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Installation of YAD on OUL 6.6

YAD on OUL 6.6

Recently I stumbled upon YAD (Yet Another Dialog) which is an improved version of Zenity. It has some major benefits compared to Zenity when you want to spice up your shell-scripts.
When trying to install it on OUL 6.6 I found out that the package was not available from the OracleYum repository so it has to be built it from source.

Extract the tar-file

[root@racnode1 ~]# tar xvf yad-0.24.0.tar.xz
yad-0.24.0/
yad-0.24.0/README
yad-0.24.0/missing
yad-0.24.0/COPYING
yad-0.24.0/TODO

Before installing yad you need to install 2 packages which are not installed in the basic-server installation from OUL.

- intltool.noarch

root@racnode1:~/yad-0.24.0 [root@racnode1 yad-0.24.0]# yum install intltool.noarch
Loaded plugins: security
Setting up Install Process
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
...
---> Package libart_lgpl.x86_64 0:2.3.20-5.1.el6 will be installed
--> Finished Dependency Resolution
...
Installed:
  intltool.noarch 0:0.41.0-1.1.el6                                            

Dependency Installed:
  autoconf.noarch 0:2.63-5.1.el6          automake.noarch 0:1.11.1-4.el6    
  gettext-devel.x86_64 0:0.17-18.el6      gettext-libs.x86_64 0:0.17-18.el6  
  libart_lgpl.x86_64 0:2.3.20-5.1.el6     libgcj.x86_64 0:4.4.7-11.el6      

Complete!

- gtk2-devel.x86_64

root@racnode1 yad-0.24.0]# yum install gtk2-devel.x86_64
Loaded plugins: security Setting up Install Process Resolving Dependencies --> Running transaction check ---> Package gtk2-devel.x86_64 0:2.24.23-6.el6 will be installed ...
Installed: gtk2-devel.x86_64 0:2.24.23-6.el6
Dependency Installed:
  atk-devel.x86_64 0:1.30.0-1.el6
  cairo-devel.x86_64 0:1.8.8-3.1.el6
  fontconfig-devel.x86_64 0:2.8.0-5.el6
  freetype-devel.x86_64 0:2.3.11-14.el6_3.1
  gdk-pixbuf2-devel.x86_64 0:2.24.1-5.el6  
  glib2-devel.x86_64 0:2.28.8-4.el6
  libX11-devel.x86_64 0:1.6.0-2.2.el6
  libXau-devel.x86_64 0:1.0.6-4.el6
  libXcomposite-devel.x86_64 0:0.4.3-4.el6
  libXcursor-devel.x86_64 0:1.1.14-2.1.el6
  libXext-devel.x86_64 0:1.3.2-2.1.el6
  libXfixes-devel.x86_64 0:5.0.1-2.1.el6
  libXft-devel.x86_64 0:2.3.1-2.el6
  libXi-devel.x86_64 0:1.7.2-2.2.el6
  libXinerama-devel.x86_64 0:1.1.3-2.1.el6
  libXrandr-devel.x86_64 0:1.4.1-2.1.el6
  libXrender-devel.x86_64 0:0.9.8-2.1.el6
  libpng-devel.x86_64 2:1.2.49-1.el6_2
  libxcb-devel.x86_64 0:1.9.1-2.el6
  pango-devel.x86_64 0:1.28.1-10.0.1.el6
  pixman-devel.x86_64 0:0.32.4-4.el6
  xorg-x11-proto-devel.noarch 0:7.7-9.el6
  zlib-devel.x86_64 0:1.2.3-29.el6

Complete!

Now we can run ./configure and ./make and ./make install

[root@racnode1 yad-0.24.0]# ./configure
checking for a BSD-compatible install... /usr/bin/install -c
checking whether build environment is sane... yes
checking for a thread-safe mkdir -p... /bin/mkdir -p
checking for gawk... gawk
checking whether make sets $(MAKE)... yes
checking whether make supports nested variables... yes
checking whether to enable maintainer-specific portions of Makefiles... no
checking whether NLS is requested... yes
checking for style of include used by make... GNU
checking for gcc... gcc
checking whether the C compiler works... yes
...
config.status: creating config.h
config.status: executing depfiles commands
config.status: executing default-1 commands
config.status: executing po/stamp-it commands

Build icon browser - no

[root@racnode1 yad-0.24.0]# make
make  all-recursive
make[1]: Entering directory `/root/yad-0.24.0'
Making all in src
make[2]: Entering directory `/root/yad-0.24.0/src'
  CC       yad-about.o
  CC       yad-calendar.o
  CC       yad-color.o
  CC       yad-dnd.o
  CC       yad-entry.o
  CC       yad-file.o
  CC       yad-font.o
...
make[2]: Entering directory `/root/yad-0.24.0'
make[2]: Leaving directory `/root/yad-0.24.0'
make[1]: Leaving directory `/root/yad-0.24.0'

[root@racnode1 yad-0.24.0]# make install
Making install in src
make[1]: Entering directory `/root/yad-0.24.0/src'
make[2]: Entering directory `/root/yad-0.24.0/src'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/bin'
  /usr/bin/install -c yad '/usr/local/bin'
make[2]: Nothing to be done for `install-data-am'.
make[2]: Leaving directory `/root/yad-0.24.0/src'
make[1]: Leaving directory `/root/yad-0.24.0/src'
Making install in po
make[1]: Entering directory `/root/yad-0.24.0/po'
linguas="de fr it pt_BR ru sk uk zh_TW "; \
        for lang in $linguas; do \
          dir=/usr/local/share/locale/$lang/LC_MESSAGES; \
          /bin/sh /root/yad-0.24.0/install-sh -d $dir; \
          if test -r $lang.gmo; then \
            /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 $lang.gmo $dir/yad.mo; \
            echo "installing $lang.gmo as $dir/yad.mo"; \
          else \
            /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 ./$lang.gmo $dir/yad.mo; \
            echo "installing ./$lang.gmo as" \
                 "$dir/yad.mo"; \
          fi; \
          if test -r $lang.gmo.m; then \
            /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 $lang.gmo.m $dir/yad.mo.m; \
            echo "installing $lang.gmo.m as $dir/yad.mo.m"; \
          else \
            if test -r ./$lang.gmo.m ; then \
              /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 ./$lang.gmo.m \
                $dir/yad.mo.m; \
              echo "installing ./$lang.gmo.m as" \
                   "$dir/yad.mo.m"; \
            else \
              true; \
            fi; \
          fi; \
        done
installing de.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/de/LC_MESSAGES/yad.mo
installing fr.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/fr/LC_MESSAGES/yad.mo
...

make[2]: Leaving directory `/root/yad-0.24.0'
make[1]: Leaving directory `/root/yad-0.24.0'
[root@racnode1 yad-0.24.0]#

[root@racnode1 ]# export DISPLAY=123.123.123.123:0.0
[root@racnode1 ]#./yad --color

Normally you should see a window pop up like below. 

Installation of Oracle Unbreakable Linux 6.6 on Virtual Box

Installation of Oracle Unbreakable Linux 6.6 on Virtual Box

Intro

This installation has been performed on VirtualBox 4.3.16 running on Win 7. Make sure that you have downloaded the OUL-iso from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud prior to the installation . 

Create a vm in VirtualBox

Open VirutalBox and select Machine => New

Next give the vm a meaningfull name. This can be different from the actual hostname of the vm. Make sure that Type is Linux and Version is Oracle (64bit). 

Assing memory to the vm.

Select "Create a virtual hard drive now" and click Create.

Select VDI as file type and on the next screen select "Fixed Size"

Select 12G for the virtual hard drive and click Create.

The virtual hard drive will be created. This can take up several minuts depending on the hardware.

Now that the virtual machine is created we need to add a virtual cd/dvd. Right click on the vm and select settings.

Click on the "Add CD/DVD Device icon right of "Controller IDE " and select the iso downloaded from Oracle.

You can now start up the vm. The OUL installer will start up. Select "Install or upgrade an existing system"

Click "Next"

Select "English" and click "Next"

Select the appropriate keyboard-layout. I chose "Belgian BE Latin". Click "Next"

Select "Basic Storage Device" and click "Next"

 Select "Yes, Discard any data" ==> Next
 

 Hostname ==> racnode01.testdomain.com

Select the correct timezone and click "Next"

 Enter the password for the root-account.

 Select "Use All Space" and click "Next"

Select "Write changes to disk" ==> "Next"

 Select "Basic Server". If required you can install additional options later on. Click "Next"

The installation will start. This will take up 10-15 minutes.

"ORA-29024: Certificate validation failure" when calling https-site with utl_http

Problem when using UTL_HTTP for HTTPS-sites

When using the UTL_HTTP-package for accessing https-sites you might get the error

ORA-29024: Certificate validation failure – message

SQL> select utl_http.request ('https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest');
select utl_http.request ('https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest') from dual
       *
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-29273: HTTP request failed
ORA-06512: at "SYS.UTL_HTTP", line 1722
ORA-29024: Certificate validation failure
ORA-06512: at line 1

To avoid this you need to configure an Oracle Wallet :

Retrieve the certificate from the site. In Chrome click on the lock-icon :

A popup-screen will appear. Click on the Connection-tab and then on ‘Certificate information’

On the certificate-screen select the Details-tab and click on the ‘Copy to File…’ button

The ‘Certificate Export Wizard’ will start up. Click ‘Next’

Select ‘Cryptographic Message Syntax .. – PKCS #7’. The format might depend on the site you are accessing. 

Select where to store the certificate and click ‘Next’. 

Copy the certificate-file to the server hosting the Oracle database.

Next we need to create a wallet :

orapki wallet create -wallet /u01/app/oracle/admin/DB1/wallet -pwd Password -auto_login

and add the certificate to the wallet :

oracle [ /u01/app/oracle/admin/DB1/wallet ]$ orapki wallet add -wallet /u01/app/oracle/admin/DB1/wallet -trusted_cert -cert /tmp/ssllabs.p7b -pwd Password

Oracle PKI Tool : Version 11.2.0.3.0 - Production

Copyright (c) 2004, 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

oracle [ /u01/app/oracle/admin/DB1/wallet ]$

Now we can test if the we can access the site :

SQL>  select utl_http.request ('https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest',NULL,'file:/u01/app/oracle/admin/DB1/wallet','Password') from dual;

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"

        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<html>

<head>

        <title>Qualys SSL Labs - Projects / SSL Server Test</title>

 …

SQL>

And it works :-)

Configure hugepages on linux for Oracle

Introduction

Due to some performance issues with our Oracle RAC 11gR2 cluster running on OUL 5 we decided  to increase the physical memory of both nodes in our cluster from 24G to 96G each. The memory of our main production database was also increase from 14G to 48G per instance. Since we did not want to run into issues with regards to memory pages (default 4KB) we also introduced hugepages.

Steps

1 – After installing the memory in the server and rebooting check if all memory is visible from the OS

root [ ~ ]# dmidecode -t 17 | grep Size

        Size: 16384 MB

        Size: 16384 MB

        Size: 16384 MB

        Size: 16384 MB

        Size: 16384 MB

        Size: 16384 MB

        Size: No Module Installed

        Size: No Module Installed

        Size: No Module Installed

        Size: No Module Installed

        Size: No Module Installed

        Size: No Module Installed

2 – Next we need to figure out how much HugePages we need to reserve. To do this we have to check what the size is of a Hugepage. This is by default 2048 kB :

oracle [ ~ ]$ grep Hugepagesize /proc/meminfo

Hugepagesize:     2048 kB

oracle [ ~ ]$

We want to assign 48 Gig to our Oracle instance PRODDB2

ð  (48G * 1024) * 1024 è 50331648 (size in kB)

ð  50331648 / 2048  è 24576 (minimum nr of hugepages we need to configure)

The number of hugepages the os needs to reserve has to be configured in /etc/sysctl.conf

# HugePages

vm.nr_hugepages=24580

We configured 4 more hugepages then required….just in case

Next reload the /etc/sysctl.conf file using sysctl -p

sysctl –p

Check if the amount of hugepages is actually configured :

root [ ~ ]# grep Huge /proc/meminfo

HugePages_Total: 24580

HugePages_Free:  24580

HugePages_Rsvd:      0

Hugepagesize:     2048 kB

That's it ...now we can use HugePages.

How to create a physical standby database

Assumptions

This document has been tested on OUL 5 with Oracle 11.2.0.2 and 11.2.0.3
The Primary database PRIMARY_DB is in archivelog-mode and force-logging is enabled. This database is running on node1.
The Physical standby database is STANDBY_DB and runs on node2

Configuration

On Primary database

Set following parameters :

ALTER SYSTEM SET log_archive_config='DG_CONFIG=(PRIMARY_DB,STANDBY_DB)'; ALTER SYSTEM SET log_archive_dest_1='LOCATION=+ORA_FRA_DG1 VALID_FOR=(ALL_LOGFILES,ALL_ROLES) DB_UNIQUE_NAME=PRIMARY_DB'; ALTER SYSTEM SET log_archive_dest_2='SERVICE=STANDBY_DB NOAFFIRM ASYNC VALID_FOR=(ONLINE_LOGFILES,PRIMARY_ROLE) DB_UNIQUE_NAME=STANDBY_DB' SCOPE=MEMORY; ALTER SYSTEM SET log_archive_dest_state_1='ENABLE'; ALTER SYSTEM SET fal_server='STANDBY_DB'; ALTER SYSTEM SET fal_client='PRIMARY_DB'; ALTER SYSTEM SET standby_file_management='AUTO' SCOPE=MEMORY;

Make sure that all required entries are present in the tnsnames.ora file on BOTH servers :

PRIMARY_DB =   (DESCRIPTION =     (ADDRESS_LIST =       (ADDRESS = (COMMUNITY = tcp.world)(PROTOCOL = TCP)(Host = node1)(Port = 1521))     )     (CONNECT_DATA =       (SERVICE_NAME = PRIMARY_DB)     )   ) STANDBY_DB =   (DESCRIPTION =     (ADDRESS_LIST =       (ADDRESS = (COMMUNITY = tcp.world)(PROTOCOL = TCP)(Host = node2)(Port = 1521))     )     (CONNECT_DATA =       (SERVICE_NAME = STANDBY_DB )     )   )

Check connectivity using tnsping. Also make sure that the the tnsnames in the GRID-home has all required entries.

Put following entries in the listener.ora and restart the listener. The listener.ora on standby_server should have following 2 blocks. The second block is required for the dgmrl :

(SID_DESC =  (GLOBAL_DBNAME = STANDBY_DB )  (ORACLE_HOME = /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0.3/db_1)  (SID_NAME = FLEETTST_STBY) ) (SID_DESC =  (GLOBAL_DBNAME = STANDBY_DB_DGMGRL)  (ORACLE_HOME = /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0.3/db_1)  (SID_NAME = FLEETTST_STBY) )

Reload the listener on the standby server