You should read your specific Oracle contract as it will tell you what you need to do. In many Named User scenarios you may need to have 25 named users per processor license equivalent, i.e. 25 named users per 2 x86 cores. So on a 20 core host you would need 250 named users to be licensed. On a 16 core host you would need 100 named user licenses. Let's assume for a minute you have 16 cores per host on x86, based on the core factor of 0.5, with 300 named users you could run the application and database on 3 servers. But you need to ensure that the application and database only ever run on the three servers that are licensed, unless the 10 day rule is applied. Using affinity rules is hard to do with ESXi and it's easy to make mistakes, which could be very costly. So a dedicated cluster where the Oracle software is isolated and runs is the best way to go. But this is all based on your contract, and you need to understand what it says and what the restrictions are. Different products can be handled differently. It is recommended that you seek your own independent legal and contract advice if you are unsure. Try and keep things a simple as possible, and as isolated as possible, so that you don't get surprised during the Oracle audit that will happen at some time.

May I ask, if we setup a dedicated cluster ; consist of primary and secondary clusters under one vCenter and we buy 300 nameuser fortwo ESX ( for the active running vm or oracle db).

The question I have if each cluster has

2 Active running DB VMs and one Spare host | Ha – in the Primary Cluster (total ESX is 3)

1 DR and one Spare host – Secondary site – DR is at 50%contractual. (Total Esx is 2)

So based on VMware vSphere 5.5 verison – is it ok for me to only license 2 ESX or I need to purchase name users for 5 ESX?

Then I read this drs affinity rule then i see the 10 day rule… what is the right thing to do to ensure no legal issue?

Confused… btw am just a Project Manager not the SA

Thank you

Wignesh

Hi Dave, they are all the same from a performance point of view. VMDK is more simple and is therefore my recommendation.

Great website, a lot of great information.

Just one question:

What kind of storage do you recommend for a shared storage on VMWare running an Oracle active/passive cluster which needs shared storage for database files:

RDM virtual, RDM physical or VMDK files?

Any thought as to which is the best practice. It appears from internet research that they are all the same from a performance point of view.

Dave

Yes. Solaris x86 works fine. But most convert Linux.

Hi Aka, that specs for my lab can be found in My Lab Environment. Take a look. I haven't done visio diagrams for it.

Wonderful articles!!

I am VM beginner. It will be great if you load the Visio diagram to create a home lab. Also it will be great if you can give the list of hardware.

Kind Regards

aka