Managing Serviceguard Extension for SAP on Linux (IA64 Integrity and x86_64), April 2009

SGeSAP/LX PackageAccess TypeMount Point
sapNFS or db<SID> or
dbci<SID>
NFSlink /sapdb/data ->/import/data
nfsreloc:/export/sapdb/data /import/data
link /sapdb/programs -> /import/programs
nfsreloc:/export/sapdb/programs /import/programs
link /var/spool/sql/ini -> /import/ini
nfsreloc:/export/var/spool/sql/ini /import/ini
Oracle Database Instance Storage Considerations
Oracle server directories reside below /oracle/<DBSID>. These directories get shared via the database
package
In addition, any SAP Application Server needs access to the Oracle client libraries, including the Oracle
National Language Support files (NLS) shown in Table 2-7 NLS Files Default Location. The default location
to which the client NLS files get installed differs with the SAP kernel release used:
Table 2-10 NLS Files - Default Location
Client NLS LocationKernel Version
$ORACLE_HOME/ocommon/NLS[_<nls_version>]/admin/data<=4.6
/oracle/<rdbms_version>/ocommon/nls/admin/data4.6
/oracle/client/<rdbms_version>/ocommon/nls/admin/data6.x
/oracle/client/<rdbms_version>/instantclient7.0
It is important to notice, that there always is a second type of NLS directory, called the "server" NLS directory.
It gets created during database or SAP Central System installations. The location of the server NLS files is
identical for all SAP kernel versions:
$ORACLE_HOME/ocommon/nls/admin/data
The setting of the ORA_NLS[<nls_version>]variable in the environments of <sid>adm and ora<sid>
determines whether the client or the server path to NLS is used. The variable gets defined in the
.dbenv_<hostname>.[c]sh files in the home directories of these users.
During Serviceguard Extension for SAP on Linux installation it is necessary to create local copies of the client
NLS files on each host to which a failover could take place. SAP Central Instances use the server path to
NLS files, while Application Server Instances use the client path.
Sometimes a single host may have an installation of both a Central Instance and an additional Application
Server of the same SAP System. These instances need to share the same environment settings. SAP recommends
using the server path to NLS files for both instances in this case. This won't work with Serviceguard Extension
for SAP on Linux since switching the database would leave the application server without NLS file access.
Oracle 9.x releases no longer maintain NLS compatibility with Oracle 8.x. Also, Oracle 9.x patches introduce
incompatibilities with older Oracle 9.x NLS files. The following constraints need to be met:
1. The Oracle RDBMS and database tools rely on an ORA_NLS[<nls_version>] setting that refers to
NLS files that are compatible to the version of the RDBMS. Oracle 9.x needs NLS files as delivered
with Oracle 9.x.
2. The SAP executables rely on an ORA_NLS[<nls_version>] setting that refers to NLS files of the
same versions as those that were used during kernel link time by SAP development. This is not necessarily
identical to the installed database release.
The Oracle database server and SAP server might need different types of NLS files. The server NLS files are
part of the database Serviceguard package. The client NLS files are installed locally on all hosts. Special
care has to be taken to not mix the access paths for ORACLE server and client processes.
The discussion of NLS files has no impact on the treatment of other parts of the ORACLE client files. The
following directories need to exist locally on all hosts on which an Application Server might run. They can
not be relocated to different paths. The content needs to be identical to the content of the corresponding
directories that are shared as part of the database Serviceguard Extension for SAP on Linux package (db
44 Planning a File System Layout for SAP in a Serviceguard/LX Cluster Environment