Install and Configure ASMLib in 10g (Automatic Storage Management)

The Oracle ASM feature was introduced in Oracle 10g Release 1.

There are two methods to configure ASM on Linux.

1. Configure ASM with ASMLib I/O: This method creates all Oracle database files on raw block devices, which are managed by ASM using ASMLib calls. ASMLib works with block devices and raw devices are not required with this method.

2. Configure ASM with Standard Linux I/O: This method creates Oracle database files on raw character devices, which are managed by ASM using standard Linux I/O system calls. It requires creating RAW devices for all disk partitions used by the ASM.

Here we will “Configure ASM with ASMLib I/O” method.

Step 1: Download and Install ASMLib

Download Oracle “ASMLib” software from below link and follow the link for your platform.
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/linux/asmlib/index.html

You must install all three packages for the kernel you are running. Use “uname –r “command to determine the version of your kernel.

oracleasm-support-version.cpu_type.rpm
oracleasm-kernel-version.cpu_type.rpm
oracleasmlib-version.cpu_type.rpm

See the below example to install the packages and run the command as root.

# rpm -ivh oracleasm-support-2.0.3-1.x86_64.rpm \
> oracleasm-2.6.9-67.ELsmp-2.0.3-1.x86_64.rpm \
> oracleasmlib-2.0.2-1.x86_64.rpm

Step 2: Configure and Enable Oracle ASM

Run the below command to configure the Oracle ASM and it will ask for the user and group that default to owing the ASM drivers access point.

# /etc/init.d/oracleasm configure
Configuring the Oracle ASM library driver.

This will configure the on-boot properties of the Oracle ASM library
driver. The following questions will determine whether the driver is
loaded on boot and what permissions it will have. The current values
will be shown in brackets ('[]'). Hitting without typing an
answer will keep that current value. Ctrl-C will abort.

Default user to own the driver interface []: oracle
Default group to own the driver interface []: dba
Start Oracle ASM library driver on boot (y/n) [n]: y
Fix permissions of Oracle ASM disks on boot (y/n) [y]: y
Writing Oracle ASM library driver configuration [ OK ]
Creating /dev/oracleasm mount point [ OK ]
Loading module "oracleasm" [ OK ]
Mounting ASMlib driver filesystem [ OK ]
Scanning system for ASM disks [ OK ]

This command will load the ASM driver and mount the ASM driver filesystem. By selecting “y” during the configuration, the system will always load the module and mount the file system on system boot.

Run the below command to enable automatic start
#/etc/init.d/oracleasm enable

Regards,
Satishbabu Gunukula
http://www.oracleracexpert.com/