage group names are not case-sensitive.
a.
To select a Storage Resource Pool other than the default (DEFAULT_SRP),
click Edit and select the pool. We used the default value.
b.
Type the Storage Group name, matching it to the Database Component
Name as defined in Table 5.
c.
Select the SLO to set on the storage group. SLO specifies the
characteristics of the provisioned storage, including maximum response
time, workload type, and priority.
d.
Refine the SLO by selecting the Workload Type to assign it. Available
workload types are shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6.
e.
Workload types
Type the number of Volumes and select the Capacity of each volume.
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f.
3.
Select the Host Group and click Next as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7.
4.
Select the Host Group
Select whether to use a new port group or an existing port group, and then
whether to name a new port group or select an existing port group. Click Next,
as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8.
5.
To add another SLO, click Add Service Level , and click Next to continue.
Select Port Group
Type a name for the Masking View. Verify the rest of your selections. Click Add
to Job List to add this task to the job list and choose Run Now to perform the
operation immediately, as shown in Figure 9.
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Figure 9.
6.
Configuring the
RAC database
Review
Select Run Now in Add to Job List to create the LUNs.
After installing Oracle 12c Grid Infrastructure and database software, create the
required ASM disk groups as shown in Table 6.
Table 6.
ASM diskgroup design for PDBs
ASM Diskgroup Name
Used by CDB/PDB
Storage Group
+CRS
OCR file and voting disk
CRS
+Data_CDB
CDB, the undo tablespace is
shared with all PDBs.
CDB
+PDB1_Data
PDB1
PDB1
+PDB2_Data
PDB2
PDB2
+PDB3_Data
PDB3
PDB3
+PDB4_Data
PDB4
PDB4
+Redo
Shared by the CDB to all PDBs
Redo
+FRA
Shared by the CDB to all PDBs
FRA
Note: Each PDB has its own temp tablespace which is stored with PDB’s datafiles.
Deploy the RAC CDB/PDBs by following these steps:
1.
Create the CDB database using the +Data_CDB ASM Diskgroup.
2.
Create four PDBs in the corresponding disk groups. For example, create the
PDB named PDB1 with an ASM Diskgroup +PBD1_Data.
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3.
Open the PDBs in the different CDB instances according to the SLOs.
This completes the deployment of Oracle Database 12c RAC on EMC VMAX3. For more
details on how to deploy Oracle Database 12c, refer to References.
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VMAX3 features to improve operational efficiency
EMC TimeFinder
SnapVX
The next generation TimeFinder family has been re-designed for VMAX3 with a focus
on reducing infrastructure impact, increasing scale, and improving ease of use.
Among other new features, TimeFinder now:

Supports up to 256 snapshots per source volume (previously 32)

Uses considerably less storage

Uses user-defined naming

Can snap an entire storage group in a single command
VMAX3 adds a new feature called TimeFinder SnapVX, which provides “hybrid cloud
scale” snapshots. Unlike previous VMAX snapshots, SnapVX snaps do not require the
use of a dedicated snapshot reserve volume. SnapVX allows for up to 256 snaps per
individual source, as shown in Figure 10. The new snapshots have negligible effect on
performance. These new features provide Oracle environments with much more
flexibility and scalability when it comes to replication, both locally and remotely.
Figure 10.
EMC SRDF
Manage many data copies with ease using Timefinder SnapVX
EMC TimeFinder and EMC Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF®) software are the
most powerful and trusted applications for local and remote storage replication
available in the industry. These storage applications enable local and remote snaps
and clones for rapid in-array backup and restore, facilitate parallel processing
activities like application testing and development, and guard against primary-site
disasters and outages.
VMAX3 will continue to use a newly updated SRDF for multisite redundancy. Many of
the world’s largest Oracle customers use SRDF to protect their most valuable data
assets and ensure their mission-critical applications stay available. SRDF has been
updated to continue to offer Oracle customers the most robust multisite redundant
product in the industry.
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EMC ProtectPoint
EMC ProtectPoint is an industry-first data protection offering that provides direct
backup from primary storage to protection storage. ProtectPoint delivers the
performance of snapshots with the functionality of backups, while eliminating the
impact of backup on the application environment and ensuring consistent
application performance.
ProtectPoint enables fast recovery and instant access to protected data for simplified
granular recovery while removing the need for excess backup infrastructure, reducing
overall cost and complexity. ProtectPoint also provides script integration for Oracle
11g and 12c databases running on Unix (Solaris, AIX, HP-UX) and Linux.
With EMC ProtectPoint, you can reduce the overall time, cost, and complexity of
managing application backups, by eliminating the impact of backups on application
servers with nonintrusive data protection, because no data flows through the
application server. This ensures you will maintain consistent application
performance, but still gain application-consistent backups for simple recovery.
Backup Oracle Database 12c with ProtectPoint
Figure 11 shows the high-level steps to perform a full backup using ProtectPoint:
Figure 11.
Full backup with ProtectPoint
Note: With ProtectPoint, you perform a full Oracle backup every time, but primary storage
only sends unique blocks, resulting in a full backup for the cost of an incremental backup.
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Follow these steps to perform a full backup using ProtectPoint:
1.
As shown in Figure 11, an application owner, such as the Oracle DBA using
the new ProtectPoint script integration for Oracle, triggers a backup at an
application-consistent checkpoint.
2.
This triggers the primary storage, using new primary storage changed block
tracking, to send only the changed blocks (since the last backup/initial copy)
directly to Data Domain.
3.
The Data Domain system will receive and deduplicate the changed blocks,
using them to create an independent full backup in native format, which
enables greatly simplified recovery.
Recovering Oracle Database 12c with ProtectPoint
A full recovery of an entire LUN is performed as shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12.
Full recovery with ProtectPoint
Follow these steps to perform a full recovery of an entire LUN with ProtectPoint:
1.
As shown above, an application owner, such as the Oracle DBA using the new
ProtectPoint script integration for Oracle, will trigger the recovery.
2.
Then, the primary storage reads the full backup image from Data Domain.
3.
The primary storage will then replace the production LUN with the recovered
copy.
Figure 13 shows how to perform a granular recovery. For an Oracle database
environment this might be recovering a specific database, table, or record as
opposed to the entire LUN.
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Figure 13.
Granular recovery with ProtectPoint
Follow these steps to perform a granular recovery with ProtectPoint:
1.
As shown in Figure 13, an application owner, such as the Oracle DBA using
the new ProtectPoint script integration for Oracle, will trigger the recovery.
2.
Primary storage connects to the backup image on the Data Domain system.
3.
This gives the Oracle DBA instant access to their protected data, which will
still be on the Data Domain, but it will appear as though it is on primary
storage.
4.
At this point, the DBA can use the LUN like a snapshot and, for example,
perform normal steps to open a database and recover a specific object to the
production database.
Summary of EMC ProtectPoint benefits
The benefits of EMC ProtectPoint include:

Significant time reduction for full backups

Virtually no impact to primary application

Less cost to achieve backup SLAs

Oracle admins are empowered for data protection

CLI based integration with Oracle

Full backups for the cost of incrementals

Deduplication storage reduction

Data Domain Managed File Replication for disaster recovery

Data Invulnerability Architecture protection
EMC ProtectPoint is simple and efficient, and requires no additional infrastructure
other than your new VMAX3 and Data Domain appliance.
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Database Storage
Analyzer
Unisphere 8.0 for VMAX3 now includes a tool called Database Storage Analyzer (DSA).
DSA enables DBAs and VMAX storage administrators to use the same tool to view
performance analytics for databases and underlying storage by automatically
correlating the database files all the way down to the Symmetrix devices. DBAs can
have their own profiles within DSA, enabling them to log in and look at performance
analytics on their own, at any time of the day or night. DSA uses four simple tabs to
provide all the required performance analytics information – Dashboard,
Performance, Analytics, and Administration.
Dashboard tab
The Dashboard tab (shown in Figure 14) provides a quick view of the IOPS and
response times of top databases so that you can see if they are meeting the specified
performance criteria. You can filter the database list based on the DB Name, DB Host,
or Symmetrix ID. You can also see a Response Time Status heat map and detailed
metrics such as Average Redo Write Response Time, Average IOPS, Average
Throughput MB/s, R/W Ratios, VMAX ID and even the FAST Storage Group for a given
database.
Figure 14.
DSA - Dashboard tab
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Performance tab
The Performance tab (shown in Figure 15) provides a view of database and storage
analytics in one page. You can use this page to quickly determine if the database or
the storage is a bottleneck for any given time period, which dramatically reduces
troubleshooting delays.
Figure 15.
DSA - Performance tab
The Performance tab provides a correlation between database and storage. DSA
shows Response time, IOPS, and throughput from both the database and the storage.
The Performance charts are extremely useful for identifying gaps between the DB
response time and the storage response time. You can view those statistics per reads
or writes or redo writes.
Note: For the redo writes, DSA shows the redo stats from the DB as well as the redo stats for
the redo devices only, so you can easily isolate any potential redo issues.
DSA also provides back-end statistics for devices associated with the database. This
view provides insight into how the storage component places data in various tiers.
You can identify which tier serves most of the database I/Os and how many I/Os are
being served by the back-end as opposed to the storage cache.
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Analytics tab
The Analytics tab (shown in 0) allows you to drill down into individual database
objects such as tables, indexes, and partitions for Oracle and VMAX devices to see
even greater detail. DSA comes with extensive filtering options that enable you to
focus on mission-critical processes running in the database (for example, filter by
program name, and DB user)
One of the most powerful views provided by the Analytics tab is the Symmetrix
devices report, which allows you to view all devices associated with the database and
determine how much time users are waiting for I/O for each device. If the I/O is not
balanced across all devices, or if there is an issue with a specific device, the DBA can
quickly identify that and communicate it to the storage administrator for further
investigation.
Figure 16.
Analytics tab
Administration tab
The Administration tab (shown in Figure 17) allows you to perform DSA management
actions such as Refresh, Add, Start, Stop, and more. Use the Administration tab to
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set performance thresholds which DSA will monitor, configure data retention times
and intervals, and define other key settings.
Figure 17.
DSA –Administration tab
DSA helps to accelerate the troubleshooting process, providing a comprehensive and
correlative view of the database and the storage at any point in time. It also provides
detailed analysis of top wait events, storage devices, objects, indexes, and partitions
for Oracle. DSA provides an insight on how the database is performing while running
on top of FAST VP. The analysis from DSA is used by DBAs and storage administrators.
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Conclusion
Summary
By implementing Oracle Database 12c on EMC VMAX3, the Oracle DBA can reduce the
burden of performance tuning. This paper shows that the dynamic allocation of
VMAX3 service levels to an Oracle Database 12c can return that database to
compliance with the defined service level objective (SLO). VMAX3 uses EMC FAST
technology to shift storage resources dynamically, based on a combination of the
workload and the service level assigned to the PDB’s storage LUNs.
The Oracle Database 12c multitenant option provides one method to consolidate
Oracle databases onto a common hardware platform, thus reducing database sprawl.
VMAX3 fits neatly into the Oracle Database 12c environment by providing features
which mesh perfectly with Multitenancy.
Oracle full backups can be provided efficiently by VMAX3 when combined with
ProtectPoint and Data Domain. Because the VMAX3 sends only changed blocks to
Data Domain, an Oracle full backup is as space and performance efficient as an
incremental Oracle backup. But since full backups (from the DBA perspective) are
provided, this optimizes RTO/RPO, and eliminates the cost of incremental backups.
Findings
Implementing Oracle Database 12c on EMC VMAX3 yields the following benefits:

Oracle Database 12c PDBs can be consolidated onto an EMC VMAX3 while
providing service levels to allow for the varying performance requirements of
the PDBs.

VMAX3 SLOs combined with EMC FAST technology can dynamically allocate
resources to Oracle Database 12c PDBs to meet performance challenges.

VMAX3 combined with EMC ProtectPoint and Data Domain allows the Oracle
DBA to create Oracle full backups for the same storage and performance cost as
incremental Oracle backups.
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References
Product
documentation
Other
documentation
The following documents, available on the EMC.com website, provide additional and
relevant information. If you do not have access to a document, contact your EMC
representative.

EMC VMAX3

EMC ProtectPoint

EMC VMAX 3 Family with HYPERMAX OS Product Guide

Everything VMAX 3, specifically:

Top Reasons Why Customers Deploy VMAX 3 for Oracle

EMC VMAX 3 Family – VMAX 100K, 200K, 400K Specification Sheet

What Differentiates VMAX 3 Handout

EMC VMAX 3 Family Data Sheet

EMC VMAX 3 Family Software Suites Data Sheet
For additional information, see the documents listed below.

Oracle Real Application Clusters Installation Guide 12c for Linux and Unix

Oracle Database Administrator's Guide 12c Release 1 (12.1)
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