HP StorageWorks 8000 NAS - Manual (Page 11)

creating new database(s)
A new database can be created either through the use of the Oracle Database Administration Assistant GUI
(dbassist), or through the use of SQL scripts. The control files, redo logs, archived redo logs and data files
can reside solely on the NAS 8000, or can reside on both the NAS 8000 and on the Oracle server.
Mixing the location of the data files between the NAS 8000 and the Oracle server also means that other
aspects of database performance and management can be taken into account when designing,
implementing and tuning the database. For example, it may be advantageous to have the SYSTEM
tablespace remain on the Oracle server while all of the other tablespaces are placed on the NAS 8000.
Please refer to the section on NVRAM for important information regarding placing the database data files
on both the Oracle server and the NAS 8000. A good method for generating a basic SQL script for
creating a database is to use the Database Administration Assistant GUI, but rather than actually creating
the database, elect to save the generated shell scripts. This usually results in several shell script files being
created. Once the files have been saved, they can be edited as needed to “fine-tune” the creation script;
for example, adding tablespaces, setting the management attribute of a tablespace (local versus directory),
etc. An additional benefit to using a SQL script for creating a database is the same exact database
infrastructure can be created on other systems (such as a development or secondary site) quickly and easily
through executing the same SQL script.
database administration
Utilizing the NAS 8000 for database storage does not substantially change the database administration
tasks. In many instances, use of the NAS 8000 may actually make certain administrative tasks easier. One
example of this could be the backup plan for a mission critical database. In creating and/or maintaining a
database, there are no major differences in managing a database that utilizes the NAS 8000 and one that
does not. All Oracle command line tools (e.g. sqlplus, svrmgrl,…) should function as expected.
performance tuning
One of the many benefits of utilizing the NAS 8000 as storage for Oracle databases is that the NAS 8000
will relieve the server’s CPU from many of the tasks associated with managing and accessing direct-attach
storage. For example, many server systems use CPU resources to manage (and/or perform) RAID level
protection such as striping or mirroring on their storage. The VA 7xxx storage subsystem of the NAS 8000
utilizes HP AutoRAID tm providing RAID levels 0, 1 and 5DP, automatically protecting the data, even from
multiple, simultaneous disk failures. The intelligence of the NAS 8000 storage subsystem relieves the CPU
of the NAS 8000 from the overhead of many storage tasks, freeing it to process the data requests from the
attached client(s). Performance tuning is an interesting topic as it involves performance tuning the network,
the Oracle server(s) and ORDBMS to work well with the NAS 8000, rather than just performance tuning the
NAS 8000 itself. One of the tremendous strengths of the Oracle ORDBMS is its ability to be fine-tuned.
There are hundreds of parameters that can be tuned to increase database speed and efficiency for each
environment and application. Oracle has many tools to aid with performance tuning, and these tools are a
source of important tuning information. While the general concepts of tuning a database stored on the
NAS 8000 are the same as for a database stored on Direct-Attach Storage, there are some differences.
However, the general guidelines for performance tuning any Oracle database still apply. There are a few
things that can be done directly to the NAS 8000 to “tune” its performance. The NAS 8000 administrator
can increase or decrease the number of nfsd daemons to tune to some degree nfs throughput on the NAS
8000. Please refer to the section on nfs for more details. Most of the nfs tuning must be done on the client
(Oracle server) systems. There are several tunable parameters that can be accessed through the Command
View NAS and Command View VA GUIs. It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss these parameters
and how to tune them. However, there is a white paper (Performance Tuning the NAS 8000 for Oracle)
dedicated to performance tuning including a discussion of NAS 8000 tunable parameters. This white
paper is located off of the NAS 8000 home page. Additionally, there are several product options that can
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