SharePlex 8.6.6 - Installation Guide

Set up SharePlex in an Oracle cluster

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Overview of SharePlex Oracle cluster support

SharePlex integrates with Oracle Clusterware cluster hardware and software to maintain the high availability of data capture and uninterrupted replication to your targets. If the node where SharePlex is running fails or must be taken out of the cluster for maintenance, SharePlex can be started on another server by the cluster software. SharePlex start and stop is controlled through the cluster.

These instructions assume that the cluster solution is already installed, tested, and is functioning, and they are not a substitute for the cluster vendor's documentation. Additional steps that are specific to your cluster installation may be required.

The following diagram shows SharePlex installed into an Oracle RAC cluster:

Set up SharePlex in an Oracle cluster

1. Ask your system administrator for an IP address on the public subnet (not configured through DHCP) that will serve as the Virtual IP (VIP) for SharePlex. The VIP must be able to resolve to the active node upon failover. The cluster software maps the VIP to the SharePlex server and migrates it during a failover.

2. Set the VIP for SharePlex in the system environment on each node.

   • Unix and Linux: export SP_SYS_HOST_NAME=VIP_address
   • Windows: In the Windows Registry, set the SP_SYS_HOSTNAME entry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Wow6432Node/QuestSoftware/SharePlex/port#. Create this entry if it does not exist.

3. Map a host alias to the virtual IP address in the /etc/hosts file (on Unix and Linux) or the hosts file (on Windows) on all nodes to establish a consistent host name across all nodes in the cluster. The alias is exported in the SharePlex user profile and used in the SharePlex configuration parameters. Alternatively, this mapping can be done in a nameserver. The alias cannot contain non-alphanumeric characters, such as underscores ( _ ) or dots (.). For example:

   1.0.1.6 LocalSys #permanent IP address

   1.0.1.7 HACluster #floating IP address

4. Create the same tns_alias name for SharePlex to use to connect to the database on each node. A tns_alias establishes global connection information that supercedes local instance names and enables SharePlex to connect to the failover instance without requiring a configuration reactivation. SharePlex identifies the correct Oracle instance from the configuration file. Set load balance to off and set failover to on.

   Note: Set load balance to off and set failover to on. (Load balancing cannot be enabled during the activation of a SharePlex configuration. A workaround is to disable load balancing before activation and then enable it after activation.)

   SPLEX =
          (DESCRIPTION =
          (ADDRESS_LIST =
             (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = RAC1)(PORT = 1521))
             (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = RAC2)(PORT = 1521))
           )
           (LOAD_BALANCE = OFF)
           (FAILOVER = ON)
           (CONNECT_DATA =
           (SERVICE_NAME = ORCL)
           ))
   

5. Add this tns_alias to the oratab file on each cluster node that SharePlex is expected to start on during a failover.

6. If the Oracle instances in the cluster have different ORACLE_HOMEs, edit the oratab file on each node and on the nameserver, if applicable, to use a symbolic link in place of the actual ORACLE_HOME path:

   SID:/path_to_symbolic_link:N

7. Install SharePlex according to the installation instructions for the platform you are using.

   Note the following:

   • See the Installer Checklist for important information about where to install SharePlex in a cluster.
   • Make certain to install a SharePlex license on each node in the cluster.
   • When you run the database setup utility (ora_setup), reply No to the prompt for a BEQUEATH connection. This response generates a prompt for a tns_alias. Supply the tns_alias that you created in the previous steps.

   Will SharePlex install be using a BEQUEATH connection? No

   Enter the TNS alias for which SharePlex should be installed: SPLEX

   Note: On Windows, SharePlex must be installed on all nodes of a cluster, on the same port number, with identical path names. This is required to make the binaries and the required MKS Toolkit components available to all nodes, and to establish Registry entries. Additionally, Database Setup must be run on each node after installation.

8. Incorporate SharePlex into the cluster failover routines so that it migrates with the other applications during failover and so the sp_cop process is started on the adoptive node by the cluster software. At minimum, this includes creating a startup script for SharePlex and a cluster script for SharePlex to handle failover. Note the following:

   • The sp_cop program is the only process that the cluster software should start. The sp_cop process must be allowed to start the other SharePlex processes. All SharePlex processes, except sp_cop, can be controlled through the sp_ctrl interface.
   • Do not attempt to start or stop sp_cop yourself through the command interface; otherwise the cluster software will attempt to restart it. If you need to stop sp_cop, use the cluster software commands.

   • If possible, configure SharePlex and Oracle into a single global cluster package. The combination of SharePlex and Oracle in the same package allows the cluster software to start and stop SharePlex and Oracle in the proper sequence if any component of the package fails. Configure Oracle to start before SharePlex.

   • Assistance for creating startup and cluster scripts is available through SharePlex Professional (PSO) Services.

9. Use the SharePlex tns_alias in the datasource portion of the configuration file if this is a source SharePlex instance or in the routing map if this is a target SharePlex instance:

   datasource:o.tnsalias

   or...

   myhost@SPLEX

10. Make certain your systems administrators understand that any changes or upgrades they perform to the operating system on any node in the cluster must be implemented on all nodes in the cluster so that SharePlex fails over to an identical environment.
11. See Set up SharePlex in a Windows cluster for additional post-installation requirements for Windows clusters.

Set up SharePlex on Amazon Cloud

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